CAG and AIDS Threat

The Times of India in its editorial Outing is Best on 18th October has commented on the Planning Commission's suggestion to legalise Prostitution and homosexuality to face the threat of AIDS. Where the paper takes the readers for a ride is the sentence: "IN September, when a gay rights group appealed to the courts to amend Article 377 of the Constitution which deems homosexuality a crime, ".Article 377 of the constitution relates to Provisons as to Comptroller and Auditor-General of India. So where does a gay rights group fit in the case? The editor does not bother to tell us.The reader has to know that when the TOI refers to the Constitution it means the Indian Penal Code and it does not know the basic difference between an article of the Constitution and a section of an act.The Times of India has been going down the slope quickly but the uninformed writing on their edit page is a new low even by their standards.

Keep Casteism Away

Gail Omvedt writing in The Times of India(29/09/2005)(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1245774.cms) has asked Indians to “ Don’t Cheer for Your country”, and prescribes a revival of Indian sports in schools, towns, villages. The prescription is based on a very superficial understanding of India and Indians. The comparison with the American situation where parents flock to watch their children at play and where Americans cheering Boston Red Sox or the neighbourhood school shows that such phenomenon can be seen in India also.
Omvedt refers to decentralised patriotism called small town patriotism. Such patriotisms have existed in this country for over a century. The rivalry between Mohun bagan and East Bengal in Kolkata, St. Stephen’s and Hindu in Delhi are a part of folklore. Inter village rivalry is also not unknown and the Times of India recently reported on a tournament in Bihar where even gangsters played cricket in a 20:20 format.
Omvedt has written a whole article without naming Cricket and refers to it as “a single game played in lands of the British Commonwealth” and “a colonial gentleman’s game”.
In her enthusiasm to deride cricket, she refuses to see the continuing tradition of indigenous games and sport in India. In the villages Kabaddi and KhoKho are played regularly and in any number of middle class apartment blocks games like Pitto and Kho Kho are played especially in view of constraints of space.
When people cheer Sania Mirza, Uberoi sisters and Rohan Bopanna, they are supporting players of other sports. Gail Omvedt must see DPS versus Modern basketball match to gauge local patriotism.And here local patriotism extends to things like Debate and quizzes. The annual Mukarji Memorial debate at St. Stephen’s in Delhi resembles a football match in terms of barracking.
The article however lapses into obscurantism and assumes that only upper caste people play cricket. The India seen from Nehru Memorial Library is of course very limited, but kids can be seen playing cricket in every nook and corner in Delhi and elsewhere , often with improvised bat and ball. There is a Hindi saying that forbids anyone asking a Sadhu his caste. This applies to the Indian cricket team as well. Class, yes but caste is generally not in public domain. Swaminathan Aiyar told us in the Economic Times that Sachin Tendulkar belonged to lower middle class. We all know that Kambli lived in a chawl in Mumbai and Solkar was son of a groundsman. But do we need to know their caste? Let us promote indigenous sports and also treat cricket as an international sport widely played in India and at the same time refrain from dividing sportspersons on caste lines. And surely Gail Omvedt has heard of Palwankar Vithal who led the Hindus in the Pentangular in 1923.

Random Thoughts

The Indian Cricket team played to their potential and as everybody seems to know, lost in yet another final.This winter BCCI has lined up a series of one day matches involving India. It would be pertinent to note at this stage that most of our celeberated victories in one Day tournaments have come in formats having four or more teams. Besides while we were almost undefeated at home for over a decade in tests, we lost more often than not in ODIs even at home.It is therefore imperative that we do not get hassled with one day defeats and take them in our stride and wait for the major challenge which India will face when England visits for a test series early next year.

