Long but interesting, thought provoking and makes you feel proud :-)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11571348/site/newsweek/
Cheers,
- Tosh
The Trial
11 years ago
Monday, February 27, 2006
Bharat Uday Mission
Take a look.
http://bharatudaymission.org/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bharatudaymission/
"Society doesn't go down by the activities of the bad people, but the inactivities of good people" - Swami Vivekanand
"You have to be the change you want to see in the world" - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
We have only one mission. The rise of a great nation.
http://bharatudaymission.org/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bharatudaymission/
"Society doesn't go down by the activities of the bad people, but the inactivities of good people" - Swami Vivekanand
"You have to be the change you want to see in the world" - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
We have only one mission. The rise of a great nation.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Team Selection...
Surprisingly, after a long time, I am really happy with the team that the selectors have chosen. The overall Indian team setup seems to be very promising today with some seniors at the peak of their careers and at the same time some juniors being developed alongside the legends.
First and foremost, the most controversial decision. Saurav Ganguly, The Prince of Kolkatta. The man who brought steel into the fading Indian team of the late nineties. The captain who galvanised the unit into a winning combination during the time of 2003 world cup. The man who made Yuvraj, Irfan (probably Dhoni) and Harbhajan. The batsman who stood near the top of one day &/or test batting charts for consecutive years in 2002 and 2003. All his achievements are kind of getting forgotten with his recent outbursts against the coach. However, all said and done, I think his omission is justified, although it should not be used to erase all the good things that he has done in the past. All good things come to an end and end might be near for Saurav Da. In Pakistan, he played not spectacularly, but good enough in the only chance that he was given. His exclusion is based on his previous performances and the theory of developing some youngsters to replace the ageing middle order. I think this was a good decision.
Gambhir Agarkar and Zaheer were dropped. Ajith and Gautam were given a lot of chances and they couldn't grab many. Hence that decision is also justified. Kiran More said that he wants a backup of 8-9 fast bowlers in the country ready to play at the highest level and this vision is commendable. It will also create a healthy competition, as is visible from the present of VRVSingh and SreeSanth. I will really look forward to VRV. Sreesanth is an exciting prospect since he is not a left arm swing bowler and hence adds a vital veriety to the pace attack. I would love to see him bowl the second over at Nagpur.
Kaif and Raina were also automatic selections. Raina seems to me to be the most promising of the lot in this team. He must be nurtured and developed. But the most stunningly good decision was to get in Piyush Chawla. India is in dire need of more good spinners once Anil Kumble hangs his boots. Chawla could be an answer. Added advantage with him is his batting, something he has proven in the U19 World Cup.
Now comes the difficult part. Which 11 to play? Given that Dhoni + Pathan make up more than one batsman, should India go on the attack and play five bowlers? I suggest Yes. There is nothing better that being positive especially in the first game of the series and I would love to see the following team in the playing 11: Veeru, Jaffer, Dravid, Sachin, Laxman, Dhoni, Pathan, Chawla, Bhajji, Kumble & Sreesanth.
Till then, Cheers and All The Best in the City Of Oranges :-)
First and foremost, the most controversial decision. Saurav Ganguly, The Prince of Kolkatta. The man who brought steel into the fading Indian team of the late nineties. The captain who galvanised the unit into a winning combination during the time of 2003 world cup. The man who made Yuvraj, Irfan (probably Dhoni) and Harbhajan. The batsman who stood near the top of one day &/or test batting charts for consecutive years in 2002 and 2003. All his achievements are kind of getting forgotten with his recent outbursts against the coach. However, all said and done, I think his omission is justified, although it should not be used to erase all the good things that he has done in the past. All good things come to an end and end might be near for Saurav Da. In Pakistan, he played not spectacularly, but good enough in the only chance that he was given. His exclusion is based on his previous performances and the theory of developing some youngsters to replace the ageing middle order. I think this was a good decision.
Gambhir Agarkar and Zaheer were dropped. Ajith and Gautam were given a lot of chances and they couldn't grab many. Hence that decision is also justified. Kiran More said that he wants a backup of 8-9 fast bowlers in the country ready to play at the highest level and this vision is commendable. It will also create a healthy competition, as is visible from the present of VRVSingh and SreeSanth. I will really look forward to VRV. Sreesanth is an exciting prospect since he is not a left arm swing bowler and hence adds a vital veriety to the pace attack. I would love to see him bowl the second over at Nagpur.
