Its just a gist of the important & interesting happenings of 2009, mostly in India. Some news were interesting, some were serious, some were just hype. I am listing out some events which I found interesting. These are not in any order.
Shashi Tharoor - Cattle Class
Scrapping of CBSE Class X Exam by Kapil Sibal
Rakhi Ka Swayamwar
Google Wave
IPL 2 shifting to South Africa
Governor N D Tiwari's Sex Scandal
Mayawati's Statues all over UP
Water on the Moon
Maldives cabinet to go underwater
Nepal cabinet holds meeting on Mount Everest
Delhi's Gay Parade & Article 377
Goof up @ Sharm-el-Sheikh
1 Lakh Car - Nano
CAT 2009 Online
Tiger Woods Scandal
Actor Shiney Ahuja detained on rape charges
Journalist hurls shoe at P Chidambaram
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
2 Great Ad Campaigns of 2009
Nowadays news sites are flooded with many "Greatest in Decade" kind of lists. Today only I saw ‘50 People Who Shaped the Decade’ in FT.
After all these I thought of making my own lists too. I pondered over it and came out with '2 Great Ad Campaigns of 2009'.
1) 'Jaago Re': I dont know how many of you would remember the ads but I remember it very well. One was about a vote canvassing by a politician where the hero asks the politician about his qualification.
"Kon sa job??"
"Desh ko chalane ka Job."
Then there was also one ad where a group of students ask people to wake up, as they tell that "Agar aap Election ke Din Vote nahi ker rahe ho to aap So rahe ho."
"Roz subah sirf utho nahi, Jaago Re."
Jaago Re on Wikipedia
We were so inspired by this campaign that we did 8 Nukkad shows in our office on this theme of awakening people to vote.
Jaago Re has now started a campaign against Corruption / Bribe.
Hats off to Lowe & Tata Tea.
2) ZooZoo: ZooZoo is an advertisement characters / campaign promoted by Vodafone. It 1st started during IPL2. After that it caught the attention of the whole of India. Everywhere we could see talks of ZooZoos. So many forwards started floating about its making and all. Initially we thought of it as an animation. Only later we believed it to be men wearing such clothes.
The ads became great hit among people. People started following it on Facebook and other social networking sites. Wikipedia says that there are more than 200 pages on ZooZoos having more than 2 hundred thousand fans, growing daily. It further adds that the ads were viewed by lakhs of people in Youtube.
The campaign received the first People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) 2009 Glitterbox Award. Ogilvy & Mather gets the credit here.
And thus we lost our 'Hutch ka Kutta' - 'Pug'. :(
After all these I thought of making my own lists too. I pondered over it and came out with '2 Great Ad Campaigns of 2009'.
1) 'Jaago Re': I dont know how many of you would remember the ads but I remember it very well. One was about a vote canvassing by a politician where the hero asks the politician about his qualification.
"Kon sa job??"
"Desh ko chalane ka Job."
Then there was also one ad where a group of students ask people to wake up, as they tell that "Agar aap Election ke Din Vote nahi ker rahe ho to aap So rahe ho."
"Roz subah sirf utho nahi, Jaago Re."
Jaago Re on Wikipedia
We were so inspired by this campaign that we did 8 Nukkad shows in our office on this theme of awakening people to vote.
Jaago Re has now started a campaign against Corruption / Bribe.
Hats off to Lowe & Tata Tea.
2) ZooZoo: ZooZoo is an advertisement characters / campaign promoted by Vodafone. It 1st started during IPL2. After that it caught the attention of the whole of India. Everywhere we could see talks of ZooZoos. So many forwards started floating about its making and all. Initially we thought of it as an animation. Only later we believed it to be men wearing such clothes.
The ads became great hit among people. People started following it on Facebook and other social networking sites. Wikipedia says that there are more than 200 pages on ZooZoos having more than 2 hundred thousand fans, growing daily. It further adds that the ads were viewed by lakhs of people in Youtube.
The campaign received the first People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) 2009 Glitterbox Award. Ogilvy & Mather gets the credit here.
And thus we lost our 'Hutch ka Kutta' - 'Pug'. :(
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Ranking Rules
I can’t believe that so many engrossing things could happen in a cricket test series!! The first interesting thing was about the venue of the third test, i.e. the Brabourne Stadium. It was the first Test match here since 1973. Since then, the Wankhede Stadium was hosting Test matches in Mumbai. Now Wankhede is undergoing a major renovation for the 2011 World Cup. Another interesting thing about Brabourne is that it was built on land reclaimed from the sea.
The other equally fascinating thing about the Test series was the innings of Sehwag. We were praying for him to break Lara’s 400* record of the highest Test score in an innings, but alas he ended up at 293. It is the third highest score by an Indian, the top two scores of 319 and 309 are also with him. That day he also scored the second fastest double ton in the world, missing the fastest by just 15 balls. He also has the 3rd and the 4th fastest double century in his name. That high-octane, breathtaking innings with blistering pace helped India become the No. 1 Test-playing team.
No.1? How? Who decides it? On what basis the rankings are done? These questions were puzzling me. Then I searched for it in Wikipedia. There I found the rules of the ranking system. This is how the ratings or rankings are calculated:
• Each team's rating is equal to its total points scored divided by the total matches and series played.
• A series counts only if played in the last three years.
• Recent matches are given more weight. Series played in the first two years of the three-year limit count half.
• Find the series result:
o Award 1 point to a team for each win
o Award 1/2 point to a team for each draw
o Award 1 bonus point to the team winning the series
o Award 1/2 bonus point to each team if the series is drawn
• Convert the series result to actual ratings points
If the gap between the ratings of the two teams at the commencement of the series is less than 40 points, then the rating points for each team equals:
o (The team's own series result) multiplied by (50 points MORE than the opponent's rating) PLUS
o (The opponent's series result) multiplied by (50 points LESS than the opponent's rating)
If the gap between the ratings of the two teams at the commencement of the series is more than or equal to 40 points, then the ratings points for the stronger team equals:
o (The team's own series result) multiplied by (10 points MORE than the team's own rating) PLUS
o (The opponent's series result) multiplied by (90 points LESS than the team's own rating)
If the gap between the ratings of the two teams at the commencement of the series is more than or equal to 40 points, then the ratings points for the weaker team equals:
o (The team's own series result) multiplied by (90 points MORE than the team's own rating) PLUS
o (The opponent's series result) multiplied by (10 points LESS than the team's own rating)
• Add the ratings points scored by the team to the total ratings points already scored.
• Update the number of matches played by the team through adding one more than the number of games in the series (a two test match series will result in the match count getting incremented by three).
• Divide the new rating points with the updated number of matches to get the final rating.
India is now at the top of the Test rankings with 124 ratings. Bangladesh and West Indies are at the bottom of the table with 13 and 76 ratings respectively.
A similar calculation is for the ODI rankings. India there stands third with 122 rating points, just 8 ratings points behind the no. 1 Australia.
An interesting trivia; Afghanistan is the no.1 Asian country among the Associate members in the ODI rankings.
The other equally fascinating thing about the Test series was the innings of Sehwag. We were praying for him to break Lara’s 400* record of the highest Test score in an innings, but alas he ended up at 293. It is the third highest score by an Indian, the top two scores of 319 and 309 are also with him. That day he also scored the second fastest double ton in the world, missing the fastest by just 15 balls. He also has the 3rd and the 4th fastest double century in his name. That high-octane, breathtaking innings with blistering pace helped India become the No. 1 Test-playing team.
No.1? How? Who decides it? On what basis the rankings are done? These questions were puzzling me. Then I searched for it in Wikipedia. There I found the rules of the ranking system. This is how the ratings or rankings are calculated:
• Each team's rating is equal to its total points scored divided by the total matches and series played.
• A series counts only if played in the last three years.
• Recent matches are given more weight. Series played in the first two years of the three-year limit count half.
• Find the series result:
o Award 1 point to a team for each win
o Award 1/2 point to a team for each draw
o Award 1 bonus point to the team winning the series
o Award 1/2 bonus point to each team if the series is drawn
• Convert the series result to actual ratings points
If the gap between the ratings of the two teams at the commencement of the series is less than 40 points, then the rating points for each team equals:
o (The team's own series result) multiplied by (50 points MORE than the opponent's rating) PLUS
o (The opponent's series result) multiplied by (50 points LESS than the opponent's rating)
If the gap between the ratings of the two teams at the commencement of the series is more than or equal to 40 points, then the ratings points for the stronger team equals:
o (The team's own series result) multiplied by (10 points MORE than the team's own rating) PLUS
o (The opponent's series result) multiplied by (90 points LESS than the team's own rating)
If the gap between the ratings of the two teams at the commencement of the series is more than or equal to 40 points, then the ratings points for the weaker team equals:
o (The team's own series result) multiplied by (90 points MORE than the team's own rating) PLUS
o (The opponent's series result) multiplied by (10 points LESS than the team's own rating)
• Add the ratings points scored by the team to the total ratings points already scored.
