It's just a game!

Cricket is a religion in India. Indians are emotionally attached with the game. Or are they made to?

With the 2007 World cup of cricket hyped to the maximum extent,advertisers and broadcasters doing business as usual, one feels pity for the end customer who is being taken for a ride in to the seven seas. The aam aadmi needs some motivation, some passion and it is easy to make people join the band wagon. We have experts commenting at every pan shop, no matter the age or background. Everyone finds a point to discuss, and comment on each and every player. Even the non playing cricketers are not spared for their so called body language glimpses are subjected to public examination. And the language used is as foreign as it can be. The motivation levels of the junta are up. But a failure gives them a chance to vent out their frustrations on human beings whom they have never met. A player is made larger than life in a day, and the next day he is made to bite the dust. These are the rules India lives by...

There are a lot of worrying factors over here. The gorgeous ladies and panel experts of the bygone era makes one feel what they are not. Their job is to create excitement but they create something more. They are in every right to do so, for the final judgement to see or not to see lies with the intelligent Indian. But with loads of time at hand, betting big has always been in the blood of the Indians. And the worrying thing is that the same blood is being transpired to the next generation. A bit of introspection will show that all humans have frailties and we do make mistakes from time to time. The players representing India have achieved excellence but they are humans too. Who gives right to the people to infringe upon Mr. Dhoni's personal property because he did not score up to the expectations of people in one match. How does it feel when for one mistake of yours on the job, your employer destroys your house. This is beyond human sensibilities. Which logic warrants the great parents who gave India their captain being protected by policemen and their movement being restricted. Neither logic nor human desires can justify this. Burning effigies of an all time great foreign cricketer and a coach just because of one match loss is irrational. No matter how good the coach is, at the end of the day its up to the players to perform. And that makes a foreign coach a great scapegoat!

Media also needs to shoulder some responsibilities. Showing a group of house wives, calling the men in blue back for they are ready to face the leather ball using their brooms does not deserve to be called even childishness. Having the picture of a mob destroying property as a cover page shows immaturity. The enthusiasm of 24x7 channels who wait for 4 long years just to cover this 2 month event is inexplicable. If you have the power to influence the mass opinion, some amount of rationality will do no harm.

On the positive side, it creates a common DNA. A person from kanyakumari will talk as passionately about cricket as a person from Kashmir. You can always see strangers talking heartily on the glamorous cover drive hit by Sachin Tendulkar. Differences are lost when talking about the cricket world cup.

Whether India loses or wins the world cup is another matter. But creating havoc and being personal for what is not personal is a weakness that India needs to fight out. Let our future generations know that it's just a sport and needs to be played in true spirits. Let us show them how to deal with victory and failure at the same time. Let cricket be cricket and nothing more than that!

“The Fourth Estate”

“The good aspect of it is that as much as we hate the current role of media, it is what is demanded by the consumer” Govindraj Ethiraj

The Majority decides the majority of the decisions, but is it always the right decision in the interest of the whole society? When Rakhi Savant does her antics on stage, people just love it. When Models walk down the ramp with wardrobe malfunction or mind malfunction whichever it is, people talk about it. When people here a beep during programs, they enjoy it. When the news channels produce a home grown animation of a small fiasco, people want more of it. When Abhishekh Bachan goes to visit a temple with Aishwarya Rai, people start hyping it up.
The fourth estate is crumbling. “As I see the trend, 30-40% will be focused towards entertainment, and the remaining 60-70% will be the actual content” says GovindRaj Ethiraj. There will be counterbalancing market forces which will ensure that the ratios are maintained. And the entertainers will be the biggest money earners.
Earlier, when I saw a child watching a game of cricket, I didn’t feel any fears. I did that myself. But now, if I see a child watching a cricket match or the advertisements, I am embarrassed to see a lascivious woman promoting condoms. And I am sorry to say that we are moving in the wrong direction.
There are some values ingrained in our Indian society. And we need to respect them. To cross the lines will be more than just blasphemy. Govindraj was right on the button when he said that there are very few people (educated) who want to see the real content on front page news. Others want the predictions of an astrologer who tells when should Aishwarya Rai and Abhishekh Bacchan get married. It defeats the basic purpose of role of media.
And the more unnerving thing is that the consumer wants more. We cannot blame the people for it’s their wish. At the end of the day, they want to talk with their friends about what? Obviously Rakhi Savant.
So the question comes again. Is the forth estate doing its job to maintain the balance between money and nobility. When we talk about media, we should be talking about TV, News Papers, Internet and lots more. But here too the insidious virus has crept in. Presently around 38 million people use the internet. And this number is going to increase to a billion. We need to watch out for the implications that this might have on the society as a whole.
Let’s hope that this is the worst phase that we are going through, and times can only improve from this. Let’s endeavor to make the society a better place to live in for our next generation to grow. Let’s not flounder on the fourth pillar.