Kaif and Raina were also automatic selections. Raina seems to me to be the most promising of the lot in this team. He must be nurtured and developed. But the most stunningly good decision was to get in Piyush Chawla. India is in dire need of more good spinners once Anil Kumble hangs his boots. Chawla could be an answer. Added advantage with him is his batting, something he has proven in the U19 World Cup.
Now comes the difficult part. Which 11 to play? Given that Dhoni + Pathan make up more than one batsman, should India go on the attack and play five bowlers? I suggest Yes. There is nothing better that being positive especially in the first game of the series and I would love to see the following team in the playing 11: Veeru, Jaffer, Dravid, Sachin, Laxman, Dhoni, Pathan, Chawla, Bhajji, Kumble & Sreesanth.
Till then, Cheers and All The Best in the City Of Oranges :-)
Thursday, February 23, 2006
C r i c k e t
India-4, Pakistan-1. That was completely unexpected. Expecially after the consecutive losses in the last Test and first ODI. However, Pakistan went in Over Confidence, just the same day as India did on the opening day of the last test. For four consecutive matches, India chased successfully and now have done so more than 13 times at a stretch now. That's a great achievement given that their record earlier was very very poor while chasing.
A couple of interesting things came out during the series. Pakistan writers wrote off Sachin with comic columns alleging that he feared Shoiab and all... Sachin answered them with two superlative knocks that setup the successful chases. Yuvraj and Dhoni finished off two hard chases easily and that looks very promosing for the future. It will be very interesting though, to see how they perform on pitches outside the subcontinent, now that these two have ruled on all the flat tracks.
One matter of concern. Because Dhoni was promoted, Raina and Kaif did not get enough match practice and this is little risky. If they come in early after a collapse some day, then they will be short of experience, something that the team should think about pretty soon enough.
Agarkar (My Favourite) was promising but not very effective while Zaheer looked out of sorts. Most likely, both of them are on their way out of this team based on their current form. Pathan RP and Sreesanth will make up a good trio, though we do need another FAST bowler. Romesh Powar bowled very well and should be in contention for selection against England, along with Kumble and Piyush Chawla.
The team against England will be chosen today and I am very keen to see Raina in there. Ganguly is still the center of attraction and controversies and it remains to be seen what the selectors do to him now.
More after the selection meeting...
A couple of interesting things came out during the series. Pakistan writers wrote off Sachin with comic columns alleging that he feared Shoiab and all... Sachin answered them with two superlative knocks that setup the successful chases. Yuvraj and Dhoni finished off two hard chases easily and that looks very promosing for the future. It will be very interesting though, to see how they perform on pitches outside the subcontinent, now that these two have ruled on all the flat tracks.
One matter of concern. Because Dhoni was promoted, Raina and Kaif did not get enough match practice and this is little risky. If they come in early after a collapse some day, then they will be short of experience, something that the team should think about pretty soon enough.
Agarkar (My Favourite) was promising but not very effective while Zaheer looked out of sorts. Most likely, both of them are on their way out of this team based on their current form. Pathan RP and Sreesanth will make up a good trio, though we do need another FAST bowler. Romesh Powar bowled very well and should be in contention for selection against England, along with Kumble and Piyush Chawla.
The team against England will be chosen today and I am very keen to see Raina in there. Ganguly is still the center of attraction and controversies and it remains to be seen what the selectors do to him now.
More after the selection meeting...
Monday, January 23, 2006
The Uprising of Rahul Gandhi
Do we have a future star in the making?
A couple of weeks ago, I read an article about him in Outlook. From that, I gathered, Rahul has started on the correct note. He has worked at grassroot levels in his constituency-Amethi. Around himself, he has a ring of both junior and senior knowledgable party workers willing to train him and support him at the same time. He is known to have a craze for techno-gizmos: a natural for any youth.
The big positive that I see in him is his age and his willingness to build up a team. If projected as the next PM candidate in the general elections, I think he has a big chance to win Congress party more than 50% of the Lok Sabha seats. While that will take some doing to happen, if it does take place, it will be a great positive. For the first time in about more than 15 years, India will have a government that will not be bound by coalition jokers. They will be able to take, approve and implement decisions without hinderance. And wouldn't that be a further bonus to the economy?
