SCHUMACHER RETURNS

Talk about big news coming through the week. Finally after weeks of rumours..it has been confirmed Michael Schumacher is coming back to Formula 1. For the umpteen numbers of fans who followed him and his Benetton and Ferrari days it was heartbreak when Schumi almost came back after Massa's accident, but unfortunately things did not work out.

However this is big, though he does not come back in the famed prancing stallion.. dunno if its gonna be silver arrows either..but whichever team it is..i don't care.. the man who typified Formula 1 for me who got me hooked onto it like never before is returning..

I always felt after his last season where Alonso had him..there was a swansong left...when he left the scene..something was amiss..now that he returns the scene is pretty much set...Alonso, Hamilton and Button...in my opinion could not light up the circuit the same way he did with me pretty much losing my interest. Formula1 was just not the same without him

Yes he might have brought boredom upon the non-supporters with his consistency..pretty much like Pete Sampras did during his heydays but it just typified the man with his success for hunger after having won everything and pretty much owning all the records in Formula 1.

I hope he still is able to race the way he did and Mercedes provides with a great car.. Ahh fascinating battles lie ahead..and i hope he is able to chart one more illustrious chapter in his book and maybe go ahead further more.

WELCOME BACK MICHAEL SCHUMACHER!!!!

The Manchester Derby

Sunday amply demonstrated why being a fan to a sport team can be amply rewarding or maybe so heartbreaking at times. Fortunately for me i support the red side of Manchester and they never stop rewarding with finishes that are just beyond words.

Starting with the improbable victory at Nou Camp.. to the last Champions League where John Terry managed to stop all the hearts before sending them into elation.

This Sunday was no different. When Bellamy scored at the stroke of full time..the world came crashing down after such an exciting fight in the second half, a stupid stupid mistake by Rio Ferdinand gifting the ball away which Bellamy aptly punished United for. The anguish on Rio's face mirrored the feelings of millions of fans worldwide.

Typical to what United stands for they did not give up. Aided by maybe what some would insist as "Fergie time" they came back to win the game in style. Scoring once again in extra time and it could not be more for Michael Owen to score the winning goal. Absolute raptures, cant even begin to describe the feeling when the ball went in. Times like this are what makes being a football fan so special

Fergie asked after the game said he would have preferred a 6-0 result to a 4-3 outcome that happened eventually. In my opinion at 4-3 victory anyday with the heart-stopping winner in the final minutes of the extra-time.. Red for life..

Saturday

I don't do house-visits. Never have. Only one till last Saturday being 3 years in the profession. It ain't practical being a dentist doing house visits cos working away from clinic is impossible. Or blame our inflated egos. The first and last time I went was to a lady with a toothache and a fractured leg. One instantly feels the plight entering the home and the least one can do is provide a fix, albeit a temporary one. I gave her medicines. Never heard from her, which in my line of work is more often than not a good sign. That was six months back

Saturdays are usually the laziest days, not much work happening generally me alone in the clinic and my boss not around. This Saturday was different, my boss was around which means splitting the work load. He left around his usual time. I decided to stay on for 15 mins. A lady, his patient came and realised he had just left. I generally don't pay attention till the patient enters the operatory which was why i was stunned when the lady asked me if i could see her daughter at her house because she could not make it to the clinic .

The urge to say no was incredible. It was a Saturday. My day almost over. Hungry. Tired.
However, one look at the lady and very difficult to refuse. It was only 5 minutes away anyways.

Reached her place, the door ajar, her not being able to open it.. the Mother calling inside asking someone to move which after a few times bore result. What awaited me was something i will never forget. A small little girl about 7 maybe on the floor unable to move.

It was a just a room with a bed occupying one third the kitchen the other third and the girl on the ground. Paraplegic. Mentally retarded. That was my patient. And the only coherent word she could utter was 'aai'. Never have heard it being said so sweetly and never has it caused so much anguish.

We managed to get her on the bed and tricked her into letting me examine her. I was shocked to know she was 17. Throughout she kept grunting and kept calling for her mother. I cannot help but remember how fortunate I was to be able, physically and mentally.

It is also amazing how people at times with so little to offer can make one feel so special. A simple act of asking me 'chai' when this lady is surrounded by a Whirlpool was enough for me. In a room full of problems she made me feel big when i was juts doing my job. Compared to people with so much more and very little heart.

As I watch Bipasha Basu talk about her parent's love for her i wonder how do u place the mother's love for her child i just saw. The grit, the dignity with which she manages her affairs is amazing. Makes me question what the kid did to deserve a life as such. Or the parents loving their child so much. All the talk of karma and stuff fades when i saw them leading their lives. Fighting more for it.

We all do stuff for our parents. Being able to do something for my parents, give something back , is one of the biggest achievements for me. However whatever i do will never be a drop in the ocean for what they have done. I still wonder what keeps that mother going. I don't even know if she does get loved back in return. Ain't that what keeps us going. Being loved and cared for by the people around us.

Most of us are fortunate to be loved and know that we are being loved and more importantly give love back. At the same time families like Amruta's exist being less so fortunate and fighting the same battle as we do with much more grit and compassion. Selfless love.

As I walked away from her place the lump in my throat slowly disappeared with respect for them. Faith reposed. Teaching me that the fight is always on. Beaten to a pulp, battered not giving up. She is fighting her battles.

I have mine. Along the way. Will never lose the lesson.

JASWANT SINGH EXPELLED FROM BJP

" From Hanuman to Ravan". The hurt apparent in his voice, Jaswant Singh fielded all the questions from the journalists. I must admit he was very dignified throughout the conference.
Inspite of being treated shoddily not a word against the party or his colleagues.. in this case former colleagues

What has happened though is ridiculous. I am not sure how the BJP thinks but expelling Jaswant Singh just because he wrote a book and expressed his book is a bit too much. He may have glorified Jinnah, but it is his book, although i have not read the book i am sure whatever is written is not ground for expelling from an Organisation he has been working for the past 30 years.

The way in which it was done too leaves a lot to be desired. First asking him not to attend the so called 'chintan baithak' and then calling him on the phone intimating him about his expulsion. The least one can do is show a bit of courtesy to such a senior leader.

I always thought generally before expulsion a show-cause notice was issued. Atleast an explanation is sought from the guilty party before taking any action. Though BJP really don't have no grounds to even ask that because what Jaswant Singh did was express his personal opinions. I am not sure what offended BJP so much. Writing a book about someone who is inconsequential now. They already did distance themselves from the opinions expressed. Its so funny that they expel Jaswant Singh. however turned Varun Gandhi into some kind of a "hotshot teen political star cum victim cum star campaigner cum vote puller".Absolutely unbelievable that it actually happened because he wrote a book. Grow up BJP, because I have the bat and the ball and you said something good about someone not from my team, I wont let you play.

I would love to know L.K Advani's role in the whole event. He was the pioneer of the Jinnah-speak. Also not in our land but go to Pakistan and praise him there. And BJP loved him so much.. Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Ministerial candidate. Would love what he has to say now. If he really meant any of the things he said about the dignified political life he lead or leads... at 81 .. I am pressed to ask why... why lead a political career when you should maybe step aside and give the younger leaders a chance... coming back to the point he should really quit, if Jaswant is guilty Advani does not fare any better.

Less said about Vasundhara the better. Openly defying the Party leadership she still head the unit. Ironically Rajnath has not moved a muscle in any direction. I can Rajnath Singh rubbing his hands in glee...kisi ko toh apna power dikhaya.."Vasundhaa nahi toh na sahi..hum toh Jaswant se kaam chala lenge"

Coming back to Jaswant Singh from the highs of the Strobe Talbott talks to the uncertain political future ahead, quite the ride politics take you, from dizzying heights to uncertain nowheres and quite true about life too. Once atop a perch and before one realizes the fall. Lessons to be learnt,not only for politicians and the common public in general. For me for you.

