EK CUP CHAI

There is too much negativity around happening in India. Eg: The Nithari Killings, the fake encounter scam in Gujarat, the fake passports and human trafficking involving MLAs. And add to this the politics eternal cover ‘Cricket’ taking a side lane in India.

That means all news channels are covering only the bad side of India, and suddenly India ‘looks’ bad. So lets do something positive on ekcupchai.

For quite some time now I have been wondering who are the people who hold the maximum power to influence people’s lives today, and Times released its list of 100 most influential people of the world. As we all some form of bias towards someone, it is of course imperative that Times will have some Political bias. But on the whole the list contains quite a few influential people.

But what was so good to see was not just people like Oprah Winfrey, Tyra Banks being included but some one like Zen Jingyan, (a Chinese Blogger) and Lisa Randall (a professor, we could say of Physics but ‘String Theorist’).

Everyone on the list has struggled with hard work, effective work, failures and successes. But apart from those in the politics or religion, almost all of them inspire us to live a life that we all dream about. But it is these people who are in politics and religion, and their inability to distribute ‘gyaan’ to their counterparts that makes life a struggle for many.

But then, lets take the positive side of it pals. Life is Beautiful, and more so because of some of the people listed by the Times. May be we should take lot of inspiration from them and move on with life, even though sometimes life isn’t all that fair.

Ian Chappel (or may be it was Allan Border) recently said, that one fine day Australian’s felt that not everything is right with Australian Cricket. So they started developing it. And then, what do you have. A team that is far beyond the reach of other teams, and a team that finds replacements to greats as if nothing had actually happened to the team. Result: It is the number one team in the world. Yes South Africa beat them once to the top slot, but only for few weeks.

And then there is this other side. A side that belongs to a country that was attacked by Nature (Tsunami in 2004 December) and that is still being attacked by LTTE. The Sri Lankan Cricket Board has had its share of selection problems administration problems. And yet Sri Lanka, had struggled hard. The beat whoever they could, and when they lost, they lost fighting…except of course Australia.

The winning Sri Lankan team has brought in a great UNITY in the people back home. LTTE had declared on Tuesday (April 24th 2007) there will be no attacks because Sri Lanka were playing the Semi Final!

Yes, it will be a wonderful finish if they can pull it off. It will be heroic.

But just north to Sri Lanka, a country that produces more money, and populace ( who call themselves fans) than any other cricket board is caught with up lack of  Talent. And then the person in charge, Sharad Power, the head of Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) makes a revelation. The revelation is shocking, because it is not only the truth but is also STUPID.

“Team Selection is influenced by the BRANDS that use the players to  advertise their products”.

The time I think is correct. Final between a country that made necessary changes accepting failures and the country  had only HEROISM to fall back upon. And then there is this country…with too much ‘easy’ money.

Well enjoy the match brethren. India never belonged to league actually!

I didn’t want to write on this. But our courts have been coming with some stunning judgments of late that I can only keep wondering more and more. The Jaipur High Court has issued arrest warrants against Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty for doing a Public Kiss as an act of obscenity.The court was legally correct. However, this decision falls into Obscenity category. Let me try and understand what Obscenity is defined as according to Supreme Court…hmm…hmm…hmm…after loads of research I found this, Supreme Court lawyer, Alpana Podda says that Indian Law doesn’t have any clear cut definition on this. Oh great this Supreme Court must be ignorant or is speaking the truth. Assuming that, what the lawyer says is the truth, then on what basis did Jaipur Court issue warrants against Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere.

And if it was an act of obscenity, then why aren’t the organizers of the show not issued any warrants? Just because it was unplanned, or because their names have been excluded have been missing in the complaint. Also, if it was obscene, whether the complaint define what exact sentiments did the act hurt?

If it were an obscene act, why isn’t media also issued arrest warrant for shamelessly promoting the ‘kiss’. Also why was there no arrest warrant against those who enjoyed and saw the kiss…like the lorry drivers who encourage Richard Gere when he kissed Shilpa Shetty?

No, there will be no answers. But these are the questions that will be asked, because otherwise people might wonder what is a peck, what is a kiss, what is an act of obscenity or what is grabbing attention.

Seung Cho, a loner, a shy person and now a 32 person killer was a playwright. His teacher, Lucinda Roy is said to have picked the boy for having shown great violence in his two small plays. She tried to complain about the boy to the police.

Here are the links to the plays and his class mates’ description: http://newsbloggers.aol.com/2007/04/17/cho-seung-huis-plays/

Having read both the plays, I should say, this guy is disturbed. But honestly there are more Hollywood stories that are far more violent than these small plays. And not all story writers suffer the kind of insecurity that they go on a killing spree. And that is exactly why the Police had let the boy off, because there was nothing wrong in it.

