Deve Gowda's blog on IBNLive
The "son of the soil" image must be in serious turmoil... This seems like an effort to broaden his electorate base; because it seems very unlikely to me that his bread and butter( or should I say ragi muddey) voter base, ie the farmers, are internet-savvy enough to follow his blog.
Sadly though, what he has to say on the blog is neither new nor unintentionally funny.
Gowda shaking off "Son of the soil" image... BJP shaking off "Hindutva" image... Recession hitting my local chaat store ( he hiked prices from around Rs 7 to Rs 12 )
We are indeed living in interesting times... What are we going to see next? Barkha Dutt taking up Mouna-Vrat and ISI taking responsibility for cross-border terrorism?
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Sehwag syndrome
"I try to hum songs, bhajans, Sai Baba bhajans, Kishore Kumar songs, especially those pictured on Amitabh Bachchan, till the bowler is about to deliver. I try to sing songs as perfectly as possible in order to keep my mind completely uncluttered."
...and thats how its done! Sehwag makes it sound so deceptively simple, and yet it couldnt be that simple. After 80-odd centuries, a Tendulkar still gets nervous in the 90s, and a Dravid who has 10,000 runs still finds it tough to break a poor run of form. Perhaps therein lies the problem and the solution. Adam Gilchrist once said that a sportsperson should just trust his/her instincts and not get too intellectual about the game. The likes of Dravid & Tendulkar tend to do just that, and this I believe limits their game. For instance, Sachin premeditates a single when hes on 99, every single time... and as often happens, he is caught in two minds if he gets a boundary ball. Also, the fact that one is close to a milestone, distracts, and that little bit of loss of focus is sometimes enough to bring about one's downfall.
On the other hand, the Inzamams, Gilchrists and Sehwags have rarely let milestones or game situations bother them enough to alter their natural game. For a cricketer, the next delivery is everything; of course, some amount of strategy is necessary, to gather an inkling of the bowler's gameplan for instance, but that is part of a sportsman's instinct which one automatically acquires with experience. That being a given, he might be better served by letting his natural instincts take over...
Cricket in particular, seems to be a sport which lends itself to a lot of intellectual indulgence... the assorted coaches - batting, bowling, fielding, mental conditioning, the managers, the commentary teams with elaborate pre/in/post match analyses, the resident media experts, statisticians who make careers out of knowing obscure historical facts, fancy terms such as "mental disintegration" & "reverse swing"... it is easy for a cricketer to get distracted and lose sight of the reality - It is just a game and a cricketer is just an entertainer, not a soldier defending his country's honor, nor creating a piece of history for posterity.
And humming Kishore Kumar songs seems to be a good way to keep the mind uncluttered, and let the instincts unfettered to go forth and entertain! After all, you cant argue with two triple hundreds... As for the likes of Tendulkar/Dravid, a humble suggestion - learn some Himesh numbers; most are already mind-numbing, so thats half the job done !
...and thats how its done! Sehwag makes it sound so deceptively simple, and yet it couldnt be that simple. After 80-odd centuries, a Tendulkar still gets nervous in the 90s, and a Dravid who has 10,000 runs still finds it tough to break a poor run of form. Perhaps therein lies the problem and the solution. Adam Gilchrist once said that a sportsperson should just trust his/her instincts and not get too intellectual about the game. The likes of Dravid & Tendulkar tend to do just that, and this I believe limits their game. For instance, Sachin premeditates a single when hes on 99, every single time... and as often happens, he is caught in two minds if he gets a boundary ball. Also, the fact that one is close to a milestone, distracts, and that little bit of loss of focus is sometimes enough to bring about one's downfall.
On the other hand, the Inzamams, Gilchrists and Sehwags have rarely let milestones or game situations bother them enough to alter their natural game. For a cricketer, the next delivery is everything; of course, some amount of strategy is necessary, to gather an inkling of the bowler's gameplan for instance, but that is part of a sportsman's instinct which one automatically acquires with experience. That being a given, he might be better served by letting his natural instincts take over...
Cricket in particular, seems to be a sport which lends itself to a lot of intellectual indulgence... the assorted coaches - batting, bowling, fielding, mental conditioning, the managers, the commentary teams with elaborate pre/in/post match analyses, the resident media experts, statisticians who make careers out of knowing obscure historical facts, fancy terms such as "mental disintegration" & "reverse swing"... it is easy for a cricketer to get distracted and lose sight of the reality - It is just a game and a cricketer is just an entertainer, not a soldier defending his country's honor, nor creating a piece of history for posterity.
And humming Kishore Kumar songs seems to be a good way to keep the mind uncluttered, and let the instincts unfettered to go forth and entertain! After all, you cant argue with two triple hundreds... As for the likes of Tendulkar/Dravid, a humble suggestion - learn some Himesh numbers; most are already mind-numbing, so thats half the job done !
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Mayhem in Mumbai
This mirrors my sentiments to a large extent. Not because I subscribe to the author's opinions about "100% security",(though he has a point there... most accidents on US freeways are fatal for exactly this reason - lowered reflexes due to a sense of security about predictability of traffic ) but because I believe that the dynamics of Indian society are such that we can never really hope to see "100% security" in our lifetimes.
"100% security" implies predictability of our systems. To put in place a system which behaves predictably, consistency is also required from the participants. This is a simple problem to solve if there is a uniform civil code for all citizens.