Plus, looking at the professionalism in which Rahul is going about his task, it will not surprise me if he becomes the most effective PM till date. The question is Will He? And for the first time, if that be the question, I will support the Congress party for that to happen. For the simple reason that he seems to be the only person capable to lead a stable government to make hard decisions for five continuous years.
At the same time, India have, once again replied spendidly to the huge Pakistani total and IMO are in with a small chance to win the test match - with not one but two Pak batsmen likely to miss out in the second innings. If India can convert this opening into an opportunity, I will call that team Champs.
A couple of weeks ago, I read an article about him in Outlook. From that, I gathered, Rahul has started on the correct note. He has worked at grassroot levels in his constituency-Amethi. Around himself, he has a ring of both junior and senior knowledgable party workers willing to train him and support him at the same time. He is known to have a craze for techno-gizmos: a natural for any youth.
The big positive that I see in him is his age and his willingness to build up a team. If projected as the next PM candidate in the general elections, I think he has a big chance to win Congress party more than 50% of the Lok Sabha seats. While that will take some doing to happen, if it does take place, it will be a great positive. For the first time in about more than 15 years, India will have a government that will not be bound by coalition jokers. They will be able to take, approve and implement decisions without hinderance. And wouldn't that be a further bonus to the economy?
Plus, looking at the professionalism in which Rahul is going about his task, it will not surprise me if he becomes the most effective PM till date. The question is Will He? And for the first time, if that be the question, I will support the Congress party for that to happen. For the simple reason that he seems to be the only person capable to lead a stable government to make hard decisions for five continuous years.
At the same time, India have, once again replied spendidly to the huge Pakistani total and IMO are in with a small chance to win the test match - with not one but two Pak batsmen likely to miss out in the second innings. If India can convert this opening into an opportunity, I will call that team Champs.
Cricket & Tennis
Its a dream time for sports enthusiasts. The Australian Open http://australianopen.com/en_AU/index.html and the VB Series is rocking on! While the India Pakistan Test Series is also underway, it is of least interest because of the nature of defensive pitches prepared by Pakistan. It seems Pak is worried about the good show put up last time by India seamers and hence they have purposefully prepared placid pitches hoping that the sheer pace of their bowlers will be enough to take 20 wickets in a match. Meanwhile, India displayed great attitude by dropping a batsman and picking five bowlers while Pakistan took a step back by doing the revers. The presence of Geoffrey Boycott has really added value to the broadcast. He was, is and will be The Best.
About the VB Series, its very precariously poised with almost every team standing at the same level in the points table with half the prelim matches being over. I hope that SL and SA kick out Aus in these stages. Both the teams look good enough to do it but its just a matter of having the killer instinct for long enough. Australia are in the middle of a selection crisis due to rotation and this I feel is the biggest chance for world cricket to pounce on them. All the best to SA and SL.
Not much to write on the Australian except the exits of Sania, Rodick and Wlliams sisters. The second week now promises to be thrilling with many top seeds making their way into the final sixteen. That Martina Hingis is back is a great news for many tennis lovers :-)
Meanwhile, I found a pretty interesting group from the article in Sakal. http://www.esakal.com/static/raviwar11.html The group is located at http://bharatudaymission.org/ In my opinion, it is a very promising concept.
About the VB Series, its very precariously poised with almost every team standing at the same level in the points table with half the prelim matches being over. I hope that SL and SA kick out Aus in these stages. Both the teams look good enough to do it but its just a matter of having the killer instinct for long enough. Australia are in the middle of a selection crisis due to rotation and this I feel is the biggest chance for world cricket to pounce on them. All the best to SA and SL.
Not much to write on the Australian except the exits of Sania, Rodick and Wlliams sisters. The second week now promises to be thrilling with many top seeds making their way into the final sixteen. That Martina Hingis is back is a great news for many tennis lovers :-)
Meanwhile, I found a pretty interesting group from the article in Sakal. http://www.esakal.com/static/raviwar11.html The group is located at http://bharatudaymission.org/ In my opinion, it is a very promising concept.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
The Rise & Fall of my Favourite Political Party
Welcome 2006.
Top story at the start of the new year. BJP chief L K Advani steps down. Vajpayee calls Advani as Ram and Mahajan as Lakshman. It was really disheartening to see my favourite Bharatiya Janta Party crumble on its own weight.
BJP started from Jan Sangh on the ideology of the Sangh Parivar. Within a period of around 10-15 years, they rose from 2 to 200 members in the Lok Sabha and ruled the government for more than five years. That was a phenomenal performance. However, with power comes Responsibility. And that's where BJP failed. As is clear from the latest revelations of bribery and corruption in the party, it has lost its Different image. This is its biggest blow.
For me, the Vajpayee government did quite well when in the office. Except one blunder. Gujarat riots. More than the inability of the government to control the situation, it was the involvement of everyone in the system from the police to the CM to the Home Minister in the riots that was shocking. It was I think a prime factor behind BJP loosing the next general election although they were able to win the Gujarat assembly. However, it must be noted that BJP handled their coalition partners much better than what the UPA govt. is doing now (Please refer LEFT) :-)
More important than loosing the elections, it was the later events that did the party in. Uma Bharati sulked. And again, And yet again! Advani's Jinnah remarks were used by Sangh to re-establish their stronghold on the party organisation. Though NDA won a few assembly elections, their public image kept going down.
The biggest problem was they were not accepting their mistakes. Advani did not agree with the expulsion of the corrupt parliamentarians but instead took their side. Instead of doing some introspection, the party kept critisizing the UPA govt. during its national executive in Mumbai. They were unable to break the RSS shackles and could not install a dynamic president like Jetley or Mahajan. The party did numerous unnecessary and exaggerated dharnas in the Parliament and blocked its workingfor too long in the sessions. That is an unforgivable sin.
Overall I think the popularity of the party has suffered a big blow and Cong would win all hands down if a general elections were to happen right now. However, time makes people forget things and it will be interesting to see what happens in the Rajnath Singh-era. I am sure L K Advani is not finished. He will come back, and so will Pramod Mahajan who I think will become a good leader of the party and the nation.
Talking about Cricket, the Ind-Pak series is setup perfectly well. The excitement has reached a peak. In Australia, SA have hit hard on the 2nd day of the 3rd test. Aus will need to fight very hard to save the match from now on. It makes for a thrilling three days of attack and defense. If SA is able to beat Aus, then they will become the 2nd team after India last year to hold Aus in their home ground. And that will be some achievement. Earlier I was sure that Aus will run over SA. But now the recent form from SA makes me believe that they have it in them to come out better from this match. Lets see what result is in store.
Till then, wish you all a very happy new year.
Top story at the start of the new year. BJP chief L K Advani steps down. Vajpayee calls Advani as Ram and Mahajan as Lakshman. It was really disheartening to see my favourite Bharatiya Janta Party crumble on its own weight.
BJP started from Jan Sangh on the ideology of the Sangh Parivar. Within a period of around 10-15 years, they rose from 2 to 200 members in the Lok Sabha and ruled the government for more than five years. That was a phenomenal performance. However, with power comes Responsibility. And that's where BJP failed. As is clear from the latest revelations of bribery and corruption in the party, it has lost its Different image. This is its biggest blow.
For me, the Vajpayee government did quite well when in the office. Except one blunder. Gujarat riots. More than the inability of the government to control the situation, it was the involvement of everyone in the system from the police to the CM to the Home Minister in the riots that was shocking. It was I think a prime factor behind BJP loosing the next general election although they were able to win the Gujarat assembly. However, it must be noted that BJP handled their coalition partners much better than what the UPA govt. is doing now (Please refer LEFT) :-)
More important than loosing the elections, it was the later events that did the party in. Uma Bharati sulked. And again, And yet again! Advani's Jinnah remarks were used by Sangh to re-establish their stronghold on the party organisation. Though NDA won a few assembly elections, their public image kept going down.
The biggest problem was they were not accepting their mistakes. Advani did not agree with the expulsion of the corrupt parliamentarians but instead took their side. Instead of doing some introspection, the party kept critisizing the UPA govt. during its national executive in Mumbai. They were unable to break the RSS shackles and could not install a dynamic president like Jetley or Mahajan. The party did numerous unnecessary and exaggerated dharnas in the Parliament and blocked its workingfor too long in the sessions. That is an unforgivable sin.