Manchester United 1 Birmingham City 0

The defence of the league title begins. Playing in the league minus Ronaldo, United did show what a big loss it is to the team at times with the explosive runs missing. It is too early to judge performances based on this game but am just happy United did put one through against Birmingham. It was disappointing that the victory margin was not more considering United dictated whole of the game.

Birmingham made a decent start to their season not showing too much respect to their illustrious competitors. They provided the scare when Evra was forced to make a goal-line save and later in the game Ben Foster had to react quickly.

It was wonderful to see Michael Owen in United colours and I hope he is able to resurrect his career not only at Old Trafford but soon want him playing in England colours.
Overall we still are a bit lightweight in the midfield, the ability to open up defences lacking and dont have anyone in the squad who can stay on the ball and dictate play. Someone in the Pirlo, Deco or Xavi mould. Absence of Ronaldo from that mid-field also takes away the bit of flashiness that never was part of United and it was good flashiness btw, he scored many and created as many, big job to fill his boots,. Scholes and Giggs still are around but it is time to groom players who would take their places. Berbatov did work hard and was not his usual languid self. Rooney scored which is what he should be doing.

Overall a below satisfactory performance but 3 points in the bag and the quest for the title for the fourth time and more importantly go one more than Liverpool begins.

Dravid back in the squad

Two years is a long time to be left out of the team. And if at 36 he earns a comeback it speaks volumes of the man of the man who still averages over 39 in the ODI's

Dravid has been the one to have been a pillar of the Indian team much through the times when batsmen around him were flailing and deserves to be spoken in the same light as Sachin Tendulkar for his sheer ability on the field. Unfortunately him being underrated and not to assertive has come in his way of him not getting his due credit.

Oft being criticised for being too defensive at times, he reinvented himself and was the backbone of the team for almost the entire time he was playing. Quite a feat when we realize that he holds the Indian record for the 2nd fastest 50. Even more surprising is the fact that the fastest %0 record for an Indian is held by... Ajit Agarkar..but that's a different matter.

I have always felt that his ODI career was aborted midway with him having a lot to offer. Much to do with the internal politics that governs the game than anything that he did on the field. With the selectors much vaunted youth policy stuttering a bit it is time that Dravid comes back and puts the records right and goes out on his terms ending a fabulous career.

Tryst With Destiny

NDTV did me a favour by playing out Jawaharlal Nehru's speech made to the Indian Constituent Assembly. " At the stroke of the midnight hour...." it starts all so familiar and then ignorant me actually heard the whole speech... The speech is truly stirring..

"That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.

And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments."

As we celebrate our independence day Jawaharlal Nehru's speech remains as relevant as it was 62 years back. And therein lies the problem. 62 years and the number of millions of Indians who suffer remains staggeringly high. Poverty and ignorance rampant in our country. Yes we have prospered and have a booming economy but wiping a tear from every eye is a distant dream.

Right to Education bill got underway and soon enough the bill for Food security shall be introduced. Earnestly there has been no dearth of bills, never was. Where we have lacked is implementation of the bills. It truly would be a shame if a great initiative like the Food security is mismanaged and goes down the train. When we have statistics that claim 46% of children aged under 3 are malnourished it is a cause for concern. Ethiopia fares better than us on the index. No disrespect to Ethiopia but with a GDP like ours we surely can do much better for the kids in our country.

Going back to the speech again Nehru's word strike a cord deep within...

The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations.....

And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service. "

Arm-twisted

For 'teh' one who reads... yes ...u managed to twist my arm and make me post...

Pune and the Swine Flu

As my city grapples with the pandemic disease a sense of panic has gripped it. In my 8 years of using a face mask i have never seen so many on the display. Ever third person on the street is using a face-mask protecting himself/herself from the virus.

The Government has acted without a doubt but there need to be clearer guidelines on what to do in a patient suspected with flu like symptoms. Asking for a preliminary examination to be done is hardy a guideline.

The media needs to be a bit more responsible while reporting the tragedy. I understand two lives have been lost and it is a crying shame that the doctors in the hospitals did not have the presence of mind to test them both for swine flu and then maybe could have saved their lives.

It is a disease that can transform into mammoth proportions unless the whole administration gets into a unified act of controlling the epidemic. Sensationalism by the news channels does not help anyone, if at all it makes the job of the health professionals all the more difficult, with people panicking everywhere. As i mentioned never ever seen departmental stores housing face masks and selling them for almost 4 times their price. And as if it helps. A disposable mask can stop droplet infections but Swine flu..not sure how much. It can be cured and more focus should be on curing the disease and isolating anyone who has it.

With the proposed closing down of malls and theatres a step in the right direction might be taken to prevent the disease from spreading. However a lot desires to be done by the government and the administration and us people in helping us control this epidemic and come out of it relatively unscathed.

The Mayawati Statue

Oft raised the Mayawati issue finally had reached the Supreme Court with the highest court issuing a show cause notice to the UP government.

Saying anything against Mayawati is the quickest way to brand oneself as elitist ignoring the atrocities inflicted on the downtrodde. One cannot deny the fact that the downtrodden section of our country still is way in darkness and a lot needs to be done for them. Parading oneself as their messiah for one's own petty gains is not the way it is done

That's my grouse with Mayawati. She aint no messiah for the Dalits or for anyone. She is furthering her agenda by way of giving a voice to the Dalit cause. The statue issue is just one of the ways to put herself up using the Dalit cause.

2000 crores in these times to erect statues is horrific. When more than half of the kids under the age of 5 are malnourished, spending that amount of money for erecting statues is crazy. Height of sycophancy whereby she erects her own statues in the lofty company of Dr. Ambedkar. Misusing his legacy to achieve power and govern the state to further ruins.

I still cannot fathom why i have to pay from my pocket for erecting a Maywati statue. If she wants it so much let her have a million of them in her own house paying for them for her own pocket. Why use public money for erecting her own statue.

Offering limp excuses that Kanshi Ram always wanted her by his side wont do. Kanshi Ram's family would have a different story to tell. If his last days were anything to go by it would be difficult to believe what Mayawati often propogates.

Thank god the Supreme Court has intervened and ask the Government to respond. It would be interesting to see what defence the government mounts. It however wont change till the people who vote for her wake up and see whats happening.

It's statues today...something else tomorow. Mayawati will find a way to use and rouse the emotions. Her vote-bank hopefully realised this and asks for better governance than to turn a corner and have Mayawati in stone lookin back at them

Amongst a flurry of emails there usually is one or two that beats the "send it to a million and you'd spawn a million " kinda mail, something that stands out. A mail that one is loathe to delete from the archives.

Just happen to view one such email. Katie Kirkpatrick. Never heard of ever before. Never will forget her ever after.

The ability of Human spirit to rise above pain and achieve what it wants for itself continues to fascinate me. Katie symbolizes the fight inherent in all of us to go beyond issues that stop us. Thats Katie when she was the homecoming queen at Lapeer East High School where she also was a co-valedictorian. the photograph sits on a table in her family's home living room in Metamora.


On Valentine's Day 2002, Katie Kirkpatrick, then a freshman at Rochester College a small Christian college in Rochester Hills, Michigan) was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Undaunted, Katie strove to keep up with her studies, but she suffered another setback in 2003 when she was diagnosed with "an inoperable lung tumor wrapped around her pulmonary artery.