Tolerance! or Intolerance!

When the movie Independence Day was created; the director wouldn’t have imagined that the reel life situation shall be one day a real life catastrophe. Fighter jets flying high, jettisoning bombs as if distributing pan cakes without realizing where it would fall. Yes, this is the situation in the country Far West in Africa, i.e. Lebanon. It is a country which has over the past century been torn up by the people, torn up for the people and made of torn up people.

The conflict of interests between the Arabs and the Jews has been going on since the start of 20th century. With both of them, gaining upper hands at some point of time. But, the troubles it has caused to the common man is immense and cannot be justified or even deliberately reasoned out. The cry of the aggrieved one’s having lost their family, the tears of small children roaming naked on the streets, the anger of youngsters for the dystopia that their elders have left , and the intensity of blood and bombs, can never be forgiven. If the world calls for mass evacuation of their citizens from Lebanon, it means that the conditions are struggling to reach the level of survival. The countries of the world know what is to come, but want to be just mute watchers. According to top Lebanon sources, the country has even struggled to provide continuous supply of basic amenities. If not a Human, then who can or should put his foot down?

The situation is not simple as it has given lead to jingoism a number of times. If Lebanon detains two Israeli soldiers to negotiate for Lebanon prisoners in Israel, against the normal flow of things; Israel calls for an all out attack, warning that it would take Lebanon 20 years back. Even the thoughts of 1982 give shivers to anyone who knows a droplet from the ocean. Israel indicates that it will permanently take Hizbollah off its feet. In turn, Hizbollah defends and makes its military wing stronger. Rumors add fuel to the fire. Where and when shall it all end?

It would be foolish for even a naïve person to think that all this is being done without the help of surrounding countries. Syria, Iraq, Iran, US, France, British, Egypt have all got a hand in the man-made potpourri. They have been the coercing hand and surreptitiously aiding the battle for inhuman rights.

Palestine is known as the land of God. The land has drunk enough blood. But unlike man it's not addict. Man can make it drink more at its own peril…

To know more about the roots and the reasons for this pathetic situation please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab-Israeli_conflict#Background

Terror Strikes !!!!

It is generally said and believed that lightning doesn’t strike twice at the same place. But for Mumbai on 11/7/2006 lightning struck for the 7th time in last 13 years. A city that “never sleeps” came to a screeching halt on its very own tracks. Serial blasts took place and ripped apart first class compartments of seven local commuter trains and thereby paralyzing the public communication network of the city. In all 198 people were killed, around a 1000 injured and millions shocked. In what seemed to be a modus operandi of Islamic terrorist group Lashkar-e-taiba, the city slowly started to realize what was happening. After all, it was not for the first time.
Time and again, India’s commercial capital has been the target of several terrorist groups. With this Mumbai also becomes first city in the world to bear the brunt of serial blasts twice in a span of 15 years.
The action was quick from the government and local authorities. The PM addressed the nation exhorting us to remain united and vowed to bring the culprits to justice. The city as is known for its resilience bounced back the very next day and the life literally returned on tracks.
Resilience is good but for Mumbai and the nation as a whole, it is classical case of amnesia, which is worst. After being suffocated for the past decade and a half, the successive governments have succeeded in only giving futile promises of fighting against terrorism. The attack will be condemned, some arrests, an inquiry commission and after that would all be lost till the next attack.
Looking, how the world reacts to such attacks, it is imperative for India to act and be in tutelage of countries like Israel, which does not hesitate to bomb neighboring countries. Yes, the situation may be different, but after all the cause is similar. How long will the innocent suffer, and how long will their resilience thrive. With people like Mulayam singh adding fuel to fire by openly supporting the blast suspects, are certainly a big threat to national integrity.
The pot is boiling for last 15 years and the water may spill any moment. Let us act to savor the independence and sovereignty of our nation for which many people have sacrificed their lives and for which millions of people in today’s world struggle for.

Weekly Dose : 07 June

07/07/2006

Government puts disinvestment process on hold; Karunanidhi thanks Sonia, Manmohan
Nathu La Pass reopened
Henin-Hardenne to meet Mauresmo
Zidane and France seize their final chance
Cristiano Ronaldo tops voting list for `Best Young Player' award
Kerala to seek `Vidharbha-like package'
Judicial inquiry ordered into Bangalore-Mysore corridor project
Centre moots out-of-court settlement on AIIMS issue
CPI (M) voices concern over security breaches
Create infrastructure on the border, says Chamling, the sikkim cheif Minister
Anbumani holds office of profit: Venugopal
"Proposal to fix minimum wage not turned down"
BDR, BSF exchange fire
Cabinet nod for purchase of warships
IITs cancel seats allotment
Top Ifra team visits Infosys complex
Manmohan buckling under pressure: BJP
``Dawood not in Karachi''


