A certain Ms.Roy brings me back finally from a hiatus of two months from writing. The case in point is Ms. Arundhati Roy. She should literally think of visiting Ms. Ekta Kapoor who can do a world of good to her in suggesting an extra "E" at the end of her surname. Changing it to "roye" ( "to cry" ) is more appropriate for her as she has picked this uncanny knack of crying over everything. Ms Arundhati and Co (which includes Medha Patkar) should be booked under IPC-Desh Bachao for "sedition" of Sanskrit for all that they stand for is against what the very words mean.Arundhati means "fidelity and restraint" and Medha means "talent". Perfect examples of Irony in Harmony.
Coming back to Arundhati.Once upon a time she wrote "God of Small Things" and won a "Booker". Couple of things went horribly wrong after that. She met Success who screwed her mind badly. And she turned herself into into "Dog [bitch actually] of All things" and ended up as a "Hooker". Her current work experience deals with screwing (Fits the job description, ain't it) the nation at "All" possible occasions. God forsaken "The Fidelity and Restraint" woman !! DUH !!
Meanwhile people stopped grabbing her "Small Things" way back (from the shelves).. and she's not getting any younger too to show something "Bigger and better" (works of art). Considering her current job profile doesn't provide her the 2 course meal, she decided to pick the pen and behave like a pre-laying hen † (literally) & get noticed. Lest I forget there was a bumptious Vinod Mehta‡ who thought of catching the aging Hen by its Egg and making an Omlette out of it. At least this way he ensured a good breakfast for himself once in a while.
† : Pre-laying hens are believed to exhibit a certain behavior where they are found scratching the floor/litter, rotating the body on the nest and collecting litter if available.
‡ : Vinod Mehta is the editor of Outlook where Arundhati "Hooker" Roy takes refuge to produce her crap.
It's 4.19a.m in the morning and I am sitting in front of my computer screen in the lab. Both of us are gazing at each other wondering who is a bigger ass. The one who never gets to sleep (my computer screen)or the other who is somehow overworked (me). While I am writing this post, I am also listening to an eternal number from the legendary Md. Rafi, the song being "Pukarta Chala Hoon Main". With the pin drop silence all around me at this point of time, and an etarnal chartbuster harmonising my decaying grey cells, poignancy seems to be getting the better of me and I close my eyes to let myself afloat into Nothingness. Lucid memories stand right in front of my eyes, about the times when dad would play these very numbers in our only available tape recorder on a Sunday afternoon while the entire family had lunch in that small flat of ours. Togetherness was the key then, with soulful melodies and with the family. As I stand to grow more professional, spending obnoxious amounts of time preparting for the next big deal, I am very badly missing my Mom and Dad besides me. Am I simply being a poltroon, afraid of taking on the world alone ? Or am I doing just the diametrical, trying to take on the world where the victory is Pyrrhic ? I want to unwind in my Mom's seamless lap, and feel the warmth of my Dad's affectionate hug, not because I am feeling lost in a cavernous world, but because I am missing them badly.
Meanwhile, Md. Rafi's soulful Pukaar is pretty much over and I have successfully descended from Nothingness to my Excel sheet.
In case you happen to receive a set of smiliar mails as given below ignore them straight away as it is a fraud. I have flagged this off with the Bill -Melinda Gates Foundation by speaking to them !