However Katie did not allow that to stop her from celebrating one of the happiest days of her life. She was in love with Nick Godwin since 11th grade. The fact that is that we can rise above adverse circumstances. It always is about how much one gets and what one can make out of it. Katie got what she did but what she did further with it is what makes it all the more special


Katie strode ahead inspite of the severe pain taking morphine and numerous medications to help her. Inspite of suffering from terminal cancer with prolonged medications and multiple organ failures Katie took care of every detail of her wedding.The wedding dress though had to be adjusted a couple of times because of her constant weight loss. Inspite of everything Katie walked down the aisle to marry Nick Godwin, 23, at Church of Christ in Hazel Park on Saturday January 15, 2005.


Five days later, Katie died. She did not let her illness stop her getting what she wanted. She has a wonderful wedding the love of her life by her side. She did not stop living then. She did not stop living now. Incredible that the story has resurfaced again after about 5 years. Her father recently lost his battle against the same illness. However the human spirit or the tales of such live on. All of us have the same human spirit, to look an adverse situation in the eye and strive and attain what we want inspite of our situations. Katie Kirkpatrick is an embodiment of the same human spirit and lives on long after she has gone. I know she will last with me till the time I am. And that i believe is the way that an illness could not stop Katie from attaining love, happiness and share memories with people all over the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo to Madrid

Florentino Perez has done what Ramon Calderon could not. Break the bank and bring not only Kaka but Cristiano Ronaldo the Bernabeu. For the watcher's it was waiting to happen. I did not expect Kaka to move to Madrid but credit to Perez he made it happen. And with David Villa and the Valencia saga that attacking line-up sure looks ominous.

For a United fan the saga was already a long drawn affair with almost all bored of it. Deep down everone knew Ronaldo was on his way with his sights set on Madrid. As a fan of both the teams i find the deal to be the best for Madrid . The two players can lend the strongest midfield that would eclipse the trinity at barcelona. The addition of David Villa would make it a fearsome stike-force at the front. Not sure how the talismanic Raul or RVN would figure in the final line-up however another striker of the same quality as either of the three would mean an extended time on the sidelines for the two. With reports of both sneijder and Robben on the move, the left of the mid-field hopefully will be bolstered by the addition of some new players. I'd be loathe to see Robben go and worse to Liverpool but his injury record is not the greatest.

As a United fan the loss of Ronaldo is big almost impossible to fill but the amount of money on offer was ludicrous. Ronaldo will never have a season of 42 goals ever. Made sense to let go of him when the price was the highest. For the same Price United can have 3 world class players and i am sure the gaffer would have thought of something before letting his star player go.
For me the typical United player is someone like Roy Keane who would absolutely kill himself for the team. Rooney somehow fits in the same act now, selflessly playing out of position and tracking back like hell defending. The present squad at Old trafford may not have the same combative spirit the team did under Keane, but sure have combative stars

I guess thats one of the reason Cristiano could never endear himself to the faithfuls. The fight when things go against the team the amount of effort put in him is what gets appreciated. Even Berbatov too is guilty of the same. On the other hand Carlos Tevez has becomes a darling of the faithfuls with an incredible display of heart even with his future uncertain. No wonder Old trafford crossed the manager with chants to keep him and Carlito was teary-eyed with the support.

I am not sure what reception Ronaldo would get when he returns to the 'Theatre of Dreams'. His loss is immense no doubt but it does not make me sad to see him go. The heart the fight that one associates with the United shirt is what matters.

United have recovered after losing bigger stars. Cantona, Stam, Schmeichel, Beckham, RVN... all legends in their own right and much more to the fans than Ronaldo could. United will come back again.

For his time at the Theatre of Dreams a big thank you to Cristiano and and wishing him lots of luck when he dons the white shirt of the los merengues. Real probably is the biggest club in the world and he hopefully dazzles the world with his skills further

Spring within

And I know no sentence should begin with an 'and.' But that was a hiatus and this is a continuation that will end in an ellipsis. For it ebbs and flows with seasonal tides. Spring showers and buds bursting forth in pinks and whites and yellows. I know the pale leather wet from splashing in puddles will dry down soft and pliable and will lose its bite. A little more room to wiggle, room to breathe. Swine flu and a smell of death in the air but this season promises green leaves so tender they smell like a baby's scalp. You know you believe in regeneration. While Cohen quotes the Gita -'You will never untangle the circumstances that brought you to this moment. Embrace your fate,' you laugh silently and know in your heart that you wanted to be here.

Sanjay Dutt barred from elections

Munnabhai ain't gonna be an MP anytime soon. The Supreme Court has disallowed Sanjay Dutt from contesting the elections.

In my opinion the decision is absolutely correct. Criminalisation of politics needs to be regulated. The Parliament had expressed its resolve to stop the participation of nefarious elements in politics. Any other decision would have set a bad precedent as the Supreme Court itself mentioned

I know a lot of Sanjay Dutt fans would be disappointed that he cannot contest however the fact remains that he has been convicted under the Arms Act and unless and until his conviction is set aside he cannot contest. There never was any doubt to start with that his case would never be upheld. Once he was convicted he should have realised his limitations and should have thought better of contesting.

The judgement is landmark in itself considering it sends out the strongest message that people with criminal antecedents have no space in the public sphere. Sanjay Dutt and his exemplary record during the trial notwithstanding he has a criminal record to himself and an example needs to be set. The greater good of the nation should take precedence over the future of an individual candidate. Further more the right to contest is not a fundamental right, but a statutory right, so the Supreme Court cannot be accused of violating Sanjay's fundamental rights in any way.

The comparisons with Navjot Singh too ain't right. The two cases are entirely different. In one instance Sidhu voluntarily resigned after his conviction, vacated his seat and then approached the Supreme Court to stay his conviction which then allowed him to contest.
As of today Sanjay stands convicted as such cannot contest.

That the benchmark is now set further action needs to be taken in decriminalization of politics in a big way with the politicians present in the system needing to take the biggest part. As far as Sanjay is concerned he may get his wife to fight and get himself elected by proxy. Knowing our politics it is quite possible that Sanjay and the Samajwadi Party might resort to it.

However a person with a crime conviction should not be allowed to contest whoever it maybe. If and when the courts do stay his conviction he is welcome to represent me in the Parliament. Till then no can do.

Varun Gandhi Arrested

Finally Varun Gandhi has surrendered and has been arrested and sentenced till Monday morning. The irony of the situation though is very peculiar. Someone who should be in the dock for his comments is slowly elevating himself to a cult status.

It has been played out into a drama to be very honest. For a day BJP was embarrassed about his comments and disassociated itself with his statements. And now they have turned back and realised that they have the golden hen and started planning for the eggs.

Quite ironical that Varun Gandhi whose party should have come out in force and corrected his ways have played out a gimmick for votes. They see an opportunity to polarize the electorate and gain votes by way of it.

The damage that they cause to our national fabric is so apparent. I wonder how the BJP leaders cant think of the Nation as a whole. Dividing the electorate on the basis of religion so that they can come to power is deplorable. What's more they have succeeded in winning pilibhit over maybe even Uttar Pradesh. How can we be so naive that we dont see these designs that the political parties create.

I mean Common does Varun Gandhi really care about nation building and uniting the nation. He talks about standing by his principles. I wonder what principles have been ingrained by him that he has to resort to such cheap measures to elect himself.

Appalling that the BJP has lent full support to Varun wanting to create another Narendra Modi or maybe even better a 'saffron Gandhi'.In political terms it has been shrewd manipulation by both BJP and Varun to turn the tables around on Congress.
Poor Congress must be wondering what have they got themselves into. They planned on doing something and the result simply is terrible.