• Update the number of matches played by the team through adding one more than the number of games in the series (a two test match series will result in the match count getting incremented by three).
• Divide the new rating points with the updated number of matches to get the final rating.
India is now at the top of the Test rankings with 124 ratings. Bangladesh and West Indies are at the bottom of the table with 13 and 76 ratings respectively.
A similar calculation is for the ODI rankings. India there stands third with 122 rating points, just 8 ratings points behind the no. 1 Australia.
An interesting trivia; Afghanistan is the no.1 Asian country among the Associate members in the ODI rankings.
Friday, December 25, 2009
United States of India
As found in Wikipedia, before Independence, regions of India were either directly ruled by the British or as Princely States ruled by local rajas. Independence in 1947 largely preserved these divisions. Following independence, instability soon arose in India. Many of the provinces as such did not reflect either the will of India's citizens or the ethnic divisions found throughout the subcontinent. Ethnic tensions spurred the Indian Parliament to reorganize the country along ethnic and linguistic lines in 1956 by means of the States Reorganisation Act.
After 1956,
> In 1960, Bombay State was split into the linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
> In 1962, the former French and Portuguese colonies in India were incorporated into the Republic as the union territories of Pondicherry (later renamed as Puducherry), Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa and Daman & Diu.
> In 1963, Nagaland was made a state.
> In 1966, Punjab was divided along linguistic and religious lines, creating a new Hindu and Hindi-speaking state of Haryana, the northern districts of Punjab became Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh was designated, the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana, a union territory.
> In 1971, statehood was conferred upon Himachal Pradesh.
> In 1972, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura were conferred statehood.
> In 1975, the Kingdom of Sikkim joined the Indian Union as a state.
> In 1987, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Mizoram became states.
> In 1987 itself, northern exclaves of Daman and Diu became a separate union territory.
> In 2000, Chhattisgarh (out of Madhya Pradesh), Uttaranchal or Uttarakhand (out of Uttar Pradesh) and Jharkhand (out of Bihar) were created.
And now on 9th of December 2009, the Central Government gave the nod for a separate state of Telangana (to be separated from Andhra Pradesh) which, according to Economist, caused a wave of protests even bigger than the one it sought to calm.
I just wanted to go a little behind all these. I wanted to know as to how many other statehood aspirants are there. I wanted to know what actually is the reason behind similar demands. I investigated on internet as this is what I found out.
There are more than a dozen statehood aspirants:
1) Telangana: Telangana comprises the northern, non-coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, and includes the state capital, Hyderabad. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which is currently the chief proponent of this demand.
2) Rayalaseema: Andhra Pradesh comprises of 3 divisions - Telangana, Rayalseema & Andhra.
3) Gorkhaland : Gorkhaland enjoys some measure of autonomy under the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is its chief proponent.
4) Kamtapur: In northern parts of West Bengal, the proposed state consists of the districts of Koch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and southern plains of Darjeeling including Siliguri city.
5) Bodoland: Per that agreement of February 10, 2003 between the Indian Government and Assam, the Bodoland Territorial Council, an entity subordinate to the government of Assam, was created to govern four districts covering 3082 Bodo-majority villages in Assam.
6) Vidarbha: Vidarbha comprises the Amravati and Nagpur divisions in eastern Maharashtra. After British conquests from Mughals and Marathas in central India, in 1953 "Nagpur Province" was formed with Nagpur as capital. Though State reorganization act 1956 recommended Vidarbha as state with Nagpur as capital, Maharashtra state was formed with Vidarbha as part of new state, under pressure from leaders of western Maharashtra.
7) Bundelkhand: It encompasses parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Mayawati has recommended it.
8) Harit Pradesh: It comprises of the western districts of Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati has recommended it too, with Ajit Singh of RLD as its chief proponent.
9) Purvanchal: Purvanchal is a geographic region of north-central India, which comprises the eastern end of Uttar Pradesh state. It is bounded by Nepal to the north, Bihar state to the east, Bagelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh state to the south, the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh to the west. Purvanchal comprises three divisions - Awadhi region in the west, Bhojpuri region in the east and the Baghelkhand region in the south. Purvanchal area is represented by 23 Members of Parliament to the lower house of Indian Parliament, and 117 legislators in the 403 member Uttar Pradesh state assebly or Vidhan Sabha. Mayawati has proposed to carve Purvanchal out of Uttar Pradesh.
10) Mithilanchal: It is for the Maithili speaking people of Bihar. Mailthili is an Indo-Aryan language with 45 million speakers. It has its own traditional script.
11) Seemanchal : Eastern districts of Bihar with Bhagalpur as its capital.
12) Union territory status for Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh.
13) Kodagu: The demand for creation of a separate Kodava state, a region of Karnataka, is based on the region having a distinct culture.
14) Tulu Nadu: The demand for creation of a separate state of Tulu Nadu, a prosperous region of Karnataka and Kerala, is based on having a distinct culture and language (Tulu). Tuluvas are culturally very distinct from the rest of Karnataka.
15) Greater Nagaland: Comprising of Nagaland and the Naga dominated districts of nearby states. It also calls for independence from India.
Now the Indian Government is tinkering with the idea of setting of a second States Reorganisation Commission to settle the plethora of demands for new states.
Nitish Kumar, the CM of Bihar, has called for the unification of the eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh, state of Jharkhand with the state of Bihar.
After 1956,
> In 1960, Bombay State was split into the linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
> In 1962, the former French and Portuguese colonies in India were incorporated into the Republic as the union territories of Pondicherry (later renamed as Puducherry), Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa and Daman & Diu.
> In 1963, Nagaland was made a state.
> In 1966, Punjab was divided along linguistic and religious lines, creating a new Hindu and Hindi-speaking state of Haryana, the northern districts of Punjab became Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh was designated, the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana, a union territory.
> In 1971, statehood was conferred upon Himachal Pradesh.
> In 1972, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura were conferred statehood.
> In 1975, the Kingdom of Sikkim joined the Indian Union as a state.
> In 1987, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Mizoram became states.
> In 1987 itself, northern exclaves of Daman and Diu became a separate union territory.
> In 2000, Chhattisgarh (out of Madhya Pradesh), Uttaranchal or Uttarakhand (out of Uttar Pradesh) and Jharkhand (out of Bihar) were created.
And now on 9th of December 2009, the Central Government gave the nod for a separate state of Telangana (to be separated from Andhra Pradesh) which, according to Economist, caused a wave of protests even bigger than the one it sought to calm.
I just wanted to go a little behind all these. I wanted to know as to how many other statehood aspirants are there. I wanted to know what actually is the reason behind similar demands. I investigated on internet as this is what I found out.
There are more than a dozen statehood aspirants:
1) Telangana: Telangana comprises the northern, non-coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, and includes the state capital, Hyderabad. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which is currently the chief proponent of this demand.
2) Rayalaseema: Andhra Pradesh comprises of 3 divisions - Telangana, Rayalseema & Andhra.
3) Gorkhaland : Gorkhaland enjoys some measure of autonomy under the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is its chief proponent.
4) Kamtapur: In northern parts of West Bengal, the proposed state consists of the districts of Koch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and southern plains of Darjeeling including Siliguri city.
5) Bodoland: Per that agreement of February 10, 2003 between the Indian Government and Assam, the Bodoland Territorial Council, an entity subordinate to the government of Assam, was created to govern four districts covering 3082 Bodo-majority villages in Assam.
6) Vidarbha: Vidarbha comprises the Amravati and Nagpur divisions in eastern Maharashtra. After British conquests from Mughals and Marathas in central India, in 1953 "Nagpur Province" was formed with Nagpur as capital. Though State reorganization act 1956 recommended Vidarbha as state with Nagpur as capital, Maharashtra state was formed with Vidarbha as part of new state, under pressure from leaders of western Maharashtra.
7) Bundelkhand: It encompasses parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Mayawati has recommended it.
8) Harit Pradesh: It comprises of the western districts of Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati has recommended it too, with Ajit Singh of RLD as its chief proponent.
