Awaiting our CHANGE

America has voted for a change. Not the red states and blue states but the United States of America has voted for a change. They have voted for one man, the same one man in Texas, NY, California and Wisconsin. The man they know knows about what’s good and bad about their country and trust him to change the bad to good. America is a Democracy.

India is another Democracy, where most people (not me) are very proud of their democracy which has lived for more than 60 years now. Here, people generally vote every 5 years, and the vote for someone who:

– belongs to the same caste as they are

– distributes money and liquor among people as a part of campaign

– will visit their constituency only when the next election is due

– will propagate wrongs of current government rather than proposing solutions

– arrange top security for him, while leaving the people naked to terrorists

– has criminal cases against him, but still is shameless enough to beg/demand for votes

– believes in changing parties and ideologies to remain in power

The mess in which our political system is is because for years most of India has been voting for above reasons. Today, our democracy has become a joke. It has become a playground for some shameless people, who over the years have mastered the art of winning elections in this country and are least bothered about needs of the nation (infrastructure, security, education, health, and energy).

Do I sound like a cynic?

Some of the ‘fans’ of our democratic system will come out advising, vote for a change, or better compete the election yourself. I am sure many young, enlightened individuals follow that advice; we are yet to see a change. These people are insignificant in front of the masters who have spent their lives practicing the art of Indian elections.

So the bottom-up approach to change won’t work, the change has to come at the top. The playing rules have to be changed in order to take the Sonia’s, Advani’s and Mayawati’s out of the system.

Here is an alternate game plan.

+ Anyone can apply to be the president, however the eligibility criteria has to be very tough (highly educated, experience of successfully managing people and resources, ideal candidate would be a someone at the helm of a big organization)

+ The election commission, consisting of elite leaders from all walks of society assesses all applications and selects the top 2 candidates

+ These 2 candidates are asked to create a team of people who would help them assess the current state of the country and draft a plan that would work for next 5 years

+ The election commission associates KRA’s to every section of the plan and these two candidates are allowed to campaign for two – three months so that they can explain their agenda to all sections of the society

+ The entire nation then votes for one of these two candidates and the one who wins, gets to implement his agenda

+ The President runs the country like the CEO of an organization, gets to select his management team and is answerable to Election commission, who assesses the performance of the government on set KRA’s every year

+ The election commission may ask the government to replace the non performers

+ The loosing candidate also gets to give a constructive feedback on the policies employed by the government, but there would be no confidence motion.

+ After 5 years, the presidential candidates remain same unless the current ones choose to retire or their teams decide upon a batter candidate.

In short, would like Ratan Tata, or Narayan Murthy or maybe someone ex- army, run our country like Tata or Infosys, than Advani or Sonia taking turns to exploit the age-old and poor constitution.

I would appreciate some wise reviews of the plan.

SUMIT

Super Sunday

 

It’s a Super Sunday and hopefully by the end of today it should be an Indian Sunday. Australia has always looked beatable whenever they have played India this summer after the first test at MCG. As for the youngsters at Kualalampur the glory is there for the taking, they have looked invincible and I hope would come back with the Cup.

While I think beating Australia at Sydney is going to be a cakewalk if India can win the toss and bat first, the Aussies might have a slight edge if they win the toss. Sri Lanka choked them in a small chase in the last game to expose their frail batting and the law of averages suggests Dhoni should win the toss today.

I am of the opinion that India should play Sehwag and Praveen Kumar both and make Bhajji sit out of this final. Bhajji has been delivering more from his mouth rather than with the ball all through this summer and a Match winner like Sehwag should always be played in big matches. The attitude he showed after taking the last wicket in the match against Sri Lanka makes me believe that India should start looking for another full time spinning option as Bhajji has some serious problems.