Reports indicate that Varun Gandhi might go and campaign in other constituencies apart from Pilibhit sowing seeds of disharmony everywhere he goes or atleast an attempt to do so. It remains to be seen if the Indian electorate can see through this gimmick and then vote on issues that matter.

As far as Pilibhit goes i think Varun will succeed, I hope he never does outside Pilibhit

IPL Moved

After a lot of dilly-dallying the IPL 2 matches have been finally shifted out of India. England and South Africa are apparently the front runners to bag the the second edition of the cricketing bonanza

It does not make too much of a difference to be very honest. However it just not sound Indian when they play it abroad. I can never imagine Manchester United playing at Eden gardens and calling them home.Old Trafford is the Theatre of Dreams and shall stay so. Similarly the atmosphere the passion at Eden gardens for Kolkata knight riders can never be replicated anywhere else in the world,

The shifting of the tournament can be seen as an attempt by the IPL organisers to send a message to the government. Then again maybe it have been a purely business decision. The franchisees have invested too much into the whole show. It is better that the tournament is atleast happening instead of none at all. For someone who would eventually follow the game on the television it would not be too different
What is shocking however has been views expressed somewhere about how the government should have given precedence to thew IPL over the Lok Sabha elections. It is totally ridiculous to think that a money spinning event with an added entertainment value could come anywhere close to an affair that would guide the where the country moves for the next five years.

It is a tragic shame that some people blame the government for the country losing out on the cricketing event. The elections are the most important national event looming large. The political class that exists may indeed not be the best of the crop, however their existence as a political class is failure on our part. They exist because we let them do so. Us not involved in the democratic setup and maybe giving more significance to the razzmatazz that would have occurred instead.

It is a sincere plea on my part to utilise one's vote in the most sensible way possible. Please do vote. IPL will happen and I am not sure how much of a bearing it shall have on the state of millions of malnourished kids in our country. IPL wont do any good to the economy figures posted day in day out. Disintegrating social fabric will not suddenly find itself in the course of 20 odd overs. A government true to the people however will influence all this. The guy on the street shall still sleep if IPL occurs on Mars, he may not if the farm loan confiscates his roof. So do VOTE and VOTE for someone who you think shall lead us forward.

A positive spin on the whole of the IPL being moved is that the cheer-leading gals can go about strutting their stuff uninhibited the neo-religious Sena's notwithstanding.

Varun Gandhi's Speech

I wonder what Maneka Gandhi's reaction would be to the rabble-rousing her son has indulged in. She has won from pilibhit everytime, but once, and has moved away trying to ensure the her son has an easy entry to the Lok Sabha.

The Varun Gandhi comments though leave a not so good taste in the mouth. Especially in the situation they were made. Had he promised to cut off hands that attacked Hindu's in different times i would not have too much of a problem...even though Hindu's don't need Varun Gandhi to protect them, but then again his personal thoughts...saviour for the community or pretends to be.


What i have a problem with is how his religious messiah-ism was asleep all this while and suddenly woke up when votes are at stake. Making fools out of us voters by promising to help us in case the seeds of hatred the politicians sow take root makes me sick. First communalise the whole agenda..paint a community bad....and then protect us from a certain community.

If it is just a political gimmick ( i hope it is) or something with a deeper underlying thought, it still reveals an inherent weakness in our voting scenarios, where politicians like Varun Gandhi and his illustrious predecessors can fool gullible voters by raising rhetoric and espousing there credentials to protect a section of society from others. I find it deplorable that even the younger crop of our politicians ( who i presumed would be saner and work along issues that matter) indulge in such non-issues just because it suits them.

The focus is hardly on building a nation or even smaller...building the constituency he represents into a small harmonious place where everyone co-exists in peace and the representative can work to the further the development of the region as a whole...After posturing himself to be against a community i wonder how Varun will represent all sections of his society if he does win.

The Congress ain't any worse. They'd just use the comments made as a plank to stand upon and berate their opponents mistakes rather than set their house in order... Both the National parties asking for votes because the other is bad...not because they r good.The less said about the so-called Third Front the better.

The fact is that we r a multi-dimensional country with many issues in front of us. It is ironic that when tragedies lash us they never differentiate between us on the basis of languages or religions. Thinking again maybe i am wrong. They do. Tragedies = politicians of a certain ilk. On a serious not i have never seen rain that falls only in the Muslim areas in shifts and then reverts back to a Hindu area.

What he has done may indeed win him votes. Maybe the seat too (although i pray he does not)...along the way tho he too has just played a small bit in the deepening divide between communities in our country. A smallish contribution he could have avoided. I hope he comes to know that what we need is not a saviour from people in our land but problems that surround our people. Wonder if unemployment or poverty ever figures in his plans or he'd be always away with his cape trying to incite fights and then resolve by cutting hands.

I still am waiting for Maneka Gandhi to react.....Tho i maybe disappointed with her reaction..but still

PAKISTAN CRICKET ATTACKS

The attacks in Pakistanare horrific. The logic of cricketers not being attacked by terrorism has been blown away by the attack.

The whole world will be watching the attack and for no fault of ours India too would be involved in the scrutiny that follows. I hope it does not have a major impact on IPL as well as the World Cup thats about to follow.

More importantly Pakistan will have look back at what has been happening. Years of supporting unlawful groups have raised a demon that is now biting the hand that fed it all the while.
The fire that rages on however consumes many in its wake.

As long as nothing is done to control these groups by the authorities who reared them innocents will continue to be attacked, lives lost.

Advani,Pranab Mukherjee and the Praise

It was a sight to behold. L.K. Advani going out of his way to praise Pranab Mukherjee "Sometimes I think, had Pranab not been there what would happen to this government? Whenever there is a crisis, he is there. 25 years ago, he presented the budget and did so again on Monday as it was a crisis situation," remarked Advani.

The sight however was Pranab Mukherjee. A smile and a tinge of blush. I have never seen Mr. Mukherjee smile in recent times. Blame it to the relentless situations that we have been confounded with and somehow Mr. Mukherjee always finds him int centre of the storm trying to guide the ship of the government.

Whatever Advani ascribed to the erstwhile Finance Minister though is pretty correct. Mukherjee has been the primary fire fighter for the government whether it was the nuclear deal or the confidence vote. His acceptability across political parties must have come in quite handy for the part

However the type of politics in the current scenario Advani's remark could also be interpreted as a gentle dig. Though Pranab has been appointed the leader of the House in the Prime Ministers absence, people did not miss the fact that he was not appointed the Prime Minister for the period nor was anything mentioned oficially.

The snub could have had various reasons ranging from lack of confidence in the 10 Janpath circles to internal demographics in the alliance which may have prompted the action. i personally don't identify Pranab as leading the government. Of the present Congress leadership Manmohan Singh still remains the no.1 candidate. I would really love for someone like P. Chidambaram to have a go at the post which may not happen anytime soon or never at all.

Reasons whatever be the, credit to Advani for scoring a very smart point in a very subtle way. The way in which it was done was very admirable hardly rabble-rousing but point conveyed nonetheless. Maybe i am being overtly critical reading too much into a genuine appreciative comment by the Leader of the Opposition. I still would think however that Advani is too smart and astute a politician to let out a comment in the House without scoring a point.

AND HE SUCCEEDED

The military strategist is born not made.
For example:
Two youngsters, one the possessor of a permit, were fishing on a certain estate when a gamekeeper suddenly darted from a thicket. The lad with the permit uttered a cry of fright, dropped his rod, and ran off at top speed.