9) Purvanchal: Purvanchal is a geographic region of north-central India, which comprises the eastern end of Uttar Pradesh state. It is bounded by Nepal to the north, Bihar state to the east, Bagelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh state to the south, the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh to the west. Purvanchal comprises three divisions - Awadhi region in the west, Bhojpuri region in the east and the Baghelkhand region in the south. Purvanchal area is represented by 23 Members of Parliament to the lower house of Indian Parliament, and 117 legislators in the 403 member Uttar Pradesh state assebly or Vidhan Sabha. Mayawati has proposed to carve Purvanchal out of Uttar Pradesh.
10) Mithilanchal: It is for the Maithili speaking people of Bihar. Mailthili is an Indo-Aryan language with 45 million speakers. It has its own traditional script.
11) Seemanchal : Eastern districts of Bihar with Bhagalpur as its capital.
12) Union territory status for Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh.
13) Kodagu: The demand for creation of a separate Kodava state, a region of Karnataka, is based on the region having a distinct culture.
14) Tulu Nadu: The demand for creation of a separate state of Tulu Nadu, a prosperous region of Karnataka and Kerala, is based on having a distinct culture and language (Tulu). Tuluvas are culturally very distinct from the rest of Karnataka.
15) Greater Nagaland: Comprising of Nagaland and the Naga dominated districts of nearby states. It also calls for independence from India.
Now the Indian Government is tinkering with the idea of setting of a second States Reorganisation Commission to settle the plethora of demands for new states.
Nitish Kumar, the CM of Bihar, has called for the unification of the eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh, state of Jharkhand with the state of Bihar.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
What is life??
A few days back my room-mate and school friend Nishikant was kind of atheist. We did not use to pray even a single time during the whole year. A few days back, he went to his native place, Patna. We thought that he would have prepared there for his CAT exam, but he did not. He actually spent time there on different ghats. He met a few sadhus there. His thinking made a complete turn. He became spiritual.
Earlier he used to discuss on these topics only a few times. The last I remember was our discussion on William Dalrymple's Nine Lives: in Search of the Sacred in Modern India. I was just thinking as to how a person like him can have such a sudden change of thinking about life and can start thinking in a totally different way. If he, then there could be many more who have gone through a similar situation. There could be many more who don't have the courage to change their way of thinking like Nishikant.
What is the True Way? What is the Right Path? What actually is the Real Meaning of Life??
Earlier he used to discuss on these topics only a few times. The last I remember was our discussion on William Dalrymple's Nine Lives: in Search of the Sacred in Modern India. I was just thinking as to how a person like him can have such a sudden change of thinking about life and can start thinking in a totally different way. If he, then there could be many more who have gone through a similar situation. There could be many more who don't have the courage to change their way of thinking like Nishikant.
What is the True Way? What is the Right Path? What actually is the Real Meaning of Life??
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Telangana??
There is a great debate going on through the whole of India. Its on the creation of new states, particularly Telangana. I just read an editorial in Economic Times. People everywhere is pondering over questions on the viability of the new state. Whether the new one will be able to support itself better than before? Whether the new one will cater to the social or economical need of the people? Whether the new state fulfil the greed of the local politicians? I think that this realm of discussion should also include the questions about the parent state, the state from where the new one is born.
Bihar, as an example, has nothing much other than agriculture to run its economy. It was already the poorest state of India, almost equivalent to Chad. Now, as it is said, it is left with only 'Bhayy' (Fear), 'Bhook' (Hunger) and 'Bharashtachaar' (Corruption). Though many people can argue with me on this but I just tried to give an example rather than giving exact facts about Bihar.
In a similar state, before carving out Telangana, I will suggest the Govt. to first study its impact on all the affected people and then only take any further step.
Bihar, as an example, has nothing much other than agriculture to run its economy. It was already the poorest state of India, almost equivalent to Chad. Now, as it is said, it is left with only 'Bhayy' (Fear), 'Bhook' (Hunger) and 'Bharashtachaar' (Corruption). Though many people can argue with me on this but I just tried to give an example rather than giving exact facts about Bihar.
In a similar state, before carving out Telangana, I will suggest the Govt. to first study its impact on all the affected people and then only take any further step.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
I can not sing Vande Matram
The controversy regarding singing of Vande Mataram crops every now and then. I think it is not a controversy rather a discussion among people with no understanding of either the song or Islam. I am very clear about my singing of the song. I DO NOT and I CAN NOT sing it. I have the reason. I will explain it here.
I was reading an article this morning in Time of India about the resolution passed by the Jamiat-e-Ulema-i-Hind on the singing of this song. I just want to answer / explain to a few questions / points asked / raised there. At one point it is said that "The rival Jamiat, headed by Maulana Arshad Madani (Mehmud Madani's uncle), alleges that the resolution is part of a conspiracy to create communal tension, instigated by Americans who had met the Mehmud faction in July.". I would like to tell Mr. Madani to please stop that old trick of blaming America for all the controversies. We are wise enough to think over our issues. We are no more fools that any outside power can create some controversy and divide us. And we also are no fools to believe in people like you.
Mr Asghar Ali Engineer says "both uncle and nephew have forgotten the Jamiat's glorious tradition of participation in the freedom movement, of which Vande Mataram was an inseparable part,''. Some one has correctly answered this question by telling that we love our country, respect it, are 100% patriotic but we do not worship anybody other than Allah. Not even our mother. We do not even bow to our parents to get their blessings. It is not in our religion. We keep patriotism to our heart, and so do we keep our religion. We do not need to prove it by singing the song. Mr Asghar do not find any objection to the translation of the song as he says "I bow to my motherland, what objection can there be to doing so?". But I do find, as I do not bow to anybody other than Allah. He says "The Mughals made courtiers bow to them and perform sajda (respectfully lowering and then lifting your hand to your forehead repeatedly). Why was this not condemned as un-Islamic?". I would say that it was surely unislamic and I do not even consider the Mughals as the practising Muslims. Akbar started his own religion. Jehangir used to drink heavily. ShahJahan was busy building Taj Mahal and other magnificent buildings with public money. We Muslims do not follow kings, we follow Quran, Hadith etc. Kings do not define Islam, nor do the Sufis.
Writer Sajid Rashid says "The Deobandis consider even singing salaams to Prophet Mohammed's glory as haraam". I would ask Mr Sajid as to which salaam he is telling about. In Islam there are only two festivals, Id-ul-Fitr and Id-ul-Adha. Islam does not tell to celebrate Muharram, not even tell to celebrate Prophet Mohammed's birthday which is celebrated in India as Milad-un-Nabi. Regarding the singing of salaam to Prophet, I would say for Muslims Prophet Mohammed is the most respected and loved human. But here also, some Muslims show so much love and affection towards the Prophet that their love towards Allah fades in front of their love shown towards the Prophet. Muslims should consider that Prophet was a Messenger of Allah. We should pray to Allah and try not to go astray.
Finally I would say that I am a practising Muslim. I am a true Indian too. So I sing Jana-Gana-Mana since my childhood days. The anthem do bring goose-bumps on me. But I do not sing Vande Matram, since my school days. So do not consider me as a follower of these Fatwas also. I do my independent thinking.
As for the meanings and translation of Vande Matram, I would suggest Wikipedia and one other website.
I was reading an article this morning in Time of India about the resolution passed by the Jamiat-e-Ulema-i-Hind on the singing of this song. I just want to answer / explain to a few questions / points asked / raised there. At one point it is said that "The rival Jamiat, headed by Maulana Arshad Madani (Mehmud Madani's uncle), alleges that the resolution is part of a conspiracy to create communal tension, instigated by Americans who had met the Mehmud faction in July.". I would like to tell Mr. Madani to please stop that old trick of blaming America for all the controversies. We are wise enough to think over our issues. We are no more fools that any outside power can create some controversy and divide us. And we also are no fools to believe in people like you.
Mr Asghar Ali Engineer says "both uncle and nephew have forgotten the Jamiat's glorious tradition of participation in the freedom movement, of which Vande Mataram was an inseparable part,''. Some one has correctly answered this question by telling that we love our country, respect it, are 100% patriotic but we do not worship anybody other than Allah. Not even our mother. We do not even bow to our parents to get their blessings. It is not in our religion. We keep patriotism to our heart, and so do we keep our religion. We do not need to prove it by singing the song. Mr Asghar do not find any objection to the translation of the song as he says "I bow to my motherland, what objection can there be to doing so?". But I do find, as I do not bow to anybody other than Allah. He says "The Mughals made courtiers bow to them and perform sajda (respectfully lowering and then lifting your hand to your forehead repeatedly). Why was this not condemned as un-Islamic?". I would say that it was surely unislamic and I do not even consider the Mughals as the practising Muslims. Akbar started his own religion. Jehangir used to drink heavily. ShahJahan was busy building Taj Mahal and other magnificent buildings with public money. We Muslims do not follow kings, we follow Quran, Hadith etc. Kings do not define Islam, nor do the Sufis.
