Woman Power

The first 'Woman Speaker' has been unanimously elected today!!!

It is indeed a wonderful moment in the history of the Indian Parliament and the country as a whole, a monumental moment infact. When the Supreme Courts are still mulling over reasons as to why the incidents of dowry-related deaths are on the increase, we have a woman, who is leading a house of 552 members, most of them being men and will be controlling the affairs of the biggest household in the country, the house of politics and governance. That is indeed a marvellous achievement.

I am not feminist, but I take great pride in the success of women and the assurance with which women are taking bold steps towards excelling in every posible avenue. When opportunities are presented women have taken it and have come out succesful and yet have never been given their due worth. Maybe Ms. Meira Kumar being elected the Speaker will change this situation. I dont know how, but maybe this will give the women of this country to get bolder and more forceful with expressing their opinions and thereby bring about positive changes in the place that we live in.

Many might say, "Why the President of our country is a woman? Why cant women draw inspiration from her?". Well we all know the reality, dont we. Even a man as a President is nothing more than the theoritical head of the state. Its like in the movies, when the key to the house and its treasure are handed over to the lady of the house, but to open the doors, permission ought to be given by the 'other sex'.

But thats not the way for a Spaeker of the Lok Sabha. They hold power, which one can understand if they go through the Constitution of this country. To quote, "It has been said of the office of the Speaker that while the members of Parliament represent the individual constituencies, the Speaker represents the full authority of the House itself. He/She symbolises the dignity and power of the House over which he/she is presiding. Therefore, it is expected that the holder of this office of high dignity has to be one who can represent the House in all its manifestations." This perhaps exemplies the honour, power and responsibility that this post holds. Party affiliations and personal choices cannot come in the way of a decision a Speaker intends to take and to me, to comprehend that a woman has this power, and therefore more responsibility, is certainly a moment of supreme joy and pride.... Jai Hind!!!

My heart and soul is here, in India...Always

First let me tell you that my parents have been on a two month long vacation to the US and that might have been a real good thing for them, but their unrelenting comparisons to what we have in India to what they got in the US can be quite funny sometimes and annoying some other times to all those listening.

Last year my parents and I went on a pilgrimage and we were accompanied by two of our family friends who just then returned from the US and we were constantly made to hear their constant parallels drawn and how unparalled the US is!!! My father was visibly annoyed, but now I guess he understands them better and they might be quite keen on forming the US Fan Club.

On a more serious note however I must say I am concerned about the magnetic pull that US has over people. We have long spoken about the 'brain drain' from India and its shift towards the West. Think about it, if my parents, who have lived 60 years of their lives in India amidst the drudgery, politics, pollution, corruption and what not, can be so pulled towards every aspect of that country then why wont our younger generation be motivated by the prospect of living in better conditions.

Let me also tell you that I'm too much of an Indian and I think that there is no place like home and so when people praise US to the sky I find it rather difficult to digest. I wish everyday that I can somehow make a difference in a small way towards India being enviable by the Western world as they are to us now. Can I, the true Indian, make India that way.

Atleast we should make a concerted effort in developing small pockets rather than the whole. I always think of how I can make India better. I have ideas, plans to make my ideas work, but is there someone with more power than just the willpower to make this happen. I intend to search for such people because where else but India can we find people who will come forward to help fully knowing you are neither family nor friend? Where else but India will relatives open their doors wide even when we havent made an appointment to visit them and still more have the heart to cook a wonderful meal for uninvited guests? Where else but India will you find resilience even from the most uneducated and oppressed people? Where else but in India can a foreign director come and make a movie on our poverty and yet show how successful poverty can make us and win the black statutte!!!!

I will forever honour India and stand by her through all her ups and downs. I know I might be one but I have the heart of a million. God Bless India!!!

IPL and After

The last blog I wrote was when Bangalore Royal Challengers were losing, but what happened on 24th May made it mandatory that I re-write somethings out here while they have re-written their fate out on the field.

Deccan Chargers won but to me Kumble and his men will be the better team. I have always admired Kumble for his hardwork and sincerity towards the game. While many of his peers have got alot of recognition, he has gone about his work silently and successfully and today with the same silence he has brought back a team from the ashes to life, if that ever was possible!!!

IPL and its future:

The IPL governing body are seriously considering the possibility of hosting this event twice a year, the main one in India and a smaller scale IPL abroad. They sure are going to make alot of money but do they ever think of the players. Just because players are being paid money they cant be treated like bonded labour. They have a very taxing international calender and to add to that this money making business!!!! The ICC should oppose this move if they are in their right senses, but guess what, their brains have been placed in a rather inconvenient part of the body making it difficult for them to be rational. Afterall it is the BCCI which gives them the funds to run the show.

The question that arises in my mind now is, will the players oppose this move? Can money override international commitments and pride of playing for the country? Will they be bold enough to stand up to Modi & Co and tell them that they are human and not machines? Do you know what I think, they wont stand up, because this is business to them and profits are the only reason businesses run. So as long as the human machine works, providing for depreciation of course,this business of cricket will go on....

IPL - Change in Guard

The IPL fanfare has begun and somehow to me it hasn't been the same as last year. Change in venue is not the issue but the fact that what was meant to be a fun (but money filled event) has turned out to be very very very commercial.

The commercial aspect has been a part of this huge event but not the way its being done this time. The fact the teams are winning to garner publicity even if it means negative methods is catching on real fast. KKR leading the way for this. In the process they have forgotten to win!!! I thought SRK wanted to go to Kolkatta in an open bus with the streets filled with cheering fans, that aint gonna happen until players start letting their bat and ball speak instead of testing their vocal chords..

