The Ashes - Trott and North

The just concluded Ashes series was not as riveting as the one in 2005, but there was some very good cricket played nonetheless.
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In the end England limped to a series victory, retaining the Ashes thanks to Monty Panesar and James Anderson holding out for an unlikely draw at Cardiff. Australia are a side in transition, and it is a testimony to the lack of depth in their cricket that bits-and-pieces players like Shane Watson and Marcus North played in every test match of the series. England are not much better off, with an unsettled middle order, an inconsistent bowling attack, and an out of form opener.
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A lot has already been written about the last Test Match, but I want to talk about a couple of things that caught my attention.
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In Australia's first innings Marcus North was given out lbw even though he got an edge before the ball struck the pad. His reaction to the decision was absolutely precious. He had a big smile on his face when he realized that his innings was over. He did not rant and rave, or throw in the usual curse word. He smiled and walked away quietly. However the umpire clearly got the message that North was not totally happy with the decision. Thanks Marcus for your exemplary behavior.
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Jonathan Trott's batting in both England innings was fabulous. Trott is not the prettiest player around. In fact the man he replaced - Ravi Bopara - is a far more elegant and flamboyant player. However Trott was calm. He did not let the occasion get to him on his debut and played with purpose. He was unfazed by the fall of wickets around him in the second innings, and took England to an invincible position. In my mind, it was his two innings, and Broad's first innings bowling spell that turned the game England's way. It is too early to say whether Trott is destined for greatness, or even a long spell in the England Test side, but it is clear that the man has character. He reminded me of another workman like batsman - the bespectacled David Steele - who frustrated the Australians and West Indies many years ago. Trott has not yet achieved what Steele did, but I see the same character in him.

Let's not take our soldiers for granted

I have a guest writer on my blog today - a very dear friend I went to school with, and a proud army officer today. Here's Colonel Padam Prabodh Prakash Singh with his take on how much we take our brave soldiers for granted.

Today (26 Jul 2009), when all the TV channels are going berserk over covering 10 years of Kargil Victory, I am nursing some mixed feelings. There's a lump in the throat as I remember some of my colleagues who made the supreme sacrifice…., there's anger…considerable anger…over the apathy of bureaucracy and political leadership ….and there's also a tinge of frustration and shame in seeing a few of the distant relatives of my martyred colleagues attempting to put a price tag on the supreme sacrifice of the departed souls and sullying their names.

I ask myself, "Am I going Hyper ? ". Maybe the whole issue is affecting me more intensely because , I was in Dras just two months ago carrying out aerial reconnaissance in a helicopter , overflying the icy heights (in excess of 17,000 ft) of Tololing , Batra Top and Tiger Hill, followed by paying homage to the 527 martyrs at Dras War Memorial. However, the urge to open up the laptop and start articulating my thoughts on the subject was triggered by a sordid and pathetic exchange of words between Abhishek Manu Singhavi and Ravinder Pratap Rudy – both trying to outdo each other and score a few brownie points in the TV programme – " Big Fight ", being aired on NDTV . I wonder ,as to why I am writing all this to you. Perhaps, the answer lies in the question posed by you in your blog on Lata's immortal song , `Ae mere watan ke logon'. While I am not attempting to answer your query , I find it prudent to share some random thoughts with you.

"Yeh Dil Maange More" --- the promotional tag line of a soft drink --- immortalized by late Capt Vikram Batra , who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra for his exceptional gallantry, portrayed on celluloid by Abhishek Bachchan --- is one of the first thoughts which comes to my mind . "Yeh Dil Maange More" --- What more do I want today ? Today , when the whole Nation is paying tributes to the heroes of Kargil War, what's it that my heart is aching for ? I should be an extremely contented man , but there's something which is convulsing deep inside, within me. While the Kargil War has been promoted , captured on celluloid and covered quite extensively – perhaps necessitated by the compulsions of the political party in power at that time, sitting on a wafer thin majority , -- it is the general ignorance and public apathy to the other wars which bothers me. I am referring to the proxy war which commenced 10 years prior to Kargil War in 1989 and continues to be waged till date . In the last 20 years , innumerable lives have been lost in these operations . The sacrifices made by the gallant soldiers in Kashmir Valley and in the North-East have scripted a saga of silent battle with a multitude of unsung heroes, -- whose contribution to the National cause has been no less than our Kargil bravehearts.

Eversince I joined the Army 26 years ago , some extremely vivid images have got deeply etched in my mind. Occasional brushes with that dark , dusky beauty called Death and losing a colleague, a comrade and a brother officer are the images which keep on coming back to me. One moment , my deputy – a bubbling young officer , the only child of his parents , full of zest for life, about to get married in a month's time -- was giving out graphic details of his fiance's beauty , discussing his impending marriage plans … and half an hour later his bullet ridden body was there in my arms. For someone who has practiced lifting a buddy innumerable times during his training days, very seldom has 65 Kg of body weight felt like 6.5 tons . Accompanying the body of the gallant soldier draped in the tricolor and facing his mother was another daunting proposition and a tough ask., but hats off to the indomitable spirit of the lady. In that tense environment, while there was something snapping within me every now and then , here was this gallant lady who decided to shed a tear only after paying homage to what was perhaps her only source of future hope and happiness. Maybe , that's what gave courage to the entire gathering , who joined in paying their last respects to the departed soul. Although, the incident dates back 15 years but every single moment of the incident continues to remain firmly etched in my memory. I can't help saluting the brave mother ,even today.

