World's Greatest Philanderers Alive

The grapevine has it that, Manforce may pull off a coup de grace by roping in world famous personalities for its upcoming event WGPA.  Dubbed as the poor man's Viagra, Manforce (owned by Mankind Pharmaceuticals) seems determined to expand its customer base in India as well as abroad. The TV reality shows sponsored by it did manage to grab attention of a segment of viewers but it has now reached a saturation point.

Posted By Danish 3:38 AM

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A tiny moment of truth of our failings

I seem to attract a certain segment of people, street-kids, destitutes, invalids, people without food,shelter and the very basic amenities every human is entitled to. On my part, I am very comfortable with them and it must be very apparent since I get approached all too often. By the way, I am not talking about "beggars" one comes across traffic signals, these professionals are the easiest to please. As my very good friend says, anything that can be bought at a price however high is cheaper than that which requires your feelings and gestures.

But that is not the case with the people i am now talking about ,its not just money, they demand something more. For instance, there is this resident of our corner of the city, who would sometimes want soft-drink or ice-cream- not the sort of request a mentally-handicapped destitute should be making but the fact is that he gets it every time and its just not me or my friends. Most of the guys hanging around that area usually give in to his demand.

But I seem to attract far more people in need. Just a couple of hours back, 10-10:30 PM, these two kids stopped my bike, they wanted a lift home. Now, thats something I do nearly everyday but the problem in this case was the fact that I would have to go back quite some distance to drop them. However, i did give in to their insistence, and on the way learnt much about them. They were brothers, the elder one was 12 year old but was being guardian to his 10 year old sibling. Both of them worked at a food stall, couldn't be earning more than Rs. 30 combined but there was an air of confidence in them that made me think that these kids should be in school! I did tell them that I would make arrangements for schooling but don't have a clue on how to go about!

And yes,while returning I realized how uncanny the resemblance between these kids and the Slumdog Millionaire kids was. But unlike the characters in the movie, lady luck is not going to rescue them from poverty, it us who have to give them back their basic rights.

Posted By Danish 11:13 AM

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A Tribute To The Boy King

Waking up in the morning to hear the news of legend passing away is never an easy thing to handle but it was surprising for me to be sulking about it even late in the day when i had some very important decisions to take. What was more surprising for me was the fact that Michael Jackson was not such an important part of my growing up years as it was for others. I never followed Western music, i still don't. But Michael Jackson was different, he had reached every nook and corner of the globe even before the cold war was over and globalization had begun. Much of what i know about him was from reading stuffs and not real-time participation. I did love his music and dance but i still can't claim to have listened to all of his songs. So why then was i was so affected?

Perhaps it was his charisma, his fan following, his life-style and his life-story that had us fascinated us all this time. Despite unimaginable fame and wealth his life seemed one tragic story. He was the first African-American to have reached the pinnacle of glory and that may have something to do with the controversies that dogged his later life. There was something deeply tragical that made him yearn for childhood and his unwillingness to grow up. Half of the controversies seem to have arisen from his reclusiveness, the other half may have something to do with him being sorrounded by greedy gold-diggers. But one cannot deny that the way the media, the authorities and even the people reacted to the controversaries everytime,envy , if not prejudice may have something to do with it.

One of the most distubing things that followed MJ's demise was the number of nasty jokes and criticism doing the rounds on the web. Most likely these people have no clue to what MJ has contributed or are simply sick,envious of him or worse, racially prejudiced. i don't need to enumerate the contributions of Michael Jackson to entertainment industry or the records he holds. It is there for all to see. Neither video albums nor MTV could have been as popular without MJ's mersmerizing steps, artists across the world made careers just by imitating him.

Michael Jackson's final act to silence his critics and naysayers was by his death which created so much furore that it almost took the Internet down. Shortly after the news of his cardiac arrest appeared on the Internet, there such a huge surge of online traffick that Google mistook it for an automated attack and for 25 minutes Google searches on Michael Jackson returned an error page. The official Google blog gives a first-hand account in the following post: Outpouring of searches for the late Michael Jackson.

