In one of my earlier posts I had written about the fact that Test Cricket needs some serious rejuvenation through creative rules and innovative administration. Well, if we keep having Test Matches like the one just concluded between India and Australia two days back, then we do not need to change anything. This Test match has proved that Test Cricket is alive and kicking.
This match can boast of quite a few special components to it – one of the closest finishes in the history of the game, a riveting display of talent by both sides, an epic battle between the two best sides in the world and of course a war of words on the field. However, perhaps most importantly, it was a palate cleanser. After the sordid match fixing allegations and counter allegations in England, India’s last gasp victory was an opportune reminder of the spectacle that the game can provide to all its fans.
The occasion was also a timely reminder of why Test Cricket is still considered rightly as the pinnacle of the sport. With its fluctuating fortunes that included at least four reversals in momentum, its period of consolidation succeeded by phases of frenetic play and individual contests, this Test Match provided a rhythm, a gathering and release of tension, that the shorter formats cannot hope to match.
For this tour the itinerary has already been fixed. However for future Australian tours to India, BCCI should definitely consider to shelve bland ODI fixtures in favor of an extended Test Match series of four or five matches. India and Australia have never produced a dull match and as two giants of the game they would definitely provide the much-needed fillip to cricket’s recent crisis of credibility.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Mahalaya has always been special…
Today was Mahalaya, the day which marks the start of “Debi Paksha”, a 15 day lunar period culminating on a full-moon day on Kojagori Lakshmi Puja, according to the Hindu calendar. Within these two weeks, Bengalis celebrate their most coveted festival of Durga Puja. In effect, Mahalaya marks the advent of the mood of Durga Puja. Hence this day has always aroused special feelings in me.
When I used to stay in Kolkata, I always started the day of Mahalaya by listening to the immortal voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra. His soaring recitation of Mahishasura Mardini (Annihilation of Mahishasura, the Buffalo Demon), which is a collection of shlokas and songs broadcast by the All India Radio (AIR, Kolkata) from 4 am in the dawn of Mahalaya for two hours, has always been and would always be one of the best pieces of rendition that any Bengali would ever listen to.
Unfortunately, since 2005, I have never had the good fortune of listening to this grand piece of music because I have moved out of Kolkata. However, today was different simply because Maa was present here in Bangalore and she never wants to miss Mahalaya on AIR. Hence I decided to exercise my volition and download the piece from the net well in advance and play it on this auspicious day. When I started played it exactly at 5 am, it felt as if I have gone back to Kolkata; the feeling was extraordinary. One golden voice of Bhadra totally negated the aspect of geography and location in my life.
Suddenly I started feeling that Durga Puja is round the corner, a feeling which in normal circumstances would have hardly crossed my mind, if I had not listened to the recitation. The propinquity that I have towards my roots, in spite of a physical distance from my birthplace, became prominent today.
The one thing that I have missed today though is gazing at Mother Ganges on this day, where people perform Tarpan Rituals for their deceased ancestors. It is truly an endearing site. On top of that, the sheer view of the serene and pristine Ganges with sunlight glittering on the waters is a pleasure to behold anytime. Even then, after a long long time I can say that, although I have had to attend office here today, Mahalaya has struck all the right chords in my life.It was special indeed.
When I used to stay in Kolkata, I always started the day of Mahalaya by listening to the immortal voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra. His soaring recitation of Mahishasura Mardini (Annihilation of Mahishasura, the Buffalo Demon), which is a collection of shlokas and songs broadcast by the All India Radio (AIR, Kolkata) from 4 am in the dawn of Mahalaya for two hours, has always been and would always be one of the best pieces of rendition that any Bengali would ever listen to.
Unfortunately, since 2005, I have never had the good fortune of listening to this grand piece of music because I have moved out of Kolkata. However, today was different simply because Maa was present here in Bangalore and she never wants to miss Mahalaya on AIR. Hence I decided to exercise my volition and download the piece from the net well in advance and play it on this auspicious day. When I started played it exactly at 5 am, it felt as if I have gone back to Kolkata; the feeling was extraordinary. One golden voice of Bhadra totally negated the aspect of geography and location in my life.
Suddenly I started feeling that Durga Puja is round the corner, a feeling which in normal circumstances would have hardly crossed my mind, if I had not listened to the recitation. The propinquity that I have towards my roots, in spite of a physical distance from my birthplace, became prominent today.