Writer Sajid Rashid says "The Deobandis consider even singing salaams to Prophet Mohammed's glory as haraam". I would ask Mr Sajid as to which salaam he is telling about. In Islam there are only two festivals, Id-ul-Fitr and Id-ul-Adha. Islam does not tell to celebrate Muharram, not even tell to celebrate Prophet Mohammed's birthday which is celebrated in India as Milad-un-Nabi. Regarding the singing of salaam to Prophet, I would say for Muslims Prophet Mohammed is the most respected and loved human. But here also, some Muslims show so much love and affection towards the Prophet that their love towards Allah fades in front of their love shown towards the Prophet. Muslims should consider that Prophet was a Messenger of Allah. We should pray to Allah and try not to go astray.
Finally I would say that I am a practising Muslim. I am a true Indian too. So I sing Jana-Gana-Mana since my childhood days. The anthem do bring goose-bumps on me. But I do not sing Vande Matram, since my school days. So do not consider me as a follower of these Fatwas also. I do my independent thinking.
As for the meanings and translation of Vande Matram, I would suggest Wikipedia and one other website.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Games, We Played
Yesterday I was browsing through some tech-news sites and I saw an article comparing the latest gaming consoles from Sony, Nintendo & Microsoft and the latest games. In my childhood days, I remember, I used to go to a nearby video-games parlor and play games on a big TV with joysticks attached to a wooden box. One rupee per 10 minutes or you lose earlier. Every rupee was worth and valued. Sometimes I used to bring the console home for the entire night for just 20 bucks and I bet there could not be better nights than those, for a child. I did not find the mention of that console in that article, also not even a word about Contra, Mario, etc which I used to play then. The world of gaming has changed drastically since those days.
Even though I have tried my hands on PlayStation 2, XBOX 360 & Wii among the latest consoles already, every encounter has excited me like anything. These experiences have always rekindled the gaming-freak in me. Nowadays, what I see is that in the console based games Nintendo’s GameCube, Microsoft’s XBOX 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 have the largest market. The gaming industry keeps on releasing better consoles and games with the latest technologies. The graphics has improved so much that I am sure in near future we won’t be able to make a difference between the real video and the images in the games. It is said that the graphics features of PlayStation 2 are so effective that the console could be adapted for military use. See how near the games have come to the reality. Earlier we could maneuver only in the x-y coordinates. Now it is a whole world out there; you can move in any direction. Even the consoles have changed a lot. Earlier there used to be mostly two buttons plus a handle. The buttons were to either jump or fire. Now while I was playing ‘Need For Speed’ on XBOX 360 and bumped my car against an electric pole, I felt a jerk through the console. That was an awesome feeling. Once I went to my cousins’ home and there I played on Wii. The console of Wii is a wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect movement in three dimensions. I played lawn tennis. I was able to serve, hit the balls in all the ways I could imagine. It was like playing a real game, with the console.
Today’s consoles have advanced networking capabilities. The XBOX 360 has a unique feature that allows players to compete or collaborate online. I saw my cousins playing a game along with their friends online. They were talking with each others and making strategies to win. They were also having profiles on XBOX Live and were able to chat with friends. The gaming field has really come a long way.
I remember me having a handheld LCD video game from Nintendo, GameBoy. I have put its picture here. In this game, Mario must climb a building while avoiding barrels. The player must trigger a lever on the upper screen, activating a hook, which Mario must then jump and catch. If the player succeeds, a peg will be removed and Mario will return to the starting point, but if the player does not, Mario will fall to the ground and lose a life. Removing all available pegs in this manner will cause Donkey Kong's platform to collapse, and he will fall to the ground. Though it was a simple game, it was a kind of life for me and playing it was my best past-time. Later I got a few more hand-held games, however it was an Atari’s console which was my first TV based game. All its games were arcade type. 
After the Atari, I graduated to play Contra, Mario, Super Contra, Super Mario, Road Fighter, etc. I don’t know how many 1 rupee coins had been pushed inside those console boxes by me. I don’t know how many hours I had spent in those parlors. But one thing I can say for sure that I really really enjoyed those days and I still remember them.
Later on, during the college days, I did not have the privilege of buying gaming consoles. Like many others, I started playing computer games. There were many interesting games like the one where we had to handle a helicopter with mouse buttons. There was one very nice pool game. We room-mates used to make records for others to break and then again break those. For me the best and the most deeply engrossing game was ‘Need For Speed 5’. I even went to the finals of the college NFS contest. Some of my friends were mad about games like IGI, Counter Strike, Max Payne, etc.
Those were the days when, at least, I enjoyed my life the most. Every stage of game was a new day of life. Every win used to give a sense of accomplishment. Every moment spent playing was savored. Now, it’s a rat-race. No fun, no sense of accomplishment and thus no life. I made a change to this. I tried changing my life. I downloaded a free version of Mario. I now play it whenever I get free time, or you can say I try finding time to play it. I enjoy, not actually by playing it, but by somehow getting back to those days. Now no one can say “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.
Even though I have tried my hands on PlayStation 2, XBOX 360 & Wii among the latest consoles already, every encounter has excited me like anything. These experiences have always rekindled the gaming-freak in me. Nowadays, what I see is that in the console based games Nintendo’s GameCube, Microsoft’s XBOX 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 have the largest market. The gaming industry keeps on releasing better consoles and games with the latest technologies. The graphics has improved so much that I am sure in near future we won’t be able to make a difference between the real video and the images in the games. It is said that the graphics features of PlayStation 2 are so effective that the console could be adapted for military use. See how near the games have come to the reality. Earlier we could maneuver only in the x-y coordinates. Now it is a whole world out there; you can move in any direction. Even the consoles have changed a lot. Earlier there used to be mostly two buttons plus a handle. The buttons were to either jump or fire. Now while I was playing ‘Need For Speed’ on XBOX 360 and bumped my car against an electric pole, I felt a jerk through the console. That was an awesome feeling. Once I went to my cousins’ home and there I played on Wii. The console of Wii is a wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect movement in three dimensions. I played lawn tennis. I was able to serve, hit the balls in all the ways I could imagine. It was like playing a real game, with the console.
Today’s consoles have advanced networking capabilities. The XBOX 360 has a unique feature that allows players to compete or collaborate online. I saw my cousins playing a game along with their friends online. They were talking with each others and making strategies to win. They were also having profiles on XBOX Live and were able to chat with friends. The gaming field has really come a long way.
I remember me having a handheld LCD video game from Nintendo, GameBoy. I have put its picture here. In this game, Mario must climb a building while avoiding barrels. The player must trigger a lever on the upper screen, activating a hook, which Mario must then jump and catch. If the player succeeds, a peg will be removed and Mario will return to the starting point, but if the player does not, Mario will fall to the ground and lose a life. Removing all available pegs in this manner will cause Donkey Kong's platform to collapse, and he will fall to the ground. Though it was a simple game, it was a kind of life for me and playing it was my best past-time. Later I got a few more hand-held games, however it was an Atari’s console which was my first TV based game. All its games were arcade type. 
After the Atari, I graduated to play Contra, Mario, Super Contra, Super Mario, Road Fighter, etc. I don’t know how many 1 rupee coins had been pushed inside those console boxes by me. I don’t know how many hours I had spent in those parlors. But one thing I can say for sure that I really really enjoyed those days and I still remember them.Later on, during the college days, I did not have the privilege of buying gaming consoles. Like many others, I started playing computer games. There were many interesting games like the one where we had to handle a helicopter with mouse buttons. There was one very nice pool game. We room-mates used to make records for others to break and then again break those. For me the best and the most deeply engrossing game was ‘Need For Speed 5’. I even went to the finals of the college NFS contest. Some of my friends were mad about games like IGI, Counter Strike, Max Payne, etc.
Those were the days when, at least, I enjoyed my life the most. Every stage of game was a new day of life. Every win used to give a sense of accomplishment. Every moment spent playing was savored. Now, it’s a rat-race. No fun, no sense of accomplishment and thus no life. I made a change to this. I tried changing my life. I downloaded a free version of Mario. I now play it whenever I get free time, or you can say I try finding time to play it. I enjoy, not actually by playing it, but by somehow getting back to those days. Now no one can say “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Sports teams, their names & owners
Cape Cobras inflicted a highly venomous defeat on the Royal Challengers Bangalore. No antidote was capable enough to stop the poison from the King Cobra Duminy. The crowd applauded with fireworks. What a chase! What a start to the tournament opener! I became a fan of this team (Started following it on Facebook too.).
A cricket team from Cape Town named as Cape Cobras. What a unique name! I don’t know what’s the relationship between Cape Town, Cricket and Cobras but I can say that some sports teams have very unique name. Diamond Eagles is another team in Champions League from South Africa which has an uncommon name. I guess 'Diamond' could be because of the infamous diamond mines there but why 'Eagles'. We have another team Victoria Bushrangers in the tournament. Bushrangers, were outlaws in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. Otago Volts, Sussex Sharks and Somerset Sabres have equally strange name.
If we look at the owners of some of the cricket teams in India then we will see that this group is full with either film actors or businessmen. Kolkata Knight Riders, the "Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re" team, is owned by Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla & Jai Mehta. Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals are partially owned by Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty respectively. The other partner of the Punjab team is Mohit Burman from Dabur and partners of the Rajasthan team are Emerging Media and Lachlan Murdoch. Deccan Chargers are owned by Deccan Chronicle, Delhi Daredevils by GMR group, Chennai Super Kings by India Cements and Mumbai Indians by Reliance Industries. Vijay Mallya of United Breweries and Kingfisher Airlines owns Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mallya’s interest does not stop at cricket only. He also owns Formula One team Force India. He sponsors the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan football clubs. He also owns the company, United Racing and Bloodstock Breeders which has interests in horse racing. It runs the Kunigal stud farm.
I suppose the trendiest team names are the NBA teams. There one team is Detroit Pistons while another is Philadelphia 76ers. There are also some other teams with funky names like Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Bobcats, Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets.
Though English football teams do not have very unusual names, their owners are pretty rich guys. Roman Abramovich, among the richest in the world, owns Chelsea. Though Arsenal's parent company is Arsenal Holdings, American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke owns a large chunk of it and another major part is owned by Alisher Usmanov. Other American businessmen like George Gillett and Tom Hicks own Liverpool Football Club and Malcolm Glazer owns Manchester United. (We have a local ManU team also, Mangalore United. It plays in the Karnataka T20 league.) Manchester City is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Ruling Family of Abu Dhabi. Fulham is owned by Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed, the owner of Harrods. Fayed's oldest son, Dodi had a close relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales. Both of them died in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997. There is an Indian connection with an EPL team. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is partially owned by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.
Sports is always interesting, both on field and off. Sometimes it is people like Mohammad Asif, who failed a dope test, and sometimes it is people like Serena Williams, because of her outburst during the US Open. There are also times when sportspersons like Kim Clijsters inspires a million and Vijender Kumar encourages a billion-strong nation. Sports has its pieces. Champions T20 League is another chapter in it. Hope it brings joy to its followers and hope my hissing reptiles ‘Cape Cobras’ win it.
A cricket team from Cape Town named as Cape Cobras. What a unique name! I don’t know what’s the relationship between Cape Town, Cricket and Cobras but I can say that some sports teams have very unique name. Diamond Eagles is another team in Champions League from South Africa which has an uncommon name. I guess 'Diamond' could be because of the infamous diamond mines there but why 'Eagles'. We have another team Victoria Bushrangers in the tournament. Bushrangers, were outlaws in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. Otago Volts, Sussex Sharks and Somerset Sabres have equally strange name.
If we look at the owners of some of the cricket teams in India then we will see that this group is full with either film actors or businessmen. Kolkata Knight Riders, the "Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re" team, is owned by Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla & Jai Mehta. Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals are partially owned by Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty respectively. The other partner of the Punjab team is Mohit Burman from Dabur and partners of the Rajasthan team are Emerging Media and Lachlan Murdoch. Deccan Chargers are owned by Deccan Chronicle, Delhi Daredevils by GMR group, Chennai Super Kings by India Cements and Mumbai Indians by Reliance Industries. Vijay Mallya of United Breweries and Kingfisher Airlines owns Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mallya’s interest does not stop at cricket only. He also owns Formula One team Force India. He sponsors the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan football clubs. He also owns the company, United Racing and Bloodstock Breeders which has interests in horse racing. It runs the Kunigal stud farm.
I suppose the trendiest team names are the NBA teams. There one team is Detroit Pistons while another is Philadelphia 76ers. There are also some other teams with funky names like Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Bobcats, Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets.
Though English football teams do not have very unusual names, their owners are pretty rich guys. Roman Abramovich, among the richest in the world, owns Chelsea. Though Arsenal's parent company is Arsenal Holdings, American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke owns a large chunk of it and another major part is owned by Alisher Usmanov. Other American businessmen like George Gillett and Tom Hicks own Liverpool Football Club and Malcolm Glazer owns Manchester United. (We have a local ManU team also, Mangalore United. It plays in the Karnataka T20 league.) Manchester City is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Ruling Family of Abu Dhabi. Fulham is owned by Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed, the owner of Harrods. Fayed's oldest son, Dodi had a close relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales. Both of them died in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997. There is an Indian connection with an EPL team. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is partially owned by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.
Sports is always interesting, both on field and off. Sometimes it is people like Mohammad Asif, who failed a dope test, and sometimes it is people like Serena Williams, because of her outburst during the US Open. There are also times when sportspersons like Kim Clijsters inspires a million and Vijender Kumar encourages a billion-strong nation. Sports has its pieces. Champions T20 League is another chapter in it. Hope it brings joy to its followers and hope my hissing reptiles ‘Cape Cobras’ win it.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Come Out and Play
“Come Out and Play” is the motto of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held in New Delhi between 3rd and 14th October 2010. Though India has hosted Asian Games twice, in 1951 and 1982, it has never hosted the Commonwealth Games. It will be only the third developing country to host this event. Jamaica in 1966 and Malaysia in 1998 have hosted it earlier.
The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event, just like Olympics. It is held every four years. A total of 71 teams participated in the last Games, including 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Tokelau, a dependency, is expected to take part in the 2010 Games in Delhi. The first such event, then known as the British Empire Games, was held in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada. The name changed to British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, to British Commonwealth Games in 1970 and assumed the current name of the Commonwealth Games in 1978. There are a total of 31 sports and further 7 para-sports which are approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation. A number of optional sports may be picked by the host nation. In the last edition, a total of 4500 athletes participated in 16 sports.
Delhi became the host for the 2010 Games by defeating the Canadian city of Hamilton by 46 votes. This voting was done at CGF General Assembly in Montego Bay in November 2003. The preparations for the Games are already well underway at an estimated cost of Rs. 70 billion (US$1.4 billion). Delhi is expecting around 5,200 athletes and 1,800 officials. There are numerous civic and infrastructure projects being carried out to make Delhi a world-class city, ready to host the Commonwealth Games and guests in 2010. Delhi’s airport is being modernized, upgraded and expanded to handle the passenger traffic envisaged during the Games. Twelve new flyovers and several bridges and under-bridges have been planned to improve road connectivity with the Commonwealth Games Villages, the sports venues, and within the city. An additional 25,000 hotel rooms are being built to meet the requirements of the Games. India is also getting ready to cash in on the Commonwealth Games barrage of tourists. It is developing 20 tourist destinations.
Shera, the official mascot of the Games, is a Royal Bengal Tiger wearing a white sporting jersey and blue shorts. The Royal Bengal Tiger is the national animal of India. It is also an endangered species because of its vulnerability to habitat loss, poaching and environmental degradation. The Nineteenth Commonwealth Games promise to be Green Games. The Organizing Committee has made a commitment to ensure that the negative environmental impact of the Games is minimized. The Games will focus on waste management, forestation, anti-litter campaigns, sustainable transport, use of renewable energy sources and efficient water management.
India won a total of 50 medals, including 22 gold, in the last edition of the games in Melbourne. India’s highest medal tally was in 2002 Games when it won a total of 69 medals, including 30 gold. India has never led the medal tally. Hope as a host nation it will achieve this too.
