musings

it is all over and has been so for some time now-finally.am talking of the CWG.the games were a splendid success.whether some people 's hands were in the till or not is not for me to comment and multifarious agencies are apparently keeping themselves (and the media busy) with their investigations (and suggestive leaks).let the truth or a version of the truth be out when and if they do complete the investigations ;let us instead contemplate on the games itself.they were a joy to behold,the opening and closing ceremonies;the sheer excitement,the pounding of the heart and the emotions which overtook allmost every indian present when the 4x400 mt womens relay team won the gold are very difficult to describe;the thrill of seeing sania nahwal perform ,and the muscular but feline wrestlers from haryana trouncing their opponents kept one happy for days. a peculiar nationalism overcame me.strange -they are after all a games-or are they only a games?the british and aussie and new zealand press went hammer and tongs ;this only increased the fervour\,the swelling of the chest.

what now of the stadia?could money have been better spent?will it help in increasing india's presence as world sport power?answer to first,well i dread to think of the condition of the stadia a couple of months hence;the second question,well we could debate a la aiyar and come to no firm answer.the third ,well yes,perhaps.

at the end of the day it was a jolly good show.the entertainment on and off the field was great.

let the games begin!

bill bryson

have you read this guy?pretty amazing.the amount of information he manages to keep putting put in each of his books.his latest "At Home" is yet another example.whew!so many details,some ,mundane,most , fascinating and at all times , readable.
get hold of the book.you will enjoy it.

the games(am sure you know which)

what can one say abt the THE GAMES?the complete lack of preparation,the complete mess,the opportunity lost of showcasing our ability of doing a job well.we may still salvage things and carry off a successful games but it is doubtful if we will be able to shakeoff the feeling that all is not well.has money been made?we do not know.has a perception been created that money is being made?yes.is the press doing a good job?we do not know.they do tend to keep going over the top.is just one man responsible for the mess?that is being naive-but then this one man also wanted to keep taking the credit for the job being done by a host of agencies;so is it in order that he also takes the entire blame?poetic justice perhaps.what abt the govt?does it have no role to play?are they not to blame? for very very poor supervision at the very least?

musings-august 10

since my last post a lot has happened and is happening;went south for a couple of days.it is almost as if you have gone to another country.the same laws/regulations which are given a complete go by in the north are followed scrupulously in the south;the same organizations seem to be functioning more efficiently.the difference lies in the genes?ethos?how one does wish that the north of the country was in the south-makes sense?no?but you do get the hang of what one is trying to say,don't you.

the shame that is the commowealth games hits us on a daily basis.just when one thought that things can not get worse one read the news abt the IOC having bid for the asian games 2019.serious.

we would require divine intervention to ensure that the games go off well.and the gods has always been kind to india.

have again been on a reading spree;bill bryson's latest(at home-no patch on his earlier works),simon hughes on cricket(good entertainment)robert wrights evolution of god(weighty,intense and wonderful).saw inception-overrated but still way above the normal run of the mill stuff.definitely worth a see.

take care and cheers.

book readings

thought it is time to share my present reading lists.have finished the swedish crime triology of larsson.wonderful entertaiment.also andre agassi's open,peer's curfewed nights;am at various stages of doniger's hindu's,wolfhall,a surprising economic history of the world(beattie-he was with economist)three cups of tea,eat pray love.and have got several books which i have not had time to look at beyond the cover.the football world cup is taking a heavy toll.late nights leave you bleary eyed.who do you think will win the world cup?germany?argentina?or will it be the common favourite,brazil?12 july is not too far off.

cheers.

hypocrisy

we as a people are not honest-in our dealings and with ourselves.we do not say what we mean and do not mean what we say.we are corrupt and never do an honest day's work.integrity of thought and deed has never meant anything to us.we cheat ,lie and are insincere.and after all that complain bitterly.about the state of affairs,about how bad things are,about how things should be done,ought to be done-blah blah blah on and on.we have this enormous ability not to see what is in front of our eyes,the most obvious things.
the lack of integrity and the corruption is destroying us.can we ever improve?do you see any hope?
i do not.i do believe that things will only go downhill.and i shudder what it will be like downhill.

IPL-3 mania

The sheer number of cricket matches being thrust on us is truely irritating;every TV channel shows it,every newspaper carries details on the first page-huh!.Undoutedly the best thing which IPL has done is the amount of economic activity it generates-be it in terms of stadia getting spruced up,the sale of tickets,the number of people getting employment in the associated activities.This is the best thing.Apart from that it is pretty sad and boring.The performances have been pretty poor,the commentary and the hype accompanying it, (which makes every Bisla(ever heard of him?) into a lara and bradman combined notwithstanding),pathetic.
the world cup hockey happened during this period and barely got any coverage;saina reached the quarters of the all-england and did not get noticed in most papers;tell me something new.
what is the reason for the popularity of cricket?is it the coverage,the money and glamour which these cricketers (even mediocre cricketers )enjoy?or is it that everybody loves the game so much?mystifying.this has unfortunately been at the cost of other games-the sooner this changes the better for all concerned.

technologically challenged

how many of you are techchallenged?let me confess-i am.give me a cell phone and i do not know how to handle it except for its most basic functions-making and receiving calls.same with a computer or a TV or a camera or a music system or any other thing you can think of.technology scares me ,makes me feel inadequate,makes me want to use it for its most basic functions only.anything fancy and i become a sweaty dumbhead;confused and frightened.i have accepted this reality.and spend more time in the world of books and art.they comfort me and help me soar above such mundane problems.

