The Champions League T20 is currently going on in South Africa. Last year also it was held with much fanfare in India during Diwali time. During both the editions however, it has failed to arouse as much interest and passion as the IPL editions have. Given that the standard of the cricket played in the former is much higher than that of the latter, it is very surprising indeed.
I guess the BCCI has been able to market the IPL a lot more, and with a lot more matches there, the passion always simmers even in the scorching heat of summer. Lalit Modi, given all the integrity issues that have blotted his reputation, has always been a tremendous innovator and IPL is his brainchild. The idea of a strategic time-out (which was criticised severely by the players), the glitz and glamour, the quality of TV coverage and the optimal length of the tournament with double headers made it the ideal “Masala Cricket.” However, the CLT20 has failed to stir up the public to that extent, and elicit as much hysteria as the IPL has done.
The only point of interest for the Indian public has been the performance of the IPL teams here. Even the T20 World Cup has met a similar fate with the interest not reaching fever pitch, in spite of the cricket being of the highest calibre. Probably the pristinely administered ICC needs to take a lesson or two about marketing and tournament showcasing from a beleaguered, vituperated but an innovative administrator.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Honorary awards should be abolished……
Sometime back, UK’s University of Bedfordshire awarded Shah Rukh Khan an honorary doctorate. Not only SRK, but also Amitabh Bachchan, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi and even Shilpa Shetty have been conferred honorary doctorates. To me this is a serious insult of a PhD degree.
I possess a Masters Degree from an IIT. During my two year course there, I had to work one year on a research project, on which I was eventually graded. I know how much pain one has to go through while completing even such a short stint in the lab. For PhD scholars, it is even worse – they spend five years in a lab, if not more, to earn their degrees. Honorary doctorates belittle the tireless efforts of thousands of research scholars in our country who have toiled day and night for this coveted honour. The authorities better understand that doctorates are meant for great achievers and not entertainers.
I feel that awards should be reserved for the fields they are meant for, like the Oscars for good cinema. A few days back, Sachin Tendulkar was made honorary Group Captain of the Indian Air Force. We understand that he has done tremendous service to Indian cricket, but this act was certainly not justified. Sachin would never be able to inspire youth to join IAF, even though he may encourage them to take up cricket. In fact, when chess legend Viswanathan Anand declined his doctorate from the University of Hyderabad after his nationality was questioned, he was not supercilious. After all, isn’t being Anand good enough?
I possess a Masters Degree from an IIT. During my two year course there, I had to work one year on a research project, on which I was eventually graded. I know how much pain one has to go through while completing even such a short stint in the lab. For PhD scholars, it is even worse – they spend five years in a lab, if not more, to earn their degrees. Honorary doctorates belittle the tireless efforts of thousands of research scholars in our country who have toiled day and night for this coveted honour. The authorities better understand that doctorates are meant for great achievers and not entertainers.
I feel that awards should be reserved for the fields they are meant for, like the Oscars for good cinema. A few days back, Sachin Tendulkar was made honorary Group Captain of the Indian Air Force. We understand that he has done tremendous service to Indian cricket, but this act was certainly not justified. Sachin would never be able to inspire youth to join IAF, even though he may encourage them to take up cricket. In fact, when chess legend Viswanathan Anand declined his doctorate from the University of Hyderabad after his nationality was questioned, he was not supercilious. After all, isn’t being Anand good enough?
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Indian Cinema has to reach out to the West….
If one looks at the Indian box office even last year, one would regretfully see that among the five biggest hits, the second biggest hit after 3 Idiots is Avatar. There used to be a time when even the best of Hollywood movies did not break any records in India. You would find a lot of people around you gloating about Indian films going to 50 countries and winning awards and so on. However, the thing is that only Indians, and not the natives, are watching Indian films in those 50 countries.