Overall I think the popularity of the party has suffered a big blow and Cong would win all hands down if a general elections were to happen right now. However, time makes people forget things and it will be interesting to see what happens in the Rajnath Singh-era. I am sure L K Advani is not finished. He will come back, and so will Pramod Mahajan who I think will become a good leader of the party and the nation.
Talking about Cricket, the Ind-Pak series is setup perfectly well. The excitement has reached a peak. In Australia, SA have hit hard on the 2nd day of the 3rd test. Aus will need to fight very hard to save the match from now on. It makes for a thrilling three days of attack and defense. If SA is able to beat Aus, then they will become the 2nd team after India last year to hold Aus in their home ground. And that will be some achievement. Earlier I was sure that Aus will run over SA. But now the recent form from SA makes me believe that they have it in them to come out better from this match. Lets see what result is in store.
Till then, wish you all a very happy new year.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Latest Updates
Baught a (used) Maruti 800 this Saturday. Medison Blue in colour, 1999 model, 76K Km running. Will post the snaps soon.
Also travelled to my city of origin Nagpur to attend a friend's marriage. Travelled to Amravati on the way to attend a family function.
Back to cricket! Missed a lot of cricket due to these trips :-) The Aus-SA series is generating good interest. SA put up a good fighting show in the first match but are looking down the barrel (As Expected) in the second match. The Australians are consistently scoring many more runs in their second innings as compared to the first - A sign of true champions. In Brad Hodge and Mike Hussey, they have found the next generation middle order. They along with Michael Clarke, I think, will tore the bowling attacks of the world apart in the decade to come. Talking about their current matches, the SA is putting up a real good fight but I am sure the Australians are going to edge them over. SA have a major problem in the sense that they do not have a match winning spinner while Aus have two. This will make a huge impact on the second innings.
In the meanwhile, India as expected, comfortably won the third test match with Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka also missed the killer instinct when they allowed scores of 97/5 and 102/5 to go past 300 every innings. That spoke a lot about the strength of the Indian lower and lower-middle order and is a major reaosn why I think India will remain a force to reckon with in the coming months. With away series to go against Pakistan West Indies, South Africa & New Zealand and a home series against England, this seems to be a fascinating season for Indian cricket fans.
It has not doubt begun on a wrong note with the whole Ganguly affair. The latest move to select him for the Pak series might have two justifications. One - give him a nice farewell (I would be glad if this is the one). Second - Politics. West Bengal assembly elections are coming up in the next 3-4 months and Left is a supporter of the central government in which Pawar is a minister. No doubt the Left who are desparately looking for a continuation of (mis)governance in Bengal, want to score a few brownie points and win a crazy crowd support. Sucks, ain't it?
The Pakistan series is gonna be one heck of a tour. I think on current form both teams are equal. I would say the test series will be a 1-1 draw and one day series is too close for me to predict. Lets see what happens.
The BJP in the meanwhile is at its lowest with charges of corruption, sex abuse etc etc hitting them hard at their 25 year celebrations. With Advani making way for another leader, there is no consensus on the man to follow him. I would blame the current situation on lack of vision and inability to keep Sangh in control. I would love to see either Pramod Mahajan or Arun Jaitley named as the President as soon as possible.
Till next,
Good Bye.
Also travelled to my city of origin Nagpur to attend a friend's marriage. Travelled to Amravati on the way to attend a family function.
Back to cricket! Missed a lot of cricket due to these trips :-) The Aus-SA series is generating good interest. SA put up a good fighting show in the first match but are looking down the barrel (As Expected) in the second match. The Australians are consistently scoring many more runs in their second innings as compared to the first - A sign of true champions. In Brad Hodge and Mike Hussey, they have found the next generation middle order. They along with Michael Clarke, I think, will tore the bowling attacks of the world apart in the decade to come. Talking about their current matches, the SA is putting up a real good fight but I am sure the Australians are going to edge them over. SA have a major problem in the sense that they do not have a match winning spinner while Aus have two. This will make a huge impact on the second innings.
In the meanwhile, India as expected, comfortably won the third test match with Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka also missed the killer instinct when they allowed scores of 97/5 and 102/5 to go past 300 every innings. That spoke a lot about the strength of the Indian lower and lower-middle order and is a major reaosn why I think India will remain a force to reckon with in the coming months. With away series to go against Pakistan West Indies, South Africa & New Zealand and a home series against England, this seems to be a fascinating season for Indian cricket fans.