musings

i look around and am disappointed with the sheer number of people who seek to do things casually;there is no effort at doing anything well;no effort at achieving quality;no effort at taking pride in the work done.the result is mediocrity in all walks of life.
while undoubtedly not everybody is gifted or intelligent to be able to do a thing well,with effort and hard work and perseverance it is possible to achieve a reasonable good quality-the tragedy is nobody wants to work hard,everybody would like to reap the rewards wothout any effort.the even greater tragedy however is that poor work is accepted and tolerated.this results in more of the same.and the ultimate sufferer are the people at large.
when will we learn?

cultural binge

went for a qwwali the other night;an indian act followed by the sabri brothers.these guys were out of the world-soulful,melodious and humbling.

also saw a flute programme by rakesh chaurasia and a vocal by ajoy chakraborty.wonderful performances.

these performances are so spiritually uplifting.a sense of peace envelops you.

mumbai reactions

what do you say abt the brouhaha being made abt the comment of SRK?does it deserve the reaction which it has evoked?there is no doubt that the actor was being duplicitous when he expressed his view;he is the owner of a team and there was no reason why he could not buy any player he wished to.so what was the stt abt?and the timing?the stt did not deserve any reaction.

and what of the reaction.wow!we are a democracy folks or have we forgotten that? please exercise restraint.violence does not in any way get you anywhere-criticise the stt;if you feel even more strongly,urge your followers not to see the movie,boycott the movie-but violence?

random thoughts- FEB 2009

1) why do some people speak so much,and so loudly and so incessantly?why is it that they do not learn to stop and listen-to other people,to nature,to the silence?how does one handle such people-ideally by getting very far away away from them-but if not how does one handle them without being rude.now that is an art.you learn to shut your mind away.focus on them without seeing them,hear them without listening to them,pick up the thread whenever you wish to and hope that you have not been found out.

2) have just now read kabul disco-an over rated graphic book.do not buy it-in case it is available for free read it.if not you have not really missed anything.

am reading homeboy by naqvi presently;seems interesting thus far.am also reading gurcharan das's book on dharma the difficult art of being good-(wonderful read-but a book which you would need to take a break from off and on),fergusson's book on money among others.love to read several books simultaneously-have you tried this? it is great.

delhi's cultural elite

went last evening to an opera(nothing less) in siri fort auditorium.this was an indo-french production"if i were king".
the approach to the siri fort road was choatic or so I thought till i saw the queue waiting to enter the auditorium;i thought ah it is the security drill which is so essential till i got closer.the securirty checks were perfunctory.the choas was only beacause of the sheer inefficiency.managed to get through this ordeal unscathed and made my way into the auditorium when i noticed that my ticket did not have a seat number.so there was a free for all-this must be the only large auditorium without any seating numbers.so there you had the spectacle of people "reserving"seats for their friends.the ticket was RS.250/ and one expected a seat where you could see without straining eye and neck.well the seating arrangemnts for the janata class walas was apart from being at an acute angle far away;so you had to strain your neck to read the opera (well you see ther were large passages in french and this was being translated and displayed on a wall passing of as a screen.)
the seats were pathetic-dirty,torn and in urgent need of replacement.the people were in their finery most eager to be seen seeing the opera.they cared little for the opera itself or the other members of the audience.so the ubiquitous cellphone was in abundant display;people strolled up and down,in and out(had the misfortune of getting a seat near the exit) and eating,slurping food and coffeee.pathetric,pathetic.
the opera itself was magnificient despite(and this is a big despite) allthis.a simple tale told with humour and mirth-splendid sets ,multimedia treat,with a wonderful live orchestra.the singing was great by the lead actors none of whom took themselves seriously.
when will we learn to respect artists,other people-learn to be sensitive.

of rising prices

why are prices of all vegetables,fruits,sugar,lentils going up?who is responsible?why does nobody come forward and explain the reasons?why does everybody think that no explanation is necessary?why is it that only the press thinks that this issue needs a discussion and indulges in speculation?where are the powers that be?there must be a explanation-so why is nobody coming forward and expaining?
and we talk of accountability.huh!

musings-4

miserable,cold,dull day.

how do the poor,homeless,less priveleged manage?and what does one say to the destruction of the night shelters by the government?the sheer callousness of those who should care for the citizens?all in the name of development of the facilities for the CG scheduled for 2011.pathetic.

and we get concerned when the the lesser privileged raise protests and sometimes violently.never do we think about what forces them to do what they do.

when will we learn to be caring;learn to give back to society;learn to help and protect the lesser privilegd then ourselves?

that will be the day.

MUSINGS-3

It has been a long time once again since I last posted a blog;same reason as before-the sheer lack of time.

Have entered a New Year since;what is in store,one knows not-what I do know is that I will continue to do what is my duty.And what exactly does one mean by that-do we all know what is our "duty"-as a son,father,husband,brother,brother-in-law,friend,in your work place?and if we all know that and are doing that the world will indeed be a better place.So let me rephrase-I shall endeavour to do what I think is my duty in all the roles which I play.Obviously while discharging one aspect of this role "dutifully" some other role is bound to be neglected.So how does one compensate?how does one balance?You try and hope that you have not been too neglectful of any one role.You explain to the people concerned that you are trying to do what has to be done so that they understand the difficulties.You constantly sit back and analyse your roles and the manner in which you are discharging your duties-this is the only way in which one can ensure a balance is maintained. So all the best to everybody-and yes let us all do our duty.