06/07/2006
Front Page

AIIMS body for sacking Venugopal
North Korea test fires a series of missiles having range till US
Italy's late brace leaves Germany in a daze
28 rain-related deaths in Maharashtra
Kerala for inclusion of Professional Colleges Act in the Ninth Schedule
Cleaning up public life with Right to Information Act
AIIMS resident doctors protest dismissal proposal
Air Sahara to re-start Delhi-London fights

05/07/2006

Revive talks, India tells Sri Lanka
File returns or face taxmen, says FM
George Fernandes hospitalised
Koirala improving and comes out of ICU
Sonia calls meeting of Congress CMs on price escalation
GSLV ready for lift-off on July 10
Vidharbha package a lollipop: BJP
Lalu inks MoU in Italy for railways
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen divisional commander arrested
Reservation will not lower academic standards: Arjun

04/07/2006

Anil Kumble spins India to a memorable victory
Koirala in hospital
F-16s for Pakistan: New Delhi unhappy
Heroin worth Rs. 35 crore seized, two arrested
Chief Ministers of northern States okay 11th Plan outline
Congress accepts Bhajan Lal's resignation
Life term for Babloo Srivastava, businessman
Iraqi problem can end only when full sovereignty returns: Manmohan
Fallen heroes of 1947-48 war with Pakistan to be honoured

03/07/2006

Saran to hold talks in Sri Lanka
Celebrations break out across France
Zidane inspires, Henry scores, Brazil dethroned
Efforts to improve literacy level of women through Continuing Education Programme
`Lokayukta post cannot be vacant for long' says H D Kumaraswamy
V.P. Singh for referendum on quota
Government committed to press freedom: Dasmunsi
Experts express concern over nuclear deal with U.S.
State officials asked to monitor Vidharbha developmental works

Celebration called Football!

The carnival has come to its last stage. It has been a celebration all along. From the first goal by Philip Lahm,Germany to the rise and rise of Zizou. It has never failed to spring a surprise. It has not been just an event; it has been more than that. It was sprinkled with all emotions just as a bhaji pav(an Indian dish made by mixing all vegetables). The fans have had much to cheer about as well as jeer about. It has been a wonderful enigma in which everyone has been immersed.

The Football world Cup is an event which transcends boundaries and is the only one to do so. It makes people cry, howl, angry, anguished and also burst into joy. All packed in 90 minutes. It’s simple yet sophisticated. A street toddler will also watch the game with as much passion as a rich gizmo in his hallowed four walls. The trophy designed by an Italian draws so much fervor and anticipation that the players give more than a hundred percent. The penalty shootouts which always turn out to be nerve wracking are a part and parcel of the game. But behind all this excitement the big picture has a different say.

The Football World Cup is an event which brings people close. As President of Germany, Horst Koehler told the newspaper that Germans must try to sustain the new-found patriotism they discovered during the tournament, when for the first time since the war waving German flags and singing the national anthem were accepted as natural gestures of healthy national pride. "We are on the right track toward standing up for ourselves and taking pride in what we have achieved since 1945," he said. "The Germans identify with this country and its national colors. I think that is terrific."
How many times have we seen Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel enjoy the match together? France which has been labeled in the past as one of the racist countries, is now going gung-ho on the Algerian born Zinedine Zidane. Especially the matches between the countries who ruled in the past and the ruled country have been stimulating. After England lost out on penalty shoot outs, a humble town in the north of England called Ashton-under-Lyne, will still be celebrating the success of home grown Simone Perotta, the Italian midfielder. If Brazil lost, the whole of West Bengal went into a mourning. That’s the power of Football.

One more remarkable thing was the efficiency of German Administration. Almost every match went on smoothly. We have to give the credit to Franz Beckenbauer and his support staff. The fans, players and the German people have enjoyed the tournament to the fullest.

It’s been a beautiful show, with all trumpets and glitterati. It has been a tournament which has had its fair share of controversies, magic from the magicians, hard work from the not so talented, and of course a breeding ground for young legs. Its time we all sit up and watch the most beautiful show on earth on the 9th of July and savour it for life.

Metro Mania

Kolkatta, Delhi and now it was turn of Bangalore and Mumbai to go the Metro way. After the ostentatious inauguration of the Metro Project in Bangalore on 24th of June, the city was high in spirits. The city has greeted the decision with pomp and joy. The Bangalore Metro project is estimated to cost a whopping Rs. 6300 crores.

