Transition: A Hypocrisy

While we have shut ourselves in our own shell by either lamenting Dravid’s retirement or rejoicing his illustrious career, we have actually turned our backs at the long term plan. It’s pretty much like crying over spilt milk without trying to figure out where the next drop comes from. Let us get the facts straight. Dravid is gone. Laxman will be gone and Tendulkar is not far away. And I am not asking the clichéd question – where is Indian cricket headed towards? What I rather want to know is where does the think tank want it to go from here, or where did they want it to go when the transition began with Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly in 2008. Let us take a deeper plunge into this.

Since Dhoni took over the reigns completely, across all formats in the year 2008, Indian cricket has indeed come a long way; the two most defining moments being the Number One Test status (1st time ever since the ranking system was introduced) and the World Cup 2011 which came after 28 years. And as if the reasons weren’t enough, Tendulkar kept all and sundry busy with the euphoria of the 100th ton, which remained around the corner for a long time. Amidst all this joy and delirium, there has been a reality check too. Never in the past (that I can remember) did India concede eight straight defeats overseas, neither did they look as lackluster as they did in the recently concluded CB Series (being defending champions and not to forget, they’re the world champions). To be honest, Indian cricket is in troubled waters with a lot of players walking on thin ice. Like always, the media has called for a few heads, Laxman’s being the most popular one. But now with Dravid retiring, Laxman is safe. I would presume so. You would as well but how safe is India in Tests?

Laxman is the subject for a case study here. Pretty much like India’s overseas performance, Laxman’s performance has been appalling as well (like never before). His poor average in England (22.75) got poorer in Australia (19.37), the latter venue being expected to extract the best out of him. Each failure has been saddening, and by that, I do not mean that failures are meant to be beautiful. But he looked like a fish out of water, totally out of place. And since there are a few young ones knocking at the doors, it appears as if Laxman would vacate his spot for maybe a Rohit Sharma. That is questionable, but then, it is bound to be, isn’t it? India obviously can’t have an experienced player as Laxman's replacement in the future. Is there such replacement? There can’t be. And that is where you draft in people who show you that spark, one which makes you say, “Okay, this man deserves a go at the target.” The Rohit Sharmas, the Ajinkya Rahanes and the Suresh Rainas are the immediate answers. And just when one thought that Laxman will go away, Dravid goes away.

Dravid’s retirement leaves a huge vacuum but that would have happened whenever he left, now or later. But I’m a happy man, Dravid has actually left well, much like he has throughout his career. He has left when he still had a lot of cricket left in him. Now let’s quickly shift our focus to Laxman. Dravid’s exit hands Laxman the ticket to hang on longer. Invariably he would score a big one in one of his forthcoming Tests, given the performer he is, but India has to prepare for its overseas challenges. With the next overseas tour scheduled for December, 2013, (let’s not count the tour to Zimbabwe here, which comes earlier) the think tank will need to take a few serious steps, not just earmark the players for the future but start giving them a fair run, starting now. Unfortunate but true, Laxman is stuck between the present and future; presently in bad form and future looking bleak. I can only think of his glorious past helping his case.

Now this opens a can of worms. What does the think tank do now? Kohli, who till now would have been looked at as Ganguly’s replacement at No.6, might well be pushed up the order to No.3 to replace Dravid. And if Laxman is pushed up, it is more a stop-gap arrangement than anything else. Dravid’s retirement and India’s abysmal recent form have compounded into a big dilemma for the selection board. There are more textures to ‘transition’ than just the cutaneous one. In India, the domestic framework is blamed, the culture is blamed and one must have noticed by now, it’s the “blame-game” written large over everything. That time has come when the team management will need to shrug off all the fears and address the worries. Whether it is Srikkanth’s men who take that decision to take Indian cricket forward or someone else, it doesn’t matter. It’s time to bite the bullet, do they have the teeth?