But fact is the plays are disturbing, and that is exactly why his teacher had told him to get some therapy. If she is to be believed, she did try taking him to the police rather than taking to her to a therapist. (I’m not sure of this). But looks like Seung Cho has left lot of things to be taken care of.

Bad Bosses! You find them, in every other office. From those who like to give lectures on all things, to those who will shout everything and everybody. For some everybody has to be like them, for some everybody is trying to steal them off their money, for some no body is as good as them, and for some they are great dangers to their position. And the bosses who have an ‘Unnatural Concern’ in the activities of girls can be found, almost everywhere.

But if you thought that you would get a perfect boss well you were as much easily expecting for a perfect spouse. Only few lucky ones seem to get it, except you or your close friends.

Poor things, bosses are humans, and unfortunately they have no other job left in the world but to MANAGE other equally unfortunate human beings. And as a result, in a SIX-SIGMA company, where only four a hundred thousand mistakes are allowed you find 40,000 un’admitted’ mistakes. Great isn’t it 60% success is enough to be working with an MNC!

But all in all they are the bosses. Love them or hate them, when things have gone wrong, they are the one who face the brunt, be it from their bosses or from the clients. That’s why, the role itself has a touch of ’scandal’ attached to it. You can disagree, but bad bosses are especially those who think disagreement as a direct attack on their personality, or on the work culture. But the worst of these bosses are those who are either new to job, and don’t know what to do, or those who have been sitting in the same job for more than necessary time.

And how do they react, well, instead of saying ‘what’s the problem’ they would say ‘who did it?’ And then goes the blame game, and there starts the ’saaagaaaa’ of mistrust and conceit. Who started it? Except the boss, everyone else seems to know it, but no one would say it.

So how to deal with a bad boss then? Before I give you the answer, there are two specific rules you should always know
1. The Boss is Always Correct

2. And if the Boss is wrong, refer to rule No.1

Sounds stupid doesn’t it? Well, that is one of the reasons why people like to be bosses rather than anything else.

Anyways find help here (ask yourself if you need it in the first place) and let me know what do you think of it: http://www.graduatingengineer.com/articles/feature/10-01-01a.html

Who would have expected this or may be we all knew it before. Every sport or life in general is so great to enjoy because of certain twists happen, not because they were bound to happen, but because these twists were a result of certain person’s mistakes. And this time around, those who did the mistakes, and kept repeating them were Inzamam Ul Haq, Brian Lara, and Sachin Tendulkar.
Though Sachin Tendulkar hasn’t retired from the ODI cricket, his demi-god status in India is gone. Reason: A Duck! Many thought that his inconsistency was not worth mentioning, as he kept hitting century after century. But now his inconsistency is shown, everywhere.

For Inzi bhai, someone as big as him, his ability to lead the team from front was questioned, and so was his laid back attitude. Poor thing even was (or is?) doubted in Bob Woolmer’s murder. And now he is just another player, if he is allowed to play Test Matches.

Brian Lara, considered the greatest batsman but he was with a team that showed unseen brilliance as much as unseen inconsistency. But if a person as great as him cannot inspire a side, may be then someone has to doubt his capabilities off the field. And in the last ODI, taking the power play, in the 45th over of the match was the last straw. I haven’t heard much from his critics, but I know, he is going to get bashed even by his constant supporter Sir Viv Richards.

But what makes me wonder is why did these people choose to leave as failures rather than leaving when they were personally on a high. Or were they HOPING to change the fortunes of their team…well we all knew which teams are the most inconsistent dont we…and the teams that would be on top were - West Indies, Pakistan and India. How come these people miss such an observation?

Greg Chappel Resigns!

Few unnamed Seniors didn’t like him. Only one person liked him, apart from juniors whose careers he had molded - That is Greg Chappel for you. He tried to get professionalism out of players who have never ever been professional!

Sachin said, “I’ve given my heart and soul to Indian cricket for 17 years. No coach has ever mentioned, even in passing, that my attitude was not correct.”
Kumble said, “His coaching style might have raised insecurity”.

Ganguly said, “He wanted me to resign captaincy” (after a painful 100 against Zimbabwe)

A Sachin Tendulkar never looked good after World Cup 2003, and yet no one criticized him except few thorough professional…Sanjay Manjrekar, Greg (if he did) and Ian Chappel (he did right). Unfortunately, they were all doing in a country that will not take their Gods to be offended, even if Gods were wrong.

Most Indians would feel that he going is a huge relief for India. But that only leaves the story half said. No body will now blame BCCI for being rich, even though its team hasn’t won single tournament outside Asia in 22 years. No one will have the guts to ask a captain to resign, if he isn’t playing well and yet his team is winning. He was that sort of character.

Rahul Dravid and people like me who support Indian cricket will be disappointed. But nothing will change. BCCI will remain BCCI. Sachin will remain Sachin. Ganguly will remain Ganguly. No body will be bothered about tournament wins and exact reasons behind losses.