The gamekeeper was led a swift chase. Then, worn out, the boy halted. The man seized him by the arm and said between pants: "Have you a permit to fish on this estate?"
"Yes, to be sure," said the boy quietly.
"You have? Then show it to me."
The boy drew the permit from his pocket. The man examined it and frowned in perplexity and anger.

"Why did you run when you had this permit?" he asked.
"To let the other boy get away," was the reply. "He didn't have any."

-BEST SHORT STORIES
Collected by THOMAS L. MASSON
Published by DOUBLEDAY, PAGE &COMPANY for REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO. 1922

Rafael Nadal wins...so did Verdasco

" Rafael Nadal beat Fernando Verdasco in an epic semifinal which was the longest match in the Australian Open history"..The Australian Open Final again throws up a mouth-watering clash where the world No.2 goes up against the No.1. Federer is in prime form destroying everone in his wake, while Nadal will never surrender a quarter. Today amply demonstrated that. It should make up for some interesting time watching both guys test each other.

However today belonged to Fernando Verdasco. Anybody who thought Nadal would have it easy was mistaken...and mistaken by a long mile. Verdasco did not go away. He kept plugging back, saving every single break point. winning the tie breakers, chasing down every ball, hitting incredible winners.

He did it all. When the match ended it was 5 hrs 14 mins of absolutely gruelling tennis which left even the audience drained much less the players but Fernando refused to go away silently into the night. Quite an irony that he double faulted when it mattered the most inspite of playing the best match this Australian Open has seen.

He lost 7-6,4-6,7-6,6-7,4-6 but incredibly won many hearts along the way. The tennis they played was of supreme quality. The rally in the last game was played with as much intensity as the first game.No dips here. Both Nadal and Verdasco might have been on running on empty tanks but they sure were running hard.

Not to take any credit away from Nadal. However he did not bulldoze his opponent as he always does. Rather he was not allowed. Verdasco had Nadal under pressure matching him step for step, shot for shot from the first set. The relief on Nadal's face was amply evident. As also his graciousness in victory applauding Verdasco for a fine performance. Commendable. Kudos to Nadal, he fought his way through never letting Verdasco out of his sight.

The result of the final is difficult to predict. The form Fedex is in I'd probably have Federer a shade ahead but Nadal can as well overpower Federer. Tough to pick a winner.

As for today, had it been anyone else but Nadal half of Verdasco's balls would have been winners. Will Verdasco shape up to reach other Grand Slam finals and maybe win??? Only future shall tell but for today he played his part in an epic which was made all the more special becuase of his presence in it... Hero for the day. Respect.

Beckham and Milan

It is incredible how David Beckham just stepped up and proved me right. And that too in style. What a phenomenal strike to score his second goal. That too with the England coach watching. Absolute stunner from a very tight angle.



No wonder Ancelotti wants him to stay. He ran the Milan mid-field till he was taken off. The goal was bloody brilliant. Stay in Milan beckham...

dAViD bECKhAM

The Beckham story unravels..incredibly yet again when he scored his first goal in Serie A. The pedigree the guy has.. I mean he could not have played for any more bigger clubs.. Manchester United to start with, then he moved to arguably the biggest club in the world when he spent his time at Real Madrid.

Am i Beckham fan? Maybe a smallish kinda fan.. He'd never though make it into my team however. I am still too enamoured by Zizou who unfotunately dwarfs Beckham by his on-field prowess. Saying that I find the criticism heaped at Beckham very unfair. The guy has had an incredible career. Beckham's service at both United and Madrid are admirable. No United fan would ever forget the pin-point crosses that fed the strikers or his dead ball act. He may lack a few things on the field but whatever he was good at he was simply incredible at it. No wonder the reception he got at the 'Theatre of Dreams' when he came back. The criticism of his abilities is a bit ham-handed.

More so the reason I was gutted when Beckham opted for the Mickey Mouse league after his infamous spat with Capello at Madrid. He had his reasons at Madrid. Capello had absolutely freezed him out of the team. The way he fought his way back into the team was stupendous though. The second half of the season a Beckham inspired Madrid went on to win the title incredibly in the last two matches from nowhere. A fitting finale to his career at Madrid. Capello must have been ruing his decision to boot Beckham. Strange co-incidence though that Capello is again at the helm of affairs at England and is one of the prime guys asking Beckham to play in a competitive team.

I still think Beckham has enough to offer the footballing world. Beneath the glitz and glamour of the Beckham world, there is still a player who scored that incredible free- kick against Greecein the injury time to send his country to the world cup...imagine the pressure..The player who busted his butt playing at Old Trafford. The player who made eat Don Fabio eat his words.. It was phenomenal. The guy who was the most disliked player after the sending off, came back to be the darling of the masses.

His recent stint at AC Milan typifies the guy. He was good enough to make it to the starting lineup the moment he came in. Speaks volumes of what he can offer. Especially when Milan boasts of players like Kaka and Pirlo in the famed mid-field. What more can a guy prove to the world about his skills. Three of the biggest clubs in the world in three different leagues, incredible

Beckham is not getting any younger and might be in the twilight of his career, tho he still is brilliant at his place in the right side of the mid-field. For all the talk of successors to Beckham's place in the English squad both Lennon and Bentley are still miles away from inheriting his place. Beckham might not start in the squad anymore but i'd definitely say he would one of the most useful players to have in the squad. Everytime he comes on he fuels the anticipation that something special might just happen.. and more often than not it does.

I'd be definitely sad his if David Beckham wraps up his exploits at the San Siro and returns back to LA.. I hope he seals his loan to a permanent deal and enamours Italy as he has done where ever he has been. Beckham probably had a huge part in me being a Manchester United fan second only to maybe Keane and Cantona..but he definitely was a part of the reason that i loved and still love the team so much.

The Ashok Chakra

Respect. Respect and heartbreaking. The sight of their loved ones conferred the awards their faces tell a story. I hope we are quite able to take care of the loved ones of the martyrs everyday at a later date. To ensure that their sacrifice does not go down into annals into time.

11 Ashok Chakras were conferred by the president. All posthumous. I know i would remember a few names for eternity. Every year though brave ones lay their lives only for us to forget them and move on. For their families however it is their worlds that they lose and for every single one of them every day that we leave them behind is the go into oblivion. Their families move so too.

Even amongst the heroes there are so many unheard names. A Jojan Thomas or a an R.P. Deingdoh would always remain unknown to the greater. I hardly knew of them till today. Such a crying shame that the have been awarded the highest gallantry award for their services and i cant find pictures of a few online. Is that the respect they deserve. If the faces of the ones who laid down their lives aint seen how would i ever know the ones whom they left behind.

It is for us to remember their supreme scarifices and ensure that their loved ones are taken care of properly. That the sacrifices are always command the respect they deserve.

On a second note the public broadcaster should have known better. Every one who has made a presentation knows that when a photograph is enlarged beyond a certain size it gets distorted and pixelated. They should have known better than displaying frayed images on national network

Mangalore Pub Assault

Horrific. Lost for words.

The unheard Shri Ram Sena assaulted women in a pub because they were apparently behaving indecently. Such high standards of decency. I really wonder how these guys would really react if something that is indecent, if there is anything as such, occurs. Smacks of hypocrisy. These guys would be the first with roving eyeballs.

The visuals are disturbing. Absolutely revolting. Some of the attacked have been admitted to a hospital just ascertains the severity. Was it their fault that they were having a good time.
Or are they supposed to have a good time in accordance with whims and fancies of certain asinine folks.