Honestly, transition is easier said than done, but much like death, it is an unavoidable truth and for a country like India where cricketers are revered and worshipped, transition is an unutterable sin. Much like, talking about 9/11 in the US. It is inevitable, some take it on the chin and work towards it, some fall flat while trying too hard and some just go through the motions and avoid it for as long as they can. West Indies still lives in the 70s and early 80s, they don’t have an option either. That’s one side of the story. But an Australia, brave and practical, took the hard steps and is on its way back to supremacy. It is about the will to take the challenges, irrespective of what happens later. There might not be another Kumble, Ganguly, Dravid or Laxman, but there surely is a Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and many more who deserve as much chance as they can possibly get. The names - Kumble, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman became known only because they were given adequate opportunities to prove their mettle.

India might not have found another Gavaskar opening in Tests, but they did find one of the most successful openers they have ever had - Virender Sehwag. Life in more ways than one, is about additions and not substitutions. Time now that India stands up tall and builds on the pillars of glory, rather than getting buried beneath.

This article was written post Rahul Dravid's retirement from the only form of the game he played then, Tests. 

What's In A Name!

Till yesterday, William Shakespeare’s impregnable impact was felt in the rich literature books but now it hasn’t spared the geography books either. The phrase, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” from Romeo and Juliet which enjoys cult status has been taken a little too seriously by the administrative bodies of our country. Everything in India seems to have a remarkable history, be it rich or controversial. There has been a lot of talk about the changed names of places in India and let us make it clear that all of that talk hasn’t been a healthy one. Be it a Bombay turned Mumbai or a Bangalore turned Bengaluru, none of the older names were tongue twisters to be honest. So what thinking goes into changing the names? As one would expect, the reasons are bountiful. Let’s take a closer look at them.

A few thought that it would be a good idea to shrug off the British legacy in terms of names too. By the time the British left the nation, they had defined a lot of places and their names in the country. According to a survey, a decent group of people in the country wanted a name which was more Indian than anything else. That leaves you startled. A name that has been carried forward for ages becomes a thorn in the eye suddenly. Strange!

Another set felt that it would be a good idea to stick to the Lingua franca, the common language of the common people. Many advocated in favour of the Desi feeling attached to the names but that could only be justified if the name reflected the cultural identity and the aspirations of the inhabitants of the place.  There’s  a  rich  cultural heritage  attached to  almost every  place,  hence  people  believed  that sticking to a particular historical thing of that particular place would bring out a native name. But as we all know, there’s certainly no survey done amongst the people of a particular place to zero down upon a new name. So, how would a changed name really speak the mind and heart of an inhabitant? Strange!

And there is another group which feels the importance of being well positioned in terms of the alphabetical order. Recently, a few assembly members and government officials of states like Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal  put  forth  their stance  on the disadvantages of  being alphabetically challenged. In every government meeting, the delegates of the states get to speak according to the initials of the names of their states. So, quite understandably when a person from West Bengal speaks at the last, many other delegates are done with their speech already and might just have lost interest or apparently walked out of the place as well, leaving the last speaker feeling unimportant. Many would believe that this is an exalted version but that is how the government officials feel. Strange!

Whether the reasons have been looked after or not while changing the names is the most pertinent query. In almost all the cases, it’s been proved to be a thankless job, i.e. it is impossible to please everyone with the change in name. Let us take a look at a few famous changes here.

• Bombay turned into Mumbai: By far the most popular  and glamorous city of the country, Mumbai was not called the name until in 1996 when the government decided to revamp its name after one of the popular deities, Mumbadevi. It took the efforts of the Associated Press to make the name of Mumbai, official and popular when they decided to use the new name in 2006. However, given a consensus is done, Bombay would still give a close fight to Mumbai as many still refer to the city by its old name.