Dhoni has impressed with his on field captainship, but I seriously think he is getting too much involved when comes to off field comments such as “sledging is an art, which youngsters will have to learn”. Though he is successfully leading a team of young winners, he should not forget that with similar attitude Australia for years has won matches but not hearts. With India, the story has been reverse so far. The challenge for Dhoni is to create a winning habit in the team along with maintaining the clean image of the Indian cricketers. I also hope

Ishant Sharma and Gautam Gambhir have been the revelations for India on this tour as they have both come a long way. Ishant is quick, accurate and smart, and I pray he remains fit. India luckily has quite a few fast bowlers at this time and I am sure future teams will be picked keeping in mind the rotation of these fast bowlers who are a rare resource.

A special mention for the other Indian team which will play in the world cup final for under 19’s as they have shown the trailer of things to come in the cricketing world. India is surely the new home of cricket. Although South Africa will pose a tough challenge but I have a gut feeling that this is going to be an Indian Sunday.

The end of an era, Thanks Gilly.

Image: www.cricinfo.com

With just one day of play left in the current Australia – India test series, all I can say is that this is the beginning of the end of an Australian era in cricket. Adam Gilchrist, I guess did sense the same thing and hence has wisely separated himself from this bunch of cricketers who place winning above playing. The difference between a professional organization and sports team is that in sports the race is more important than the result. The present Australian team undoubtedly is trying to be a professional organization.

In the last 10 years Australian Cricket has separated itself from the rest of the community, created a niche level where professionalism is paramount. However, I am sorry to say that despite all their success during this time and in the urge to be better professionals they have rapidly replaced sportsmen by professionals. Adam Gilchrist to me is the last substitution.

Gilly has been a great cricketer, not only in terms being successful in all forms of the game, but more importantly playing the game with the true spirit of sports. The ovation he got today, when he walked into bat possibly for the last time in white gear, said it all. He is one cricketer who everyone who knows him would like and respect, and in his absence cricket matches involving Australia would never be the same. He changed the way players approached batting in test cricket, and the whole world is still playing catch up to his style of batting. This has led to more test matches ending with a result. He has walked every time he has nicked the ball and has set an example for all modern cricketers.

Thanks Gilly, for giving us numerous cricketing moments which will be cherished, whenever someone talks about wicketkeepers. I would also like to wish you the best for whatever you plan to do next.

Happy New Year … n d wshs

Short, crisp, innovative, straight from the heart are the wishes we receive on special occasions such as the new year, via the short text messages in our mobile phones. Unfortunately due to storage limitation in phones, we usually have to delete these precious messages.

To address this problem and to better utilize my blogspace, I have decided to add a separate page to my blog – “The Wishes“. This way I’ll keep all those precious wishes with me forever, whenever I get them.

And anyone visiting this page is bound to get amazed by all the innovative ways people use to say the same old thing …. Happy New Year, Only the figure at the end is what changes … this time it is 2008.

The message I sent out this year, was simple:

“Best wishes for the new year to you and your loved ones. Lets welcome 2008. Cheers and keep smiling.”.. Sumit

The last few weeks …

So I am on my blog again, it feels like after an era but it has only been a few weeks… huh!!

Every weekday has crawled like a week itself, choc-o-bloc with work work and more work, and the weekends have disappeared either sleeping, shopping or traveling. So here are some random things that were responsible for my busi-ness:

• Work, ofcourse. Will not crib as i have loved the challenge, but it’s been tough.
• Misbah ul haq. Whenever I managed to catch up with cricket, I found this batting. His patience failed mine, and I had to change the channel.
• Table Tennis. This is what has replaced my tea breaks at office, like this game.
• Shopping. Well my inflated credit card bill is what i am left with after a shopping spree.
• Shataabdi Express. I went to close friends marriage on a weekend with a group of friends, the Delhi-Amritsar train was my first Shataabdi experience.
• Golden Temple at 2 am. Yes, after the marriage ceremony and before the train back to Delhi, we decided to visit the Golden temple, and awesome experience (see the pic in my clicks section) and the time was 2 in the morning.
• Dus Kahanian. Saw this movie last Sunday, and still cannot decide whether the movie was good or bad. A mix of extremely good and bad stories.