The one thing that I have missed today though is gazing at Mother Ganges on this day, where people perform Tarpan Rituals for their deceased ancestors. It is truly an endearing site. On top of that, the sheer view of the serene and pristine Ganges with sunlight glittering on the waters is a pleasure to behold anytime. Even then, after a long long time I can say that, although I have had to attend office here today, Mahalaya has struck all the right chords in my life.It was special indeed.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
India has to stand up against child abuse…..
Distractions of the ongoing violence in Kashmir, and the skeletons falling out of the closet of the CWG have led us to almost forget the shocking incidents of child abuse that have rocked our country. In Delhi, a school van driver allegedly raped, sodomised and drugged three children aged between 8 and 12, who were entrusted to his care, for a period of 18 months. We have given no attention and exposure to this heinous act.
There has always been a general public reluctance to confront the entire issue of child abuse, which to me is the most repugnant and unforgivable of crimes, even more so than murder and rape. In our country, a child, in the form of Bal Krishna and Bal Ganesha, is worshipped. Such detestable acts against such innocent beings are absolutely criminal. In the western world, even the Catholic Church has been shaken at its roots by the exposure of widespread paedophilia amongst its clergy, but in India, we seem deliberately to look away from this most shameful of perversions,and turn a blind eye to it.
Although child abuse is horrifyingly common in India, it has been criminally underplayed here too. Sexual abuse apart, children here are also subject to economic necessities which compel them to do hard manual labour, often in hazardous and brutal conditions, in order to survive. It has become a very common sight indeed that children are begging in the streets and I am very sure that they are made to do the same by some heartless and ruthless thugs.Although India has the RTI Act and the largest number of anti-child labour laws than any other country in the world, it also has the largest number of child workers.
It is time we step up our conscience and vigilance too, start implementing the plethora of regulations that already exist prohibiting such disgraceful and cowardly acts towards infants, and stop the future of our country from being brutalized, sodomised and tortured.
There has always been a general public reluctance to confront the entire issue of child abuse, which to me is the most repugnant and unforgivable of crimes, even more so than murder and rape. In our country, a child, in the form of Bal Krishna and Bal Ganesha, is worshipped. Such detestable acts against such innocent beings are absolutely criminal. In the western world, even the Catholic Church has been shaken at its roots by the exposure of widespread paedophilia amongst its clergy, but in India, we seem deliberately to look away from this most shameful of perversions,and turn a blind eye to it.
Although child abuse is horrifyingly common in India, it has been criminally underplayed here too. Sexual abuse apart, children here are also subject to economic necessities which compel them to do hard manual labour, often in hazardous and brutal conditions, in order to survive. It has become a very common sight indeed that children are begging in the streets and I am very sure that they are made to do the same by some heartless and ruthless thugs.Although India has the RTI Act and the largest number of anti-child labour laws than any other country in the world, it also has the largest number of child workers.
It is time we step up our conscience and vigilance too, start implementing the plethora of regulations that already exist prohibiting such disgraceful and cowardly acts towards infants, and stop the future of our country from being brutalized, sodomised and tortured.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Money and fame should never carry our cricketers away…
Young Indian cricketers of the past two decades have miserably failed to a significant extent on money handling matters, as well as in matters of keeping their foot firmly to the ground when financial offers are just too lucrative. The monetary incentive that the young fellows receive for playing a Test match, an ODI and a T20 match are just phenomenal. Add to it the IPL madness and the Champions League T20. The commercial endorsements are additional. There are many cricketers who debut at the age of 20-23, and at such an age, if you are paid so much, then you are bound to lose your head.
The only cricketer who has been an exception to this thumb rule has been Sachin Tendulkar. Even after he has achieved so much for 20 years, even after Sir Don Bradman had compared Sachin to none other than himself, he is still as modest as a child. That is why he is still scoring centuries whereas somebody like a Yuvraj Singh is struggling even to make it to the Indian squad, forget the starting line-up. I mean, Yuvraj is a classic example of what one should not do when he is doing well. Instead of concentrating on the game itself, I feel the fame and the glory just carried him away until the latter got the better of him. Similar is the case with Sania Mirza. She was so carried away by the glamour and glitz of the Page 3 magazines that she forgot the game, which had catapulted her to stardom a few years back. Now there is nobody to cajole her except a defamed Pakistani cricketer. Sachin has never allowed that to happen to him though.