The Old Order Changeth

The West Indies had dominated the cricket scene for much of the seventies (ever since they defeated England 3-1 in 1976) and the entire eighties. There had been minor hiccups like losing in the 1983 World Cup and the World series in 1987 in Australia. However they played well consistently in tests. They were served well by their fast bowlers and batsmen. In the nineties they were still competent but the gap narrowed down. They had by now lost the services of most of their famed fast bowlers and some famous batsmen like Greenidge, Richards, Gomes and their brilliant captain Clive Lloyd had retired. Richardson was their captain and Lara had arrived. The series in Australia in 1992 which the West Indies managed to win by 2 matches to 1, included a near defeat and a one run win.
This Series can be said to mark the beginning of the end of the West Indies dominance of the World Cricket. A similar denouement now awaits Australia after the current Ashes series. They may well hold on to the urn at oval or they may not. They have fought well. They have had to face defeat in India and a closely fought draw against New Zealand in 2000-01. In spite of those close calls they rallied. Their batsmen scored runs freely and not only against Zimbabwe. But the weakness to master Bond remained camouflaged until this summer when they have had to play four quality fast bowlers, two of them capable of bowling consistently at ninety miles an hour. Just like the West Indies in 1992-93, they have fought hard and will not go down without a fight. And as long as Mcgrath and Warne are in the team and Ponting, Martyn and Gilchrist continue do play, they will be a reasonably good side. However, World Cricket will go back to having three or four sides at test level which can on their day beat any other side. Its unlikely that the Australian Cricket will disintegrate the way the West Indies have done. Their cricket is better organised to take the passing of a great generation in its stride.
History seems to be repeating itself.

The Real Cricket

Although Cricket officials and marketing agencies like to portray One day Cricket as the major attraction, especially in India,it is high time the test matches are paid attention if cricket has to retain interest in the country.India is currently ranked a poor seventh in ODIs and a healthy third in Test Match cricket.England is ranked sixth and second. Test Match cricket has catapulted cricket back to national consciousness in the UK, so much so that even David Beckham admits to watching test Match Cricket.
Backing the Indian ODI fortunes will result in the repeated failures being telecast and after a time will lead to fatigue.Inspite of our Huge TV audience, Cricket hardly gets the kind of Audience that Channel 4 got this month(13% of all UK nationals watched the Old Trafford Test).Why we have a decent Test side and a poor ODI team is something which will be evident when India is run close by Zimbabwe in the Tri series.

Well Begun is Half Done

If the cliche is to be believed, the West Indies team have beun well,taking the lead in the first innings. They have lost two wickets already, so they may well lose the match. last time when they were here and Lara was firing on all cylinders, they still lost.It will be good idea for the west Indies to continue with this core team and bring back Lara and Sarwan.In the next decade they can build a bowling attack centred around Lawson.

West Indies Cricket Triumphant

At the moment Sri Lanka are 93 for 5, in their reply to the West Indies total of 285.It is still early to predict and any outcome is possible.However as I have argued in the past,the west Indies Cricket needed a moment to return to better times.and with a new team and against a reasonably good opposition,they have the opportunity this week.
Unlike Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, the structure of domestic cricket is reasonably strong.Even with ten members missing, they have fought hard and may well end a stronger unit than the earlier team.

National Obsession2

I had written a few weeks back calling the IIT JEE, the current national obsession in India.The coverage of the JEE results, the rush in trains for Kota and the enthusiasm of students and parents alike have only served to confirm my hypothesis that IIT JEE and not Cricket is the current national obsession.
Remarkably it is one area in which there appears to be some degree of equity. It is here that Bihar is not a lagging state.They are not even allowed to play Ranji Trophy, their place having been taken by Jharkhand. However students from Bihar have made it into IIT JEE in droves. and I am not speaking of the Bihar students who go out for their school education. There are reports of poor students from a school in Patna,well 26 of them and eight from a weavers' settlement in Patwa Toli near Gaya having made it.
And a newspaper in Pune talked about Pune with 40 students qualifying was rapidly improving.In which other does Pune need to catch up with say Patna or Allahabad?The topper this year is from a school in Allahabad.

Shambazar Club

Not many outside Kolkata would have heard of Shambazar Club before M S Dhoni started scoring centuries for them.The mainstream papers outside kolkata are now covering P Sen Trophy and off season cricket is enjoying a prominent coverage.

Another howler from The Times of India

The Times Group has advertised for Career in Journalism in its Delhi edition under the heading, "The Times of St. Stephen's". After introducing the group, the advertisement invites:"applications from the alma mater of St. stephen's only for career in Journalism who could well be termed as architects of change in times to come,your ambition our aspiration...we will build together,irrespective of whether you are currently a journalist or not.Candidates with Economics, international studies, Philosophical& Spiritual studies would be preferred. Passion to hammer fat-free words that digest well with the masses fit the frame and that matters more for this role "(sic).

