The sinusoidal wave

y = sin x. The sine function and its graphical depiction provides an assortment of possible analogies. The first that comes to my mind in the current scenario is the business cycle. Market driven economies experience periods of growth (boom) and periods of not-so-expected growth (recession). In theory we accept recession as a by-product of capitalism, but do we question why it happens? Surging demand, surging prices and after touching the peak the bubble goes boom. It's a quick ride on the other side of the peak towards the crevasse, faster than what it took you to reach there. Need took you to the x = π/2, while greed took you to x = π. That little man in a loincloth summed it up as much long back "There is enough for man's need, not for man's greed".

With great power comes great responsibility. In a capitalistic economy, much power lies with the large corporates. Their misdeeds can derail many a thing. Lehmann Brothers collapsed and down went a lot of things not remotely one would associate with them. Down went many a things and along with it B-School recruitment.  There are many reasons to drown in one's own despair, to be ruined by an unexpected recession, and to not get what was expected from a B-School stint. Lots to curse about, think, regret and feel about.

But there are more reasons to accept, realise and move on. All those baggage of expectations that was brought was bundled with talent, energy, enthusiasm, and also a bit of greed. Its time to forget what you came for, and to think what you can become. Two years down the line, one's regret would not be to not get placed from B-School, or so I guess. Success in others eyes is what you are relative to others. But success in your perspective is an absolute measurement and reflected in your happiness.

The sinusoidal wave is relentless because we have made it one.

O Jogo Bonito

The game was so called by a certain Pele and how fitting!

The phrase means "The beautiful game".  What made Pele to make such a remark and for the millions of fans to stand by it? Is it the relative unpredictablity, the sheer adrenaline, the fierce competitiveness, or the mass appeal. Maybe one, maybe all but there are instances which clear the haze surrounding the game being called so.

Lionel Messi is one of the answers. It is for the sublime skill, touch mastery, breathtaking plays, and swift counters of players such as Messi that made Pele call the game beautiful. A thing of beauty is a joy to watch. And when sublime plays light up the pitch, the aura is palpable. Scorching shots and diving headers can do so far as to increase adrenaline. But dribbling and step-overs can give you goosebumps.

The game never ceases to amaze. Of all sport in the world, most people are most exposed to Football. Yet with every passing day, the beautiful game only becomes more beautiful. Of course it has its fair share of foul plays and controversies. But you sit down to watch one more time.

The game may not today boast of many proponents of the beautiful game. We hardly see a defender do a Franz Beckenbauer, dribbling the ball out of defense! But occasional bursts of magical play sure does do justice to the tag of it being called "O Jogo Bonito".

The significance of the dotted line.

It is ironic that Paradise on Earth is littered with trouble. By all accounts it is a joy to behold but it rots in despair. The sights still have the magnificence, like the music out of a santoor, but echoes of sadness. Of all the places to suffer from Partition, the Subcontinent lost its Paradise. It is where the bold line (the international border) is irrelevant, and only for official records. The dotted line (Line of Control (LOC)) is more significant amplified by the presence of the Border fence.

So whose folly is it that we lost the Paradise. Indians call the other side of LOC as Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. For us it is an intrusion into our land, non-negotiable, period. How many of us know that our Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir is referred to as India-occupied-Kashmir? Kashmir and Jammu was one of the several princely states before partition given an option to accede to either India or Pakistan. At that time the region was Muslim majority. But the then Maharajah Hari Singh decided to remain independent. Then what followed was -> Pakistan attacked Kashmir, Hari Singh  asked India for help, India obliged but set conditions, acceded Kashmir to the Union of India.

Whom to blame? Public opinion in Kashmir at that point is still unclear. India cleverly used the opportunity to bag Kashmir but Pakistan was wrong in the first place to attack. Perhaps they felt cheated that a Muslim majority region was not rightfully theirs. The conflict continues. No side wants to give up their stand. It is a matter of pride rather than the lives of the people of Kashmir.

Then came the fcuk1ing terrorists. In their quest for power they hold conflicts such as Kashmir and Palestine central to their ideology. Fcuk them! Opportunistic scum just using the stage to lure innocent people to fight for their ends. As if they care for the people of Kashmir and Palestine. It is all power and pride. John Milton would have been sad to see in reality 'Paradise Lost'. We should only hope to compose 'Paradise Regained' as an epitaph to the martyrs of the Kashmir cause.