I and many others of my age-group have never seen India hosting such a mega event other than the cricket world cup. It is a kind of first for us. I am very excited and waiting in eager anticipation to watch the Games to be held in India. I hope it becomes super-duper successful. Hope India shows its best both on the field as well as off the field in hosting it. “Atithi Devo Bhava”. India now has a chance to show that it still believes in it. Hosting a sporting event at a scale such as the Commonwealth Games is a matter of international prestige for the country, and is bound to provide a significant boost to India's global visibility, viability and the overall "brand India". India is heralded as the next world economic superpower and the 2010 Commonwealth Games will be another opportunity to project the nation on the world stage. The Games will also leave behind dramatically improved, world-class sports facilities that generations of India's athletes can use in the future. I am very thrilled about this event happening in my country and thus I try to track every development about it. And I expect that many of my fellow Indians too would be following the development.
Bolt!! We are waiting for you.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sportswomen in India
There are very few female sports persons from India who have gained worldwide prominence. And in the case of Sania Mirza, one would have to admire the acclaim and recognition that she has received. Sania is the very first female player from the country to be ranked in inside the women’s top 100 on the WTA Tour rankings. She reached upto 27. She became the first Indian woman to win any grand slam event. And though as of late she has fallen down the rankings, she has to be admired for being viewed as a role model for others in the country. If we look for famous female sports persons in India then she is not he first and never the last one, however she is among the most talked about sports person in India.
According to me P.T. Usha has been the most famous female sports person in India. People of my generation have grown up listening about her. In the 1986 Seoul Asiad, she created new Asian Games records in all the events she participated. The Payyoli Express is one of the greatest athletes India has ever produced. Like Anil Kumble Circle in Bangalore, there is a road named after her in Cochin, P.T. Usha Road.
There are many more famous female sports persons in India. Saina Nehwal is one such lady. She is currently ranked number 6 in the world badminton female rankings. She scripted history on June 21 2009, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after clinching the Indonesia Open. She has been named The Most Promising Player in 2008 and India too has hopes in her. Aparna Popat is ranked amongst the finest badminton players in the world. She has been winning the senior national title since 1998. Shikha Tandon is another such promising sports person. Though she has not made much splash uptil now, she has great potential to perform well for India. She was awarded Arjuna award in 2005.
Anju Bobby George made history when she won the bronze medal in Long Jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. With this achievement, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics. She was once ranked World No. 4 of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). In Chess also India has a few great female sports persons. Humpy Koneru is currently number two in the world for women. In shootings, we have Anjali Bhagwat. She was awarded the Arjuna award in 2000 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2002-03.
Karnam Malleswari, also a Khel Ratna awardee, won a bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, which made her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. In 1995, Malleswari won the world weightlifting title in her class (54 kg) with a new record. Dola Banerjee is a cousin of the singers Shaan and Sagarika. She became world champion in archery by winning the gold medal in the women's individual recurve competition at the archery world cup held at Dubai, in November 2007. Joshna Chinappa was the first Indian girl to win the British Squash Championship title in 2003 and was also the youngest Indian women's national champion.
We have many great women cricketers too, the Tendulkars and Dravids. Mithali Raj, trained in Bharata Natyam, was the captain of the Indian women's cricket team. Jhulan Goswami is an all round cricketer who is currently the Indian Women's cricket team captain. She bowls at an unbelievable speed of 130-135 km/h, which is even on par with the male counterparts. She won the ICC Women's Player of the Year 2007.
The list of great Indian female sports persons is endless. Bachendri Pal was the first Indian woman to scale the Mount Everest, and the fifth woman in the world. Even the famous Nafisa Ali was a national swimming champion. Some one has said it so correct that “Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece.” I suppose Indian sports’ masterpiece is coming out now.
According to me P.T. Usha has been the most famous female sports person in India. People of my generation have grown up listening about her. In the 1986 Seoul Asiad, she created new Asian Games records in all the events she participated. The Payyoli Express is one of the greatest athletes India has ever produced. Like Anil Kumble Circle in Bangalore, there is a road named after her in Cochin, P.T. Usha Road.
There are many more famous female sports persons in India. Saina Nehwal is one such lady. She is currently ranked number 6 in the world badminton female rankings. She scripted history on June 21 2009, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after clinching the Indonesia Open. She has been named The Most Promising Player in 2008 and India too has hopes in her. Aparna Popat is ranked amongst the finest badminton players in the world. She has been winning the senior national title since 1998. Shikha Tandon is another such promising sports person. Though she has not made much splash uptil now, she has great potential to perform well for India. She was awarded Arjuna award in 2005.
Anju Bobby George made history when she won the bronze medal in Long Jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. With this achievement, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics. She was once ranked World No. 4 of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). In Chess also India has a few great female sports persons. Humpy Koneru is currently number two in the world for women. In shootings, we have Anjali Bhagwat. She was awarded the Arjuna award in 2000 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2002-03.
Karnam Malleswari, also a Khel Ratna awardee, won a bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, which made her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. In 1995, Malleswari won the world weightlifting title in her class (54 kg) with a new record. Dola Banerjee is a cousin of the singers Shaan and Sagarika. She became world champion in archery by winning the gold medal in the women's individual recurve competition at the archery world cup held at Dubai, in November 2007. Joshna Chinappa was the first Indian girl to win the British Squash Championship title in 2003 and was also the youngest Indian women's national champion.
We have many great women cricketers too, the Tendulkars and Dravids. Mithali Raj, trained in Bharata Natyam, was the captain of the Indian women's cricket team. Jhulan Goswami is an all round cricketer who is currently the Indian Women's cricket team captain. She bowls at an unbelievable speed of 130-135 km/h, which is even on par with the male counterparts. She won the ICC Women's Player of the Year 2007.
The list of great Indian female sports persons is endless. Bachendri Pal was the first Indian woman to scale the Mount Everest, and the fifth woman in the world. Even the famous Nafisa Ali was a national swimming champion. Some one has said it so correct that “Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece.” I suppose Indian sports’ masterpiece is coming out now.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Ludo – I still remember
Last week I was at my native place. While I was searching for my old school diaries in an old box, just to get a little nostalgic about my school days, I found something very very interesting. I stumbled upon an old torn board of Ludo. Yes Ludo, that game which we used to play so very often. We never used to let a single evening of our summer vacations pass without a round of it. Whenever some uncle or aunt used to visit us, our parents used to instruct us to play a game of Ludo with their children. I remember once playing it even with my ‘strict’ grand-father; I played the whole game in utter discipline which was never my usual self.
Ludo, for those of you who have heard of it for the first time, is a simple board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens ‘goti’ from start to finish according to dice rolls. Some know it by its cousin ‘Pachisi’. Pachisi has a history dating back to the 6th century.
A Ludo board is normally a square marked with a cross. Each arm of the cross is divided into three columns, with the columns divided into usually six squares. The centre of the cross is the finishing square which is often divided into four coloured triangles. Each coloured triangle is combined with a coloured middle column appears as an arrow pointing to the finish. The shaft of each arrow is a player's "home column" and is five squares long. My favourite was red as it used to get the first chance to throw the dice.
To the left of each home column, one square from the edge of the board is a starting square, also coloured. During game play a piece moves from its starting square, clockwise around the perimeter of the board, and up the player's home column to the finishing square. In the space to the left of each arm is a circle or square to hold a player's pieces before they are allowed into play. Huhh, that much of an explanation!! We were the ‘experts’ of it. We used to make several rules and many a times break them too.
Usually, at the start of the game, the player's four pieces are placed in the start area of their colour. Players take it in turn to throw a single dice. A player must first throw a six to be able to move a piece from the starting area onto the starting square. In each subsequent turn the player moves a piece forward 1 to 6 squares as indicated by the dice. When a player throws a 6, the player may bring a new piece onto the starting square, or may choose to move a piece already in play. It was very pleasing to watch the face of the player who had all four of his pieces inside and he was throwing the dice waiting for a 6.
If a player's piece lands on a square containing an opponent's piece, the opponent's piece is captured and returns to the starting area. We wanted all our moves to land at such places. Once a piece has completed a circuit of the board it moves up the home column of its own colour. The winner is the first player to get all four of his pieces onto the home square.
We had some special rules like if a player's piece lands on another of his own pieces; they are doubled and form a "block" which cannot be passed by any opponent's pieces. Doubled pieces may move half the number if an even number is thrown. A doubled piece may capture another doubled piece. Ahh!! That’s called a ‘Double Bonanza’.
Ludo may seem pretty lame to most people, but when played with proper strategy it would be very absorbing. Another game, usually comes packaged with Ludo, is Snakes and Ladders. It is also as engrossing as Ludo. Here the cells are numbered from 1 to 100 and a player has to tread through it. The players would meet several ladders and snakes in between. And that adds the spice to the game.