The next team that seems to be perennially in the limelight (for losing!!) are the Royal Challengers. I actually feel sorry for Vijay Mallaya, because he pins his hopes on a losing cause (be it cricket or F1!) but his spirit is certainly the Winner here.

Chennai Superkings, boy are they drawing flak from even people who hardly follow the game. Why bother calling it the Chennai Superkings when you have just two players from Chennai playing. Maybe another rule can be imposed in the team composition from next year, that being the inclusion of minimum 5 domestic players who havent represented the country. After all this is a 'domestic tournament'!!!!

Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty seem to be getting a hang of this game quite alright although its quite funny to see some of their reactions. :)

The one team which is going about its work professionally are the Deccan Chargers. Its not easy going from the bottom right to the top. It comes only with commitment and hardwork. One of the reasons I thnk they seem tobe doing well is because all the BIG BIG names that they had last year are absent this tiime and thats lending the right balance to the team. Gilchrist is leading a pack of ordinary cricketers who will listen to what he has to say, whereas last year VVS had all high profile players who were very big in their league, which meant that getting theor attention to perform for the team was going to be a daunting task, make that impossible.

Delhi daredevils have also been going about their job quietly and I guess there is a thing or two to learn from that.

These views of mine come from being a true fan of the game. The vagaries and eccentricities that this game offers is incomparable and so my emotions run high when I feel tat things are going amock with the game I love.....

Holding our heads high

This saturday Nikhil and I finally managed to drag ourselves out of our abode and ventured into a part of Mumbai that never ceases to amaze me. In fact, everytime I've been to Colaba or Marine drive(and I've been there maybe 4 to 5 times) I cant stop myself from wondering if this really was the way Mumbai used to be maybe a 100 years back!! The beauty in the buildings and roads command a silent respect for itself and I'm sure no other part of this great city can ever be tis way.

Well we went to the Gateway of India and although I'm not too appreciative of the reason for it was built (no one really cares about my appreciation now, do they?!?!?!?!)I have to admit that it was really nice. The statue to Shivaji ( The Maratha Warrior) standing right opposite the Gateway made me think of the resistance he would have provided against the so called mighty British.

But what struck me and maybe everyone who was there was the new fight that the Indians are up against. The terrorists who brought this brave city to a standstill. The way we look at 'The Taj' has changed forever. Its resilience stood out among everything else. Those working at the gates of the Taj certainly had a cautious look about them. Every vagrant was looked with suspicion, so were the well dressed ones and who can blame them for feeling this way. Their personal territory was invaded, friends were killed and there is nothing that anyone can do to change their memory of 26/11 and we shouldn't expect that either. I looked at with awe and pride. My thoughts went to the people who were there that ill fated day. Why did any of this happen? Questions shall never cease to go through our minds and the solutions may never be satisfying. But we've come out of it, not entirely unscathed but with dignity.

This was my country, a country that many thought were weak, but we proved them all wrong, didnt we? We've been hit so many times but we refuse to fall and we'll never fall. The power of a billion is still unexplored and the day we all feel the inner implosion, we'll all see the change. No one will be able to come anywhere close to us. The world shall look in awe and we'll walk away with our heads held aloft!!!

Breach of Trust

Lots of fervour about the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers and why not? Its not everyday that sportpersons face the brunt of extremists. In fact, the faith that sports unites people of different races, cultures, countries, languages etc. has just been disturbed. One may wonder, whats so special about cricketers that an attack on them is generating as much noise as it has been over the past 3 days. To me its just one thing, trust has been breached, the trust that Sri Lankan players had. I guess for them its a similar emotion too, after all Australia was willing to forego its points in the '96 World Cup and just refused to travel to the island.

Sri Lanka is a country that has seen many wars and strifes and there are many who have survived to share their tales with us. I guess thats why they understood how Pakistan felt...... isolated!! When many other countries, India included, put their foot down and have refused to travel to Pakistan, Sri Lanka made a brave decision and a heartfelt decision and embarked on their journey. This is what they get in bargain? The authorities could certainly have done more to prevent such an event, no excuses can be accepted, however apologetic or genuine they may seem.

Various footages that have been released show the gunmen wandering as if it were a walk in the park. Could have this been possible without prior information? Muthiah Muralidharan and umpire Taufel have mentioned in the papers today their doubts, why did the Pakistan bus leave later than usual? These are things that have to be certainly looked into. It may all seem easy sitting in the comfort of our rooms and sympathising with all or even talk of action to be taken, but thats the least that we can do. We can voice an opinion and thats where our story of concern ends!!!

Apparent Lack of time!!

Despite the fact that I have loads of time in my hand, writing still seems to be taking the back seat. I plan to do alot of things on the comp and the minute i start browsing though some ridiculous and absolutely worthless sites I lose focus and forget to update my blog.

I read once that people who are the busiest seem to have time for everything because its all planned and well executed, whereas people like me tend to waste time and then claim to have time for nothing, what hypocrisy!!!

Another thought just passed my idle mind, why not take up a piece of world news (can be related to sport, human rights, politics.. anything really) and write my thoughts on it!! Doesnt seem to be a bad idea, this might infact give me an opportunity to look into other areas of interest for myself.

Let me start today itself, but not now, simply because I havent really read to through any article of interest yet. But maybe later in the day I can expect myself to write. Until then.....