“Mail 1 – Claiming to be from Bill-Melinda Gates foundation
Email Id from where the mail is sent - mdayem@fci-cu.edu.eg ; gatesfoundation@live.com “
European Office
80/100 Victoria St.,
London, SW1E5JL
UK
This is to notify you that you have been officially chosen by the
Board of Trustees of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation UK NGO as one
of the final recipients in this year recent on-going Cash
Grant/Donation for Economic Growth,Scholarship Grant and a worldwide
Poverty Alleviation Scheme, please note that you have been selected
through your email.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF or the Gates Foundation) is
the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world,
founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. The foundation is "driven by the
interests and passions of the Gates family" The primary aims of the
foundation are, globally, to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme
poverty, and in America, to expand educational opportunities and
access to information technology. The foundation, based in Seattle,
Washington, is controlled by its three trustees: Bill Gates, Melinda
Gates and Warren Buffett. Other principal officers include Co-Chair
William H. Gates, Sr. and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Raikes. It has
an endowment of US$33.5 billion as of December 31, 2009. The scale of
the foundation and the way it seeks to apply business techniques to
giving makes it one of the leaders in the philanthrocapitalism
revolution in global philanthropy though the foundation itself notes
that the philanthropic role has limitations.In 2007 its founders were
ranked as the second most generous philanthropists in America.
These funds are freely given for your Business,Economic and
Educational Development,as well as the enhancement of the overall
standard of living of the less previledged people in your region.you
have been confirmed as one of the lucky recipients of this year recent
cash donation programme held in UK.You are also entitled to the sum of
One Million,Five Hundred Thousand
Pounds Sterling (1,500,000.00 GBP) as charity donations/aid from the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (UK)International Cash Donation
Scheme.This year cash donation promotion is the first of its kind and
we intend to sensitize the public.
To begin the processing of your cash donation,you adviced to contact
our donation cash remittance officer with your Grant Qualification
Number:[BMGF/109/231/BGB] and your complete personal details.
Finally,you are expected to claim your grant in no later than 20 days
after notification
Regards,
Mrs Sherry Owens.
Online Programme Co-ordinator.. BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION UK
“Mail 2 – If you happen to reply to the previous mail”
FROM THE DESK OF: JAMES DIVINE
BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION
ATTENTION: ENDORSEMENT AND COLLECTION OF GRANT AWARD
BE INFORMED THAT TO CLAIM YOUR GRANT YOU ARE ADVICED TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION BELOW:
FIRST NAME:
LAST NAME:
RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
CITY;
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
OCCUPATION
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
FAX NUMBER:
SCAN COPY OF STATE ISSUED DRIVERS LICENSE OR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT.
FURTHERMORE THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS FOUNDATION WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT INORDER TO PROCEED WITH THE SCHEDULED RELEASE OF YOUR GRANT,YOU ARE REQUIRED TO GET BACK TO US WITH THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS ON HOW YOUR GRANT WILL BE RELEASED TO YOU;
I. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO BE PRESENT HERE IN OUR OFFICE UK WITH THE FOLLOWING
1.PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION.
2 FIVE PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPH, FOR ENDORSEMENT DOCUMENTATION.
TO CLAIM YOUR GRANT AWARD AS WELL AS ENDORSE THE RELEASE PAPERS AS THE DULY ASSIGNED BENEFICIARY.
II. BANK WIRE TRANSFER.(wire- and currency-exchange fees) WILL BE PAID BY RECIPIENT
WE WILL GET BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS WE RECIEVE THE REQUESTED INFORMATION ACCORDINGLY.
Once again, today, as the mighty Sun dawned upon the Earth to shower its blessings, a thin streak of sunlight fell on my eyes, making its way through the closed window panes of my room. Powerful as it was it managed to wake me up and as I opened my eyes, sulking at the very thought of vacating my bed once again, I observed something astonishing. There were scattrered particles in the focus of my eyes moving unprovoked gleaming like Golddust in the beam of the sun rays. I kept lying on my bed embracing the delectable sight of the free flowing Gold-dust and marvelling at the thought of how a streak of light can make an otherwise detestable dust particle seem attractive.
As I observed more deeply the dust particles felt analogous to our real selves and the streak of light looked like the fortune of knowledge and wealth that we amass in our journey towards the invincible. Like the dust we all seem rather unwanted in the absence of that sunshine on us which comes in the form of knowledge and wealth. However, the more deeply I observed, the more these particles of dust seemed to weigh heavy on me. They looked forlorn, moving listlessly towards an unknown goal. I somehow started feeling like one of those dust particles absoloutely unworthy without knowledge and wealth and at the same time forlorn in the nomadic world where everyone else was fighting fortitudinously for the slim streak of light to feel precious.