The metro project aims at reducing the congestion in the technological and software hub of the nation. The Bangalore metro will have a 33 km elevated and underground rail network with 32 stations for Phase I of the project. The work is scheduled to start in September in full swing and the first of the trains will run in three years.
Similarly, the Mumbai metro rail project is all set to lighten the government treasury by a gargantuan 19,500 crores. The first phase will provide a much needed connectivity between eastern and western suburbs of the city. The swanky and plush metro rails are set to make the city more accessible and congestion free.
In a developing country like ours where for 20 percent people live below the other alternatives must be thought upon. The Bus Rapid Transit system provides an excellent alternative to the expensive metro rails. Moreover the amount of work needed to be carried out, the risk of corrupt contractors and delay for the completion of the project is negated to a considerable extent. The Bus rapid transit has been successfully executed in about 35 countries of the world. The Gujarat government has taken a step ahead by not joining the metro race and promising Ahmedabad a world class BRTS system. This certainly seems the most viable and sensible option.
A comparison between BRTS and MRTS will indeed be justified here. BRT attempts to combine the advantages of a metro system (exclusive right-of-way to improve punctuality and frequency) with the advantages of a bus system (low construction and maintenance costs, does not require exclusive right-of-way for entire length). On a single route basis, the capacity of BRT and normal buses is smaller compared to metro trains. Typical buses are 40 feet long, articulated buses 60 feet. Metro trains can be 800 feet long. Metro Rail tends to provide a smoother ride and is known to attract significantly higher passenger numbers than road-based systems. An advantage of BRT, however, is that its maintenance facilities can be located anywhere, whereas for rail there must be a facility for each separate line. An important advantage of BRTS is its flexibility. Like in Ahmedabad, the system can first be implemented over a 10 km stretch. The time taken for the initial phase to be in operation is less than 2 years. In Ahmedabad the first phase is a 10 km stretch between Naroda and Thakkar Bappa Nagar which will be completed in 18 months, once the work commences.
The most important fact is the cost factor. The comparison between the costs of implementation between the two systems can be given by an illustrative example. The entire Delhi Metro rail project phase I had been for 64 km and cost around Rs. 10,500. That is a mammoth 165 crores a km, where as the 10 km stretch of BRT in Ahmedabad will cost around 75 crores. That comes to about 7.5 crores a km. That is a massive cost saving.
Higher costs of metros are acceptable for the kind of facilities and ease they provide, but only if they are benefiting and improving the current infrastructure woes. But building huge metro systems will certainly hinder the traffic in the city in a big way. Also DMRC expected around 15 lakh passengers to use the metro rails in 2005. But only 4.5 lakh passengers currently use it regularly.
All in all a cheap and a cost effective solution to the traffic problems in major cities of India can prevent the government from burdening its pockets.

SEZzling Reliance

On June 19th, the Chairman of Reliance Industries announced a Rs 250 billion mega deal buying 25000 acres of land from the Haryana Government. If this was not big enough, we are expecting two massive SEZs across 14,000 hectares in Navi Mumbai and Maha Mumbai in collaboration with the Mahrashtra Government.
An SEZ, or a Special Economic Zone, is like a foreign territory within a country. An SEZ is governed by a special set of rules to facilitate foreign direct investment for export-oriented production. SEZs are free trade zones and customs authorities do not supervise them.
These zones are typically marked by minimum bureaucracy, best infrastructure, generous tax holidays, unlimited duty free imports of raw, intermediate and final goods as well as capital goods. Basically, governments look to SEZs to overcome difficulties in bureaucracy and fiscal measures.

Advantage to units located in a SEZ

• 100 per cent FDI allowed through automatic approval
• Sales to hinterland of India permitted with incentives on achieving positive net foreign exchange
• Sub-contracting allowed to units in domestic tariff zone
• "Public utility" status to in-zone units preventing flash strikes by workers
• 15-year income-tax exemption on export profits
• Imports exempted from customs duty and local taxes
• Freedom to retain foreign exchange earnings

Incentives to developers and co-developers

• Generation, transmission and distribution of power in SEZ allowed
• Full freedom to allocate developed plots in SEZ on commercial basis
• Income-tax exemption for a block of any 10 years in 15 years at the option of the developer
• Exemption from service tax
• Developer can import without payment of duty for the development, operation and maintenance of SEZ

Incentives to developers in the state

• Developers exempt from stamp duty and registration fees
Developers can sell surplus electricity outside the SEZ zone; also permitted to distribute other utilities like water, gas, telecom within the zone
Developers to be declared the "Special Planning Authority" for planning, and the "Township Authority" for the development, management operations and maintenance of the SEZ

On the face value, the concept seems to be a great one. We can surely repeat the success story of rival global locations like Dubai's Jebel Ali, or Malaysia's Bandar Nusajaya Industrial Park, or even SEZs in China. But is the Government loosing more in lurch for more lucre? Only time will tell...