In the last two decades, India has been able to export its culture through music, sport and literature, but never through films. The west has however been able to significantly influence our culture with their technologically and cinematically superior forms of cinema. Although Hindi cinema, which is currently the face of Indian cinema, has evolved over the years we still have a long way to go. Dhobi Ghat, which is Kiran Rao’s debut venture, is supposed to be a masterpiece though it is yet to be released. We need more films like that to carve a niche for ourselves.
Indian cinema has to evolve as uncluttered storytellers, which was almost taken for granted in the days of filmmakers like Satyajit Ray. We should start Indianising Indian cinema to a far greater extent than what we are doing today. We should stop Hollywood from having destructive influences on our cinema. We have so much to offer as a country, as a culture and it is time we start leveraging some of that potential.
In the last two decades, India has been able to export its culture through music, sport and literature, but never through films. The west has however been able to significantly influence our culture with their technologically and cinematically superior forms of cinema. Although Hindi cinema, which is currently the face of Indian cinema, has evolved over the years we still have a long way to go. Dhobi Ghat, which is Kiran Rao’s debut venture, is supposed to be a masterpiece though it is yet to be released. We need more films like that to carve a niche for ourselves.
Indian cinema has to evolve as uncluttered storytellers, which was almost taken for granted in the days of filmmakers like Satyajit Ray. We should start Indianising Indian cinema to a far greater extent than what we are doing today. We should stop Hollywood from having destructive influences on our cinema. We have so much to offer as a country, as a culture and it is time we start leveraging some of that potential.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Educate farmers on proper use of pesticides….
It seems that our innocent and ignorant farmers, unaware of the repercussions of chemicals they use as pesticides for their crops, are feeding us into a slow death of sorts. Pesticide spraying is turning into the biggest issue to never have been addressed. Higher demands for certain crops have forced farmers to increase the rounds of pesticide sprays, but the problem is the cocktail of dangerous chemicals used for the purpose.
Not only is our health at risk, but also that of the farmers themselves, because they do not put on any protective gear while using pesticides. Hence they are easy victims to health problems like cancer, mental retardation, and infertility among others. Any pesticide sprayed on the fields also drifts and contaminates the nearby soil and water sources nearby, endangering the lives of so many people. The government has banned DDT and some other organochlorides as pesticides, but they have not done so for endosulfan, which is also a very fatal chemical. In fact India is one of the largest users of Class 1A pesticides by WHO standards, which are supposed to be the most hazardous.
The worry is there is little thought to an Integrated Pest Management System. Farmers do not have basic knowledge of how to use pesticides. In some areas, they mix pesticides and use a cocktail, without thinking an iota about its side effects. In most cases, labelling on bottles is not effective as it cannot be done in local languages. There is no information either on product hazards or appropriate methods of storage and handling. Even worse, many people use the empty pesticide bottles to store diesel or kerosene. India also has about 200 tons of obsolete pesticides which have not been disposed off.
High pesticide residues in many of our crops like cardamom have reduced its export by a huge amount. This is a huge setback for our farmers too, leave aside the state exchequer. Farmers have to be made aware of the proper usage of pesticides such as endosulfan so that they can mitigate long term health impacts for themselves as well as for us. Our leaders already know that India is a country which has an agricultural economy, but I hope they realize that too.
Not only is our health at risk, but also that of the farmers themselves, because they do not put on any protective gear while using pesticides. Hence they are easy victims to health problems like cancer, mental retardation, and infertility among others. Any pesticide sprayed on the fields also drifts and contaminates the nearby soil and water sources nearby, endangering the lives of so many people. The government has banned DDT and some other organochlorides as pesticides, but they have not done so for endosulfan, which is also a very fatal chemical. In fact India is one of the largest users of Class 1A pesticides by WHO standards, which are supposed to be the most hazardous.