But Google was not the only one, Twitter saw the number of tweets per second double as news of MJ's death was out and soon the site crashed from overload. The Yahoo News page reporting on MJ being rushed to hospital had a record number of 16.4 million visitors and Yahoo News overall had a record number of 175 million pageviews! Yahoo blog entry "Losing Michael Jackson" shares some insights on how it handled the situation. All popular search engines and services including Facebook, Wikipedia, Flickr, AOL had to deal with an unusual situation and had to allocate all available resources to cover the news.

In his last years Michael Jackson's had lost some of his popularity, the slated comeback tour could have salvaged some but his untimely death and the fact that the major players in web technologies including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft were brought to the knees by the news only reaffirms the belief that Michael Jackson was the greatest entertainer ever.

Posted By Danish 6:10 AM

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Remembering Misty

Misty, a close friend of mine died on this day 2 months back but it was only in the last week that I came to know of it making me wonder if online relationships are too hollow or I was just being too apathetic :(

Well, I knew her on the Internet, we had never met in real but we knew facts about each other that only closest friends could know. She had been introduced to me by a close friend who wanted to prove that the even average Americans can be intelligent and mature and can take part in political and philosophical debates! Well, my friend was correct, Misty turned out intelligent, educated, mature and so affectionate!

She was my main adversary on Yahoo Literati, we were always trying to surpass each other's ratings and I am glad to say that ultimately she won. But she had also been my agony aunt whenever I needed one. Even people close to me would marvel at knowing how much I confided in a friend I had never met but then Misty had the sort of warmth that it was impossible to not open up to. Of All I knew about her, she loved her three kids and her world revolved around them , I hope the world now looks at her kids with the same love and compassion that Misty seemed to have in abundance.

The last time we chatted was on the night of 26/11 as terrorists lay siege on Mumbai. Ironically our last conversation was very much on the same lines as had been the first one but it was not over yet. We were supposed to pick up the thread later on but this time fate had other plans. She passed away on 16th January, 2009. I learn't of her demise after more than one and half months from a another friend and since then I have a nagging guilt that I was so apathetic that I did not realize such an important friend passing away.

I apologize and pray that her soul rests in peace.

Posted By Danish 5:29 AM

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Now, Goons Come Out In Support Of NCW Probe Team

A very peculiar situation is unfolding in the aftermath of the Manglore pub attack as the Shri Ram Sene comes out in support of the member of the National Commission for Women, Ms.Nirmala Venkatesh, who was heading the probe into the highly publicised Manglore pub attack, and whose report has already been rejected by the head of the Commission, Ms.Girija Vyas. The probe team had in its report held the pub authority responsible for the incident. After a public outcry NCW has rejected the report and the ministry has in fact issued a show-cause notice to Ms. Venkatesh. Both the NCW chief and Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Choudhury are justified in taking steps but it needs to be borne in mind the swung into action only after the media had exposed the sham that was being conducted in the name of investigation.

It is really strange why Ms.Venkatesh did not think it proper to meet the victims! Instead, she chose to meet the perpetrators in jail and actually claims to understand them. One of the first things she did was investigate if the pub had license to serve alcohol and the last thing she did is recommend NCW to cancel the license. It is really strange that it never occurred to her that she was neither an excise officer nor a law enforcement officer to question the legality of the pub.

But that's not all. Going by her statements it seems that Ms.Venkatesh may in fact, have more than a wee bit of sympathy for the perpetrators. After all, she does say that she understood the attackers and that their motive was not to beat up women. This fact and her inquiry into the legality of the pub clearly indicates that Ms.Venkatesh had no clue as to what her duties and responsibilities entailed. As a member of the NCW she should be the last person to "understand" the culprits and as member of an advisory body she should refrain from treading into territories which belong to the executive.

However, Ms.Venkatesh is not alone, not long back Orissa's State Commission for Women chief had displayed similar apathy and lack of understanding of her job profile when she carried out raids on parks in Bhubaneswar haunted by young, unmarried couples. Moral policing is usually aimed at protecting/subjugating women, so when functionaries of bodies set up to fight for women's rights themselves become the moral police, the civil society needs to introspect seriously. One of the reasons that the situation has reached this stage is the practice of using the offices of these constitutional and/or statutory bodies as rewards to party loyalists. This trend can be seen in almost every government founded body from those dealing with sports to wakf and national and state commissions. An undesirable consequence of this practice is that being politicians these functionaries are found unwilling to risk annoying their constituents. Shouldn't the process of appointing office-bearers of these bodies be more transparent and competitive to ensure that the posts go to people who deserve it and are ideologically inclined towards the cause they are supposed to further.

