Cricket 2011

These are my first thoughts to be uploaded in 2011 and it’s about Cricket, Cricket and more Cricket! I love this sport and I am proud to be one of the billion commoners from India to be a huge fan of this sporting extravaganza.

India has most definitely a good chance of making history on home ground, but the pressure of a billion aspirations and hope on the team is so huge that I feel sorry for them. Me being from a Basket Ball background quite understand what is going through the mind of each member of the team. In my view what would disturb the team most would be the cost of non-performance. Many fans unfortunately are so unsporting that in a gify they could forget all the good that a sport star has done till now.

Two days back I was fortunate to meet and talk to Dale Stein at an event in Bangalore. He was brilliant and amazingly composed. Team India needs to be cool and composed. Never loose your cool like the immature Shreeshant, whats he trying to prove? Who is he angry at?

I quote

"Anger of the mind is poison to the soul" - unkown....

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned. - Buddha"

My thought at end of today is “Please keep cool and its only sport” and may the best team win!

Football a true world sport.... Waka Waka, Wavin Flag

A look at this year’s “FIFA 2010” prompted me put down thoughts.

Football had always a sense of magic around it, nothing to beat the euphoria and excitement around this game. I am a diehard Maradona fan and of lately little Messi's. Unlike any sport, the long lasting impact is huge. Every season comes up with a completely new theme blowing fire into players, fans and organizers alike. It comes in the form of hit songs, a new Adidas Jabulani, the venues, the jerseys and each component has its own story.

Coming to us, we too have cricket, but the impression that the cricket world cup leaves us with is in reality quite short lived. IPL is making wonderful and unique attempts in branding cricket in a positive direction and I hope it continues to grow ad-mist recent controversies .

But the Indian government and our people have to look urgently at the future and bringing up a brand new generation in sports. We need more quality sports facilities especially around residential areas. Parks are good, but we need stadiums, grounds and indoor facilities. I was recently looking at a place to play basket ball around my home. Not one available anywhere around. There are a few premium clubs, but who can afford its membership?

With out proper facility, many sports are dying in this great country.

T20 and India

A miserable performance from the champions and dreams of a billion Indian goes crashing down. It was a shame to see India play the way they did in the super eight and as a spectator it felt that most of them did not know even the basics of cricket. We performed below par in almost every aspect of the game, starting from bowling, and batting, fielding. The running between the wickets was a disgrace, so bad that Ravi Shastri even commented on it. Clearly there were neither strategies in place nor any contingency plans.

The answer for this poor play I believe was simple

1. 1) Lack of practice
2. 2) Poor selection

Blame it on the IPL, blame it on the parties or anything else, but one week of practice is definitely not enough to go into a tournament, definitely not the world cup. The IPL should have got over at least 3 weeks before the world cup or at least the playing 15 should have been released like other countries did. This was a mistake by the BCCI, the team management, the coach and the captain. They should have realized that they are going to the West Indies, where pitches never favored India and planned a proper coaching and practice schedule.

I remember when we used to go for school basketball tournaments; we started exclusive practice at least 3 weeks before although we played every day.

All said and done, we are always a good team and will always be champions. We have 2011 coming up and we have to stay focused and not let IPL, ICL or anything distract the Indian team.

Educational Reform - One entrance exam for science colleges

Well done Mr. Sibal and your team!

I believe this should have happened ages back. Its a great start to educational reform. right now students are sick of writing multiple exams to get into various institutions. CAT has proved to be a success story! why not science institutions?

You can't keep dividing rural and urban India, the gap must be bridged along with other reforms. Sibal is intelligent and surely good reforms will follow.

I wish and pray that they do something similar for school nursery admissions as well :). It's a nightmare for parents applying.

A Rise in Muthaliks!

People increasingly getting into these kind of terrorist outfits?

I like almost every common man is very concerned to see a steep rise in elements like Muthalik.

Groups like the "Ram Sene" or any Sene are filled with uneducated and mostly illiterate people. The sad reality is that a vast majority of them are unemployed, goons or anti socials.

• Why do a few rouges call themselves custodians of Indian Culture and only target the youth and women?
• What is their answer against corruption?
• What is their answer against poverty and unemployment?
• Can they stop Prostitution?
• Can they ever take on any government for lack of poor infrastructure?
• What about Medical Aid to poor?
• How about increasing agriculture in India?
• How about providing safety for Indian Women
• Education?

They do not have the brains nor the guts to stand up for real issues. Moreover women and youth will be soft targets for cheap political mileage.

The answer I believe is simple:

- The idle mind is the Devil's work shop

- The law must act swift and fast, spare none...

Guardians of the Law are answerable to none?

Can common people ever get justice? Shocking to read the following headlines

"Top Cop get 6 months for Molesting a child.." , "Brutal Murderer, Kerala Cop gets life...", "Cops gets suspended for taking bribe..."

• Why is so little punishment given to a child molester ?
• How can a brutal murder by a cop given only life?
• For the guardians of law (cops and other public servants) it must be stricter, swifter and the quantum of punishment must be 10 times more severe.
• 19 years is ridiculous.

Rediff Customer Support Policy - buy and get lost?

Has anyone tried to contact Rediff.com customer support? Then you will understand what I mean. It is perfect example of a disaster.

• No telephone Numbers - No matter how important your issue is.
• No Chat support
• Not even an “email id” mentioned anywhere
• No Form

The only thing they have highlighted “Enter you order number and Check Order Status”. Adding to all these woes, I send an email yesterday for a serious and urgent problem in with regards to a Domain Hosting. The reply I get has nothing to do with what I asked

This is their reply to an Urgent Issue. It is so freaking humorous that I am compelled to share the content.

“Our customer support representative will attend to your mail and will revert within 2 working days. Since your interaction is being tracked through the subject line, we request you not to change the subject line for your future correspondence. If you query is about an existing order, then do ensure that your order number is mentioned in the mail. Note: You may track your order via mobile by simply typing TRACK <> and send it to 57333. Your status will be updated via SMS. Alternatively, you may follow the status of your order by viewing the same at Track My Order. In case you have not mentioned the order number, then you may click on Track My Order to retrieve the order number and send us a fresh mail by clicking on the HELP section. Please ignore this message if you have quoted your Order number and allow our Customer Support to get back to you in time. Glad to assist you. Regards, The Customer Service Team http://www.rediff.com/”

We are paying through our nose for Domains, Hosting etc… but not a single point of contact? What is the customer policy? Is it “buy and get lost”? So who is responsible? Why is such big company ripping people off? How can we as people still afford to keep them in business. Totally no respect for customers.

I quote a line from the very famous song “Hotel California”.

“We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!”