Leave your crap at home, Mr. Bhanot!

The New Delhi Commonwealth Games (CWG) mess is starting to get really filthy, and an Indian official shocked the world with his reckless comments yesterday.

A couple of days ago Mike Hooper, the CWG Federation Chief Executive, made some observations about the state of the residential towers at the games village just a few days before the arrival of the athletes. Hooper called the condition of the rooms "filthy". There were human faeces in the rooms, dog shit on the beds, and all kinds of stains on the floors and ceilings. "Filthy" is not an inappropriate description of the state of the rooms by any standards.

Responding to Hooper's comments in front of live cameras, Bhanot came up with this gem - "They want a certain standard of hygiene which may differ in standard from my standard...". I am glad he said "my standard" and not "our standard". Human and dog shit all over, including on the beds - an acceptable standard of hygiene? This Einstein certainly does not speak for the country.

Dear Mr. Bhanot, it is highly unlikely, but if you ever invite me for a meal to your house, consider the invitation politely declined. Given your personal standards of hygiene, I shudder at the thought of what I might encounter.

What a shame!

I could not believe my eyes when I saw this headline in the newspaper a few days ago: "Sufficient evidence to prove Sajjan Kumar role in 1984 riots: CBI".

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_sufficient-evidence-to-prove-sajjan-kumar-role-in-84-riots-cbi_1438946

The anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi in 1984 constituted one of the worst genocides seen in modern India. The carnage took the lives of thousands of innocent, law-abiding citizens, and raised questions about India being a nation of civilized people. I had the misfortune of living in Delhi at that time, and as an Indian I still hang my head in shame at what happened.

All along it has been common knowledge that many politicians from the Congress party played an active role in the riots. We have also "known" who these politician are.  Over the years numerous investigations have been conducted, and not one of these alleged criminals have been brought to book. They have merrily carried on with their political careers, while the nation has just about forgotten the events from 26 years ago.

And after all these years, the premier investigating body of the Government of India has now proclaimed that "We have sufficient evidence...".  What were the nation's criminal investigators doing for the last 26 years? Perhaps looking for novel ways to find these jokers innocent...

What a shame. It makes me sick.

Sanity Prevails

Some sanity has been restored to India's cricket selection with the announcement of the side picked for the Test series with Australia in October.

Cheteshwar Pujara is perhaps the most promising Test batsman to have emerged on the scene in a long while, and I believe that he is destined for greatness if he stays fit. I expect that he will be the mainstay of the Indian Test batting line up after the departure of the likes of Dravid and Tendulkar. It is ironic that Pujara won selection after some decent performances in the IPL last year. He is a batsman in the classical Test cricket mould - he is willing to stay at the wicket for long periods of time, has excellent technique and a good range of scoring shots all around the wicket. It is astonishing that Yuvraj Singh was persisted with for so long, while Puraja cooled his heels.

Zaheer, Ishant and Sreesanth are our best pace bowling options in Test cricket. Ishant and Sreesanth are aggressive, wicket taking bowlers who will risk occassional punishment in chasing wickets. Sreesanth is not afraid to pitch the ball up, and is willing to be driven straight or through the covers, a huge virtue for a swing bowler. The Indian selectors frequently pick Sreesanth and Ishant for the 50-over format, and these guys promptly lose their confidence after one or two 0-for-55 or 2-for-65 performances. Please, please give these two guys some stability in the Test team, while keeping them away from the shorter formats. Zaheer Khan, if fit, is a perfect foil for either one of these guys, with his hit-the-deck, left-arm style.

Unfortunately our spin bowling department is the weakest we have seen in decades. We are no longer producing attacking, wicket-taking spinners due to an overdose of the shorter forms of the game. The name of the game is to keep runs down. It is quite sad that England and New Zealand have better spinners than India! Under the circumstances we seem to have picked the best available talent for the Test side.