I excogitated whether we as human beings were better off exploring our true selves or were we better off in a strong bonded network of human beings where the bonds mattered more than an individual, like a dust particle on a dirt bed. Was it even worth all the effort where I started my journey to make myself worthy enough, extricating myself from the bindings of a society and in the process making a stong individual self.
As I found myself intertwined in a plethora of thoughts, suddenly, the light from the sun which was slowly getting stronger got gripped by the darkness from the descending clouds. All the gold-dust had now vanished from the front of my eyes and in the same breath I found my existence being questioned. I agnised that as we all run towards being more successful and powerful in our lives we all leave behind the true meaning of our lives which stands in the bonding with all the near and dear ones. In the lull of darkness individuals loose any meaning that had been acquired in the brightness of the sun. What remains left is a feeling of oneness with the loved one.
Looks like its the season for being utterly (un)friendly with people.. second in a row dedication !! But I already sense to ruffle a few feathers.. OK !! So this one goes for someone who we believe (we - my fraternity) has the capacity to turn the entire EU "downside - up", simply with his sense of fashion...Forget the Jack Sparrows of the world when the Dick Sparrow is around us.. Even Monalisa would leave that smug for a whole-hearted laughter should she intend to come back to Italy in a few months time.. The Sparrow in contention has recently become the talk of the town when page 3 reports flashed the news about his trip to Rome... The grapevine is already abuzz with his next fashion statement.. Would he go back to his Yellow shirt, orange shoe combination ?? Or is he gonna don the Orange shirt blue tie and brown shoe...and what with his pot belly..is it going to be "potter" this time ?? and of course the spike "buster" hair cut, would it still resemble the last remnants of the bushes that be ?? And just imagine the Yellow shirt, Orange sneakers and the inimitable pot belly packaged in power-packed 5ft 2 inches..Isn't that a fahionista in making.!!! But the most important question around is - Is Rome gonna face its extinction - after all what if it was not built in a day , it can certainly be destroyed in one.. !! Not sure about Rome's future but the fraternity's clairvoyance does have some predictions about the "fall - winter" collection in Italy.. Thet say it's gonna rain "Undies" for sure in Rome. A lot of them too, since the Dick does fear his ass.. last time when the Dick got real red, it was because of a few Hockey sticks and Slip-ons that were overworked to celebrate Dick's birthday !! From then Dick decided against any kind of exposure and would sure love to learn from his experiences lest his hammock which played host to salsa turns into a vermillion runway !!!!
My last few posts have been more of rantings about worldly matters, so thought of instead making this a friendly note.Last week another one went down. Quite literally !! Wondering ?? What's up ?? Well a friend of mine, Abhishek as he may be addressed, took the sacrificial plunge into marital matters. I thought of dedicating this to Abhishek with whom I have shared a lovely friendship for quite a few years now starting from my Infy Mysore days. One of the best things about him has been his bubbliness and an ability to remain funny ever always.
Now although he is yet to get diving deep inside and unearth the treasures that lay beneath :-) and has still some journey to make till his marriage, he sure is feeling the heat from now on. I also in a sense shared the heat for sometime when the AC went off during his engagement ceremony. And if that is any indication, I better advice him to carry Himani Navratna Thanda Thanda Cool Cool talc in his back pack. He surely needs that in tonnes for the next few months as the heat he faces is only going to be aggravated by the Chennai weather. ( He has become the local darling in Chennai).
Abhishek after a decently long courtship period got engaged last week. Considering his love for wildly matters and an eye for trend (friend) spotting this long commitment was sure I / we dint expect when it commenced. Never the less now that he is happily engaged with a lovely girl I sure wish him a happy married life ahead.