• Madras turned into Chennai: One of the rarest cases among all in the discussion, the new name Chennai is not only nationally accepted but also globally accepted. There is a lot of rumor and hence no certainty on the history of the name but it is believed that Chennai comes from the town Chennappatnam, which in turn was named after the father of one of the early rulers. Madras got its new name the very same year in which Bombay was renamed as Mumbai.

• Calcutta turned into Kolkata: A clear case of removing the Anglicized version, Kolkata was named so in the year 2001. But much prior to this change, the local people always referred to Calcutta as Kolkata in the regional language and hence it wasn’t too tough for the change to be accepted. Although, foreigners who regard Calcutta as one of the finest and largest cities of the world, believe that the older name was the better name and continue to call it so.

• Bangalore turned into Bengaluru: Perhaps the city which faced the maximum flak for the name change, Bengaluru is finding it hard with the youngsters not ready to accept the change. The elder generation believes that it was always Bengaluru and Bangalore was only a cosmetic name while the youngsters feel that the extremely regional feel to the name has damaged the brand image.

The latest change on the block has caused a furore in the country. Yes, we are talking about Paschim Banga. Without an iota of doubt, this change has sparked off maximum speculations since the reasons it showed and the solution it came up with were never in sync with each other. The government officials complained about the alphabetical order and how West Bengal came last in the government meetings. Unfortunately enough, Paschim Banga was never the solution as it only pushed the state up the order by seven positions whereas Bengal or Bangla would have made it fourth on the list.

The argument didn’t end there since many historians didn’t find a clue to why the administrative body had to retain Paschim anyway. A valid argument to this point is if Punjab could exist on either side of the border without adding an “East” or “West” to it, then why would Bengal need a West/Paschim, especially when the other part of the erstwhile Bengal is Bangladesh now. Eventually, neither did it solve their prime concern nor did it help them in any other way.

However, the biggest concern amidst all this is the fact that the name changes are decided over an all-party meeting in a closed room without reaching a consensus with the Aam Janta. Does this really do justice to the billions who are going to accept the change? One wonders!

International changes:                                                                                                        

Kampuchea is now Cambodia
Ceylon is now Sri Lanka
Holland is now The Netherlands
Rhodesia is now Zimbabwe
Peking is now Beijing

Changes in India:
Orissa is now Odisha
Benares is now Varanasi
Baroda is now Vadodara
Pondicherry is now Puducherry
Calicut is now Kozhikode
Panjim is now Panaji

All that the change brings about is a fresh speculation and argument. More useless work for umpteen clerks who bang their heads while updating all the administrative processes. Right from changing the maps to creating new domains, to changing all existing files to tossing out all the present textbooks. On a personal level, all of us who have grown up saying Bombay and West Bengal all these years are seen fumbling and slipping up at times, eventually saying it by force of habit. How did the change help us then?

With name changes being the latest trend.. Ab Dilli (Delhi) dur nahin!

This article was written hours after West Bengal got itself renamed to Paschim Banga.

The Unknown Anna

Both are Gandhians. Both are selfless doers. Both are fighting for causes of colossal magnitude. Both resorted to fasting. Both are ordinary humans. Both are social activists. But one went on to become a National Hero and the other still remains to be just another social activist. Compare them on a couple of pans, put a 12 day fast on one and on the other, an eleven year fast. Of course, the latter is heavier.

Meet Sharmila Chanu, better known as Irom Sharmila Chanu. Born on 14th  March, 1972, none would have imagined it in their wildest of dreams that this lady from the North Eastern belt of India would go on to hold the record for being the World’s longest hunger striker. Her reasons to hold the hunger strike are no meager reasons. It is more than a decade now that she is demanding the Indian Government to repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. She blames this Act for creating the amount of insurgence it has in the areas of Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland. This Act was also imposed in Jammu and Kashmir later. This Act entitles the Armed forces with the ultimate authority to use force or fire upon any person, arrest without a warrant and search any premise without any notice during times of emergency in the disturbed areas.