A society is governed by a certain set of norms that evolve over a period of time. These do so because they are acceptable to the responsible majority. Stress on the word 'responsible'. A VIP who thinks that poor commoners wait along the side while his motorcade passes through does fall in the category. Every 3rd month a new group comes into existence imposing their own set of fixed values. I thought it was only here that the Shiv Sena suddenly woke up from its slumber and deciding bashing students for giving roses was a momentous achievement.

I simply dont get the motive of these people. Do they like wake up one day and realize that they owe their share to the society however unwanted it is. Or they hurt their head and their brains desecend down to their butts where they start thinking upside down. Or is a pathology of some other kind. Or they have been really hoodwinked to think they are supermen of some kind, knighted to protect poor us. Hitting women...some kind of supermen these sure are. Had it not for these brave people so benevolent with their violent hearts, working selflessly to protect me from being corrupted I could have never visualised our country achieving the great heights Taliban has.

Such brave people. Too bad Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Hemant Karkare thought laying their lives was the highest way to serve the society. Apparently not. Ironically the Ashok Chakra too have been announced this week. Stupid people with even a stupider sense of what moral standards are deserve to be paid back in the same coin.

What is worrisome is some twisted organizer of the whole act comes out defending the actions of his organization. Inspite of 40 odd involved only 3 people have been arrested. What's worse is Congress immediately would point out how the BJP misrule has brought this on the state. While BJP would surely find some stupid reason to blame the Congress for it. The perpetrators go scott-free.

It is the responsibility of these very parties to ensure that citizens are safe in every walk of their life especially women. We have a constitution that guides us. It ensures us certain rights with duties. As long as I take care of my duties I am free to enjoy my rights. We masquerade as liberals with aspirations to be the next super-power. We want our country to transcend economic boundaries and attain status comparable with the affluent west. Inspite of our aspiration we still have not been able to get rid of our cows from our streets. Wonder which keep us back- cows on the street or the men who still live in caves pretending to be savvy let loose on the same streets. Actually caves might get take an offence to house such people. Never been harmed by the harmless cows yet

As far as my society is concerned. It will take care of itself. It has till now without the valuable input of savages. It will further. Please spare me the agony. I am very happy with my own miserable society howsoever corrupted it is or will be. Better me merry in hell than sulk in heaven. Come to think of it..my heaven is where i get to do my own thing and let everybody do theirs without stepping on each other toes in the process.

Shri Ram must be squirming though. His name being used by the organization. And to think he waged the war for Sita. Even Ravana never inflicted bodily harm on her. Talk about moral standards... shameful..

IMPERSONAL

A pretty girl at an evening party was bantering a genial bachelor on his reasons for remaining single.

"No−oo. I never was exactly disappointed in love," he said. "I was what you might call discouraged. You see,when I was very young I became very much enamored of a young lady of my acquaintance. I was mortally afraid to tell her of my feeling, but at length I screwed up my courage to the proposing point.

I said, 'Let's get married,' And she said, 'Why, who'd have us?'"

Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister

It was debated quite a bit when Narendra Modi won the last Gujarat election, whether he'd be able to replicate the same model for the country. Some water has flown under the bridge and Anil Ambani and Sunil Mittal do think that the guy is ready to lead the nation

What happened back then was wrong, yes it might have been some time back, but scars that wounds leave always bear testimony to fact that the event did take place and no amount of restructuring on anyone's part can take the pain away. The memories stay.

All politicians do make mistakes, and maybe grow and learn from them. However there is a price to pay for every mistake whatever walk of life one may been. Fortunately for Mr. Modi I assume he has not been dealt with his dues. I am not privy to any of his personal details...so wont know if he indeed does regret what he did.

The price in my eyes that he would pay that inspite of being quite capable in his vision and a fantastic administrator and a leader in the sense of the word...he'd never lead the nation, which I am sure is an ambition he harbours.

The reasons are manifold. The way the laws of nature work are beyond my understanding, however they alone are not the only reason what would stop Modi from attaining his pedestal.

Let there be no doubt that L.K. Advani is still in the midst and whatever maybe the calls from the aisles, if the BJP come to power this time round it will be L.K. Advani who rules the roost and no other. Advani has waited too long in the shadows to see it being taken away right under his nose. Now he'd go an extra yard to cut Modi to size.

Another important factor is the way Modi could work his magic was to reach out to the masses and unify himself with them in Gujarart. People started identifying with what Modi said and that was an important factor.The language barrier would hinder him to quite a large extent. One can evoke emotions when one can speak the people's mind. Outside Gujarat Modi might be able to motivate the masses in the Hindi heartland to unify with him. Beyond which he might influence Maharashtra, though very doubtful since too many factor queer his pitch. Don't see the south of India voting for Modi just by way his persona. Neither the east nor the North. He'd have to run an incredibly polarised campaign to hoodwink one and all.

Considering he wont be able to work his magic in the rest of the hinterland, his allies become important. Its the NDA and not BJP alone that contests. With his autocratic style of running the show and ruthlessness, which needs to admired in measures, he wont have allies falling over themselves to supplicate themselves upto him as the clan of a section of industry.

Wherein lie my fears. If at all Modi does prove me wrong and indeed does rise to be the top dog I'd be more worried than ever. He is absolutely brilliant in running his campaigns and administrating effectively. However that is not enough to be a successful leader. A modest amount of humility in him would have helped him a lot. The lack of such -atleast that's the impression i get i maybe wrong but he has done nothing to repel the image- will eventually not hold him in good stead

It absolutely baffles when people start bending over their backs in the most brazen fashion to please him. Either it was a very calculated move on Modi's part to entice Ambani/ Mittal to mouth the words or the other way round. The sycophancy thus evident is no degrees worse than the one surrounding 10 Janpath. Ironic his campaigned centred itself the corridors of 10 Janpath while he himself is in the process of building his house in similar ways.

When someone like an Anil Ambani can do it, commoners following the trend is hardly surprising. However when a leader rises from the echelons of leadership and instills devotion into the minds of his people he runs a steady risk of being drunk on the power that it confers. When people start equating one with God they lose the ability to question his misdemeanours and overlook his errors, which is precisely i fear might happen.

If however Modi does prove me wrong and does rise to his ambitions and is able to lead my country to a new dawn minus his fallings, I'd be the happiest. Whatever i have seen leads me to believe otherwise. When someone with the blood of innocents rises upto Godliness condoned by the top honchos of the country it makes me squirm. Wonder if NaMo is close to God what pedestal does ADolf HiTler befriend. He did score a lot more than Modi ever would.

Lasantha Wickramatunga

Lasantha Wickramatunge former editor-in-chief of the Sri Lankan newspaper " The Sunday Leader" was assasinated on 8th of january this year on his way to work. He was known for his principled stand against the violence perpetrated by the Sri Lankan Government against the ethnic Tamils. The LTTE brigade is one of the most violent organisation in the recent past. Some of their antics strking fear into the minds of the most resolute. The response of the Government however has been one to alienate the ethnic population. Wickramatunge dared to raise his voice against the Government for which he allegedly had to pay with his life. The Paper carried a posthumous editorial on Sunday the 11th of January... It is a strking article....excerpts from the same.

I have been in the business of journalism a good long time. Indeed, 2009 will be The Sunday Leader's 15th year. Many things have changed in Sri Lanka during that time, and it does not need me to tell you that the greater part of that change has been for the worse.Indeed, murder has become the primary tool whereby the state seeks to control the organs of liberty. Today it is the journalists, tomorrow it will be the judges. For neither group have the risks ever been higher or the stakes lower.