As ironical as it can get, I am stranded in the "US". When I mentioned the same thing to a friend of mine, his response was both of awe and jest. He responded "Stranded in the US???".. "U r in, of all places, US" and "its no Haiti".. all in one breath.. But, Haiti or not, I am indeed stranded because of a certain Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. Now that my maiden trip to the US has got stretched I have thought of penning a few thoughts about this country and make some comparisons with India:
1) The simplest way to erect a huge GDP is to remove any sort of public transportation system whatsoever.. No buses means: more cars -> more gas/petrol/fuel -> more revenue ..
2) Develop new technologies so that people can go from being dumb to dumber..the newest most addition being GPS. 20% Americans before this invention couldn't locate US on the world map. Sure a GPS would now help them do so.. meanwhile the haryana villager in India too didn't know where hollywood was when some Miss Raabert (Julia Roberts) came to India...he thought Hollywood to be some gaon !! How dumb - guess a GPS should solve his problems too..
3) Make everything big and make people believe that their life is worthless when something is small. So now a family size pizza in the US would mean that a typical Indian family can have 2 dinners and breakfast for the kid but an American would just do good with one meal.
4) Make a brand out of every damn thing..even if it meant a sandwich or a Sarah Palin look alike porn star..
5) Make people pay for every damn thing..even if it were an incoming call on a mobile phone..
6) Encourage people to play basket ball..this would have a long term impact on the economy..more people playing basketball -> bigger / taller population -> which has its own impacts such as
!!more clothes per person -> more sales of clothes when compared to any other country in the world even when women almost didn't wear any.
!!more space per person -> bigger cars -> here we can get back to point 1.
and -> we can then technically multiply India's GDP by 2 at least.
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Adding this point on 26.04.10 on receiving comments from friends
7) Outsource everything. Manufacturing to China, Services to India and south-east Asia, food grains to South America. Then the 'House' can concentrate all its energy on something that is not exactly 'White' and absolutely not outsourced . i.e manufacturing weapons..Meanwhile outsource terror to the Middle-east and get a Nobel Peace prize..of course outsource that decision too. to Europe this time.
During the last couple of years, as the world has gone through turbulence having almost faced the worst recession of all times, the consumers have become wary of investments. The plastic-card happy consumer is embarking on an era of thrift. Today, as the consumers are saving more, they also want more value for every penny spent. To add to these woes the depleting material resource base across the world and increasing global population (expected to touch 9 billion by
2050) has only meant that the cost of living will increase significantly in the future. It would thus take a walloping effort from organizations and policy makers across the world to repudiate the Malthusian theory.
One such solution that could address the concerns raised above has been captured by an eminent Indian thinker, R.A Mashelkar. According to him what’s going to be crucial for the 21st century is Gandhian Engineering; which is all about getting “More for Less for More” (M4L4M) – more value for less cost for more and more people. This is possible only through a change in mindset of organizations across the world where they focus on innovation. However, this innovation has to be more of disruptive and less of incremental.
The last few grueling months however, have ensured that people across the world have realized the potential and importance of innovation for a sustainable growth. The following chart acknowledges the fact that there has been a credible increase in the amount of interest shown in innovation during the worst 2 years (2008-09) in recent times.
Incidentally, the last 2-3 years have also been the time when social scientists and policy-makers world-over have noticed a valuable Indian contribution to innovation and indeed have taken a serious note of that. The Indian contribution has been more on the lines of “low-cost innovation” punctuated by the idea of M4L4M, more famously termed as Jugaad, and is seen as the latest export to the developed world. Although the use of the term Jugaad remains controversial (the
word originates in Hindi and has a negative connotation), it has become synonymous with low-cost innovation. As we can see from the graph below, across the world, the reference to the term “Jugaad” has been a very recent phenomenon and has had a major influence emanating from India.
