Hattrick!!

Guess what...

Australia are champions of the world again. As far as cricket is concerned, at least!!

Yesterday was the World Cup final, and as has become customary, they simply demolished their opponents, the Sri Lankans. The same Sri Lankans, who were thought to be the only ones capable of giving the Aussies some resistance, the same Sri Lankans with the well balanced team, yes, the same ones with four quality wicket taking bowlers. Well, what happened? Australia piled 281 runs in 38 overs!! Thanks to the brilliance of a certain Adam Gilchrist, who hammered 149 runs off 100-odd balls.

How is it that anyone facing Australia simply loses it? A team plays well throughout the tournament, and when faced with the Australians, they simply crumble?? This is what happened to India in the last World Cup final, and this is what has happened to Sri Lanka in this one. Why?

Isn't there any team who can actually beat these guys?? And I'm not talking about inconsequential bilateral series, such as the one that New Zealand won a few weeks before the Cup. In big tournaments, when it matters, where are the players?

Where is the rest of the world? Will the real challenger stand up please??

India's World Cup Debacle...

Well, India are out of the prestigious Cricket World Cup.

As is the norm with the Indian mentality, the knives are out, Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid are sure to lose their posts (at least, they will, if the media have their way!!), and once more India does not know which way the future lies.

But before that, there are certain issues here. Greg Chappell, it seems, is not very intent on taking too much responsibility for these losses: his reasoning seems to be that India did not field the side that he had been advocating all along!! Suresh Raina, it seems, simply had to be there... Well, for one, how many players did he not get as he wanted? Suresh Raina he wanted, he did not get. Virender Sehwag he did not want, but did get. Sourav Ganguly... well, let's just say he was a compromise.

But, now, just have a look at the stats... Sourav Ganguly has been one of the few batting mainstays in the Indian line-up since his return. Even in the World Cup, he got scores in two games out of three. Virender Sehwag got in only on the insistence of Rahul Dravid... and got scores in two of the three innings. And surely, even the best in the world can very well get out to a Murali doosra??

And what, pray, did the other 'deserving' players do?? Yes, the ones that Greg Chappell was proud to have in his team... the Sachins, the Yuvrajs, the Dhonis, and yes, the Dravids? It was on these batting mainstays that all of Greg Chappell's methods were tried and tested, all the processes put into place, all the flexibility in the batting order discussed, all the military mode fitness exercises practised. And all this, for what??

And then there's the question of strategy. Why was Robin Uthappa chosen? Probably because Veeru Sehwag's form was in question. However, the question was never one of whether Sehwag can bat; we all know he can very well bat; it was rather a question of him feeling good about his batting, and the ball hitting the middle of his broad bat. Well, when Sehwag seemed to be back in his elements after the Bermuda match, why not open with Sehwag? You have a certain Irfan Pathan in your squad, who can bat as well as he can bowl, and who has benefitted the most perhaps from Guru Greg's lessons; why not play him at seven, instead of Uthappa at the top? It's not that Uthappa left a blazing trail in the earlier matches! You have a certain Sreesanth in your ranks, who is perhaps one of the best finds of recent times. When Ajit Agarkar does not seem to be in touch, why not bring the energetic young man into the squad? And then there is someone called Dinesh Kaarthick, one of the most promising prospects, according to Greg, waiting in the wings; why not give him a game? You have, in Sourav Ganguly, one of the best opening batsmen of all time, someone known for his clean hitting. Why ask him to hold his wicket and play the long innings, when you know that he can very well tear any opposition apart, and yet play plenty of long innings??

I seem to remember Greg saying before leaving for the WI that 'current form' in the West Indies would decide the playing XIs. Well, current form in the Bangladesh and Bermuda matches suggested a lot... why weren't they incorporated? Who takes responsibility for that?

Mr Chappell indicated to a certain member of the media, that he was not happy with the squad to the World Cup. This was during the Sri Lanka series, which preceded the trip to WI. Well, could it have been the case that since he did not have the squad that he believed would do well, he was convinced that India would in fact not do well??