Athletes from other disciplines from our country are never exposed to so much money so quickly, although sometimes they achieve a lot more than cricketers. That is why they are much more consistent in their performances. Viswanathan Anand has been the World Champion in chess for so many years now, but he maintains such a low profile. It is really worth emulating. In women’s boxing, MC Mary Kom has won the World Championship for 5 times in a row in her weight category. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have continued to make India proud on the tennis courts year after year. Saina Nehwal, although she is just 20, is a role model for me. No matter how many tournaments she keeps on winning, she is so disciplined and modest. The kinds of words she utters in interviews are so refreshing. You feel that here is an young girl who is only concerned about her badminton and not about which brand she is endorsing.
I feel that cricketers should always take a lesson or two from other sportspersons in our country as well. In that case we would not lose talented cricketers from performing consistently at the international level. The BCCI should also conduct money-handling courses in the NCA for the young budding cricketers of our country, so that they do not get used to flash-in-the-pan performances and do not get carried away with money and fame. This kind of initiative is highly imperative in the current sporting scenario in our country.
The only cricketer who has been an exception to this thumb rule has been Sachin Tendulkar. Even after he has achieved so much for 20 years, even after Sir Don Bradman had compared Sachin to none other than himself, he is still as modest as a child. That is why he is still scoring centuries whereas somebody like a Yuvraj Singh is struggling even to make it to the Indian squad, forget the starting line-up. I mean, Yuvraj is a classic example of what one should not do when he is doing well. Instead of concentrating on the game itself, I feel the fame and the glory just carried him away until the latter got the better of him. Similar is the case with Sania Mirza. She was so carried away by the glamour and glitz of the Page 3 magazines that she forgot the game, which had catapulted her to stardom a few years back. Now there is nobody to cajole her except a defamed Pakistani cricketer. Sachin has never allowed that to happen to him though.
Athletes from other disciplines from our country are never exposed to so much money so quickly, although sometimes they achieve a lot more than cricketers. That is why they are much more consistent in their performances. Viswanathan Anand has been the World Champion in chess for so many years now, but he maintains such a low profile. It is really worth emulating. In women’s boxing, MC Mary Kom has won the World Championship for 5 times in a row in her weight category. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have continued to make India proud on the tennis courts year after year. Saina Nehwal, although she is just 20, is a role model for me. No matter how many tournaments she keeps on winning, she is so disciplined and modest. The kinds of words she utters in interviews are so refreshing. You feel that here is an young girl who is only concerned about her badminton and not about which brand she is endorsing.
I feel that cricketers should always take a lesson or two from other sportspersons in our country as well. In that case we would not lose talented cricketers from performing consistently at the international level. The BCCI should also conduct money-handling courses in the NCA for the young budding cricketers of our country, so that they do not get used to flash-in-the-pan performances and do not get carried away with money and fame. This kind of initiative is highly imperative in the current sporting scenario in our country.
Team sport creates tremendous bonding…
If you happen to be working with a group of people with whom you do not bond well at all, with whom you have constant bitter altercations or differences of opinion which turn sour, then engaging in team sports with them is the solution to your problem. There are many companies who organize such team sports as part of their HR initiatives to build team spirit. Believe me, it works miraculously well.
When I joined GE a few years back, as any new joinee would, I did not interact with too many people. There were around 75 people in our team then, and it was simply not possible to talk to and be friendly to every one of them. However, in the course of time, I have participated in quite a few tournaments like cricket, football and volleyball, which are team sports and require team spirit to succeed. On the field, you always want to win and you do not care whether you get along with a guy personally, if he happens to be in your team in the sport. You want to help each other out so that your team wins.
In doing so, you subconsciously develop a bonding with different persons, which actually sustains itself in your workplace as well. This is of tremendous value when you are into some project together. You tend to remember all the good times that you must have had on the field, the strategies that might have won you a point or a match, and the enjoyment you must have had after defeating the opposition. This makes to actually fulfill your technical deliverables far better than when you do not have any team building exercise. This was how we developed camaraderie among students of different departments and hostels when we used to be in IIT. That is why they say that sport is a great leveler as well as a great uniter.