The primary focus today is about organizations adopting the low-cost innovative ideas from India. However, I feel this new concept of Jugaad or low-cost innovation should be handled deftly and shouldn’t be seen as a blind man’s navigation device. The innovations arising out of the Indian heartland, although being very-very low cost ideas, are many a times the result of a necessity and thus are purely a matter of chance.
Hence, while organizations today are ready to adopt ‘Jugaad’, there are two more things that they should be ready to adopt: learning from low – cost inventions in India at one end and on the other high-cost inventions from the west. Accordingly, what needs to be done by the organizations is not only to be prepared to replicate the successful innovative business models but also to have teams which have an eye for inventions from India. It becomes imperative to trap the local inventions (most of such inventive ideas from India/emerging economies don’t have a large outreach as they only fit the local bill) and tweak them to ensure a more global outreach. This would need organizations and policy makers to be ‘INNOVENTIVE’ rather than being simply ‘Innovative’ or ‘Inventive’.
As said earlier, being absolutely driven by low-cost solutions for people and having low-cost innovation business models would be a perfunctory approach. Business and policy makers should appreciate the necessity to also invest significantly in research to have the High-cost innovations. Although the probability of the realization of potential from high-cost business models is as good as the low-cost ones, the former model has the capacity to change the world in case of a success and examples in this area shall be: the emergence of Google or the stable of Apple products. These two organizations invest heavily to create a new market place for themselves, without compromising on their sustainability because of increasing costs.
A prime example of an organization in India which has adopted the three measures of ‘low-cost innovation’, ‘low-cost invention’ and ‘high-cost invention’, all under a single roof is the House of the Tata’s. Their ‘low-cost innovation’ comes in the shape of Tata Nano where they innovated the existing delivery model to produce the cheapest family car in the world. Their ‘low-cost invention’ comes as ‘Tata-Swach’ – a water purifier at less than $20 – where they invented a new technology and used naturally available resources to purify water. And finally, their ‘high-end inventions’ come from their foreign acquisitions of Jaguar-Land Rover and Corus.
The Hindu religion is divided into 4 castes – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas & Shudras. The Brhamins and Kshatriyas are the upper castes while the latter 2 belong to the lower caste. Without getting into much details regarding how even these castes came into existence, what’s important here is that they have been here for more than 3000years since the time of Rig Veda.
Brahmins & Kshatriyas formed the forceful ruling class with primarily two functions– the former having the power of intellectual coercion while the latter with the rights to physical coercion – and were indeed collateral in nature. In fact many times in history the two functions have been performed by one and the same stratum of the ruling class. The demarcation of the ruling class and the working class had developed primarily based on skin colour – which we would describe today as racist. The ruling class was considered the more powerful lot. On the whole the ruling class – comprising of the Brahmins and Kshatriyas – were more of a functional division with the opportunity of horizontal mobility among themselves, which not only meant there were inter-ruling-caste marriages but even professions were interchanged and adopted as circumstances demanded. The social organization was fluid within the ruling class. {Thethird Mandala oftheRigvedaismostlythecompositionoftheVisvamitras...Bhargava Jamaldagni(aBrahmin) becamea warrior. His son,ParasuRam,was arenownedfighter}. Meanwhile, a sub-caste/ethnic-group within this ruling class & normally considered as from Brahmin background, Kāyastha or Kayasth – are said in the Vedas and Puranas to have a dual-caste status (mixture of Brahmin-man and Kshatriya-woman) & considered one of the rare sects who are referred to as direct “blood” progeny of a Vedic God in the religious texts
As I have grown up over the years, I have stayed in societies within India which have been primarily multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-caste and in all probable ways cosmopolitan. To name a few of these societies – Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and not to say the least XLRI-Jamshedpur.Just thinking of ways, I grew up in Renukoot a rather nondescript town in a corner of UP, where my neighbors have been Keralite Brahmins, U.P Muslims, Goanese Christians or for that matter a house where the son had married a Russian. So, the idea of strict cultural or religious fencing especially drawn upon the Hindu based caste system never dawned upon me. It’s only now that I have started grasping the idea of the Hindu religion and its subjugation of people by caste. During recent times, I have had a scope of a more meaningful reflection into what the, now objurgated across a sect of educated elite, caste system means for Indians.