The worry is there is little thought to an Integrated Pest Management System. Farmers do not have basic knowledge of how to use pesticides. In some areas, they mix pesticides and use a cocktail, without thinking an iota about its side effects. In most cases, labelling on bottles is not effective as it cannot be done in local languages. There is no information either on product hazards or appropriate methods of storage and handling. Even worse, many people use the empty pesticide bottles to store diesel or kerosene. India also has about 200 tons of obsolete pesticides which have not been disposed off.
High pesticide residues in many of our crops like cardamom have reduced its export by a huge amount. This is a huge setback for our farmers too, leave aside the state exchequer. Farmers have to be made aware of the proper usage of pesticides such as endosulfan so that they can mitigate long term health impacts for themselves as well as for us. Our leaders already know that India is a country which has an agricultural economy, but I hope they realize that too.
Hindi Cinema has evolved in the last two decades….
The list of winners in the recently announced National Film Awards is very significant. Amitabh Bachchan won the award for Best Actor, Paa was named as the Best Hindi Film, 3 Idiots won the award for the Most Pouplar Film, Delhi 6 won the award for the Best Feature Film on National Integration. All these films were based on socially relevant issues, but they were not just movies with a message. Their social conscience had been polished into a glossy sheen, and tailored for mass viewing and public acceptance. This is a clear indication of Hindi cinema’s evolution in the last 20 years or so.
If one takes a look at previous National Film Award (NFA) ceremonies, one would feel how much the paradigm has shifted in Indian cinema. Movies that used to regularly take honours at the NFA were those by Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Shyam Benegal, directors who had impeccable credentials for parallel cinema. At the other end of the spectrum you had Yash Chopra, who used mass entertainment as their weapon and bagged the most popular film award categories at the NFA. There was a distinction of the two genres of films.
Now that demarcation has blurred significantly. This can be attributed to a generation of film directors in our country who have shaped their artistic sensibilities after liberalisation. They are equally aware of our current socio-political milieu and the Bollywood potboilers. This breed of directors make experimental cinema of a kind that may have been impossible in the era of single-screen theatres. However, innovation in Hindi cinema is still a work in progress and it has to come at par with the best of the West. The good thing is that it has surely demonstrated its capacity for reinvention. I think that the best from Hindi cinema is yet to come.
If one takes a look at previous National Film Award (NFA) ceremonies, one would feel how much the paradigm has shifted in Indian cinema. Movies that used to regularly take honours at the NFA were those by Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Shyam Benegal, directors who had impeccable credentials for parallel cinema. At the other end of the spectrum you had Yash Chopra, who used mass entertainment as their weapon and bagged the most popular film award categories at the NFA. There was a distinction of the two genres of films.
Now that demarcation has blurred significantly. This can be attributed to a generation of film directors in our country who have shaped their artistic sensibilities after liberalisation. They are equally aware of our current socio-political milieu and the Bollywood potboilers. This breed of directors make experimental cinema of a kind that may have been impossible in the era of single-screen theatres. However, innovation in Hindi cinema is still a work in progress and it has to come at par with the best of the West. The good thing is that it has surely demonstrated its capacity for reinvention. I think that the best from Hindi cinema is yet to come.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The Indo-Pak Express touches all hearts….
When Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi took centre court in the men’s doubles final in the US Open Tennis on Eid, a billion hearts from India and Pakistan were dancing in unison. This was a special occasion, when sportspersons from two countries, who have been virtually at war for the past 60 years and continue to escalate tension between themselves, united themselves on the tennis court and rose like a phoenix from the ashes to reach the title round.
They made a statement to the entire world that peace and friendship between these traditional foes of South Asia was still not a far cry. If sports can break the barrier of mutual mistrust and hatred so effortlessly, so can diplomacy and dialogue. The important thing is the will to do it however. The effort was all the more commendable for Aisam, because Pakistan has been torn apart from within, by rogue elements within their army, their cricketers and nature’s fury. After the match, which was symbolically held in the US, Aisam said that people of America should not view Pakistan as a terrorist nation. He also stressed upon the harassment that Pakistanis are subjected to at US airports in the name of security checks.