The slothful pace at which the campaign for female emancipation and gender equality is being carried out in India and the opposition it faces from different quarters, including the self-appointed guardians of Indian culture, offices in the National and State Women Commissions should not be doled out as political rewards and should instead be entrusted with notable feminists who have shown grit and determination to take on established misogynistic traditions and dogmas.

While Medha Patkar, Kiran Bedi, Sarojini Sahoo and even Shabana Azmi may fit the bill, to me, someone like Rakhi Sawant would be more acceptable as a member of the NCW rather than a more respectable lady politician who ends up sympathizing with male chauvinists and herself assumes the role of moral brigade.

Posted By Danish 12:29 AM

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Slumdog Millionaire : Joning The Debate

In my last post,i have appreciated the movie Slumdog Millionaire quite unabashedly but that does not mean that i agree with everything that is being said about this movie.

Slumdog Millionaire comes across as a great work of art, an insightful journey through the life of a slum dweller as he passes through different worlds which transition in the background seamlessly. In many ways it is more like Herman Hesse's "Siddhartha" and Paulo Coelho's "the Alchemist" rather than a realistic "bandit queen". I think what has appealed to the audiences world-wide is the protagonist's upbeat spirit rather than realism. In fact, the so-called "ugly India" serves only as the backdrop which constantly transforms providing only fleeting glimpses.

Boyle doesn't even scratch the surface and rightly so, the script revolves around the protagonist, not the background. It is therefore intriguing that the movie is being seen as a portrayal of the real India. The criticism started well before the movie was officially released in India making me wonder if the critics had actually seen the movie or were just being apprehensive because of past experiences.

The allegation that film-makers exploit India's poverty is not without a basis. Film-makers of Indian origin such as Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta are especially adept at seeking out tales of exploitation, brutalization and misery from the nooks and corners of India and take them to the Western audience as work of art. I do not blame the Western audience either, India to them has always been synonymous with two clichés-poverty and spiritualism. Films portraying poverty and deprivation in India are thus more acceptable to Western audience.

However, these movies do not get good reception in India. Why? Is the Indian audience unwilling to look at its ugly face even when it is shown to them? A lot of non-Indians seem to harbour a feeling that all Bollywood movies are unrealistic and fantasy-based and that the Indian audience's perception of reality is influenced majorly by these movies. To them movies portraying the poverty-sticken and brutal face of India are ignored by Indian audiences because they don't want to see them. That may be true in some cases but not in all and certainly not in my case.
Why i never liked such movies is because i myself never found them authentic enough. They depict India from an outsider's eyes, not India as it is. Poverty, injustice, exploitation are far more painful than these movies portray. Something like Slumdog Millionaire never happens with India's slum dwellers, and neither are the teenaged chai-wallahs of Mumbai as polished and sophisticated as Dev Patel. The actor deserves the applause for the performance but the fact remains that he does not look a Mumbai slum-dweller in any way.

There are many other instances where reality and its portrayal in the movie don't see eye to eye.
The theme of the movie mocks at the most tragic aspect of the India's poor and underprivileged. The aspiration to escape dreadful living conditions by winning a fortune in a game show is not something that India's under-privileged can dream. Their aspirations always seem to be for better condition within the boundaries of their immediate realties. The day these deprived classes begin to dream of getting to the top,social injustice in India would start losing ground.

Contrary to popular perception, realism has always been there in Indian Cinema, its just that these movies never got the visibility that they deserved. Just a couple of years back, Madhur Bhandarkar's Traffic Signal based on the lives of Mumbai's underbelly did a better job portraying the reality. Realism has always been a part of Indian cinema, be it Satyajit Ray's social commentary or Hrishikesh Mukherjee's light hearted comedies. The 80's in particular,spawned a generation of serious actors whose talent has been recognized world over. Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Shekhar Kapoor are some of the names that have been synonymous with serious cinema.