I have spent much of my childhood playing Ludo and thus I got very sentimental about it. I immediately rushed out to buy a new one. Though it was difficult to find one, I found it at last at a small shop around a km from my home. It was a feeling of bliss when I found it. I did not buy it just to play it again, but to recall those happy days when we used to play and fight over it. I bought it because it reminds me of my childhood days. I bought it since it teaches that the game depends just on the turn of the dice but still we fought over it, so very similar to life. It teaches me about life, its true nature.
Ludo, for those of you who have heard of it for the first time, is a simple board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens ‘goti’ from start to finish according to dice rolls. Some know it by its cousin ‘Pachisi’. Pachisi has a history dating back to the 6th century.
A Ludo board is normally a square marked with a cross. Each arm of the cross is divided into three columns, with the columns divided into usually six squares. The centre of the cross is the finishing square which is often divided into four coloured triangles. Each coloured triangle is combined with a coloured middle column appears as an arrow pointing to the finish. The shaft of each arrow is a player's "home column" and is five squares long. My favourite was red as it used to get the first chance to throw the dice.
To the left of each home column, one square from the edge of the board is a starting square, also coloured. During game play a piece moves from its starting square, clockwise around the perimeter of the board, and up the player's home column to the finishing square. In the space to the left of each arm is a circle or square to hold a player's pieces before they are allowed into play. Huhh, that much of an explanation!! We were the ‘experts’ of it. We used to make several rules and many a times break them too.
Usually, at the start of the game, the player's four pieces are placed in the start area of their colour. Players take it in turn to throw a single dice. A player must first throw a six to be able to move a piece from the starting area onto the starting square. In each subsequent turn the player moves a piece forward 1 to 6 squares as indicated by the dice. When a player throws a 6, the player may bring a new piece onto the starting square, or may choose to move a piece already in play. It was very pleasing to watch the face of the player who had all four of his pieces inside and he was throwing the dice waiting for a 6.
If a player's piece lands on a square containing an opponent's piece, the opponent's piece is captured and returns to the starting area. We wanted all our moves to land at such places. Once a piece has completed a circuit of the board it moves up the home column of its own colour. The winner is the first player to get all four of his pieces onto the home square.
We had some special rules like if a player's piece lands on another of his own pieces; they are doubled and form a "block" which cannot be passed by any opponent's pieces. Doubled pieces may move half the number if an even number is thrown. A doubled piece may capture another doubled piece. Ahh!! That’s called a ‘Double Bonanza’.
Ludo may seem pretty lame to most people, but when played with proper strategy it would be very absorbing. Another game, usually comes packaged with Ludo, is Snakes and Ladders. It is also as engrossing as Ludo. Here the cells are numbered from 1 to 100 and a player has to tread through it. The players would meet several ladders and snakes in between. And that adds the spice to the game.
I have spent much of my childhood playing Ludo and thus I got very sentimental about it. I immediately rushed out to buy a new one. Though it was difficult to find one, I found it at last at a small shop around a km from my home. It was a feeling of bliss when I found it. I did not buy it just to play it again, but to recall those happy days when we used to play and fight over it. I bought it because it reminds me of my childhood days. I bought it since it teaches that the game depends just on the turn of the dice but still we fought over it, so very similar to life. It teaches me about life, its true nature.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Football in India!!
I was crestfallen to hear that Dempo conceded a last minute goal against Al Muharraq of Bahrain in an AFC Cup Group E match. This would have given it a chance to set one foot onto the quarter-finals. To add insult to injury, my room-mate taunted that 0-1 was a much respected score and had it played against ManU (I don't know whether he was referring to some character from Ramayana or some Hollywood star), the score would have been 0-90, a goal every minute. I was as red as Guntur chillies. I have always thought of India as a great football team and Mohun Bagan & East Bengal as the best in the world. My team had already lost, I did not want to lose to my friend. I wanted to substantiate my points. Thus I searched everywhere on the net about football in India, its history, the clubs here and the overall standing among the other nations.
To be very frank, it was sheer disappointment and complete shame. It ranks 149 in the world!! (The highest being 94 in February 1996.) Shame, shame. A country of over a billion people can not produce a football team. Trinidad & Tobago, a country of a little over a million people, had qualified for the last world cup and India lost out in the 1st stage of the qualifiers this time.
Dempo was not competing in the Club World Cup, instead it was just an Asia-level competition for second-rung clubs. One good point is that Dempo was a semi-finalist in the last year tournament and this year too it is doing well.
Although football in India is in a very poor state, it has quite an interesting history. Mohun Bagan was founded way back in 1889. It is in fact the oldest football club in Asia. In 1911, it caused a stir by becoming the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. The Government of India has also issued a postage stamp to commemorate this victory and given it the title of the "National Club of India". The Durand Cup football tournament, the world's third oldest tournament, was started in Shimla in 1898.
Gradually a number of clubs like East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting, Dempo, Churchill Brothers, Salgaocar proliferated all over the country leading to the formation of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 1937. AIFF is interestingly one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954. League football was being played in Calcutta long before Real Madrid or the world governing body Fifa even existed.
The 1951 to 1962 decade was the golden age for Indian football as the country put up a commendable show in a number of international competitions. India won the gold medals in the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games at New Delhi and Jakarta respectively. It also won the bronze medal title in the 1970 Bangkok Asiad. In the 1956 Melbourne Olympics India became the first Asian nation to reach the semifinals of an Olympic football event defeating Australia 4-2 in the quarterfinal. Much to my astonishment, India also qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil when all of their opponents withdrew from the competition. However India refused to participate in the event as FIFA required all the players to wear football boots whereas the Indian players were used to play barefoot. India has also hosted the 2001 Millennium Super Cup, but were knocked out in the group stage following defeats by Iceland and Uruguay.
Recently, in August 2007, the Indian team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1-0. In August 2008, India defeated Tajikistan 4-1 to lift the AFC Challenge Cup and in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. Other recent successes have been limited to the South Asian Football Federation Cup and the LG Cup in Vietnam in 2002.
Football is very popular in the states of Goa, Kerala, Manipur, West Bengal, Mizoram and Sikkim. Most of the popular football clubs of India are based among these states. Bengal leads the states in the Santosh Trophy, a state-level tournament, with 29 wins. Although football is second only behind cricket in popularity in India, it is marred by lack of grass-roots infrastructure, negligible training & sheer neglect. The sport is in the doldrums in both standards and patronage. Recently many programs have been started to boost football in India.
I-League is one such initiative. It is the top tier league in the Indian football league system. It was started by AIFF in 2007-08. Following a AFC review of the I-League's progress, the champions of the I-League would be awarded a spot in the prestigious AFC Champions League club championships in 2009.
Bharti Enterprises will start a world-class football academy, to be named 'Bharti-AIFF Academy' with an investment of more than 100 crores, to be set-up either in Haryana or Goa. It will initially take around 100 youngsters in four age group categories of 8-11, 11-13, 13-15 and 15-18, will have all the western club style facilities including multiple grounds, basic training, coaching and medical facilities. The youngsters will be selected under a massive talent hunt programme throughout the country to find out budding talent via scientific means.
Recently, Brazil has signed an agreement with India that would formalise a scheme to train Indian footballers and coaches.
We see kids playing football in the street with no shoes everywhere in this country but there's no development at youth level. That, and coach education, are reasons why we are not as advanced as we should be. We have 28 states but only a few are doing anything with any success to develop youth. If only they could catch players at a young age because India definitely has a lot of talent. India's youth coaching set-up is haphazard. Today football is nominally under the control of the All India Football Federation, and its president Priya Ranjan DasMunshi, a committee-based body funded by FIFA. But national youth football is traditionally controlled by a different body - the Sports Authority of India - which gets no money from FIFA. It is difficult to implement a successful youth development programme here because the people who run football are politicians, not professionals. There are people in Indian football who are secretary or treasurer of different state associations who have been there for 40 years. So for them holding onto power is the main issue. Improving the game is never the issue. So we need a set up for professionalism. Indian football never had a set up of that kind. Football should be managed by the chief executives of marketing or training. This is professionalism.
Presently, India in football is like Brazil in cricket. Lets hope it turns around.
To be very frank, it was sheer disappointment and complete shame. It ranks 149 in the world!! (The highest being 94 in February 1996.) Shame, shame. A country of over a billion people can not produce a football team. Trinidad & Tobago, a country of a little over a million people, had qualified for the last world cup and India lost out in the 1st stage of the qualifiers this time.
Dempo was not competing in the Club World Cup, instead it was just an Asia-level competition for second-rung clubs. One good point is that Dempo was a semi-finalist in the last year tournament and this year too it is doing well.
