game changer incident?

While congratulating the England Team for winning the Ashes in convincing fashion, one cannot but agree that this series has its share of controversies. Apart from the substandard on the field  Umpiring decisions coupled with  UDR blunders, Stuart Broad epitomized the modern cricket mentality of staying put on the crease despite knowing that he was out caught but  Assies were left feeling helpless having used their quota of appeals. Subsequent Media trial and  call by Australia Manager, Darren Lehmann asking Fans back home to prepare to give Broad a rowdy reception when England Team comes down under for return Tournament. The matter was defused after outcry by the media and ex.cricketers  and subsequent apology tendered by Lehmann to Stuart Broad. 

 

However the icing on the cake was the gross misconduct of urinating on the hallowed pitch of OVAL CRICKET GROUND by the supposedly intoxicated England players post winning Ashes series is totally unacceptable to the  civil world. There are ways and means to add insult to the injury  of the defeated opponent, but this act by some of the reputed English players is totally beyond anyone's comprehension. England is the birth place of cricket and they have been torch bearers of the Good conduct on and off the field for the cricket playing nations across the Globe for longtime.

 With the modernisation and evolving of cricket in different forms including day and night cricket , change in attitude and approach by cricketers and the paying public is expected. While Organizers keep a strict watch over the unruly spectators, this kind of over the top act by these british players is totally uncalled. Australian cricketers and Fans are known for their hyper arrogance and this pissing incident will only add fuel to their rivalry and I am sure Australians must be already frothing in their mouth and plotting for  revenge  which is going to be unsavory. Cricket is not going to  be a  gentleman's game anymore and the year end Ashes Tournament  in Australia is going be a Game changer in terms of Conduct and approach to it by both the teams. 

Though the players involved in this matter has issued their apology, the famed Assie Pride is now dented beyond repair hence it is prudent on part of both Team managements to sit together and decide on a plan to cool off the Frosty relationship and consign the matter of "urination of cricket" to the History. 

right to get paronoid?

While we are resigned to the fact that all the goods associated with Great Indian Festival Diwali and Holi, such as Fire crackers, water guns etc, now comes from the faraway factories of china, it is very dismaying to note this year that the streets of India were flooded with rakhis made in China as well! The novel concept of celebrating and cementing brother and sister's love by tieing the rakhi had been in practice for ages in parts of India and the traditional Indian made Rakhis used to flood the market, giving impetus to the traditional cottage and small scale Industries in India. It's such a shame that even something like "RAKHI" which has this truly rustic Indian holistic aura around it, is now comes from the remote factories of China which is something we cannot fathom . What is so difficult about making rakhis here? Is there a demand and supply issue in India or have we run out of manufacturing facilities? Is it a rocket science that only China has the technical knowhow and the ability to meet the deadlines? Is there any explanation for this traditional degradation and moral bankrumpcy of ideas?

This brings forth another question. Is there any festivals left in India for us to celebrate without getting generous helping hand of Chinese now? Dahi Handi? Pyramids? forget it..Last couple of years, Spanish teams have been coming to India to participate in this festival, and it is matter of time before China starts sending their team of acrobats to steal a march over Desi experts in breaking Dahi Handis in the bylanes of Parel, the heart of Mumbai.

It's a wake up call for us or else we will end up selling our soul by importing Grean and clean Ganapati statues from the shores of China as well which will be a final nail in our coffin. Am I not right in getting paronoid about it?

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE

The usually reticent and reserved Mr. Rahul Gandhi convened a two day Workshop, on 22nd July at Jawahar Bhavan, New Delhi, to educate and advise his own over jealous congress spokespersons on the modalities and method of airing their opinion on various political issues while talking to Press on behalf of the Congress Party. He emphasized on some six finer points of “ code of conduct” such as, You are not your spokesperson but that of the Party, speak in one voice, Don't digress from the party line, Party will take note of those violating the norms, Counter the lies with Truth, Always speak the Truth and give facts, believe in positive politics, choose your words and language carefully as you belong to the party of Mahatma Gandhi etc.

However, within a month’s time, we have seen the result of the meet!

It seems the seasoned spokespersons misunderstood the whole concept of the “Mind your language”advise from Mr.Rahul Gandhi.!! They must have thought that the workshop is aimed at telling Mr.Narendra Modi to Mind his language!. Whether they believed in rest of the code of conduct or not, but all the congress spokespersons have made a point to speak in ‘one voice’. They attacked Mr. Narendra Modi soon after his Independence Day speech, calling him Frog, Fascist, Feku Obama, Kalanayak and Gangu Teli which was most vitriolic and vicious racist attack one has seen in recent times,crossing the limits of decency. If one goes through the speech given by Mr.Narendra Modi on the Independence Day from Lalan College grounds,Bhuj, there was no doubt that he went after the Prime Minister, ManMohan Singh, for his lack of conviction, lackadaisical approach and soft handling of foreign aggression etc, while addressing the nation from Red Fort, Delhi.

While Mr.Modi spoke about his own brand of vision for India 2014, he has been not called anyone from congress party in derogatory terms, whereas the congress spokespersons threw the caution to the wind, went after Mr.Modi with their hammer and tong attack with no holds barred kind of zeal. This was in direct controversion of the “mind your language” advise given by Mr.Rahul Gandhi which showed their lack of respect to the young leader who is supposed to be leading them in the year 2014.

It looks like the two day workshop by Congress leadership was just a propaganda war aimed at fooling opposition parties and misleading the people of the country to create a holistic opinion of the Congress Party. We are still waiting for the promised rebuke and action against the seasoned spokespersons to come from Rahul Gandhi. If his own people misunderstands his brand of politics, common people like us should be excused for not understanding his analysis of “Poverty is nothing but state of mind”, which is truly beyond ones comprehension.