However, it does not mean that popular Bollywood movies and stars did not contribute to serious cinema. Lets not forget that even Amitabh Bachchan has acted in movies like Aalaap, Abhimaan and Saudagar and SRK started his film career with movies like Maya Memsaab and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naan. For a long time the difference between parallel and popular cinema remained stark but lately it is disappearing. Madhur Bhandarkar is just another member of the pack of film-makers whose movies have been successful because of realistic representation.

Looking back, some of my recent favourite movies like Parzania, Black Friday, Omkara, Page 3 and even Black seem more realistic the Slumdog Millionaire. So if Slumdog Millionaire has been nominated for realism then Parzania and Traffic Signal should have already won Academy awards. Unless, of course the Bollywood movies are considered eligible only if the film-makers do not belong to it.

Posted By Danish 6:54 PM

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Is India Inc Ready For Corporate Governance ?

Corporate governance is the new buzzword in the Indian white-collar community coming in the wake of Satyam debacle. Coming from a background that has had nothing to do with commerce, economics or business management, I find it difficult to understand if there is a greater need for corporate governance.

For all I know, more rules, procedures and processes remind me of the good old and inefficient bureaucracy and "the license permit raj" of pre-reforms India. In the Cold War era India's socialistic leanings (more like anti-capitalism) led to rules, processes and governmental control that most Indian corporates were either state controlled or dominated by big business houses. It did not allow the middle-class, traditionally business oriented, to dream big in terms of business.Economic reforms changed all that, private players took over and the result 15 years later is not bad at all. It is not just the big business houses and multinational companies that have been successful, of course they have had an important role but it is the small businesses that have been driving the engine of growth. Lots of energy, determination and innovation are the hallmarks of this epoch. It is also the period when entrepreuners and spirited individuals from rural and small towns of India emerged as key players. Did they know or follow management rules or processes?

I don't think so! Lets take Lalu Yadav as case-study. Lalu was seen by a lot of literati as the perfect example of illiterate, ignorant political leader who doesn't deserve to be in the legislature. While this impression may have weakened with passage of time, it is a fact that he lacks absolutely the sophistication and finese synonymous with corporate leadership. Yet he tranformed railways in a manner none could have imagined. I guess Lalu didn't go much into the established corporate strategies and plans. What he did instead is, apply his own desi business sense and unorthodoxy. The same goes for dabbawalas, Dhoni and scores of middle-class Indians who now lead India. Most of these people who have gone on to become corporate leaders have shown dictatorial traits. Should that be tolerated?

Before answering that question let us take a look at the fact that despite phenomenal economic growth, India is still the home of every third poverty-stricken person in the world. As things stand, this gulf between poor and others is set to increase unless the overall economy grows at a faster pace. History shows that raapid development has been a reality in autocratic states more than in democratic ones. So, as long as corporate leaders act dictatorial within their own organization,on purely professional issues and have no major or direct role in socio-political aspects of society, they can be seen as necessary evil. Of course, the government should ensure that the interests and basic rights of the employees and customers are safe-guarded and the value generated contribute to the society as a whole.

P.S: As I have said before, this is an area I am not knowledgeable in and I may be wrong. But do leave a comment to correct me :)

Posted By Danish 1:52 AM

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Mumbai Nightmare : India's 9/11

Let me be honest, i am at loss of words in response to the latest terror attacks in Mumbai. It has been dubbed as India's 9/11 and for once i am willing to accept the cliché. For the first time i understand how an average American would have felt on that Tuesday in 2001. In my earlier posts, i have tried to present my opinion in a dispassionate and unbiased manner, but this post is different, this one is personal, unfiltered thoughts of an average Indian that i am. As a blogger and an information junky i may have taken this a bit more personally than others but I’m sure every Indian, irrespective of all affiliations and allegiances, has, in at least some degree been hurt by this horrific act. Terror attacks in India are not new but the manner and magnitude of this attack is unprecedented. A handful of terrorists with meticulous planning and diabolic designs turned Mumbai into an urban battle-field and sent shockwaves throughout India and the world.
If an act of terrorism is carried out to inflict psychological damage, the live coverage of the entire episode by the visual media completed it. "Media is the right arm of anarchy", Dan Brown wrote and sadly enough the greater damage that the perpetrators inflicted, was through the media only. Well, i do not blame the media at all; it was doing what it is supposed to do as am i doing right now. (Some Hindi channels do not qualify as news channels) The unfortunate part is that sociopaths have always used the strength of the civil society against the society itself (similar to Japanese martial art aikido ,but far too evil). In this instance as well as in the previous ones, the terrorists have exploited our democratic principles, civil rights and the free press to attack us.