But only few will realize what Greg Chappel tried to do, in a place where no tried that. He called a spade a spade.

In the end this is what he said, “Firstly, I would like to extend my thanks to the BCCI for allowing me the honour of coaching the Indian cricket team over the past 22 months. It is, and it remains, one of the most challenging coaching positions in world cricket.”

I am grateful to the players with whom I have worked in this time for the challenges that they presented me with and which I tried to meet in a professional, methodical and interesting way in the interests of the team and the individual.”

A Supreme Court Judge, dealing with a case against son of UP chief minister, had received a fax from someone in the same case! And what does he do, he refuses to sit for the case. And more on it he doesn’t reveal what’s in the fax.

The UP chief minister says these things happen! I have nothing more to say for today. This has irritated me quite a lot, and people say not to write anything when irritated. May be I will try to write something tomorrow!

But here’s the link anyway: http://www.ibnlive.com/news/politics/03_2007/sc-judge-breaks-down-wont-hear-up-cm-sons-case-36160.html

I was thirteen or fourteen when I happened to talk to a group of naxalites! Yep, naxalites! I was visiting a marriage of a political figure of a very remote village! They had come to collect food! As I worked out sitting alone in a white ambassador car, working out Hindu crossword (stylishly, though I couldn’t fill one correct word), somebody came to the window.

Call it a typical teenage innocence or arrogance, I wasn’t afraid nor was I excited…it was just another bunch of villagers asking me questions. Of course I recognized them; there was lot of naxalite movement then in that region, and DD and newspapers were full of encounters! All of them had some guns (which I thought were AK-47s then) and they all looked normal (this normal look is what surprised me).

The questions they asked me included were about my parents, about who came in the car, and why was I alone. One of them also asked me whether I would join their group when I grew up. I said I wouldn’t and quoted a reason, showing that in their fight, only normal people suffered (fresh from viewing a movie called ‘Police Encounter’ on TV)! They tried to tell me what is that they aimed, and looked and sounded happy about it!
It was a funny meeting, and the meeting abruptly ended after I was ‘carefully’ taken back by one of the marriage party members! As soon as they left my family, along with an Officer drove out of the village as fast as we could. I only realized the seriousness of the issue as we drove away!

Almost ten years later, working with Revenue Department, I happened to witness the failure of group called Maoists (or naxalists)! Leaders who mattered were killed, and those who didn’t were drove away. Even villagers wouldn’t respect naxals, and these low cadre naxals didn’t even have enough food to eat!

Governments has promised loans, and other benefits for those who left the movement! Few would give me their petitions, when no one took them, to meet the District Collector! Sometimes people around me asked why they joined the movement – the answers were most times silly, some talked about caste discrimination, some talked about promise of food(!) and some didn’t like to discuss.

Dissatisfaction in the society and how it worked made them join the movement. Today the movement is no better than the society. Some say that is it run by the high funda politicians who use the movement as a force to gain money in the name of anti-naxal movements!

The State Police had rounded up a meeting of very important Government of Andhra Pradesh could have killed the most important member of the group, the Government backed off for some strange reason!

As the Maoist movement slowly dies, there are still some incidents of a fake encounters or of innocent people being killed by Maoists. But then, Chhattisgarh Director General of Police, O.P. Rathor, said in a Conference, “Statistics of incidents never give a real picture of the ground. Whatever is visible is only the mere tip of the iceberg. Unless caution is exercised, volcanoes can erupt.”

It looks as bleaker as the future of an Indian farmer. You never know when he will kill someone big or when he will kill himself! But one wonders if naxalite movement holds any importance in a country like India! Lets hope there is no more killing, and no more fake encounters.

But “how did these normal looking people turn maoists?”, is a question which neither the leaders of their groups or political groups would like to answer!

Look at my last few posts, and you will realize that I’m not doing well…I think I need a break…so no posts today…(either I’ve lost my mind or simply being honest), but every creation (creation can be a misnomer) looks not so upto the mark, atleast to the creator once it is done!

there is always this urge to go back and correct it. It is only recently that I tried not to meddle with what I already ‘did’, rather leave it for its fate, and learn from it all the time…but looks like there are too many mistakes…too many things to be corrected…I’m being too personal on this blog for the first time…!

It is funny that I’m reminded of Ayn Rand and Jiddu Krishnamurthy at the same time! Will come up with something soon…in the morrow! But in the mean time, I will think of our vicious cycles, our never ending troubles, our struggle for peace (within and outside), the confict of individuality and society! May be i don’t even need to think of it…just a peep outside a window or just stand in the middle of the road… you will see…every body is running and if you ask where they are going…what would be the answer?

I’m not sure I have the answer right now…any way better posts in the morrow!