My scope of the caste introspection arises from the opportunity to look into the Indian marriage system from rather close quarters, where caste has played a central role since ages. Although, most of my friends are trending the idea of inter-ethnic and inter-caste marriages, I recently came across a fount where the very idea of inter-caste marriage has a huge opposition & has given birth to torrential outburst of fervid emotions. The case in point – one of the prospective families for the proposed marriage is Brahmin while the other Kayastha. This opposition to the Brahmin – Kayastha marriage (which going by the history form the ruling class) defies logic. This logic defying trend suggests that while human beings have progressed with their sciences, in certain areas people have become rather iron-clad, with their beliefs defying the very nature of how they came into existence and what those beliefs stood for. As people today follow their beliefs, of which many remain unfounded, having been concocted over the years by half understanding men, what has rather intrigued me is their longevity.
In today’s boundary redefining social networking world, where the unbeknownst interact with each other, can such beliefs, such as the ones based on caste etc., and having no scientific backing, hold their place? I believe, it’s a human tendency to hold on to the last piece of any idea before the inevitable departure. To the extent that it may even resemble the sudden spurt in the glow of a flickering lamp which is about to get extinguished. As, the world sees more of my specimen who don’t have the fairest bit of grounding in age-old beliefs, and who tend to evaluate every idea through a scientific lens, there shall be another extreme where people will only strengthen these very old unfounded ideas, only to face an inevitable extinction.
Why should I watch Hockey .. they never win.. and then we complain that cricket takes all the attention !!
This was my cheesy status on FB.. and I got pulled up for having done that.. din’t mean anything bad… was just venting my anger at India’s streak of losses in the ongoing WC2010 edition.. Who likes to loose.. at least I don’t..
Now let’s get it straight.. I am a big fan of most sports.. am kind of a sports person myself… so even though I personally don’t have a great love for Hockey or football (I follow only football world cups), I won’t disgrace these games per se.. my choice to like the game or not. I am a bigger fan of swimming which I am sure most of you don’t follow.. And let me put this forward… just to watch India play Pakistan in this edition of the world cup I changed my travel plans.. so much was I excited about the game (even though I knew India had lost 6-3 last time when they played them)
Now comes to the question of why should we blame cricket for everything bad that happens in other sports? We keep bringing forth this argument that in cricket we haven’t even won the world cup more than one .. & going by that logic wouldn’t ever catch up with the count of hockey world cups we have in our kitty.. but then world cups are not the only measure for a game… there are a few additional aspects that rake in a fan following for any game. Let me try and highlight a few points here:
1)No one likes losers / bad performers – is the bitter truth for the boulevards of life. In the corporate jungle worst performers are given pink slips.. on the sporting arena people shun watching the game.. Let’s take a few instances: Post the India – Pakistan hockey match which India won magnificently a lot of interest was generated for at least India’s games.. people flocked the stadium by scores only tofind the team sink badly, not once not twice but thrice in a row. So, now if people stop flocking the stadium, we can’t say that people don’t buy tickets… who would like to go and watch a match which India loses on its home turf.
Let’s consider lawn tennis; When Sania Mirza burst into the tennis circuit after having won the junior Wimbledon she got a huge support from the masses.. people cheered her big time internationally (she had even claimed that she sometimes never feels that she’s outside India..so much support from the crowd). Every win/ loss of hers was reported. Today people don’t even bother to watch her play since its almost certain that she’s not gonna get past the 1st round. Similarly, the logic holds for other games too. Even in cricket when we loose a game we jeer the Indian cricket team so much so that sometimes security has to be provided to the players' relatives..
Coming back to cricket, we are currently the number one ranked team in test and 2nd in ODIs. We may not have won world cup more than once, but then which other team has ? Barring the Kangaroosand the Calypsos !! Also, even if we din’t win the world cup ODIs, during recent times we have won the T-20 world cup. The cricket team has also done fairly well in most editions of the Champion’s trophy.. hence we have not been outright loosers… When did we last win any small tournament in hockey ? Anyone without digging Google ?????
2)Individual brilliance – This is another bit which is absolutely important for any game. Indian hockey is still known by Dhyan Chand and there has been no heir apparent to his throne. The Dhanrajs, the Pargats don’t even come closer. Compare that to cricket. The game has successfully thrown up individuals like Sachin, Sourav, Rahul, Anil, VVS, Sunil, Kapil, Dhoni, Yuvi, Bhajji, Sehwag.. the list goes on and on as they are monikers in international press. The point that I am trying to make here is that even if the team as a whole flops, a single gem in the team can be a black hole of sorts to attract the crowds. During the 90’s when our cricket team was no great a performer people glued to their idiot boxes to catch a glimpse of the little master. Similarly, chess which is so much of an individual game, a single Vishwanathan Anand rakes in a huge fan following. And then tennis.. who can forget Leander Paes winning the Olympic bronze ? even Sania brought in a huge following for the game especially among women and youngsters.
Indian hockey and football miss these individual gems. The only famous name to some extent internationally in Indian football is I believe Baichung Bhutia. Even in international football, although Argentina and Uruguay have won equal number of world cups, a single man called Maradona still counts for generating a huge fan following for the Argentinians. Today he is a stuff of legends.
3)Glamour quotient – Today games are not just played for the simple love of it. Any sport should be viewer friendly, and should also make good business sense. This is where glamour acts a potion. The glamour quotient arises at two different levels – the sport as a package and the individuals who play the game.
Sports which are primarily individualistic such as Chess or athletics or tennis, individual glamour quotient is the sole important thing. Let’s say a Vishwanathan Anand makes for a good TV presence not just because of his brilliance on the 64 squares but also because of his suave mannerisms while Koneru Humpy doesn’t make the cut. Similarly in the game of pole vault Yelena Isinbayeva or in tennis Maria Sharapova hog the limelight even when they don’t win tournaments. Also, how can we forget Vijendar Singh who was in the news more for his looks and less because for his exploits in the ring.
On the other hand, for team games the glamour arises from its viewer friendliness – even cricket has had to shun the longer version to make it more viewer friendly – and once again individuals. Likewise, even though the English football team is great and the sport per-se is racy and creates enough of adrenaline rush – making it very viewer friendly, the presence of a Beckham and a Rooney also help in garnering attention – one for his looks and the other for his bulldozer attitude.
Indian hockey lacks this glamour at both levels. Neither do they play at a speed with which the Aussies play nor do they have individuals who make a glamour statement. Hence, a failure in garnering TV audiences and generating corporate interests both as a team and as individuals.
4)Professional management – this I believe is the most important thing which goes a long way is addressing a game. BCCI for whatever we may sayremains a privately run body which makes it more professional than the other sports authorities. MS Gill had for a long time considered hockey as his fiefdom and ensured euthanasia for the game by carrying his personal agendas. Contrary to this, Jagmohan Dalmia for all his misgivings ensured one thing for the players and the game – and that was money. Can we claim any other sport where the authorities could loop in so much moolah ?? Talking about football, Jose ‘ The Special One’ Mourinho and Alex Fergusson remain some of the most well-known managers in any sporting event.
Do we even bother to raise our voices against the coach of Indian hockey when we perform badly, as we did against the Greg Chappals ?? Frankly, we don’t give a damn !!!
And finally one of my friends suggested ‘Nobody wants to spend even for a ticket... :(‘ . I would say it’s not about people not wanting to spend the buck for a ticket. But who would like to watch a game after spending a 1000 quid when one is sure of facing the ignominy of a loss with a 100% confidence interval.