But as a people, Indians are more aligned with narrow self-interest groups like caste/religion/region than with any aspiration for a better quality of life for self. (To complicate matters, there are a few such groups which promise a better quality of afterlife, which seems to motivate some, more than any earthly pleasures) The rootcause for such a mindset is a complicated topic by itself, worthy of a lengthy debate. For me, its the vast gulf between the haves and the rest, leading to disillusionment, death of personal ambition and consequently, seeking of vicarious pleasure through the achievements of others of the same caste/religion/etc. Whatever the reasons, we Indians seem content to look at narrow self-interest rather than make minor adjustments and adhere to a common civil code. Unless this changes, it is highly unlikely that anything can be done to prevent a similar incident occuring in the future.
Have to say though; the commandos certainly deserve a one week all-expenses-paid at the renovated Taj for their selfless bravery. And all of us who are hitherto content with blogging, commenting on blogs, lighting candles, raising white flags, and doing similar useless acts... it might be a good idea to start an NGO that will raise funds to supplement the salaries of these real heroes from the current disgraceful levels - maybe that will embarrass the govt to rationalize the salaries.
"100% security" implies predictability of our systems. To put in place a system which behaves predictably, consistency is also required from the participants. This is a simple problem to solve if there is a uniform civil code for all citizens.
But as a people, Indians are more aligned with narrow self-interest groups like caste/religion/region than with any aspiration for a better quality of life for self. (To complicate matters, there are a few such groups which promise a better quality of afterlife, which seems to motivate some, more than any earthly pleasures) The rootcause for such a mindset is a complicated topic by itself, worthy of a lengthy debate. For me, its the vast gulf between the haves and the rest, leading to disillusionment, death of personal ambition and consequently, seeking of vicarious pleasure through the achievements of others of the same caste/religion/etc. Whatever the reasons, we Indians seem content to look at narrow self-interest rather than make minor adjustments and adhere to a common civil code. Unless this changes, it is highly unlikely that anything can be done to prevent a similar incident occuring in the future.
Have to say though; the commandos certainly deserve a one week all-expenses-paid at the renovated Taj for their selfless bravery. And all of us who are hitherto content with blogging, commenting on blogs, lighting candles, raising white flags, and doing similar useless acts... it might be a good idea to start an NGO that will raise funds to supplement the salaries of these real heroes from the current disgraceful levels - maybe that will embarrass the govt to rationalize the salaries.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Its a mad mad financial world !
This just takes the cake !
Its interesting to see what is happening in the financial world now... The poster-boy of capitalism and free-market economics needs legislative intervention to essentially take socialistic control of loss-making financial institutions. And the big daddy of the communist world is displaying a huge vote of confidence in the free market system.
Apparently, the Chinese have an interesting blessing - "May you live in interesting times"... It looks like those times are upon us now !
Its interesting to see what is happening in the financial world now... The poster-boy of capitalism and free-market economics needs legislative intervention to essentially take socialistic control of loss-making financial institutions. And the big daddy of the communist world is displaying a huge vote of confidence in the free market system.
Apparently, the Chinese have an interesting blessing - "May you live in interesting times"... It looks like those times are upon us now !
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Back from Agumbe
Just got back from a very interesting photography expedition in the heart of the western ghats.
The place is so full of interesting creatures & landscapes, that it is a perfect destination for someone looking to experiment with a camera. Now, I need to upload a few of my best shots, and wait for the peer verdict on my photographic skills !
That apart, the expedition reminded me of a trip that a bunch of us classmates went on, 10 years ago... We were young, foolish and full of adrenalin( yeah, me too... ), and we just headed out on a backpacking journey through the western ghats, covering Sringeri, Agumbe, Horanadu, Mangalore, Udupi & Marwanthe, in the course of a 7 day trip.
We shared 2 rooms between 8 of us, mooched free meals in temple towns, hitched rides on random vehicles, trekked through rainforests in our slippers, reached the top of a 200 ft waterfall, were foolish enough to crawl to the precipice just to see the bottom and skinny dipped in random water bodies... among other things !
We also watched Sachin Tendulkar single-handedly murder the Aussies in two dream innings at Sharjah (semis and finals). We did this while sitting on the street(literally, on the asphalt) in the midst of a motley crowd of drunks in Udupi.
And yeah, we did all this on a budget of around 800 Rs per head !
The place is so full of interesting creatures & landscapes, that it is a perfect destination for someone looking to experiment with a camera. Now, I need to upload a few of my best shots, and wait for the peer verdict on my photographic skills !
That apart, the expedition reminded me of a trip that a bunch of us classmates went on, 10 years ago... We were young, foolish and full of adrenalin( yeah, me too... ), and we just headed out on a backpacking journey through the western ghats, covering Sringeri, Agumbe, Horanadu, Mangalore, Udupi & Marwanthe, in the course of a 7 day trip.
We shared 2 rooms between 8 of us, mooched free meals in temple towns, hitched rides on random vehicles, trekked through rainforests in our slippers, reached the top of a 200 ft waterfall, were foolish enough to crawl to the precipice just to see the bottom and skinny dipped in random water bodies... among other things !
We also watched Sachin Tendulkar single-handedly murder the Aussies in two dream innings at Sharjah (semis and finals). We did this while sitting on the street(literally, on the asphalt) in the midst of a motley crowd of drunks in Udupi.
And yeah, we did all this on a budget of around 800 Rs per head !
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
A case for Azaad Kashmir?
Funny, tongue-in-cheek piece... But the part of the map marked "Territory ceded to China by Pakistan" is very concerning.
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