Reverting to my current concern. The immense contribution made by our soldiers, including their supreme sacrifices, while fighting the militants and guarding the Nation on a 24x7x365 basis is largely going unnoticed. During peacetime, the busy citizens of this great Nation have perhaps started nursing this opinion that the taxpayer's money is being utilized for guarding the Nation and Military is just a tool for this job . Any voices being raised on this account are drubbed as an attempt to be extracting some material gains for the services being rendered by the Armed Forces. For God's sake, stop treating us like mercenaries. I am most definitely not seeking any kind of compensation for the sacrifices being made by the valiant soldiers --- for I do not want to demean their contribution to the National cause and sully their names. All that one is looking for is a small little acknowledgement of the tireless efforts being put in by the Great Indian Soldier. Please spare us those 10 lac cheques, those petrol pump and gas agency connections and those DDA flats. Army as an organization is quite well geared up for looking after the material needs of it's members. We do not require doles on this account. All that one is craving for is a small little nod of acknowledgement by my friends in the civvy streets, a thumbs up, a mild recognition of the efforts put in by their comrades in uniform. Let's stop putting price to the life of a soldier. There's a huge difference between a soldier and a mercenary …. and being in this business for more than 25 years , I would like to firmly believe that we are soldiers… professional soldiers… NOT killing machines or mercenaries.

Maybe, I have gone overboard in giving vent to my feelings, but at this moment I can't help reminiscing a famous quote.

"God and soldier, we like adore,

Just at the brink of ruin and not before,

The danger past – both are requited ,

God forgotten and the soldier slighted."

The God Delusion

I have been a confirmed atheist for the last 25 years – albeit an uncomfortable one. My discomfort did not stem from any doubt about my belief that there is no God. The interpretation of God in this context is the all knowing, omnipresent, super being, who watches our every move, dishes out goodies and punishment as he sees appropriate, and in general, is responsible for everything that goes on in the universe. Most of my life I have believed that there is no such being.

My discomfort has always been about the fact that I could never counter the theist arguments adequately whenever I got into a discussion on this subject. For instance, it was nearly impossible for me to answer questions like – how do you explain the magic of the human brain? How do you explain the tremendous diversity of life forms around us? Etc., etc.

It all changed a few months ago when I picked up an interesting book from an airport bookstore. This book lifted the cloud of discomfort from my mind - I am now very comfortable in my belief in the non-existence of God. This book is called “The God Delusion” and has been written by a person called Richard Dawkins. Dawkins is a scientist and has devoted a large part of his adult life pondering the God hypothesis, and has written an absolute masterpiece. The book is well researched, and brilliantly argued. Step by step, Dawkins peels the layers off the arguments for the existence of God and demonstrates that we use the concept of God to hide or further our ignorance.

I think this book is a must read for everyone who is open to new ideas, whether he or she is an atheist or not. I highly recommend it.

Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon

Crying does not come naturally to me. I consider myself to be a “tough” type who does not get tears in his eyes at the drop of a hat. I don’t often get teary eyed – whether I am watching a Bollywood tearjerker, or even dealing with the death of someone I knew well.

I heard the song “Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon” sung by Lata Mangeshkar for the very first time as a teenager in the late 1970’s. The song captivated me like very few things have, and in spite of being very embarrassed, I could not stop the constant stream of tears coming out of my eyes as I heard the song.

30 years later I am learning to play the keyboards, and happened to talk about this song with my teacher Mr. Vishnu Deshpande last week. Mr. Deshpande is an absolute wizard with the keyboards. As he played the song, I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, and very soon I could not stop myself from crying.

After the class I brought up youtube on my computer and heard the song again – same result. Every time I hear this song, I cry uncontrollably. Why?

I know it is not the musical notes, though they are magnificent. I know it is not Lata’s voice either, because I have heard hundreds of Lata Mangeshkar songs without ever crying.

Is it the lyrics? – Probably yes because they touch your heart. So I just read the lyrics without the music or the notes. They sounded good, but I did not even come close to crying.

So what is it about the song? To be honest, I don’t know. It is probably incredible song writing, magnificent music, and a magical voice coming together that produces this effect. I don’t really know, but you can bet your last rupee that I will keep hearing this song over and over again, and cry like a baby every time I hear it, even though it is not what I want to do!

Neo Cricket, Stop taking us for granted

What's happening with the Neo Cricket TV Channel lately?

I was watching the pre-game show "Extra Cover" before the India vs. Sri Lanka game yesterday. Neo has signed up a new studio expert for this show - Dilip Vengsarkar, the former India batsman and ex-Chairman of the national selection committee. I watched with a growing sense of disbelief as Vengsarkar embarassed himself through the program.