There is nothing chivalrous or brave or clever about it, it cannot be graded within civilized world's percepts of good and bad, it is pure evil, manifesting itself in creatures bereft of every human trait. Civilized society is based upon the assumption that people desire to live in peace and prosperity and are willing to abide by the rules for mutual benefit. Some people might transgress for selfish reasons or may want to change the system but they will not go to the extreme which threatens the very existence of the society. This self-restraint may arise out of "goodness of heart" in few cases but in the majority of cases, it is out of the instinct of self-preservation. Power, wealth, success and everything that a civilized person (however wicked) aspires for, loses meaning without society. Hence, when anarchists like these terrorists subvert our civility and use them against us they descend into the lowest level of human consciousness. In contrast, heroes like Hemant Karkare, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan,Vijay Salaskar, DCP Kamte and all the martyrs who gave up their lives trying to protect the lives of innocent people displayed the highest form of valor and bravery.

India has never reacted to terror attacks with the same sort of disdain for liberty and civil rights that some other nations have and a lot of people tend to take it as its weakness. What is more painful is the fact that many Indians too hold a similar view. What they forget is that being the land of Buddha, Mahavira, Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi, the doctrine of "non-violence as dharma" is so deeply ingrained in our ethos that "an eye for an eye" sort of attitude simply does not gel with rest of our value system. However, the doctrine of non-violence as propagated by Gandhi does not represent, as some people believe, cowardice or submission to force, rather it stands for fierce opposition to tyranny and injustice but without using violence. It is the noblest form of warfare but warfare nonetheless. Gandhi himself has said that if a person is incapable of fighting tyranny with non-violence, he would have them use violence rather than suffer injustice. A similar situation is emerging now and the people of India, the victims of this dastardly act, are hurt and angry at the audacity of the perpetrators and need assurances that our civility and sense of justice should not prove detrimental to our security.

The battle in Mumbai is over but the war has just begun a war which has many fronts and a war in which it is the citizens who will take the lead. The first step, which has already begun is to send the message to all politicians that they stop petty politics and work towards the security and betterment of the nation. When Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s father was showing Kerala CM the way out, he was acting out the sentiment which finds resonance in almost all Indians, that, politicians are not interested in our personal griefs or national security. It is really alarming that a Leftist like Achuthanand and a Rightist like BJP VP, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, have both, on the same day, criticized civil society’s attempt to stop the issue from getting politicized. Their disappointment at being denied the golden opportunity to extract political mileage is understandable but what politicians of all hues need to understand is that one can’t fool all the people, all the time. This time things have gone beyond imagination and all political parties should sit down together and work out a strategy to bring the guilty to book and prevent similar attacks in future. Lets not forget that Hemant Karkare's wife in returning the Rs 1 crore "compensation" to Modi has set the highest moral standard that every Indian should at least try to live up to.

Posted By Danish 11:57 PM

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Bush Maybe Imbecile But Global Food Crisis Is Real

G.W. Bush has said that the food prices are rising because Indians are eating more. Well, what he exactly said is that as the Indian middle class which is larger in size than the entire population of the US ( after learning this during his last visit to India, Bush has never failed to show off his new found knowledge regardless of situation) is getting prosperous it is demanding better nutrition leading to higher food prices.

Wow! Did Bush work that out all by himself ?

I would have thought so had not Condy Rice expressed similar sentiments earlier, Bush's latest statement indicates that imbecelity is contagious especially in the inner circle of the American President.

These statements sound so much like the cold war era allegation that the amount of food that the USA wastes would be sufficient to feed all the hungry people of Africa. However, I am not sure if that is how world economics works.Experts opine that the current global food crisis is result of diversion of resources from food crop production to bio-fuel production and trade policies.