Why then do we do it? I often wonder that. After all, I too am a husband, and the father of three wonderful children. I too have responsibilities and obligations that transcend my profession, be it the law or journalism. Is it worth the risk? Many people tell me it is not.

But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and security. It is the call of conscience.

Every newspaper has its angle, and we do not hide the fact that we have ours. Our commitment is to see Sri Lanka as a transparent, secular, liberal democracy. ... well, if you need me to explain why that is important, you'd best stop buying this paper

Neither should our distaste for the war be interpreted to mean that we support the Tigers. The LTTE are among the most ruthless and bloodthirsty organisations ever to have infested the planet. There is no gainsaying that it must be eradicated. But to do so by violating the rights of Tamil citizens, bombing and shooting them mercilessly, is not only wrong but shames the Sinhalese, whose claim to be custodians of the dhamma is forever called into question by this savagery, much of which is unknown to the public because of censorship.

It is well known that I was on two occasions brutally assaulted, while on another my house was sprayed with machine-gun fire. Despite the government's sanctimonious assurances, there was never a serious police inquiry into the perpetrators of these attacks, and the attackers were never apprehended. In all these cases, I have reason to believe the attacks were inspired by the government. When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me

The irony in this is that, unknown to most of the public, Mahinda and I have been friends for more than a quarter century. Indeed, I suspect that I am one of the few people remaining who routinely addresses him by his first name and uses the familiar Sinhala address oya when talking to him.

Mahinda, when you finally fought your way to the SLFP presidential nomination in 2005, nowhere were you welcomed more warmly than in this column.You have told me yourself that you were not greedy for the presidency. You did not have to hanker after it: it fell into your lap. You have told me that your sons are your greatest joy, and that you love spending time with them, leaving your brothers to operate the machinery of state. Now, it is clear to all who will see that that machinery has operated so well that my sons and daughter do not themselves have a father.

As for me, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I walked tall and bowed to no man. And I have not travelled this journey alone. Others walk in the shadow of death that your Presidency has cast on the freedoms for which you once fought so hard. You will never be allowed to forget that my death took place under your watch.

As for the readers of The Sunday Leader, what can I say but Thank You for supporting our mission. We have espoused unpopular causes, stood up for those too feeble to stand up for themselves, locked horns with the high and mighty so swollen with power that they have forgotten their roots, exposed corruption and the waste of your hard-earned tax rupees, and made sure that whatever the propaganda of the day, you were allowed to hear a contrary view. For this I - and my family - have now paid the price that I have long known I will one day have to pay. I am - and have always been - ready for that. I have done nothing to prevent this outcome: no security, no precautions. I want my murderer to know that I am not a coward like he is, hiding behind human shields while condemning thousands of innocents to death. What am I among so many? It has long been written that my life would be taken, and by whom. All that remains to be written is when.

People often ask me why I take such risks and tell me it is a matter of time before I am bumped off. Of course I know that: it is inevitable. But if we do not speak out now, there will be no one left to speak for those who cannot, whether they be ethnic minorities, the disadvantaged or the persecuted. An example that has inspired me throughout my career in journalism has been that of the German theologian, Martin Niem”ller. In his youth he was an anti-Semite and an admirer of Hitler. As Nazism took hold in Germany, however, he saw Nazism for what it was: it was not just the Jews Hitler sought to extirpate, it was just about anyone with an alternate point of view. Niem”ller spoke out, and for his trouble was incarcerated in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945, and very nearly executed. While incarcerated, Niem”ller wrote a poem that, from the first time I read it in my teenage years, stuck hauntingly in my mind:

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

If you remember nothing else, remember this: The Leader is there for you, be you Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, low-caste, homosexual, dissident or disabled. Its staff will fight on, unbowed and unafraid, with the courage to which you have become accustomed. Do not take that commitment for granted. Let there be no doubt that whatever sacrifices we journalists make, they are not made for our own glory or enrichment: they are made for you. Whether you deserve their sacrifice is another matter. As for me, God knows I tried.

Shabarimala- Makara Villaku

All bedtime stories, atleast for a mallu are incomplete without the story of Lord Ayyapa. The story is a fascinating tale of the Lord's journey from his abode to the earthly premises. It makes for a brilliant hearing and is so deeply entrenched atleast with me that I still am fascinated by it. The veracity of the story is something that i cannot ascertain.

Today is the day when the 'Makara Villaku' or the celestial star appears in the hills. If the story of Lord Ayyapa is fascinating the Makara Villaku is even more interesting. At a preordained time -6.30ish i think- on the day of Makara Sankranti a divine light appears in the summit of a hill opposite the temple lights up thrice. It has been happening for ages and continues to this day. Huge crowds to the tune of a million people gather to watch the celestial show. Television channels beam it across the world.

If the Lord Ayyapa story is debatable the truth of 'Makara Villaku' has been debated intensely by the rationalists and the likes. Reports of Devasvom Boards and the Electricity Board conspiring to ensure the light makes an appearanc are heard all the time. Its funny that even the 'atheist' CPM government has steadfastedly refused an investigation into the affair. Quite prudent of them.

My views too somehow concur with the government. Let it be. I do not believe that the light that exists has divine origins, neither do i not believe that it does not. . I am blissfully unaware of the reality of the situation and want to remain so. Faith is a very personal issue. There is the 'villakku' and for a day the lives of more than a million revolve around it. Maybe it is irrational. So be it. The truth is a mystery to the greater public. I aint no one to determine whether the truth needs be examined. Neither do i see any one around who would claim the moral right to do so. Hence let it be.

What i guess matters more is that the temple throws its open its doors to one and all. However the womenfolk between the ages of 10 and 50 are not allowed. And like a sheep i concur to that too. Yes it is very debatable. Both sides would have relevant points to make. Discriminating on the basis of sex maybe wrong, even worse in a temple that is so liberal. I would hope the wisdom of wiser people let decide what the outcome be. I simply concur because I am unaware of the rights and wrong of the situation, leave it without adding my bit...
"John 8: 7-8
...when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. "

.....and would rather think about the Lord. Relegion is not a bar to enter the temple. All of us for a period of 40 days become Swami's.

My name my age my creed my work.. irrelevant.. I am known as a Swami and so do the scores of other people on their sojourn.The significance of being called a Swami is apparent when one realises that Lord himself is called Swami. Swami Ayyapa. For the period i realise my oneness with the Lord that i am called as such by one and all. Not only me but i realise that everyone around too is a Swami.. a part of the larger celestial being and all of us in unity by small measures bring about the celestial being into existence.

The fact is more higlighted when one reaches the temple and reads the the inscribed words.....Tat Tvam Asi---- 'That Thou Art'

Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United

So eventually Cristiano Ronaldo does bag the FIfa world player of the award. Does he deserve it. For sure. The season he had last years was incredible. Some purists may argue that Lionel Messi maybe more outstanding a candidate. I think that time shall tell what both players achieve. On the basis of last season however Ronaldo dwarfed every single competitor he had and there was no dispute if any that he'd be named the top dog for the last year.

However Ronaldo did himself no favours by the whole Real Madrid saga. Fergie was absolutely positive about not letting him go and Ronaldo behaved like a petulant child. Inspite of his heroics last year the drama that followed wil alienate him to the Old Trafford faithful. He maybe back.. he might score crucial goals.. he might indeed win himself and United scores of trophies but he'd never be the legend Roy Keane and Eric Cantona were or Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are.

The stakes are higher this Year with United having to defend the billing of being champions of England and Champions of Europe.. The World Club Championship was a Mickey Mouse kinda game type of joke.. We have not started well but are known to finish well and the signs look ominous...