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During his prime, Vengsarkar was a wonderful batsman. He shot into the limelight all of a sudden with an innings of 110+ in an Irani Trophy game as a 19 year old. What was remarkable about that innings was that he hit Bishen Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna, in their prime, for a total of 7 sixes! Next day's edition of Times of India called him "Veng(six)kar"! By all accounts it was a remarkable innings in an era when there was no T20 cricket, and 50-over cricket was very much a past-time for the West Indies. Vengsarkar went on to play for India with distinction in both formats of the game, though he never attained the stature of Gavaskar, Viswanath, or Kapil Dev. More recently, he had an average reign as the chairman of the national selection committee, the most notable achievement of his team being the recall of Sourav Ganguly, and India's win in the T20 world cup.
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That brings us back to the Neo Cricket pre-game show yesterday. Saying that Dilip Vengsarkar is not very articulate would not be inaccurate. He probably has a speaking disorder, and his "command" over the english language is quite ordinary. To top it all, he didn't seem to have any insights or original ideas to share. He stammered on, and embarassed himself. I felt bad that an international sports person of his caliber had to go through an experience which was less than ideal.
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The owners of Neo need to have a quiet word with the producer of the pre-game show about their selection process for experts on the program. I have been questioning the selection of Javagal Srinath for the same program, but after watching Vengsarkar, Srinath sounds like an absolute world beater!

Sachin, it is time

By any yardstick, Sachin Tendulkar is one of the all time greats of the game, perhaps one of the best 3 batsmen to ever play the game. Let us put that in context - international cricket has now been played for almost 140 years. Thousands of cricketers have played at the international level, and millions others have played at various levels with aspirations to play at the highest level. To be one of the best 3 batsmen ever is a mind-boggling achievement.

It is almost painful to watch a pale shadow of this genius, struggle through international games, with many silently asking - Why?

Make no mistake about it - Sachin is still good enough to walk into any international side, including India's. In fact he is so good that even after 20 years at this level, he still comes up with decent performances regularly, and the occassional brilliant one. But it is time for the genius to walk away to a standing applause. If he carries on for much longer, I am afraid his farewell applause will be somewhat muted.

Is the Indian cricket team on to something here?

The Indian cricket team won its seventh straight 50-over international last night after a mighty battle with the Lankan tigers. That in and by itself does not excite me very much. It is how they are doing it that has made me sit up and take notice.

We have learnt from the Australian sides over the last 15 years, and the West Indian sides of 15 years before that, that champion sides demonstrate some interesting characteristics:

• Most of their performances are made up of many useful contributions, rather than a huge & dominating individual performance
• Absence of a few experienced players does not hold them back, in fact the replacements are able to fill their shoes admirably
• Even in difficult situations their confidence enables them to find ways to win. They are never out of a game, and scrap till the very end
• The champion teams are willing to risk the occassional loss to search for a win each and every time
• Their confidence shows in their attitude on and off the field

I am seeing some of these characteristics emerge in the current Indian performances. Their highest individual score in the two wins is well under a hundred, absences of key players like Sehwag have not made a difference, loss of early wickets has not changed their attacking approach, and they have hung in there and found ways to win.

We are perhaps seeing something special emerge here, while Australia are headed exactly in the opposite direction in terms of demonstrating these characteritics in their performances.

I am keeping my fingers crossed while following this exciting team!

The World is Flat - even for an 8 year old

A couple of days ago my 8 year old daugher Sachi came running to me, and asked me to create an email id for her. She kept pestering me until I created one for her, and gave her a 5 minute tutorial on how to sign-on and use email.

Sachi is a perpetual motion machine. She is a wiry but strong little girl, who cannot sit still for more than a minute or two. She doesn't walk - she prances or bunny-hops or side steps or just runs to get from one place to another. During a recent vacation, she stormed out of our hotel room because she was bored. When I checked a few minutes later, she was jogging around the lawn!

With her new found ability to connect using email, Sachi has found a pursuit that can keep her glued to a chair for more than a few minutes. She checks email 3-4 times a day, asks for email ids from friends and cousins, and shoots out messages to everyone. A few times a day, emails from her pop-up on my blackberry and I smile with pride as I send her a response.

My little girl is growing up and reaching out to the world!

Black contamination!

Barack Obama is the first black president in US history!
Lewis Hamilton is the first black to win the F1 championship!
Tiger Woods is the first black to win a major championship!

These are wonderful firsts, aren't they? As we get close to Obama occupying the White House, one thought suddenly struck me like lightning. Obama's mother was white, while his father was black - so why is Obama black? He should be grey! Hamilton should be grey as well, while Woods should be a dark shade of yellow.

A person with some black lineage automatically gets classified as black. It is almost as if white is pure, and any black contamination automatically disqualifies a person from being called white. It doesn't work the other way though - inspite of having a white mother, Obama is not called white. How disgusting and utterly prejudicial!

We should all stop using these ridiculous white/black/yellow labels.