When I joined GE a few years back, as any new joinee would, I did not interact with too many people. There were around 75 people in our team then, and it was simply not possible to talk to and be friendly to every one of them. However, in the course of time, I have participated in quite a few tournaments like cricket, football and volleyball, which are team sports and require team spirit to succeed. On the field, you always want to win and you do not care whether you get along with a guy personally, if he happens to be in your team in the sport. You want to help each other out so that your team wins.
In doing so, you subconsciously develop a bonding with different persons, which actually sustains itself in your workplace as well. This is of tremendous value when you are into some project together. You tend to remember all the good times that you must have had on the field, the strategies that might have won you a point or a match, and the enjoyment you must have had after defeating the opposition. This makes to actually fulfill your technical deliverables far better than when you do not have any team building exercise. This was how we developed camaraderie among students of different departments and hostels when we used to be in IIT. That is why they say that sport is a great leveler as well as a great uniter.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Ray’s characterisations were unique and extraordinary….
If I am not wrong, Satyajit Ray has directed around 35 films and 2 documentaries. I have not had the good fortune to view all of them. However, the one thing which has amazed me about all of Ray’s films that I have watched, apart from his rare ability of uncluttered storytelling, is his unique characterisations.
The first character that comes to mind is that of Lalmohan Ganguly under the sobriquet of Jatayu, which was enacted by Santosh Dutta in the Feluda films. The character was neither total comedy, nor was it complete austerity. It did not bore the audience with foolish jokes, but enthralled them with witty humour. In 1996, Sandip Ray tried Rabi Ghosh, Anup Kumar and Bibhu Bhattacharya in the role of Jatayu, but all of them failed miserably. They failed to understand what the character was all about although they were outstanding actors in their own right. This exemplifies the genius of Ray in choosing actors for his characters.
The amount and clarity of thought that went into Ray’s characterisations can be gauged from the fact that he used Uttam Kumar, the best actor that Bengali cinema has ever produced, in just two of his films. Suchitra Sen never acted in any of his films. It is not that Sharmila Tagore, Aparna Sen and Madhabi Mukherjee were better actresses than Suchitra, but the fact was that Satyajit Ray did not ever think of reputations, but did think of the impact that the actor would have in playing a particular character on screen. That is why he has managed to create immortal characters like Maganlal Meghraj (Utpal Dutta), Gupinath and Baghanath (Tapen Chatterjee and Rabi Ghosh respectively), and Prodish Mitter (Soumitra Chatterjee).
Nobody can forget the impact that Dhritiman Chatterjee had in just five minutes of screen time in Agantuk, or the magic that Tulsi Chakrabarty and Utpal Dutta had created in Porosh Pathor and Agantuk respectively. There were many outstanding actors and actresses in those days, but I cannot think of anybody else who could have enacted those characters any better than the names I have mentioned.
I mean, people like Tapen Chatterjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Pradip Mukherjee (Jana Aranya), Mamata Shankar (Shakha Proshakha, Agantuk), Swatilekha Chatterjee (Ghare Baire, Kamu Mukherjee, Haradhon Banerjee and Shailen Mukehrjee were superstars in their own right, but they have been immortalised by Ray. Such was the greatness of the man that he could transform even lesser actors into outstanding performers, and one would never be able to reproduce them on screen again, apart from ray himself. That is why he was the greatest film maker that India has ever seen.
The first character that comes to mind is that of Lalmohan Ganguly under the sobriquet of Jatayu, which was enacted by Santosh Dutta in the Feluda films. The character was neither total comedy, nor was it complete austerity. It did not bore the audience with foolish jokes, but enthralled them with witty humour. In 1996, Sandip Ray tried Rabi Ghosh, Anup Kumar and Bibhu Bhattacharya in the role of Jatayu, but all of them failed miserably. They failed to understand what the character was all about although they were outstanding actors in their own right. This exemplifies the genius of Ray in choosing actors for his characters.
The amount and clarity of thought that went into Ray’s characterisations can be gauged from the fact that he used Uttam Kumar, the best actor that Bengali cinema has ever produced, in just two of his films. Suchitra Sen never acted in any of his films. It is not that Sharmila Tagore, Aparna Sen and Madhabi Mukherjee were better actresses than Suchitra, but the fact was that Satyajit Ray did not ever think of reputations, but did think of the impact that the actor would have in playing a particular character on screen. That is why he has managed to create immortal characters like Maganlal Meghraj (Utpal Dutta), Gupinath and Baghanath (Tapen Chatterjee and Rabi Ghosh respectively), and Prodish Mitter (Soumitra Chatterjee).