Before last week we were 7 points off the Liverpool and 2 games in hand and now 5 points behind them with 2 games still in hand. The clash with the scousers at home. Systematic dismantling of Chelsea achieved.. How i wish jose was around. Would be wonderful the hear him talk.. And befor Liverpool play another game we play two and and can rightfully head the table..with the advantage of knowing that the return clash is back home. Beware Liverpool, the Champions are coming for you... and yeah congratulations Cristiano Ronaldo...

Call The Band

My interest in the music Call plays was awakened recently. Call have not been unheard of on the Indian music scene. The first of their songs i have heard was 'Laree chooti' from the movie ' Ek Chaalis Ki Last Local'. ( which in my view was a decent movie and with a tighter script and some pruning would have done wonderfully well). Their next song was " sab bhula ke" which occupied decent airtime on the erstwhile Indian music channels. I was always under the impression that call was a bangladeshi band.

The other day listening to the radio- which i dont do much- the song Mahi Ve caught my attention. Try hard as i much i could not figure out the movie that this song came from. Internet as always came to my rescue. It actually is a song by pakistani artiste Fakhir...pretty cool song too.. However while exploring the pakistani music scene apart from the popular bands like Jal, Strings etc Call somehow caught my attention with their brand of music which maybe has a rock touch to it. I was also plesantly surprised to find one of their songs on the sound track of "Luck by Chance" a mainstream bollywood film. Though i like the remix version of ' Yeh pal' better.. One of their songs amongst quite a few notworthy.. The video below is of a song 'bichar ke bhi'

SATYAM FRAUD

At a time when corporate governance atleast vis-a-vis Satyam was at its lowest, the quitting of its chairman in the wake of the fraud is an absolutely crashing blow. The Satyam shares have been tanking since the times news has come out almost crashing to 80% of its value. A fraud to the tune of 7100 crore would shake up the trust factor in the market which showed some signs of rallying back. After the disclosure BSE index have tanked almost 600 points. The impact it has on the further role the FII's and FDI's could be disastrous

In a letter addressed to the board members, Raju admitted his wrongdoings absolving everyone apart from the MD of any part in the fraudulent ways. It however seems very improbable that without the help of atleast certain quarters the whole fiasco could have been carried out.

Seemingly a 3% operating margin was inflated to almost 24 %. There also are reported bank balances with 5000 crores of cash that never exists. The balance sheet almost show no cash. Even worrisome could be the loss of clients and the payments assoviated with the work already done

What however seems a bit odd is that Satyam being one of the leaders in the IT league were operating at a mere 3% profit.Satyam if anything was the 4th biggest IT firm in India. If thats the margin the the 4th largest IT company operated at serious doubts can be raised regarding the profitability of IT ventures. Then again in the facade that Raju has pulled through the operating margins too could be cooked up. A thorough audit into the Satyam books would reveal the truths.

The role played by the auditors in this case is quite baffling. Either they were hoodwinked in a beautiful manner or they were complicit in the whole affair. How they missed 5000 crore cash that quite never existed is quite bizzare.

On a short-term basis the stakeholders, especially the smaller ones, would have taken quite a hit. There seems to be no way for them to recover their money. Suspending trading on the stock wont be the right way to go considering there still might be investors who want out of the stock. The 50000 strong workforce of Satyam would be worried and rightly so. Their futures are in a limbo for sometime to come.

One hopes the SEBI and the other concerned authorities take the stringest possible action to avoid the occurance of such a scandal again and restoring the confidence of the investors in the market. Is this the end of the road for Satyam..only time shall tell..

RTI in "larger public interest"

Now with the Chief Information Commissioner(CIC) ruling that 'larger public interest' is not a ground for denying information under the Right to Information Act, it would be interesting to note what loopholes would authorities try and seek refuge to deny information.

The case in this regard was a student asking for details of the Medical Entrance exam held in the Benaras university, where the university took advantage of the previous CIC's order in which AIIMS question papers and keys were denied under the garb of 'larger public interest'.
It is difficult to understand what larger public interest is served in denying information about an examination or a students performance in the same. Lack of transperency at the highest quarters is something that is a frustrating.

Being part of a few entrance exams one does hear about answer papers being marked in pencils and student answers being corrected durin the course of being checked. Corruption regards filling of seats is something that occurs routinely, every single person who appears for the entrances knows how the system works. Sale of a seat is worse than what happens at a flea-market. Knowing the right people can tilt the scales and being related to anyone in the hierarchy would be God-sent. If lacking both it is amazing how many new relatives money can make. Chances of anything changing is absolutely impossible considerin the doyens of most universities are powerful politicians. It is done in such a brilliant manner that no ambiguity can be found later-on. Merit list being prepared before conducting an exam, however corroborating the results at the end of the exam. The system being manipulated bloody brilliantly.

It would be interesting to note what the AIIMS does about this order considering they have steadfastedly refused to let out information earlier, denying students even their ranks. Not to say that shady things happen in the upper echelons or maybe they do.. one always hears things.. but a little more transperency would be nice.

GAZA- Misfiring Hamas and Inhuman Israel

I am too young to realize the full history of the Israeli- Gaza conflict, however whatever little I have read makes me believe that Gaza is ruled by pathetic fools who would rather scarifice their kids than let prudence prevail and work out with Israel for a solution. And across the Border Israel are led by even bigger fools who would oblige Hamas by retaliating.

The reason for aggression this time round has been firing of 60 rockets into the Israeli territory by Hamas activists which resulted in zero casualties. Praise be to the lord for zero casualties.. but what exactly was Hamas trying.. I mean surely they have better people incharge of these rockets.. or are they fired by nincompoops... who for their lives cant hit a target right..
It is absolutely crazy when they have fighters who aim for the gut and take one of their partners out, talk about destroying Israel.. For God's sake open your eyes. 60 bloody rockets and not one target. Maybe next summer Hamas can bring out their new bestseller " How not to hit a target in 6o tries" ... and ruin one's country in the process... Maybe Al-qaeda would turn to the book for to seek gyaan of the kind

As if fools and incompetent idiots in Gaza were not enough we have Israel retaliating.... with
F-16's and apache copters... apparently to take out Hamas infrastructure

Make no mistake i sympathise with Israel completely -long have- on account of the terrorist attacks it has faced...and am a rabid fan of Mossad for its ways..but this was just too much...

When an air-strike strikes none of the intended targets and kills three school going kids, playing, unaware, it is inhuman. Even more is inhuman is the blockade. As if stupid Hamas folk would realize something is amiss and start firing right. The losers in the equation are the people of the land. In the shadown of war, where every sun rises with the rays of a conflict, where UN distributed food feeds 80% of the population, where something like water to drink is to hanker over. To worry where one's next meal comes is one of the worst fears to have even worse is the when one does not know how to feed one's kids.I think Israel went too far. Sure they have a populace to keep happy back home but at what cost..

The USA for all the considerable influence it wields vetoed a ceasefire. I am dumbfounded to be honest.. still am tryin to comprehend how the US views the present crisis. Maybe G.B. Bush does like all the gifts that get thrown at him and is pining for more... Wake-up USA.. people lose lives everyday the conflict continues. Innocent women and children bystanders in the whole issue continue to get killed while US still figures ways to derail a peace process..

Surely good sense has to prevail. If the ground invasion intensifies it just will realise in more losses and alienating the palestine people such that a meaningful resolution to the conflict would be far from possible.

Tho i am not sure how long with their exemplary rocket-firing capabilities would Hamas last... somebody please train them... the next we'd know is the Hamas terrorists hitting their own homes in lieu of the war