It has not doubt begun on a wrong note with the whole Ganguly affair. The latest move to select him for the Pak series might have two justifications. One - give him a nice farewell (I would be glad if this is the one). Second - Politics. West Bengal assembly elections are coming up in the next 3-4 months and Left is a supporter of the central government in which Pawar is a minister. No doubt the Left who are desparately looking for a continuation of (mis)governance in Bengal, want to score a few brownie points and win a crazy crowd support. Sucks, ain't it?
The Pakistan series is gonna be one heck of a tour. I think on current form both teams are equal. I would say the test series will be a 1-1 draw and one day series is too close for me to predict. Lets see what happens.
The BJP in the meanwhile is at its lowest with charges of corruption, sex abuse etc etc hitting them hard at their 25 year celebrations. With Advani making way for another leader, there is no consensus on the man to follow him. I would blame the current situation on lack of vision and inability to keep Sangh in control. I would love to see either Pramod Mahajan or Arun Jaitley named as the President as soon as possible.
Till next,
Good Bye.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Politics, Corruption, Media & Stocks
A few days ago, 11 Indian parliamentarians were caught red handed on camera while taking bribes to ask specific questions in Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha. Shocking, as the news came, there were many reactions and responses to the "Breaking" news. Most of them cried foul about the way all the politicians and parliamentarians work and earn. Many to the ridiculous extent like the one below : I heard this from one friend: "Yaar, I wish the bomb hoax would have been a real bomb. It would have killed all the corrupts". Quite a shameless comment, I think. While thinking about the whole catch-bribery-on-the-cam operation, I came across a really nice article in the Sakal newspaper. It talked about the 11 corrupt parliamentarians and how the media was using them to create a wrong impression of the entire political establishment. The argument was that it is not correct to generalise such things. Agreed that those 11 people were corrupt and their acts must be denounced. However, the parliament has 8-900 members. And just because a few were caught on camera, it does not mean that all of them are equally corrupt and the whole system is rotten. It will be very unfair to many of them.
In the meanwhile, we really need to understand the role of media in a society. Such sting operations are used to increase the channel ratings. Of course they expose a corrupt angle of India's political system. But then, do those same channels spend some time showing the positive side of the coin? The Indian governance system is one of the best democratic and respected establishment in the world. Should not these things too be imprinted on the minds of the youth? What pride is the young generation going to have in the country, if the only thing they see on TV is such targeted yellow journalism? I think this is quite a serious allegation and the TV media must take steps to ensure that they behave in a responsible manner in the society and not just increase their own viewership. As compared, the print media, in my opinion is really good and I have begun to prefer newspapers like Indian Express and Sakal, a lot more than any news channel.
Talking about corruption, I think it starts at the base, with every citizen. Let's take a common example. You don't carry a driving licenense one day. A cop catches you. Fine is 400/-. He offers you a short cut: A bribe of 100 and you are let off. How many people would take the pains of paying 400, going home, producing the license, and so on? Is the person giving the bribe not as guilty as the one accepting it? This will be seen in so many places like passport verification, customs check after foreign visits, & so on. Unless the corruption is driven out of the mind of the common citizen, it cannot be driven out of the whole system.
In the meanwhile, I got 50 shares allocated from the ICICI bank FPO. Its the first time I got shares in an IPO and so I am hapy. However, the immediate returns are not as high as the other issues, so it will be interesting to see if it makes sense to sell these shares right now. In general, the stock market is on a huge roll. It has set aside all speculations for the last few months and set newer records every month. Let's see how it behaves from now on up until the Year End. That will be a big test for the emerging Indian Markets. Happy Trading :-)
Cheers,
- Tosh
In the meanwhile, we really need to understand the role of media in a society. Such sting operations are used to increase the channel ratings. Of course they expose a corrupt angle of India's political system. But then, do those same channels spend some time showing the positive side of the coin? The Indian governance system is one of the best democratic and respected establishment in the world. Should not these things too be imprinted on the minds of the youth? What pride is the young generation going to have in the country, if the only thing they see on TV is such targeted yellow journalism? I think this is quite a serious allegation and the TV media must take steps to ensure that they behave in a responsible manner in the society and not just increase their own viewership. As compared, the print media, in my opinion is really good and I have begun to prefer newspapers like Indian Express and Sakal, a lot more than any news channel.
Talking about corruption, I think it starts at the base, with every citizen. Let's take a common example. You don't carry a driving licenense one day. A cop catches you. Fine is 400/-. He offers you a short cut: A bribe of 100 and you are let off. How many people would take the pains of paying 400, going home, producing the license, and so on? Is the person giving the bribe not as guilty as the one accepting it? This will be seen in so many places like passport verification, customs check after foreign visits, & so on. Unless the corruption is driven out of the mind of the common citizen, it cannot be driven out of the whole system.
In the meanwhile, I got 50 shares allocated from the ICICI bank FPO. Its the first time I got shares in an IPO and so I am hapy. However, the immediate returns are not as high as the other issues, so it will be interesting to see if it makes sense to sell these shares right now. In general, the stock market is on a huge roll. It has set aside all speculations for the last few months and set newer records every month. Let's see how it behaves from now on up until the Year End. That will be a big test for the emerging Indian Markets. Happy Trading :-)
Cheers,
- Tosh
Friday, December 16, 2005
C r i c k e t
Its that time of the year, you know. December. The season of cricket. So many international teams are busy at this time of the year.
Let's start with the India Sri Lanka series at home. With the 1st test drawn and second easily in India's pocket, it will be interesting to see the approach of Indian batsmen in the third. Will they attack or defend? Will they try to squueze in 2-0 or try to defend 1-0. Looking at the current form, it seems unlikely that SL will be able to beat India. Now about the second test.
It all started with the century by Tendulkar. There is no doubt that this country has been hit with the Tendulkar mania since that day on. Every TV channel and newspapers carried big stories on him on the day he became the first person to score 35 test centuries. In my opinion, focussing too much on such individual records is not correct. And especially when it is done with a bias, it sucks. Take for example, the time when we won the test series in Zimbabwe a month or two ago. It was India's first win outside the subcontinent in about 15 years. Did the media glorify this fact as much? Or, the time when Kumble took his 30th 5-wicket haul in the 2nd test - The only Indian to have done it so many times (By far & Long). Did the media sensationalise this personal achievement? No. Why? Because Sachin sells more than Kumble or sometimes even more than Team India. These facts certainly gives a sad impression of the India media.
Media apart, it was a good overall show by the Indian team. Sachin, Kumble, Pathan, Bhajji, Gnguly, Yuvraj, Dravid and in the end Dhoni all played well sometime or the other. Kumble was no doubt the star performer. It is just impossible to imagine an India test win without him contributing. He will leave a big hole when he stops playing. Other Indian bowlers need to pick up wickets more frequently before that happens.
Gambhir and Agarkar were disappointing to say the least. I will put my money on these two playing very well in the third match as that will be a very important match for their careers. Gambhir is just not getting decent starts and Agarkar not getting the consistency that he found so well in the one dayers. Agarkar is my favourite fast bowlers nowadays. His confidence after returning to the one day team was amazing. His ability to bowl the yorker and to reverse the old ball is spectacular. However his consistency in tests remains a big question mark. He will have to do much more if he wants to retain his place in the team where he will soon face fierce competition from guys like Zaheer, RPSingh etc.
On the dropping of Ganguly. Let's say that he played very well in this match before saying that he does not deserve a place in this team right now. The time is ripe for him to hang up his boots with pride. His career had finished the moment he took the press conference after the century in Zimbabwe. However, I do feel that it was wrong to drop him for the 3rd test. He should have been told that this series would be his last. Or else, he should not have been picked in the squad for the series. India have a tradition of looking down at their past captains starting with Azharuddin and now at Ganguly. Even Steve Waugh was dropped from the Aussie team, but that was with pride. He was not cornered the way Azhar and Ganguly were. It will be interesting to see how well Saurav plays in domestic cricket to plan a comeback now, which seems near to impossible.
Another gripping series is on in Aus with SA. SA looked a handsome ODI team but tests are different. And very difficult in Aus. I predict that Aus will crush SA without much trouble. But SA have some new and exciting players to watch out for and their fight will be interesting to follow.