Bush's comment may be typically obtuse but he has inadvertently brought an important issue to the fore. Global food crisis is real and needs immediate attention. Avaaz has launched a movement to raise awareness and urge leaders to tackle the problem before it gets out of hand. Already the food prices have doubled in Sierra Leone and things are heading for the worse. If you feel like it, then please sign the petition. .

p://www.avaaz.org/en/world_food_crisis/tf.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK
--

P.S.: I intended to continue postings on the declining standards of the Indian vernacular media before posting on any other topic but Bush has spoken and so I had to !

Posted By Danish 1:56 PM

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A Tribute To Myself

The other day I was sitting on the toilet pondering on the nature of things when suddenly it occured to me and I was really surprised that I had not yet realised how great I am! A door to my subconscious was opened, I felt a lot clearer now and could then recognize those random itsy-bitsy acts of mine for what they really were- marvelous deeds of a genius. In my arrogance I had overlooked my own brilliance and was instead appreciating the mediocrity of my fellow humans. In that moment of awakening I could almost feel the warmth of the radiant halo that must have been around my head though I couldn't see it myself. I was sorely tempted to seek someone else's assistance to just make sure but decided against it as I realised that showing my posteriority to someone else was not a good idea especially with my pants bunched around my ankles.


So I pulled up my trouser and socks and settled down to write this tribute to myself. I am fully aware that no one who knows me would recognize my greatness but that does not bother me at all. Even I myself, am not very sure why I should be considered great except that the thought came to me when I was answering nature's call. Throughout human history many a great ideas have come to great men and women as they sat performing this most intimate and private function of the human body so why should my thought be considered part of the crap just because I cannot not justify it ?


Many years from now someone might look back and confirm that this particular idea of mine should have been flushed down with the rest of the crap but till then I don't see a reason why I should not consider myself great and pay tribute to myself.


Note : I had composed this as a April Fool joke but didn't have the guts to post it. But Behan Mayawati's chutzpa a couple of days back was truly inspiring. . In case you are wondering what Im talking about, you might have missed the news item, "Mayawati unveils her own statue" !
Im thinking of changing the title of this post to "A tribute to myself, Behan Mayawati and all fellow narcissists"
:D

Posted By Danish 1:49 AM

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The 8-Tag

Taking up Busybee's tag "athe pe atha".

8 things Im passionate about:
(not in same order)
1. The first one is not a "thing" but a person.
2. Myself :D
3. Knowledge (R-W-X includes books, tv,gadgets...)
4. My ideology/principles
5. My friends
6. Team India
7. Hacking (its not what the media potrays )
8. Madhuri Dixit
Im also passionate about rights like the right to privacy which Busybee violated :D

8 things I want to do before I die:

1. Discover elixir of life !
If I really actually have to die

2. Do something to leave the world a tiny bit better place than the world I was born into.
3. Clear all dues, monetary and otherwise.(this actually covers everything)
4. Write a book (maybe more than one)
5. Spend a few days with ... in a beach resort or hill station.

I dont have a lot of plans but may be I would like to do stuffs like meet Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and a few other celebs in person.
I cant think of anything else at the moment.( that are not x-rated :D )

8 things I always say.
i make conscious effort to not repeat words or phrases. But i'll still try to come up with a list.
1. Hi, hey, wassup, ASAK.
2. Sh*t, F*ck, d@mn, most vernacular slangs ( i notice that while i have no problems writing english slangs even if with * im not comfy doing the same with vernacular slangs- double standards ? )

3. Its simple/Its logical
4. I told you so.
5. Thank God, Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God)
6. Puhlease
7. Actually, obviously,really
8. Ok, tata, bye-bye, tc,ciao, phir milenge

8 books I have read recently:
I was really surprised that I remember the names and order :

1. Ibn Arabi's Heir to the Prophets.
2. Deathly Hallows
3. Been re-reading the Gita
4. Digital Fortress
5. The Bretheren
6. Athabasca
7. Bourne Legacy
8. 1984 by Orwell

8 songs I could listen to again and again :