This speech of his was not only reminiscent of the pain that these people have faced over the years just because of a few rogue elements, but also showed how sport can bring nations together and dispel all hatred. Recognizing the valiant effort of these two young bravehearts in promoting peace and harmony between India and Pakistan through sport, the government of Karnataka has announced a felicitation ceremony for the duo.
They truly deserve it. They have carved a niche for themselves in the world of tennis. From now on, all teams would treat Bopanna-Qureshi pair with a lot of respect on the court for their skills as players, just like they did for the Paes-Bhupathi pair. They would also elicit smiles and blessings from people of both sides of the Indo-Pak border for showing the way to a beleaguered set of politicians and generals, who just cannot find a way to peace and bonhomie between these two culturally and aesthetically similar nations.
They made a statement to the entire world that peace and friendship between these traditional foes of South Asia was still not a far cry. If sports can break the barrier of mutual mistrust and hatred so effortlessly, so can diplomacy and dialogue. The important thing is the will to do it however. The effort was all the more commendable for Aisam, because Pakistan has been torn apart from within, by rogue elements within their army, their cricketers and nature’s fury. After the match, which was symbolically held in the US, Aisam said that people of America should not view Pakistan as a terrorist nation. He also stressed upon the harassment that Pakistanis are subjected to at US airports in the name of security checks.
This speech of his was not only reminiscent of the pain that these people have faced over the years just because of a few rogue elements, but also showed how sport can bring nations together and dispel all hatred. Recognizing the valiant effort of these two young bravehearts in promoting peace and harmony between India and Pakistan through sport, the government of Karnataka has announced a felicitation ceremony for the duo.
They truly deserve it. They have carved a niche for themselves in the world of tennis. From now on, all teams would treat Bopanna-Qureshi pair with a lot of respect on the court for their skills as players, just like they did for the Paes-Bhupathi pair. They would also elicit smiles and blessings from people of both sides of the Indo-Pak border for showing the way to a beleaguered set of politicians and generals, who just cannot find a way to peace and bonhomie between these two culturally and aesthetically similar nations.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Procrastination is a thief of time….
Most of us have an ugly habit of delaying work which can be done then and there itself. We forget that there are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back. Postponing things into the future would never get anyone anywhere; it has never done so either. Procrastination is an energy-draining, time-stealing and life-robbing problem. It is a waste of time when one engages in low-value deeds.
Be it students, young people of the MNC workforce, or elderly people, their indulgence on the quintessential trait, of putting off important tasks for doing later, is beyond doubt. Too much procrastination can have a grim and negative effect on one’s lives – failure in exams, unable to get a promotion, paying heavy fines or penalties, or it may make you feel despondent or dejected.
The will to complete tasks on time, proper planning, prioritising of various tasks among many and executing the tasks goes a long way in avoiding bottlenecks in our daily work. At the end of it all, it is up to the individual to implement the given task on time smoothly, without any panic for himself or people around him. If tasks are completed on time, free time can be obtained afterwards, which allows us to complete all the great things we wanted, like hanging out with friends or watching a movie. After all, they say, that the busiest person in the world has a lot of free time.
Be it students, young people of the MNC workforce, or elderly people, their indulgence on the quintessential trait, of putting off important tasks for doing later, is beyond doubt. Too much procrastination can have a grim and negative effect on one’s lives – failure in exams, unable to get a promotion, paying heavy fines or penalties, or it may make you feel despondent or dejected.
The will to complete tasks on time, proper planning, prioritising of various tasks among many and executing the tasks goes a long way in avoiding bottlenecks in our daily work. At the end of it all, it is up to the individual to implement the given task on time smoothly, without any panic for himself or people around him. If tasks are completed on time, free time can be obtained afterwards, which allows us to complete all the great things we wanted, like hanging out with friends or watching a movie. After all, they say, that the busiest person in the world has a lot of free time.
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