Nobody can forget the impact that Dhritiman Chatterjee had in just five minutes of screen time in Agantuk, or the magic that Tulsi Chakrabarty and Utpal Dutta had created in Porosh Pathor and Agantuk respectively. There were many outstanding actors and actresses in those days, but I cannot think of anybody else who could have enacted those characters any better than the names I have mentioned.
I mean, people like Tapen Chatterjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Pradip Mukherjee (Jana Aranya), Mamata Shankar (Shakha Proshakha, Agantuk), Swatilekha Chatterjee (Ghare Baire, Kamu Mukherjee, Haradhon Banerjee and Shailen Mukehrjee were superstars in their own right, but they have been immortalised by Ray. Such was the greatness of the man that he could transform even lesser actors into outstanding performers, and one would never be able to reproduce them on screen again, apart from ray himself. That is why he was the greatest film maker that India has ever seen.
Media should be more responsible…..
Media hype on different issues, sometimes even before events occur, can really put you off your senses as it is such a potent medium of communication. Sometimes I feel that issues should not be blown out of proportion. It may wreak havoc even in places where peace would have been a certainty. Media can make a break a life. It may praise people unnecessarily and prevent them from sustaining brilliance; it may even rebuke innocent people and inflict permanent damage as well.
Before the Ayodhya verdict was declared a couple of days back, from almost a fortnight before that, there was such a huge anticipation that was created, that the government was forced to deploy even IAF choppers, leave alone the army and paramilitary forces in sensitive areas of the country. However, in Ayodhya itself, the ground situation was perfectly normal throughout. Just because of the media hype, schools, colleges and offices were forced to shut down for 48 hours. It was totally uncalled for.
Last year when the swine flu epidemic broke out in India, you could not open the newspaper or switch on a TV channel. They were spreading panic. You felt afraid even to touch your family members. When a source finally revealed the miniscular proportion of patients affected by swine flu compared to diseases like malaria and cholera, for which no panic is ever created among the public, you felt the redundancy of the entire exercise.
The CWG fiasco was blown out of proportion. It is true that the organizing committee did not conduct the preparations of the games well, but a blatant exposure of the shortcomings, printing pictures of filthy toilets may have been avoided. It just created a gloomy image of India globally. Issues could have been resolved internally. At the end of the day, the CWG 2010 would be held successfully anyway, but the media could have at least controlled some damage.
There have been so many instances throughout history where a bit more restraint by the media would have been so handy to prevent extreme unrest and inconvenience. Terrorists, who deserve nothing but whiplashes, get so much global attention just because of the media, but we forget birthdays of freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and Jatin Das in the process, which is a shame. Hope that in the years to come, our media, which is so powerful, would show some responsibility as well, and use their influences constructively.
Before the Ayodhya verdict was declared a couple of days back, from almost a fortnight before that, there was such a huge anticipation that was created, that the government was forced to deploy even IAF choppers, leave alone the army and paramilitary forces in sensitive areas of the country. However, in Ayodhya itself, the ground situation was perfectly normal throughout. Just because of the media hype, schools, colleges and offices were forced to shut down for 48 hours. It was totally uncalled for.
Last year when the swine flu epidemic broke out in India, you could not open the newspaper or switch on a TV channel. They were spreading panic. You felt afraid even to touch your family members. When a source finally revealed the miniscular proportion of patients affected by swine flu compared to diseases like malaria and cholera, for which no panic is ever created among the public, you felt the redundancy of the entire exercise.
The CWG fiasco was blown out of proportion. It is true that the organizing committee did not conduct the preparations of the games well, but a blatant exposure of the shortcomings, printing pictures of filthy toilets may have been avoided. It just created a gloomy image of India globally. Issues could have been resolved internally. At the end of the day, the CWG 2010 would be held successfully anyway, but the media could have at least controlled some damage.
There have been so many instances throughout history where a bit more restraint by the media would have been so handy to prevent extreme unrest and inconvenience. Terrorists, who deserve nothing but whiplashes, get so much global attention just because of the media, but we forget birthdays of freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and Jatin Das in the process, which is a shame. Hope that in the years to come, our media, which is so powerful, would show some responsibility as well, and use their influences constructively.
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