Questions, question, questions... where are the answers? Does a major change of guard, such as changing the captain and the coach, provide all, or even any, of the answers?

Should We, or shouldn't we?

Recently, a 25-year old woman was in the news. She had been arrested for creating panic during a flight, and for causing massive losses to the airline. Quite as it should be, you say??

Well, here's more. The lady in question had heard a few men around her discussing something that they planned to 'do', and she felt somehow that a terrorist strike was being planned. She sms-ed her fears to her father, from where the airline was contacted, and which led to the plane being called up as a precaution. It turned out that in fact there was no terrorist threat on the flight, and the lady was arrested and put behind bars after obtaining a report from the airline.

All this procedure is fine, but what message does this put out? A lady is suspicious of her surroundings, is sharp enough to alert the authorities (albeit, via someone), and what happens when it proves to be a false alarm??

And then, what of all the messages and signboards everywhere, that says that any unidentified bags should not be touched, and the authorities should be alerted? What if I spot such a bag, alert the cops, and it turns out that the owner of the bag was only visiting the washroom?? Will I be arrested too?

What of all the warnings in all major modes of travel asking people to report suspicious looking or behaving individuals? This lady did exactly that, and all she got was an arrest, and an impending court case.

If I am faced with a similar situation, will my first thought be to alert the police?

I wonder...

"The Innocent Man"

Well, that's the title of the latest John Grisham novel... only, this is his first work of non-fiction. And guess what, he turns out to be as good with reality as with fiction!

It's an amazing read, and made even more so by the fact that it's all true... It sometimes makes you shiver at what all can go wrong, sometimes makes you distraught at the inefficiency of the "system", and always keeps you glued to the book.

This is one book that we should all read, if only to get ourselves out of the comfort zone of the idea that the legal system and police work is always, or at least mostly, right. Perhaps it is mostly right... but maybe not as mostly as we would like.

Perhaps we should also consider if every undergraduate course should include a basic course on Law, and legal procedures. Just as we are given courses on Sociology, Economics, and Accountancy as part of our Engineering coursework (albeit, just the basics), maybe there should also be something on Law.

After all, we are all required to stay within the law at all times, and being unaware of our legal rights and privileges can sometimes put an innocent man to great danger...

As this novel proves chillingly.

Beauty is only skin deep...

Yes, that is the message some recent advertisements, and by extension, the companies concerned, are trying to give out.

One such ad is that of a fairness cream. In it, a lady describes how after using the cream, she "got her yesterday's husband back", and received as much care as before. She was even treated to a private dinner at a suitable restaurant!!! In other words, before the arrival of the particular product, the husband was not caring for the lady as much as he used to!

Then, pray what does the lady plan to do when she is not in her late 30s, but in the late 60s?? Does she plan to plaster her face with the product in question, attempt to look as though she were 30, and hope that her husband care for her?

It's surprising how ad ideas such as these come up, and it would be even more surprising if the target audience actually buys into them. Surely, most of us do realise that it is not really how we look that determines how people feel towards us??

Had the ad been for a product aimed at me, I'm not sure I'd have gone ahead and bought it...

Or am I being too idealistic??

Cricket, Money... and spectators

The India-West Indies cricket series started today, amid a lot of conjecture and hype around Sourav Ganguly's return, and Sachin Tendulkar's batting position, not to speak of India's preparation for the World Cup. In short, this was a match (and the entire series) that everybody was waiting for.

It turned out that the match would be telecast, "Live and Exclusive", on Neo Sports, which, hold your breath, only gives out a CAS specific feed!! Maybe someone forgot to tell Neo Sports that many parts of India have yet to implement CAS, and it might be a good idea to telecast for the rest of the cable-TV population of India, who pay out of their pockets to see these matches too. Even the newspapers ads from Neo Sports only boast of a minuscule small-print, yes, decidedly minuscule, when you consider the small print meted out by the rest of the field, declaring that the feed would be CAS specific. It's almost as if they don't want their prospective viewers to watch their game of cricket!