1. Tere mere milan ki ye raina (Abhiman: Kishore/Lata )
2. Humein Tum Se Pyar Kitna (Kudrat: Kishore)
3. Karz numbers including Om Shanti Om and Ek Haseena thi by Kishore and Dard-E-Dil by Rafi.
4. Ye daulat bhi le lo ( Jagjit Singh)
5. Dil hoom hoom kare (Rudali: Bhupen Hazarika and Lata Mangeshkar)
6. Ka Karoon Sajani ( Sawan Ko Aane Do: Yesudas)
7. Allah Ke Bande (Waise Bhi Hota Hai- 2 : Kailash Kher)
8. Maa (Tare Zameen Par: Shankar Mahadevan)

8 things that attract me to my best friends :

1. Intelligence/Wit
2. Some degree of sophistication (I cant stand people with crass mentality)
3. Adherence to an ideology/religion.
4. Sense of humor.
5. Unorthodox/ Open to change.
6. Willingness and capability to participate unannounced and spontaneous verbal duels any time of the day or night.
7. Sucker for knowledge in any form.
8. Compassion

I pass the tag to Ghalib Fan (just found him back in bee's blog ), Angel, Zaina, Tanzim, PG, Phoenix and anyone who visits this post.

Posted By Danish 8:44 PM

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Magnanimity or Pawar ?

Team India forgives Brad Hogg after bringing charges against him of verbally abusing Kumble and Dhoni. It is a noble gesture , a gesture that reflects the Indian ethos and the genuine sporting spirit. It goes without saying that one expects the Aussies to drop charges against Bhajji as a gesture of reciprocation but the fact is that the Aussies have done no such thing as yet. At this point of time it is not clear whether Kumble's decision was part of a deal but even if we assume that a deal had made the question still remains, 'was it a fair deal?'

The Sydney test fiasco had taken India-Australia cricket relations to an all-time low, it was in the interest of cricket that differences be set aside and both the teams take initiatives to normalize relations. Australia being the host team should have taken the first step in this direction and the person in the centre of the controversy did take the first step but in the opposite direction. Andrew Symonds again took a dig on Bhajji by issuing a statement on Sunday. One would expect Indians to react in a similar manner but bizarrely, Anil Kumble & Co decided to withdraw complaint against Hogg even after Ponting had turned down Kumble's request to withdraw charges against Bhajji. Forgiveness is a virtue but in an instance where the offending party expresses no regret, the concept of forgiveness loses all meaning. It is then seen as a meek surrender which makes the aggressor more aggressive. This may actually send a wrong message to Ricky Ponting and his boys making them think that they reserve the right to sledge, abuse and cheat and other teams do not possess the right to protest either. Lately, Ricky Ponting's arrogance has acquired such dimensions that he doesn't hesitate from using his sledging tactics even against media After all, they have been sledging and cheating the whole series and the officials have actually been conniving with them instead of restraining them.

It is still unclear what made Kumble drop charges against Hogg, Pawar's aspiration for ICC top job may have influenced the decision but as of yet no one is telling. I wouldn't like to believe that Indian cricket can be one man's fiefdom Let us just hope that Kumble's gesture was one of magnanimity and sportman spirit and not a decision that has been forced on him by the board.