After being taken in by the spoof at spoof.com the old lady of Bori Bunder has apparently discovered the alma mater of the first Christian martyr, Saint Stephen and more than 2000 years later wants the alma mater and not the alumni to apply for position of journalists at the Times Group.Do they have an editor?

Sobers and Lara and the Declining periods of West Indies Cricket

In 1971, a competent but far from strong Indian team with a couple of young batsmen who were to shine over the next decade and a half visited the West Indies.The West Indies were led by Sobers, the greatest allrounder the game has produced. The team also included Gibbs and Kanhai, two great players past their prime but still competent warhorses.India won the series but the decline of the West Indies was evident. Sobers shared the new ball on several occaisons with players like Shillingford and Holder.
The next year, the West Indies blooded Kallicharan and Lawrence Rowe. Roberts, Greenidge Richards arrived within the next few years and with Fredericks and LLoyd from the earlier generation the West Indies were a formidable side defeating India in a closely fought series and going on to win the first World Cup. However they were given a pasting by the Australians in 1975-76, of a kind that has now become routine.
The sight of Lara carrying gamely at 36, amidst the mediocrity all round him reminds me of Sobers in the early seventies.But it is also clear that the future of the West Indies cricket depends on players who still have to find their moorings at test level.For a team where Wayne Daniel often found himself on the bench, the fast bowling options look weak. Chances of a Valentine or a Ramadhin appearing also look bleak.For the sake of Cricket in the Americas,it is imperative that the West Indies focus on youngsters who can deliver or they will soon be in the company of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.But they will have to look beyond Chanderpaul and Lara. Lara will keep scoring and perhaps repeat Sobers's innings versus Australia for the Rest of the World in the Super test but for the drubbings to end they need to unearth players of quality. May be Jermaine Lawson's bowling style could be corrected and Sarwan becomes more consistent .
From the rut that the West Indies have entered may they come out and shine on the world stage.

The National Obsession

I had lived under the impression thatCricket with a capital C was the national obsession in India.I have changed my mind lately.The Current national Obsession is theIIT JEE. The very fact that it allows for more success stories makes it a bigger draw. Moreover, one can start late. it also gives a level playing field to limited extent.
Yesterday a preliminary level result of the IIT JEE was to be declared and hundreds students and their anxious parents were queueing outside cybercafes in Khagaria in North Bihar, several had come from remote villages to see their result.Several, though not many made it to the next round.
And it is this huge following that is leading to coaching and tuition industry centrd around IIT JEE.The coaching costs a lot of money and there is a city in Rajasthan which was once famous for cotton Kota saris.When my wife presented a kota sari to a relative in her village, she wanted to know what origin it was of and on being told Kota,she promptly remarked: "Same place where IIT training is given?" Such is the fame of Kota and Bansal classes.People who do not know of MS Dhoni, know about nayan and brilliant Tutorials.
The casualty has been the higher secondary education.

Well Tried India

India, ranked four places below Pakistan managed to win the first two ODIs calls for a celebration of a magnitude slightly lower than the one seen when Bangladesh defeated India, a few months back.The Indian media goes over the top in raising expectations where none or little exists.The Indian Test match team is perhaps its best ever and is justifiably ranked at number 3.The ODI team is as ordinary as any that has represented India.

True,India finished second in the world Cup.But India won the 1983 World Cup and I wonder if the Indian media remembers what happened thereafter.For those who were not following Cricket then,India lost all the ODIs to the west Indies. And those who like to point out our achievement of the 2003 World Cup,may i point out that another of our fellow semi finalis kenya are languishing at number 10. Only Australia and Sri Lanka from amongst the four semi finalist have done well consistently in the two years gone by.
So well done Team India,Zimbabwe shoul be easy.

Opportunity

Opportunity has come for Saurav Ganguly to stay out for a few matches and may be join Bengal in Mumbai for the limited overs tournament.

Cricket is an Indian Sport

From all evidence Cricket has become an entrenched Indian sport. However, as the recent reaction to Wisden's five in the Indian media shows, the understanding of this Indian Sport has been widely off the mark especially among the new followers.Like the English language, another popular legacy of colonial heritage that we are proud of,Cricket is enriched by our culture and enriches it.
To deny that Wisden then and now has any relevance is like having an Eng.Lit. course without Shakespeare or Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark.