IPL - India Pakistan Ladaai?

While the whole world has been complaining about the change in climate due to global warming, it is hard for me to not notice the very obvious change in the seasons of India. In our country, we celebrate four main seasons with zest – winter, summer, rainy and spring. However, past two years, this festivity has embraced a new season. A season of cricket. A season of IPL. The India Premier League has caught many eyeballs since its days of inception and continues to drive the world of sports, into a historic frenzy each year. IPL gave birth to another star in the galaxy of cricket, albeit not on the field but off the field. Lalit Modi – The founder of Indian Premier League.

In its maiden year (2008), IPL embarked upon its journey with a debate on whether the 20-20 pattern is a flash in a pan or a long lasting phenomenon. In the ensuing year, it kicked off a row of arguments when its venue was shifted from India to South Africa. Despite public apprehensions, IPL managed to generate highest TRPs amongst all other sports at that time and catapulted the status of IPL ceremonies only second to Olympics. It continued to grow bigger and better each time. Glamour and fortune have surrendered themselves to the feet and fate of IPL. It wouldn’t be wrong to call IPL, a controversies’ child. No wonder, even amidst many controversies the popularity of IPL has not seen a dip. As they say, any publicity is a good publicity. And so the IPL enters into its third year. With this month seeing the auctioning of players, the controversies have again draped IPL 3 in it.

The latest news to rock the auctioning procedure of IPL is the total outcaste of Pakistani players. While all the eight IPL teams have lapped up the best players for themselves, none showed interest in bidding for a single Pak player. Media is abuzz with gamut of reasons behind this news. Be it straining Indo-Pak ties, an embargo by the Indian government or a mutual seclusion of Pak players by the IPL franchisees, speculations are rife.

With zillions of money and security of nation on stake, the Indian government and the IPL organizers appear in no mood to take risks, if there are any risks at all. There are too many arguments for and against this move, and it is almost a herculean task to justify any side with little or no information on it. The whole episode appears very tacky when one looks at the past attitude (initiation and tolerance) of India over Pakistan. However even the Indian government has very little options to choose from when Pakistan believes in non-cooperation tactics. With the recent terror attacks on India, the government has to be extra vigilant to ensure such tragedies do not hit the lives of millions of innocent people. The stance may be harsh this time, but sometimes harshness acts better than friendliness, especially when one’s own people are in danger.

I know.. I know.. common man of both these countries wants peace! But, hello! How would peace prevail when so much of hatred and fanaticism is blinding the visions of deciding powers? Anyway, before I digress into politics once again, let me focus back on the IPL.

If rumors are to be believed then the cable operators in Pakistan might boycott telecast of the IPL matches this year. An act of solidarity, fair enough! I am not even surprised at this rumor. Tit-for-tat has been their age-old technique. Grow up!

Had the Pakistani players being included in the IPL teams, no dramatic progress would have been achieved on the India-Pak relationship. When sixty years of efforts from our various governments couldn’t thaw the ice between the nations at loggerheads, I wonder what good this little inclusion would have done? Maybe, it might have not added more bitterness to the already dissolving ties. But who can guarantee that? I am not writing this blog to justify the acts of IPL bodies or the Indian government. I only intend to enjoy IPL 3. Right or wrong, good or bad, IPL still promises to enthrall its viewers like in the past. We all had thought, that shifting of IPL to South Africa would significantly reduce the viewership of IPL in India, but to everyone surprise, the enthusiasm was way beyond the IPL season 1. Haven’t we heard that everything is fair in love and war? This however is Cricket ;)

I am just being an optimist fan this time as well. Pak or no Pak, IPL season is bound to cause hysteria across the length and breadth of the nation. Like all other times, IPL 3 promises of more fun, more excitement, more glamour and more surprises in the months to come. So while the two nations indulge themselves in further ego clashes, being a cricket fan I am looking forward for a spectacular and undeniable adventure saga. Let the game begin roger err.. Modi :) 


...and yes!.. keep watching this space for more updates on the IPL 3 grapevines :D

Sex & "The" Cricket!

Yes, you’ve read it correctly. This is not a typo.
Hats off to you Mr. Kirsten! You’ve just made playing cricket more interesting for our players.

Mr. Kirsten seems to be agreeing to this message on the t-shirt in toto.....infact he believes that sex and cricket share a parity and complement each other. Wondering why?

By the way, for those of you, who are wondering about who this Mr. Kristen is and how is he related to cricket, Good news….Good news - He is the present head coach of our Indian cricket team.

With India’s recent success in the Compaq Cup 2009 series, there were few action points for our men in blue to work upon. Of course, most of these were suggested by our coach! But what caught the fancy of the entire nation was this particular suggestion of Kirsten to players.

Have good sex for enhanced performance on the cricket fields.....!!!!!!

While this comment has created frenzy across the length and breadth of the country for its titillating nature, it comes at a time when our team is working towards cementing its number one position in the ICC ODI ranking, having already secured it.

What amuses me is the way this suggestion has been made a part of the action points for the team. It’s been prescribed like a medicine dose that each member is supposed to have regularly, especially if the team has a match to play the next day.

Amongst those who have given a thumbs-up to this comment are few sexologists, who support the positive impact of a good sex life on other activities, taken up in the day; the non-supporters believe that this comment would weaken the moral fibre of the country by encouraging sex as a means to stay fit!

As, Kirsten argues......
Firstly, good sex boosts the morale of the individual and thereby would lead to good performance on the field, as it would raise the confidence and increase the efficiency level.

(Mr. Kirsten, if this is true, then ever wondered what a bad sex performance would do to a player right before the match, or are you planning to take guarantee for good sex performance as well? )

Secondly, good sex would keep the players fit and increases the strength, energy, aggression and competitiveness amongst them.

(Mr. Kirsten, going by this, I am sure our Bhajji paji and Srishanth would have floored many pretty lasses. After all, no Indian player can match the aggression shown by these two controversy kings.)

Well leaving this analysis behind, what’s even more thought provoking is the fact that in a country where cricket creates mass hysteria and is followed like a religion, will such a statement not corrupt the minds of millions of young cricket fans who emulate our men in blue to an immeasurable extent? Mr. Kirsten might have been right in his intentions of suggesting a good sex life for the players, but the indirect impact could cause damage to the growing talent pool, which instead of focusing on the game might deviate to a path detrimental for the game. Time to do some serious thinking Mr. Kirsten!

As they say, bedroom secrets should be shared in a bedroom itself, and not made a part of the official dossier.

By now if you think that our head coach has leniently given an official nod to our team to indulge themselves in pleasure, you are wrong! Did I not tell you that Mr. Kirsten has said a strict no no to late night sex? Guess our players would have to be very vigilant while following a good sex mantra lest our coach comes and says time out….hee hee hee….

Make or Break – While our country debates on the sacrosanctity of this comment, I am sure some journalists would be prying to figure out whether team India has already started to follow this active advice of their coach or not.

In the meanwhile I would savour a cup of hot ginger tea to celebrate the pleasantly cold weather of Melbourne city amidst the hot news of our country!

Potpourri...of Rain, IPL and Politics

And the driving season embarks with full ardor…..while the little showers of rain in Bangalore makes the drive even more pleasant, the entire nation is getting driven by IPL and Political commotion….yes all over again !!!

It creates a sense of déjà vu, when you read and hear about the hoopla created around the IPL matches. The recent decision to host the IPL matches in England/South Africa has driven the entire country into frenzy of disappointments. The Indian fans back home would definitely miss the cloak of heat and the excitement which this season is known to drape the entire nation in…not to forget the big bucks pocketed by franchisee and sponsors. All the big drama with tears and emotions would take a miss to a larger extend, this time. Right from the cricket icons to the layman, everybody has expressed the burning desire to let India host this mega event…after all it’s an Indian Premier League or do I hear Inthe Political Loggerhead….

Any issue which could churn the sentiments of public at large becomes the cynosure of Indian political arena and what better than cricket, which is most widely accepted religion in our country! Nothing else binds us Indians together, as much as cricket , which gets the unanimous vote of people across the length and breadth of the country…and our political big-wigs know how best to milk the situation. It’s become a tug-of-war between the Hierarchical Legacy party and the Sycophant Hindutva belching party. This issue is also spinning huge money for media which is busy airing the so called big-debates involving the who’s who of the two parties and mustering all the TRP ratings. So who is complaining? Everyone seems to be basking in the glory (read hue and cry) of IPL hosting. The only sect which remains non-benefited is the common man who can just follow the policy of wait and watch and keep nurturing her/his love for the game, while the world around capitalizes on the pain point itself.