Hell broke loose in Malom, a small town in the Imphal valley on the 2nd  of November back in the year 2000 when ten commoners were shot down at a bus stop by the Assam Rifles (a part of the Indian Paramilitary Forces). Deeply affected by the ruthless incident which otherwise is known as the Malom Massacre, Chanu began her journey of unimaginable struggle, inexplicable pain and intensive torture. Right from the outset, the killing of people based on mere suspicion sounds farcical and that is what Chanu is fighting against. Her fasting has become an epic struggle now and while the law makers and executors should pay heed to it, they instead have pushed her deep into further trouble. Her act of fasting has been looked upon as an attempt to suicide which is unlawful under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code. The law has found her guilty on the above grounds and she serves an imprisonment up to one year (with or without fine) every year. Chanu keeps getting released and re-arrested every year which goes to show the indifference of the government towards her. While Chanu hasn’t taken a morsel of food or even a drop of water for more than a decade now, she has been put on nasogastric intubation which force feeds her twice a day with a handful of vitamins and nutrients. There are two sides to this discussion. You may look at it as a method to keep her alive or you may think of it as a cruel way to kill her again and again, every passing moment. But amidst all this, she might just weigh 37 kilos, her body organs might have gone defunct but the fact that she is still fighting on a hospital bed is painfully inspiring enough to create a wave of awakening.

Has her life created a wave of awakening? The answer is a painful NO. When Chanu started off with her fast, she might have never thought that it would take so long. And even after a decade’s fight, her demand longs for fulfillment. Her courage has been awarded with various Global, Bravery and Peace Awards but does that serve her purpose? The answer again is a painful NO. Her struggle got a fresh leash of life in the year 2006 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised to amend the Act to ensure it was humane. And that promise is yet to be fulfilled.

Chanu’s life and struggle have been plots of innumerable documentaries, books, debate and a few audacious ones consider it to be a feat to be registered in the books of World Records. Did Chanu ever ask for all this? All that she still wants is justice. All that she still yearns for is respect for the human life which is violated by the AFSPA Act. Simple things are best answered with simplicity but our complex constitution doesn’t seem to believe in it. While the Ramlila Maidan where Anna sat down fasting was enveloped by special security personnel, Chanu on the other hand, is left seeking support. Anna found support from all across the country, including the media, celebrities, top businessmen, high rank officials etc. While the entire nation woke up to the chants of Anna and demanded justice, one wonders why such a step-motherly treatment has been dished out to Chanu. Does this mean that Chanu’s reasons don’t qualify for a hearing? If that is the story, then our country and its law makers really need to draw a line. And here we are not talking about the much hyped Below Poverty Line. The country now needs to draw a line for what deserves justice, which method is legal enough and who is qualified enough to do it?

In a nation where a kid falling into a pit makes news, celebrity break-ups and patch ups make news, Chanu’s story deserves better treatment. Irom Sharmila Chanu is rightly called the Iron Lady of Manipur, for more reasons than one. Her as-strong-as-iron determination and guts is a lesson to be learnt. But more importantly, the biggest question that we need to find an answer to is:

“Who defends the defender?”

This article was written during Anna Hazare's longest hunger strike to move the government to frame the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Monsoon Health Hazards

All that we hope for, after a never ending sultry spell of summer is the dashing rains. While one is totally sapped out by the exhausting heat, one still doesn’t lack the enthusiasm of welcoming the rain with open arms. For a school kid, monsoon is the splash of mud that he enjoys after school gets over whereas for a college goer it is the inexplicable joy of sipping a hot coffee and watching the rain drops create a mist on the glass panes. While an employee hates the rain interrupting his work schedule, a housewife loathes the weather for not allowing her to dry the washed clothes. These are the multiple contradictory remarks that people make about the rain. In a way, it wouldn’t be wrong to comment that the woman, who prays for the relieving rains during summer, actually hates it when she is confined to her living room during the incessant rains.

