India the World Champions – Reflections of the monumental triumph

“He (Sachin) has been carrying the burden for 21 years, it time we carry him”

(Virat Kohli sums up what’s been an emotional world cup victory for India).

The best team in the tournament won the World Cup. Make no mistake about it. Along the way India huffed & puffed against England, choked (!) against South Africa but peaked at the right time to beat 4 former world champions on the trot to win Cricket’s most coveted prize, giving India’s greatest cricketer what’s been his due for a long time.

It wasn’t an Australia like domination from India but a very determined one, much like how they are holding on to their No.1 spot in tests. And who would want an Aussie like domination anyway? I find it boring. India played with so much resolve and their biggest motivation was most rightfully, Sachin Tendulkar. After what he has done for the team for 22 years & after 6 world cup appearances, team India gave him the ultimate prize.

The batting was always going to be the strong point. But it didn’t quite set the tournament on fire. Yet it was so strong that the slips ups didn’t cost much. The bowling after being under so much criticism improved leaps and bounds. Zaheer led the way and well supported by Yuvraj. But yet, Harbhajan needs a lot of improvement and a Yuvraj like treatment needs to be given to him. The fielding took an entire different picture once Raina came into the team. Some of the ground fielding in the final was outstanding to say the least.

The transformation of Yuvraj Singh from a mercurial basher to a matured all rounder has been the talk of the World Cup. No wonder its Sachin who’s behind this transformation. I also liked the way Mahendra Singh Dhoni handled him. Dhoni the captain has to be given a good share of credit for the win. His methods and decision hasn’t been very popular, but he has led by instinct and backed his players completely. He soaks up all the pressure that he relieves his team mates off it. The best example is his innings in the final and he chose the perfect stage to showcase his talent. World 20/20 triumph, taking India to No.1 spot in tests, IPL & CLT20 victories with CSK & now a World Cup winning captain of India.., he has been the man with the golden arm.

After all said and done, the real contest starts now. As experts would say, India is now the hunted team. Every team will breathe down their neck. How well they perform in the next 4 years will determine how worthy they are as champions. I reckon with the kind of steel, determination and resolve they showed it will be worthy. But just because they gave Sachin what he dreamt, doesn’t mean that they can let it go.

Go on India..! Show the World what you are Capable of..! For now, enjoy every bit of the moment..! You deserve it thoroughly...!

Transit hubs' likely to be developed in 3 MTC depots

The Hindu : Today's Paper News : ‘Transit hubs' likely to be developed in 3 MTC depots

Regular users of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus services will soon be able to drive into the nearest bus depot in a car or two-wheeler, leave the vehicle behind, and take a bus.

The MTC, which caters to 56 lakh commuters every day, is in the process of preparing a project report to study the feasibility of developing ‘transit hubs' at three of its depots — Thiruvanmiyur, Vadapalani and T.Nagar.

A senior MTC official said that the Traffic and Transit Management Centres (TTMCs) are aimed at addressing the “last-mile” connectivity problem faced by a majority of the city's residents. Once the “park and ride” facilities are provided inside depots, a greater section of people would be able to access public transport options and MTC ridership would improve, he said.

The scheme will be modelled after a similar programme currently being executed in Bangalore, where 10 such TTMCs are under construction. The hubs would be all-in-one centres, equipped with facilities such as a bus station, mini-shopping centres, medical assistance, food courts and ATMs. Each hub is expected to cost between Rs.10 crore and 15 crore.

Since funding through the JNNURM scheme has dried up, officials said that a public-private partnership model, employing a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and transfer (DBFOT) model, is being explored. According to the official, while the ground floor area would be retained as a depot, extra amenities and commercial space would be provided on the first floor.

“Once a private partner is identified, efforts would also be made to streamline traffic movement in the vicinity of the depots. Dedicated pathways would be provided and the moving space within the depot complex would be better utilised,” the official added.