On one hand where IPL is thronging the popularity chart, on the other hand the hatred speech by the latest young face of one of the two big parties of our country is also raking moolah for the media. A quick read through the speech reveals that it’s not a battle for campaigning but a ground for belching hatred and wrath which has been developing within the same dynasty for decades. Mud slinging has become order of the day for Indian politics, but such vendetta should definitely be kept in check by the Election Commission with stringent penalty. I wonder if these people with crowd moving potentials ever think of the impact that their speeches and promises have on the young minds. Maybe not!

With IPL and politics hanging heavy on my head I desperately need something refreshing, some thing which would not make me think and turn bitter….and what better than the cool and soothing drizzly sprinkling rain of Bangalore. So while I soak myself in this magic of nature, you keep watching this space for some more fun and some more gyaan :-)

Indians aka Fanatics !!

Talk about being fanatics and Indians beat the entire world. Fanatic about what becomes a matter of secondary importance. Indians have always believed in displaying their affections for the public heroes. Be it cricketers, or movie stars, or some festivals our fanaticism knows no boundaries, and often becomes comparable to a mass hysteria.

The recent shows like Indian Idol and ongoing T20 cricket world cup to name a few have been driving the entire nation to a state of frenzy. Gluing to the television sets becomes a paradigm, ubiquitous across the length and breadth of the country. And mind you, gender and age permit no bars here. The Indian idol grand finale was showered with around seven crores of votes via sms over a fortnight. If this was less, people also thronged the websites to get glimpses of their favorites. Newspapers, TVs and hoardings were abundant with the posters and news about these young lots raring to make a mark on the nation of one billion and above. It takes no time for us to idolize "the rising star".

Running parallel to this is the cricket match. One match is sufficient to rush the adrenaline high in our mind and body. We have all the reasons to completely charge ourselves. As though some high voltage thriller plot would be getting unveiled. To get a taste of it just look around your self. People have rushed office a li'l early in the hope that they cud leave early as well and experience the ecstasy of watching their pets play and cheer our country to victory.

Here's a small excerpt from some e-mails in circulation in an IT firm as on 24th September 2007.

(C Savvy is a the Functional Manager for the project
Rahul is the functional lead
Starry is the functional lead
Jazzy is a team member)

All these mails were sent, by keeping the other three people in CC. So practically everyone knew who is penning down which excuse to escape from the boredom of office to the much exciting world of  cricket.

Rahul,

I am out to attend a meeting from 5 PM onwards. I expect you people to stay back and put long hours of committed effort today..

No excuses please!

Warm Regards,
C. Savvy



Dear C. Savvy,

I'm expecting a sudden relapse of my food poisoning at around 5 today. Kindly grant me permission to go home early before you leave for "THE MEETING"

Thank You
Regards,
Jazzy



Hi All,

Since all you guys would be in meeting or at hospital (food poisoning or something else), I would stay back in office to work.
Please don't try and contact me as I would be busy. In order to have undisturbed work I would be in invisible mode.

Regards,
Starry


And this is the final one, breaking all levels of courtesy and patience…



Dear C Savvy,

I have to watch India Pakistan T20 Final today…
Will you allow me to go home early today or not???

Regards,
Rahul

The last one was in much bigger fonts; however it has been toned down for this blog purpose.

This is definitely a drop in the ocean. We Indians can go miles to follow such fanaticisms. One might wonder, what happens to millions to people who don't have access to media channels for following the suit of hysteria? Well, well my friend our fanaticism is not benign. It's malignant!
It's as contagious as common cold. It spread like a sneeze. When you get plagued with fanaticism, some visible symptoms would be laziness@work and hyper activity@home.

To prevent this hysteria from seeping deep in to the culture of the organizations, many IT companies also installed some TV sets in its office to allow its "fanatics" employees to enjoy their fever and also contribute to the company's bottom-line.

Such is our zest and fervor, that it becomes only too easy for these "heroes" to assume the status of god, at least demigods!! While these demigods get to bask in such ephemeral glory and mint money, we go gaga over their charm and adeptness. Time changes at the flip of the coin and these demigods are reduced to the stars of yore times. This however does not dilute our admiration, because a new star gets born and our madness follows that star incessantly…till it has fire!!