While monsoon brings with it a bundle of joy, it is also accompanied by a horde of diseases that the human body is immensely susceptible to. The ideal way of celebrating monsoon is by taking good care of our ownselves because they say, “Prevention is always better than cure.”

Monsoon poses a lot of threat in the form of innumerable water borne diseases and gastro-intestinal infections. Some of the common diseases that do the rounds are diarrhea, typhoid, jaundice, dengue, malaria, etc. Influenza is perhaps the commonest of all while gastric disturbances and high blood pressure are also encountered in this season.

So, we at P3, thought of helping our readers with a few health tips and precautions that one should follow in order to enjoy the monsoon in its full glory.

• Since most of the diseases encountered during monsoon are waterborne, one should take extra care of the water that is used, be it for drinking or any other purpose. The doctors advise us to boil water before using it, round the year and more so during this season. Contaminated water leads to several infections, especially diarrhea, which can aggravate many other diseases. It is also advised that one should drink boiled water since it helps digestion.

• Besides taking extreme care of the water we use, we should also be equally vigilant about the kind of food we consume. Eating out is a “Strict NO, NO!” The idea of having a quick snack at a roadside food stall sounds very tempting but it comes with a lot of germs. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to compromise a bit on the taste buds and actually look to have homemade food as far as possible. Eat food which is well cooked and served hot. Fried, spicy food must be avoided too.

• Fruits and vegetables should we washed carefully before cooking. Leafy vegetables are the ones which contain germs more than the other, hence special care should be taken about it. Vegetables and fruits which are cut long back and kept in the open should be avoided.

• Insects like flies are the most common carriers of germs and hence precaution should be taken in order to keep them away from causing contamination. Food should be covered at all times, vegetables and fruits should be kept away too.

• Mosquito breeds the most during this season and causes the most dangerous disease of the season in the form of malaria and dengue. Care should be taken to drive out any puddles. Phenyl or kerosene must be poured in the drainage areas to stop the breeding of mosquitoes. While malaria is the most common monsoon disease, dengue is suspected to engulf about two- fifth of the world population as per one of the latest reports released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Besides all these infections, Cholera is a dreaded bacterial infection which has caused a lot of deaths in the past and continues to be a danger even now. Typhoid, which again is a common name during the monsoons, is caused by contaminated food and water. Typhoid if not attended at the right time can cause a lot of complications.

The epidemic which took the world by storm, H1N1 otherwise known as Swine Flu, is also reported to see a rise during the monsoons. Till mid 2009, 34,000 cases of Swine Flu were reported, resulting in 1500 odd deaths.

The high humidity which is prevalent during the monsoons runs people into risks of getting several fungal infections. Doctors advise to wear cotton clothes and loose clothes to avoid fungal infections. Hair care problems are also on the rise during this time therefore proper conditioning and shampooing is advised.

Doctors strongly believe that dealing with monsoon diseases doesn’t require efforts which would force people to go out of their way. It in fact involves a lot of common sense and the basic knowledge that we had acquired during our primary school days. Habits like washing hands, using good detergent for washing, use of antiseptic soaps, etc. is a must.

Remember in this monsoon, cleanliness is the secret of healthiness and happiness!

This article was published in the health section of P3.. Not Just Page 3.

A Foodie's Day Out!

The charm of India lies in the fact that its unity shines amidst a plethora of diversities. Be it a thousand religions or a million Gods, be it a bountiful of beliefs and practices or a billion dreams, India has always come up with a lot of surprises. Not much different is its food habits as well.

“Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.” – Socrates.

That saying doesn’t hold true anymore with the taste buds craving for more and hence it wouldn’t be wrong to claim, that many of us, including many of you – our readers, want to wear the best, possess the best and eat the best too, so much so that we at times can actually “Live to Eat.” The obsession is so much so that when matrimonial offers come across, the first question that the son’s mom asks is, “Does she know how to cook?” When the man returns exhausted from his workplace, the first question he asks is, “What’s there for dinner, tonight?” The finicky Gen Next kids can just ignore food that they don’t like and go on a fast. We’re pretty particular about what we eat, aren’t we? So, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to actually look at how India looks from the Foodie’s eyes.