Though most part of the last few weeks has been fast, tight and tedious, this weekend seems to be different, it seems to be slow, peaceful, beautiful and long (it’s still Sunday Morning), and while I was wondering why this change I realized that it’s December already. Yes it’s December, my favorite month for multiple reasons and one of them is this beautiful whether. And as i foresee decreasing workload going forward, this december is going to be Happy December as usual.
Sumit

The Hand

**Here is wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving day**

With a nice story carrying a beautiful message …

Thanksgiving day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.

Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged but still many would celebrate the Holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These the teacher thought would be the subjects of most student’s art, and they were. But Douglas made a different kind of picture.

Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those eyes. Yes, his picture was different.

When asked to draw a picture of something he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else, just an empty hand.

His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise Turkeys. Another suggested police officers, because the police protects and cares for people. Still others guessed that it was the hand of God, for God feeds us. And so the discussion went untill the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas’s desk, bent down and asked him, whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and murmured, “It’s your teacher”.

She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him, here and there, as she had with other students. How often had she said, “take my hand Douglas we’ll go outside..” or, “let me show you how to hold your pencil..” or, “lets do this together..”.

Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand. Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.

The story speaks of more than thankfulness. It says something about, teachers teaching, parents parenting, friends showing friendship, and how much it means to the Douglass of this world. They might not always say Thanks, but they always remember the hand that reaches out…

Cheers !!

SUMIT

Childhood Memories

NG’s last post on Childhood memories, brought back some of my best and tasteful childhood memories. Since she has tagged me to that post, it gives me a better reason to preserve those memories in writing here, before they get stacked under these monotonous daily chores. So here I go … with 5 of those specialities which tickled my taste-buds as a child.

1. Milkfood Ice-cream: Well it was the first Ice-cream that started coming in the cup over the usual ‘Jet‘ ice-creams (those wrapped around sticks) which were a norm till then. The cup was out of the reach of my pocket money (rs 5) and I have been bad at saving, so buttering mom was my only chance at the cup.

2. Sweet Cigarettes: NG has said it, those white sticks with a red tip were a rage at one time, and Phantom was my brand (as i got it at the shop near my house).

 3. Tomato Ketchup: Well yes, not Pakoras but ketchup was my taste. I used to lick the bowl clean to make sure none of the ketchup was wasted. I don’t know whether it was exclusively a childhood thing, or the effect of all those stern looks and scoldings i received for this habit, but now ketchup is nearly a no no for me.

4. Coffee at parties: Coffee at marriage and B’day parties (the one they prepare with that fizzz machine) has been my favorite coffee ever since I was a child. As kids we used to hover around the coffee stall at parties to make sure we got maximum cups, with that tasty choco powder sprinkled over a hot cup of coffee. I bet, Cafe coffee day and Costa Coffee can never have it on their menu.

5. Rasna: I love you rasna, coz no one can beat that smell which that original red rasna carried along with the taste. Now, I am not sure if they manufacture the original red wala rasna, as the last time I checked (couple of years back) they had orange and lemon variants to offer. But I’ll still try to explore the market once again to see if I find my rasna taste and smell again.

Now that my turn is over, I would like to carry on this tasty tag to five others who are listed below:

• Frenchita
• Tej
• Savy
• Libran Girl
• Chakoli

Once you are through, please tag five people each to carry on the tag.

Pink Tree and OSO

The other day I went to Nehru Park, with my friend who was participating in the addidas otto peltzer race. On our way back, we came across this tree in the park which instantly caught our eyes as it was a pink tree, standing between the greens.

Nehru park is a good place to go for a picnic on a weekend where you can spend the entire day in the mild winter sun, playing any outdoor game you like and end your day shopping at Sarojini Nagar or maybe catching a movie at nearby Chanakya Cinema.