IPL Auction – Chennai Super Kings Retrospective

Successful sports clubs in the world have one thing in common, players who stand by the clubs for a long time. Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes (Manchester United), Paolo Maldini (AC Milan) & Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) are famous examples. But in a goat market that is IPL, it’s always going to be tough. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was arguably the most disappointed team as they had the best dressing room atmosphere among all of IPL’s teams. Thankfully IPL had player retention policies. So CSK did what they could do best at the recent IPL auctions. First, they retained 4 players who would have commanded high prices at the auction. Second, they went after the same players who formed the crux of the team for 3 years. Yes they lost Murali and Balaji but most importantly they retained 7 players of the original team. This combined with the services of new recruits like Dwayne Bravo and Scott Styris is sure to help the cause.

1. Michael Hussey 2. Murali Vijay 3. Suresh Raina 4. Subramaniam Badrinath 5. Srikkanth Anirudha 6. Mahendra Singh Dhoni 7. Albie Morkel 8. Dwayne Bravo 9. Ravichandran Ashwin, 10. Doug Bollinger 11. Sudeep Tyagi

Check the line up again. 6 batsmen, 2 all-rounder and 3 bowlers along with a captain cool makes it a well balanced and formidable team. You’ll almost miss the fact that Dwayne Bravo is a new recruit and not a CSK player before. The same old, happy dressing room is back. No settling down business here. It helps that CSK’s owners, India Cements, is involved with cricket for more than 50 years. So while other team members would be ‘getting to know each other’ CSK would be gunning for glory from day 1. My money is on CSK, not just for this year, but at least until the next auction. Chennai Super Kings ku whistle podu!!!

Michael Jackson 'Tribute' Show

" 'King of Pop' Michael Jackson Dead "

When I first saw this as a breaking news on TV, I stood staring at my window for a couple of minutes. Not that I'm a huge fan of MJ. I've never been one, but then he's been a master entertainer that anybody would be shocked to see the news. So when I had an offer to go to MJ's tribute show I jumped on it to grab my ticket.

First of all, I must say that I was pretty taken aback by the stage design of the show. LCD posters of MJ dotted the stage and videos of MJ in the background was complete with fire sets. Because Chennai was viewed as an orthodox & conservative city, it was a pleasant surprise to see a world class stage. Leading singers from the film industry of the country were there to celebrate the life of Michael Jackson by singing his famous hits. Beat it, Dangerous, Smooth Criminal... U name it... I must admit that I was surprised by the quality of the so called 'Southern' singers'. I mean if MJ was present there, he would have been happy.

What irked me throughout the show was the crowd. First of all, the crowd was sparse. Second, they gave the least audible responsible to the songs which were very good. The front rows would not applaud hiding in its 'Executive' screen. The last rows were on a league on its own. Can u imagine looking at a crowd performing 'Kuthu' dance for Dangerous? It was horrible. I mean, HEY, we are celebrating the life of the moonwalker with celebrity MJ fans like Simbhu, Gowtham Menon and we end up watching a 3rd grade crowd watch and cheeer for the female singers' boobs rather than the song. Damn...

I feel for the organizers. I mean here's a team that recruited the best of singers, designed and executed an amazing stage, put up really good special effects, but failed to market the show properly. It was like giving a garland of beautiful flowers to a monkey. The result, a great tribute show that went unnoticed.

Election Turnout – A Cause for Concern

Indians continue to astonish me… Where else do we find citizens find every opportunity to scrutinize its government, yet seldom turn up for voting its new leaders? Too much corruption, slow government machine, too bad internal security, blah, blah, blah… But when push comes to shove, do we put our hands up and be counted? Honestly, I don’t think so. A glaring example for this is the 15^th Lok Sabha elections. Coming at the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks & even such incidents & with so many campaigns urging people to exercise their right o vote, did we do justice to ourselves? 50% turnout in Delhi & Mumbai and 60% in Chennai. Are these good numbers for the world’s largest democracy? For those who treat Election Day as another holiday, you guys don’t deserve anything. I feel these democracy killers need to be stripped off their basic rights & deserve to be treated as 2^nd grade citizens. Pardon me if I sound like a dictator. I strongly believe that India needs an ambitious dictator like Singapore’s Lee-Kwan-U to change itself. If we closely observe, majority of the non-voting public are from the urban areas. Sure it’s not a matter of merely educating people to vote. I feel something is fundamentally wrong with the mindset of Indians, something the whole country should be ashamed of. You need something, you got to EARN it. Asking the government for aids in almost everything is equal to begging. Think about it.