If one keenly looks at India, every piece of land would spring up a different culture, a different lifestyle and a different food habit too. Variety is the spice of life and India, the land of spices, adds that spice to life too. The tourists from abroad have more often than not expressed their appreciation for the Indian food, despite succumbing to a Delhi Belly. The Indian Food Map is such that it urges one to dive into a fantasy of travelling throughout India and possibly enjoy the best meal at specific places for specific time of the day.

Statutory Warning: Travelling to all the mentioned parts of India for specific meals in a single day is completely fictitious. Any resemblance to the characters like Mr.India, Krrish, Ra.One is co-incidental.

Disclaimer: We’re not responsible for Delhi Belly (Diarrhea experienced by travellers in a foreign land for not being accustomed to local food and water.)

We start off the day with a hope to gobble up the best food in our breakfast and the Southern belt of India (especially Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) doesn’t disappoint us. Wake up with the special coffee made from the plantations in Chikmagalur and expect to have the same aroma in life too. You can order for a sumptuous plate of Masala Dosai with the perfect blend of taste and appetite. For those who don’t quite favour the Dosai can go for a plate of Idlis with Sambar.

A fresh morning now makes way for some strenuous work at office and after all the hard work, one looks to have a heavy meal for lunch. The East is believed to have a heavy lunch and what more would one ask for if he is served with a spicy, yes a little oily bowl of fish (Ilish maach, better known as the King of fish) with a plate of steamed rice. You can choose your favourite dish of fish though, be it Bhaapa Ilish or Doi Maach. After satiating your hunger, the perfect thing that can light up your mood and sweeten your talks for the next few hours would be Rossogolla.

Rossogolla and West Bengal are synonymous, so much so that it is often called the Land of Rossogollas. The Bengalis have mastered the art of preparing this special dessert and keeping in mind that the diabetics can’t have it, they have this Sugar Free Rossogollas too.

Third on our list is the evening snacks and after having covered the Southern and Eastern India, it is time to move to the West. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to amalgamate the best of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra on our thali. The Gujarati snack bread known as Thepla and the tea time snack in the form of Khandvi make for luscious snacks. One can opt for the Vada Paos as well which is the most popular dish from Maharashtra or order for a plate of Batata Vada and Kandi Bhaaji. The list doesn’t end here with the Royal Rajasthanis dishing out the ever so tasty Pyaaz Kachoris. Wow! Food is like.. heaven, isn’t it ?

Now, last but no way is the least, our supper. All is well that ends well and here too, we have prepared for the best to round off a day which has been a “A Foodie’s Day Out!”  We now move towards North for what promises to be a mouthwatering dinner. While the veggies can enjoy the Delhi special Chhole Bhature/Masala Kulcha (which often is found on the To-do-list), the non-vegetarians have a lot to choose from. They can go for an out and out Punjabi meal like a Makke di Roti, Sarson da Saag or have the authentic Tandoori Chicken with Paranthe. Butter Chicken is among the other specialties here and still sells out the most in any restaurant located in any area of the nation. If it was Rossogollas in West Bengal, it is the ever so famous Chaach-Lassi served in a towering glass which rounds off a highly sumptuous meal.

After having gorged on a never ending variety of food, any foodie would be filled to the heart as well as stomach. Sometimes, diversities are welcome, especially when they offer such a wide array of dishes. Amidst all these diversities, the Indian food has managed to be a source of unity and hence, sends out a statement to all the tourists (who complain about the rich and high on cholesterol food) that, “Love me or hate me but you simply can’t resist me.”

Here’s wishing all our readers, Happy Munching.

This article was written in the month of May and was first published in P3.. Not Just Page 3 before being published on different other websites.