I also watched Om Shanti Om this weekend and the movie was awesome, simply a celebration for anyone who likes bollywood. A perfect entertainer for the entire family with good music and oldish story packed taken into new times. Shahrukh Khan is dominant in the movie but the new comer Deepika Padukone Steels the show wherever both of them share the screen.

A deserving champion, Kimi Raikkonen

The most gripping season in Formula One’s recent history has just ended and the most deserving driver in Formula One’s recent history has won the Championship for the first time. But it was not as simple as it seems while reading this, Kimi Raikkonen has come from being down (and nearly out for some people) this season to beat the favorite Hamilton, and the defending Champion Alonso.

Though he was in with a shout coming into the final race of the championship along with Hamilton and Alonso who were 7 and 3 points ahead of him, he had the slimmest chance to win the title, especially after qualifying 3rd behind team mate Massa and Hamilton and just ahead of Alonso in 4th. To take the Championship, Kimi had to win the race, Hamilton must finish 6th or lower, and Alonso must finish 3rd or lower.

All Kimi could do in this race is to come first from his third place start by overtaking Hamilton and his team mate Massa, the rest was up to chance as it depended on where the two Mclarens finished. Kimi made a perfect start overtaking Hamilton before the first corner and later in the race overtook his team mate Massa, to play his part perfectly. What happened to the Mclarens was sheer bad luck for the team which had to come off, as they had been relatively lucky throughout the season when compared with Ferrari. And the final result of the race was just the way it had to be for Kimi – Kimi winning with Alonso 3rd and Hamilton 7th. Kimi won the championship with 110 points with the two Mclarens in 2nd and 3rd places with 109 points each.

So, after winning so many hearts through last 5 seasons Kimi Raikkonen has finally won what he wanted the most and was very close to winning, on two previous occasions – The Formula One World Championship. He believed in himself from the very first race of the season and no matter what the situation was, he always said he could win the championship and when he finally won, he was nearly stunned. We did not see any vibrant and passionate celebration from him, but it was happiness which came through his face and his interview after the race. He speaks minimal compared to the two Mclaren drivers and lets his driving do the talking. He has been one of the most unlucky drivers in the past few seasons and has lost the championship twice coz of pure bad luck. He had his share of bad luck this season as well, and he also committed mistakes which every driver is bound to make, but the important thing is that he kept his cool and produced results when they mattered, no wonder he is called the ‘Iceman’ and the ‘Flying Finn’ by his fans.

Victory for Kimi also underlines the fact that Formula One is a team sport and its not just about having the best driver or the best car. Mclaren had the best car for most part of the season and their drivers were equally competitive, but a major differentiator in the final result was the way Ferrari performed as a team when compared to Mclaren. Also, Kimi’s team mate Massa, played his role brilliantly and the bonding between the two drivers was far better than the uneasy combination of Hamilton and Alonso.

As for Hamilton, I would say “welcome to Formula One”, and I am happy that he did not win the championship. No wonder he is a very good driver, but there are others who are equally good and maybe better than him. Just because he had the best car on show and was a favorite for his team boss does not mean he would be the world champion. He also involved himself in a verbal tussle with his team mate, which reflected his overconfidence and was one of the reasons for his fluctuating performance towards the later half of the season, according to me.

Fernando Alonso was the defending champion and he drove like a champion on many occasions during the season. Although, I have always been his critic, I have started to appreciate him as a driver as the season has gone by. Unfortunately, he could not click in the Mclaren team, the reason for this could be the team boss, his team mate, or he himself, and I would leave it up to him to decide on this. One thing seems sure that he is not going to stay at Mclaren for the next season.

For India, the season ended with an announcement that from the next season, the Spyker team would be renamed as Force India. Vijay Mallya had bought this team recently and by renaming it to include ‘India’ in the name, I don’t think he has done the right thing, considering the current performance of the team (just finished with 1 point this season). Unless Mr. Mallya puts loads into the R&D for this team and transforms it into a competitive car within next 5 months, I fear he will present a rather poor face of India in the world of Formula One.

SUMIT