But perhaps the buck stops, as it always does, with the BCCI. Yes, money is important. Yes, sponsors and telecast rights form a major portion of revenues collected by the Board. But what use is a match telecast that only a small fraction of viewers can watch? Even while being alert to the amount of money that they earn, should they not try to ensure that the maximum possible number of people can actually watch these matches?

Some would argue that under this logic only free-to-air channels should get telecast rights. But the point made by non-free-to-air channels is fair enough: namely, that free-to-air channels simply do not generate enough revenue from advertisements alone to sustain their business of telecasting matches. Indeed, major tournaments that are watched by the entire nation, such as the World Cup, are telecast by the national broadcaster, Doordarshan, in addition to the paid channels, of course with a payment to the "Exclusive" Channel.

This situation, anyway, is different. Neo Sports is a pay channel; only, it has chosen to telecast only for the CAS section of the population. It is not a case of affordability here: even those who are ready to pay the money, are unable to subscribe, because the technology is simply not there!!

Perhaps Neo Sports should wake up to the fact that not everything about India is Neo after all.

Post Script...

My last post on a couple of films that I recently watched brought a comment from a reader. She wondered exactly how good or bad the second film is, that I gave it a No Comments tag??

Well, let me explain...

As I said in the last post, I try to follow the adage: "Speak well of whoever or whatever you admire or like; of the rest say nothing". Which might mean that if I like a certain aspect about something, I'll speak well about it, right?? Right.

Well, I still have no comments on Bhagam Bhag.

A wonderful film, and a 'No comments' one!!

When I used to study at International Indian School, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, there used to be numerous quotations or moral remarks displayed on the walls of the corridor. I particularly remember one such message: "Speak well of your friends; of the rest say nothing". I have since modified the saying, for myself, to: "Speak well of whoever or whatever you admire or like; of the rest say nothing".

Recently I had occasion to watch two new Hindi Films. One of them, Guru, is simply a wonderful film. I am no expert on film-making, nor do I call myself a film-buff. Nevertheless, I will venture to say that Guru represents everything that good cinema should probably have: a good story; a great script to tell that story; wonderful actors who can bring the characters to life; music that is germane to the situations in the film, and melodious and mesmerising at the same time; and great camera work.

Abhishek Bachchan sizzles as Gurukant Desai; Aishwarya does well as his supporting wife; Mithun da, Madhavan and Vidya Balan form a very competent supporting cast. Guru is simply one film that should not, must not, be given a miss.

The other film that I saw was Bhagam Bhag, about which I will venture to say nothing.

Two years on...

It's been two years since the Tsunami that devastated large parts of South-East Asia. Many people have gone back in to set up new homes, and new ways to survive. But how much work has really been done to make the journey back to normalcy as pleasant as possible? Destruction looms even now in many areas, and bear testimony to what went over them. Surely, new settlers will find it very unsettling to set shop in such locales?

But more importantly, are we as a civilisation better equipped to handle emergencies of this kind, now that we have experience of how wrong it can get? Last heard, neither India nor any of the of the other affected nations had any warning mechanisms installed that can forewarn of impending catastrophe. Should such systems not be installed on the double? Surely, the cost incurred in installing them is much less than the losses incurred in rehabilitation of the survivors, loss due to tourism, and rebuilding and reclaiming lost areas?

I wonder whose responsibility it is... engineers and researchers who actually come up with new methods to combat and survive nature, world bodies such as the UN, or the respective governments?

It's Christmas... but is it?

Christmas is here, but where is winter?

As Christmas approached, we were quite surprised to realise that we were still going around, even at night, in light summer clothing. What the heck!! What's Christmas without proper winter? And Kolkata is no exception: many regions reported a rise in temperatures from the average around this time... Some of my contacts abroad, such as in USA, said the same thing... It's cold, but not much snow!

When industries, environmental groups, and the rest of us are all bickering over the seriousness of global warming, should this ring a bell somewhere?

Is global warming catching up?