In another series, Pakistan defeated England very easily in ODIs as well as tests. It shows that the game is a great leveller. Now so long ago, England was branded as next best only to Aus, only to be mauled in Pakistan. Yousuf Youhana (I will always call him by this name) and Inzamam Ul Haq, in the meanwhile, continue to impress with their every knock. Inzy by far is my most favourite cricketer on the planet right now. The command, ease & elegance with which he plays is quite beautiful and at the same time his consistency is amazing. He is on a huge high right now and I hope he stays there for long. When he came on to the international scene, he was branded by Pak as the answer to India's Sachin. I think with his recent consistency and captaincy, he has definitely outclassed both Lara and Sachin.
That's all for now. More after the 3rd test.
Cheers,
- Tosh
Let's start with the India Sri Lanka series at home. With the 1st test drawn and second easily in India's pocket, it will be interesting to see the approach of Indian batsmen in the third. Will they attack or defend? Will they try to squueze in 2-0 or try to defend 1-0. Looking at the current form, it seems unlikely that SL will be able to beat India. Now about the second test.
It all started with the century by Tendulkar. There is no doubt that this country has been hit with the Tendulkar mania since that day on. Every TV channel and newspapers carried big stories on him on the day he became the first person to score 35 test centuries. In my opinion, focussing too much on such individual records is not correct. And especially when it is done with a bias, it sucks. Take for example, the time when we won the test series in Zimbabwe a month or two ago. It was India's first win outside the subcontinent in about 15 years. Did the media glorify this fact as much? Or, the time when Kumble took his 30th 5-wicket haul in the 2nd test - The only Indian to have done it so many times (By far & Long). Did the media sensationalise this personal achievement? No. Why? Because Sachin sells more than Kumble or sometimes even more than Team India. These facts certainly gives a sad impression of the India media.
Media apart, it was a good overall show by the Indian team. Sachin, Kumble, Pathan, Bhajji, Gnguly, Yuvraj, Dravid and in the end Dhoni all played well sometime or the other. Kumble was no doubt the star performer. It is just impossible to imagine an India test win without him contributing. He will leave a big hole when he stops playing. Other Indian bowlers need to pick up wickets more frequently before that happens.
Gambhir and Agarkar were disappointing to say the least. I will put my money on these two playing very well in the third match as that will be a very important match for their careers. Gambhir is just not getting decent starts and Agarkar not getting the consistency that he found so well in the one dayers. Agarkar is my favourite fast bowlers nowadays. His confidence after returning to the one day team was amazing. His ability to bowl the yorker and to reverse the old ball is spectacular. However his consistency in tests remains a big question mark. He will have to do much more if he wants to retain his place in the team where he will soon face fierce competition from guys like Zaheer, RPSingh etc.
On the dropping of Ganguly. Let's say that he played very well in this match before saying that he does not deserve a place in this team right now. The time is ripe for him to hang up his boots with pride. His career had finished the moment he took the press conference after the century in Zimbabwe. However, I do feel that it was wrong to drop him for the 3rd test. He should have been told that this series would be his last. Or else, he should not have been picked in the squad for the series. India have a tradition of looking down at their past captains starting with Azharuddin and now at Ganguly. Even Steve Waugh was dropped from the Aussie team, but that was with pride. He was not cornered the way Azhar and Ganguly were. It will be interesting to see how well Saurav plays in domestic cricket to plan a comeback now, which seems near to impossible.
Another gripping series is on in Aus with SA. SA looked a handsome ODI team but tests are different. And very difficult in Aus. I predict that Aus will crush SA without much trouble. But SA have some new and exciting players to watch out for and their fight will be interesting to follow.
In another series, Pakistan defeated England very easily in ODIs as well as tests. It shows that the game is a great leveller. Now so long ago, England was branded as next best only to Aus, only to be mauled in Pakistan. Yousuf Youhana (I will always call him by this name) and Inzamam Ul Haq, in the meanwhile, continue to impress with their every knock. Inzy by far is my most favourite cricketer on the planet right now. The command, ease & elegance with which he plays is quite beautiful and at the same time his consistency is amazing. He is on a huge high right now and I hope he stays there for long. When he came on to the international scene, he was branded by Pak as the answer to India's Sachin. I think with his recent consistency and captaincy, he has definitely outclassed both Lara and Sachin.
That's all for now. More after the 3rd test.
Cheers,
- Tosh
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