Slumdog Millionaire - The 'Real' Story

This story is not to compete with the novel 'Q & A' (Based on which the movie was taken). Rather, this story is based on the real life happenings of millions of slumdogs of our country.

Our (Anti) Hero, Kumar is an agent of a 1500 people strong slum in Saidapet, Chennai. He arranges for water and shelter to the slum with the help of a local politician, promising all the votes of the slum (About 1000) in return. He first arranges for 4 syntex water tanks which were filled 4 times a day. (In residential areas this is done only once a day). Then why so much water here? Because here Kumar sells half the water to the tea shop and owners of that place. Officers are blocked by the politicians to take any legal action and the politicians are invariably bound to Kumar for the 1000 odd votes of the slum. So Kumar lives happily ever after.

One fine day, our hero plans fire in the slum. He picks the least acessible house in the slum, asks its ownr and his neighbours to temporarily remove their belongings and sets the house on fire. A few other houses were also damaged in the process. Fire service cant do a thing as they were not able to reach the place. In the name of rehabilitation, government provides financial and other aid to teh affected. Our middle man hero conveniently takes a significant share of the money and lives happily ever after.

The Government builds houses for the slum dwelllers just outside Poonamalle and encourages them to move to their new homes. The slum people refuse to do so since they all work either as construction workers or house keeping maids inside the city. Instead, they rent their new houses to other people. For the government's records, houses were built for slum dwellers and for the people of the slum, its an alternative form of income. Here, the agent plays a huge role in keeping them in the same locality as it would spell diaster to him and the local politicians otherwise. Except for being located in a slum, all houses has a TV, refredgirator and other house hold appliances that a middle class Indian works his ass out to get.

To make the people come to him often for help, our here enourages the youth and the men of the society to indulge in Drinking, Smoking and Movies to help drain their money. He arranges a TASMAC with a bar in the area for theit CONVENIENCE and he lived happily ever after.

Enough of the story. What transcribed as story is what's happening in all slums of India's major cities, including Chennai. So, are slum dwellers really need to be sympatized for they are? Votebank politicshas given rise to people like our hero Kumar, who is equvivalent to a criminal. But it's also people's ignorance that's to be blamed for. By the way, Dog is a thankful animal which is man's best friend. Call these people slum'rats' insted. That's more like it.

Have we lost our Identity?

Every festival has its own meaning. Diwali for example is the day when good triumphed over evil. Likewise Pongal, the most famous festival of Tamilnadu, marks the beginning of the harvest season. One common feature of all festivals is that they are all national holidays & a chance to see the loved ones. But since the dawn of the IT era in India, I strongly feel that festivals only serve its purpose as a holiday & not as a great family unifier.

Answer me from the bottom of ur heart. How many of U go to our native places to see our relatives these days? Nowadays, festivals are all about watching TV & all those ‘for the first time in the history of Indian Television’ crap. We drag ourselves to the Pooja room for the mandatory Pooja only after mom’s repeated screams. We are too shy to say ‘Pongalo Pongal’, instead rush to the theaters to scream ‘Thalaiva…’. What happened to the nature bather bullock cart rides to the temple? Instead, we prefer the cozy, artificial A/C comfort of our car. We skip ‘Jallikattu’ at the village for WWE or TNA. All those innocent people in the village, with whose prayers we’ll always be, hardly getting to their favorite son of the soil’s face at least once a year. Traditional folk music is replaced by the Trans music of the discos.

This but gives me only one conclusion. ‘In the name of globalization we have not only mortgaged our brains to the west, but also mortgaged our culture.’ We have lost our identity. When are we going to get it back?