Posted By Danish 5:14 PM

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Sydney Fiasco

India lost the test and Bhajji banned for 3 matches! Well, that doesn't disappoint Indian cricket fans, it never was a fair game, the Aussies had 14 players on the ground in response to 11 Indians. The extra three were umpires of course. This was an unusual match, teams and fans have been outraged by behaviour of officials earlier too and in various games but this test match stands out because the Indian teams and fans have been left more than outraged. When Symonds was declared not out by the third umpire and he went on to score a ton and a half Indians felt wronged but nonetheless accepted it as something natural and unintentional. But things didn't look that unbiased when Dravid and Ganguly were declared out wrongly.Both the batsmen had the calibre to win the game or at least draw it but it seemed the umpires had decided on whose favor the game should go. It is really intriguing why the umpire thought that Dravid was out when the ball was missing the bat by a mile. However, Ganguly's dismissal was just too gross, Clarke had grounded the ball but umpire Benson thought Ricky Ponting's word was enough and the third umpire shouldn'tbe consulted. Those two dismissals cost India the match and allowed Australia to create a record of 16 consecutive wins but this could and should be the turning point of world cricket. 10 wrong umpiring decisions against India cost the match, the fans and cricket lovers were outraged but then came the match referee's decision to ban Harbhajan for 3 tests on charges of racism! This goes well beyond outrage... Everyone saw Symonds and Bhajji exchanging words on the field but for some peculiar reason only Bhajji was charged and Symonds wasn't even charged. Later on, during the hearing the match referee held Bhajji guilty even though there were no evidences at all. Mike Proctor is convinced of Harbhajan's guilt because Ponting and Hayden say so, Sachin's testimony doesn't count. Now all of us know how truthful the Aussies especially their skipper had been during the match to take their word as the truth and punish Harbhajan. Maybe Bhajji did call Symonds a "monkey" but I dont see how it can be construed as a racist remark. The Aussies had been provoking Bhajji since a long time, what Hayden told him back in India was far more racist and malicious, there was one time when he just got worked up but to amount it to racism is plainly stupid. From the start to finish this test match was a fiasco and ten wrong decisions against one team and banning of a player cannot be unintentional and fair. If indeed the decisions were unbiased how would do you explain Steve Bucknor's maximum wrong decisions having costed India heavily ? Surely, the match officials must be aware of the kind of sledging the Aussies do. How can they then take Ponting's word and first wrongly declare a key Indian batsman out and then convict another on charges of racial slurring ? However, the most vital question is why are teams from the Indian subcontinent are always on the recieving end when it comes to ICC rules or erroneous umpire decisions? I am sure Steve Bucknor will go the same way as Darell Hair did after that ignonimous decision against Pakistan but team,BCCI and fans from the subcontinent need to take steps so that their team members are not unduly victimised. After all, cricket has ceased being an English sport.

Update:
Sharing a mail I recieved.

After watching the test match, I feel some rules have to be incorporated by ICC to give the other teams a perfect clarification

(1) Ricky Ponting – (THE TRULY GENUINE CRICKETER OF THE CRICKET ERA AND WHOSE INTEGRITY SHOULD NOT BE DOUBTED ) should be considered as the FOURTH UMPIRE. As per the new rules, FOURTH UMPIRE decision is final and will over ride any decisions taken by any other umpires. ON-FIELD umpires can seek the assistance of RICKY PONTING even if he is not on the field. This rule is to be made, so that every team should understand the importance of the FOURTH UMPIRE.

(2) While AUSTRALIAN TEAM is bowling, If the ball flies anywhere close to the AUSTRALIAN FIELDER(WITHIN 5 metre distance), the batsman is to be considered OUT irrelevant of whether the catch was taken cleanly or grassed. Any decision for further clarification should be seeked from the FOURTH UMPIRE. This is made to ensure that the cricket is played with SPORTIVE SPIRIT by all the teams.

(3) While BATTING, AUSTRALIAN players will wait for the ON-FIELD UMPIRE decisions only (even if the catch goes to the FIFTH SLIP as the ball might not have touched the bat). Each AUSTRALIAN batsman has to be out FOUR TIMES (minimum) before he can return to the pavilion. In case of THE CRICKETER WITH INTEGRITY, this can be higher.

(4) UMPIRES should consider a huge bonus if an AUSTRALIAN player scores a century. Any wrong decisions can be ignored as they will be paid huge bonus and will receive the backing of the AUSTRALIAN team and board.

(5) All AUSTRALIAN players are eligible to keep commenting about all players on the field and the OPPONENT TEAM should never comment as they will be spoiling the spirit of the AUSTRALIAN team. Any comments made in any other language are to be considered as RACIALISM only.

(6) MATCH REFREE decisions will be taken purely on the AUSTRALIAN TEAM advices only. Player views from the other teams decisions will not be considered for hearing. MATCH REFREES are to be given huge bonus if this rule is implemented.

(7) NO VISITING TEAM should plan to win in AUSTRALIA. This is to ensure that the sportive spirit of CRICKET is maintained.
(8) THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE : If any bowler gets RICKY PONTING - "THE UNDISPUTED CRICKETER WITH INTEGTIRY IN THE GAME OF CRICKET" more than twice in a series, he will be banned for the REST OF THE SERIES. This is to ensure that the best batsman/Captain will be played to break records and create history in the game of CRICKET.

These rules will clarify better to the all the teams VISITING AUSTRALIA.

Posted By Danish 3:53 PM

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