Although football in India is in a very poor state, it has quite an interesting history. Mohun Bagan was founded way back in 1889. It is in fact the oldest football club in Asia. In 1911, it caused a stir by becoming the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. The Government of India has also issued a postage stamp to commemorate this victory and given it the title of the "National Club of India". The Durand Cup football tournament, the world's third oldest tournament, was started in Shimla in 1898.
Gradually a number of clubs like East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting, Dempo, Churchill Brothers, Salgaocar proliferated all over the country leading to the formation of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 1937. AIFF is interestingly one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954. League football was being played in Calcutta long before Real Madrid or the world governing body Fifa even existed.
The 1951 to 1962 decade was the golden age for Indian football as the country put up a commendable show in a number of international competitions. India won the gold medals in the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games at New Delhi and Jakarta respectively. It also won the bronze medal title in the 1970 Bangkok Asiad. In the 1956 Melbourne Olympics India became the first Asian nation to reach the semifinals of an Olympic football event defeating Australia 4-2 in the quarterfinal. Much to my astonishment, India also qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil when all of their opponents withdrew from the competition. However India refused to participate in the event as FIFA required all the players to wear football boots whereas the Indian players were used to play barefoot. India has also hosted the 2001 Millennium Super Cup, but were knocked out in the group stage following defeats by Iceland and Uruguay.
Recently, in August 2007, the Indian team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1-0. In August 2008, India defeated Tajikistan 4-1 to lift the AFC Challenge Cup and in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. Other recent successes have been limited to the South Asian Football Federation Cup and the LG Cup in Vietnam in 2002.
Football is very popular in the states of Goa, Kerala, Manipur, West Bengal, Mizoram and Sikkim. Most of the popular football clubs of India are based among these states. Bengal leads the states in the Santosh Trophy, a state-level tournament, with 29 wins. Although football is second only behind cricket in popularity in India, it is marred by lack of grass-roots infrastructure, negligible training & sheer neglect. The sport is in the doldrums in both standards and patronage. Recently many programs have been started to boost football in India.
I-League is one such initiative. It is the top tier league in the Indian football league system. It was started by AIFF in 2007-08. Following a AFC review of the I-League's progress, the champions of the I-League would be awarded a spot in the prestigious AFC Champions League club championships in 2009.
Bharti Enterprises will start a world-class football academy, to be named 'Bharti-AIFF Academy' with an investment of more than 100 crores, to be set-up either in Haryana or Goa. It will initially take around 100 youngsters in four age group categories of 8-11, 11-13, 13-15 and 15-18, will have all the western club style facilities including multiple grounds, basic training, coaching and medical facilities. The youngsters will be selected under a massive talent hunt programme throughout the country to find out budding talent via scientific means.
Recently, Brazil has signed an agreement with India that would formalise a scheme to train Indian footballers and coaches.
We see kids playing football in the street with no shoes everywhere in this country but there's no development at youth level. That, and coach education, are reasons why we are not as advanced as we should be. We have 28 states but only a few are doing anything with any success to develop youth. If only they could catch players at a young age because India definitely has a lot of talent. India's youth coaching set-up is haphazard. Today football is nominally under the control of the All India Football Federation, and its president Priya Ranjan DasMunshi, a committee-based body funded by FIFA. But national youth football is traditionally controlled by a different body - the Sports Authority of India - which gets no money from FIFA. It is difficult to implement a successful youth development programme here because the people who run football are politicians, not professionals. There are people in Indian football who are secretary or treasurer of different state associations who have been there for 40 years. So for them holding onto power is the main issue. Improving the game is never the issue. So we need a set up for professionalism. Indian football never had a set up of that kind. Football should be managed by the chief executives of marketing or training. This is professionalism.
Presently, India in football is like Brazil in cricket. Lets hope it turns around.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
My Constituencies
I was just reading through the morning Economic Times edition (27th March) and found a very interesting article. It was about the BPL population change during 2004-2008. This made me curious to know the status of my constituencies. I mean about the constituencies where I have lived & the one where I am living now.
I was born and brought up in Patna. Now election-wise it is divided into two constituencies. The earlier constituency Patna, till 2004, was in recent time mostly represented by a renowned doctor of Patna, Mr. C.P. Thakur. He was associated earlier with Congress and now with BJP. He has also been the Union Health minister. Now lets discuss about some statistics about this constituency.
I am talking about the newly created constituency of Pataliputra. Its total population is 23 lakhs and out of these 46% are urban. Now see a constituency which is frequently being represented by a renowned doctor, ex-health minister, has a BPL population of 49%. This is the scene of the capital of Bihar. People blame the Laloo-Rabri rule, however Bihar was mostly ruled by Congress before the Laloo-era. Now the state government is by JD(U)-BJP. During the last 4 years, the BPL population decreased from 51% to 49% (the national average being just 26%). Whom to blame for all this?
Some other statistics about this constituency: Sex ratio of this constituency is just 875 women for 1000 men. Out of the total 23 lakhs population, only 13 lakhs are voting population. Just an interesting take on this fact. Suppose 60% voting takes place here. So only 6.5 lakh people votes would be there. Now out of this, the winning candidate gets 50% of the votes (elections here are always neck-to-neck). So the winning candidate gets 3.25 lakh votes. So finally out of the total 23 lakh population the winner has the support of just 3.25 lakh people, a mere 15%. THIS IS DEMOCRACY. :D
Just for the sake of knowledge, Patna is now divided into 2 constituencies viz. Patna Saheb & Pataliputra. From Patna Saheb, on BJP's ticket is Shatrughan Sinha, the Bihari Babu. On RJD's ticket is Ram Kripal Yadav, the present MP from Patna and a powerful RJD man. From Pataliputra is CP Thakur on BJP's ticket & on RJD's ticket is Laloo Yadav himself. Lets see who wins and what change those bring to the capital of Bihar.
On the contrary, the place I am living now is Bangalore South. It is represented by Ananth Kumar, ex Union Aviation minister and a very strong Karnataka's BJP leader. Here the BPL population is just 5% and also the sex ration is much better at 913 women per 1000 men. Here I have only 1 problem. Here after 10pm, either the auto drivers rule or the street dogs rule. Mr. Ananth Kumar please save us from these two menace pleaseeeeeeeeeeee.
I was born and brought up in Patna. Now election-wise it is divided into two constituencies. The earlier constituency Patna, till 2004, was in recent time mostly represented by a renowned doctor of Patna, Mr. C.P. Thakur. He was associated earlier with Congress and now with BJP. He has also been the Union Health minister. Now lets discuss about some statistics about this constituency.
I am talking about the newly created constituency of Pataliputra. Its total population is 23 lakhs and out of these 46% are urban. Now see a constituency which is frequently being represented by a renowned doctor, ex-health minister, has a BPL population of 49%. This is the scene of the capital of Bihar. People blame the Laloo-Rabri rule, however Bihar was mostly ruled by Congress before the Laloo-era. Now the state government is by JD(U)-BJP. During the last 4 years, the BPL population decreased from 51% to 49% (the national average being just 26%). Whom to blame for all this?
Some other statistics about this constituency: Sex ratio of this constituency is just 875 women for 1000 men. Out of the total 23 lakhs population, only 13 lakhs are voting population. Just an interesting take on this fact. Suppose 60% voting takes place here. So only 6.5 lakh people votes would be there. Now out of this, the winning candidate gets 50% of the votes (elections here are always neck-to-neck). So the winning candidate gets 3.25 lakh votes. So finally out of the total 23 lakh population the winner has the support of just 3.25 lakh people, a mere 15%. THIS IS DEMOCRACY. :D
Just for the sake of knowledge, Patna is now divided into 2 constituencies viz. Patna Saheb & Pataliputra. From Patna Saheb, on BJP's ticket is Shatrughan Sinha, the Bihari Babu. On RJD's ticket is Ram Kripal Yadav, the present MP from Patna and a powerful RJD man. From Pataliputra is CP Thakur on BJP's ticket & on RJD's ticket is Laloo Yadav himself. Lets see who wins and what change those bring to the capital of Bihar.
On the contrary, the place I am living now is Bangalore South. It is represented by Ananth Kumar, ex Union Aviation minister and a very strong Karnataka's BJP leader. Here the BPL population is just 5% and also the sex ration is much better at 913 women per 1000 men. Here I have only 1 problem. Here after 10pm, either the auto drivers rule or the street dogs rule. Mr. Ananth Kumar please save us from these two menace pleaseeeeeeeeeeee.
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