So the show begins!

Gideon Haigh told recently, "T20 is a TV property masquerading as cricket".

Once cricket becomes a TV product, it is sure to bend to viewers needs and show what they would want to see. So all the effort goes to make life hell for bowlers and the work light for batsmen. The boundary rope is brought in considerably increasing chances of hearing the now too plentiful "DLF maximum".  Then there is the mongoose bat to deal with any venom from the bowler's end. The broadcaster's are leaving no stone unturned to allocate more airtime to advertisers than the actual action. The latest move is to show the ads playing in the big screen between balls. Shrewd indeed!

Whatever maybe the promotion or the place, it all boils down to the quality of the product. IPL will continue to grow and build more muscle. Its star cast ensures quality cricket, and at the end of the day it is the competitiveness which is the main USP. I only hope that bowlers get to have more say in the scheme of things and not imagine that going under 10 RPO is decent.

So the next one month is packed with intense action. All the more reason for every Tom, Dick and Harry to gossip, write, comment, criticize, blog, discuss, and what not. So the show begins, and only time will if the IPL will get bigger than the EPL or the NBA!

The Rise and Fall of........

It is sad to see things that you have grown up with and got used to, go down. There is this sense of inevitability and helplessness. I have been through three educational institutions and seen them all rise and fall.

Sir M. Venkata Subba Rao Matriculation Higher Secondary School (VSR as we called it) in T.Nagar, Chennai was a reputed school in the locality. It is my alma-mater and will never forget its role in shaping what I am today. At its peak it boasted of a strength of about 2000 students, from kinder-garden to higher-secondary. The beginning of the end started in 2000. Teachers revolted in form of a strike and it never was the same again. The students strength reduced in half.

College of Engineering, Guindy is Asia's oldest technical institute started in 1794 and one of the top engineering colleges in the country. It is known popularly by the name of the university it is affiliated to - Anna University. A conservative Vice-chancellor followed by a populist move to curb entrance examinations saw the college's fall in rankings. Its recovering now but an institute of such stature should never have fallen in the first place.

KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research is as popular an institute as any in Mumbai. The Institute reached its zenith riding a wave of economic prosperity but is failing to hold its own in a downturn. A lack of leadership and vision is today seeing the fall of one of India's top B-Schools. Again inevitable and helpless.

It's sad to see these things happen. And in all cases it has been a leadership problem. Educational institutes are the only organizations where the biggest stakeholder (the students) has the least say its management. The leadership has to understand the enormous responsibility considering what they are shaping - careers and lives. They have fallen no doubt, but let us not forget that in the past they have also risen.

Bharat Ratna for SRT?

Sachin Tendulkar recently scored a double century in a ODI. In the twilight of his career, the little big man of Indian cricket's sustained success has seen him being compared with the Don. He is one of the greatest sportsman produced by India and the most popular ever. Riding on his popularity wave people from many walks of life have demanded that SRT be honoured with the Bharat Ratna.

SRT's stature in Indian sports is unquestionable, but does it mean a Bharat Ratna so soon. I am sure down the years he will pick one. But such has been the standard of Indian sport including cricket. We have wallowed in mediocrity over the years and a legend like Sachin Tendulkar seems to tower above the rest.

There is no questioning the man's greatness but awarding him the Bharat Ratna would be demeaning of others contribution to India. Politicians and sportsmen alike are just jumping the populist bandwagon. Let us remember that Dhyan Chand got no more than the Padma Bhushan. And surely Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh have done more for the country.

The Red Army

It is the year 2031. The Indian Army is on high alert following a series of surprise attacks on the twin cities of Hyderababd and Secunderabad. This is the last bastion of the Government controlled region in the Red Belt. The press speculate that the Army is highly vulnerable and it is only a matter of time before the first Metro falls to the Red Army to go along with much of Central and South Central India.

I am not talking about the Soviet Union but India's very own Red Army - the Naxals. The situation maybe much exaggerated and contrary to the fact that the Indian Government is not so weak so as to let the Naxals take over a portion of India. But we only have to study the past to and assess the present. The Naxals have grown into a menacing presence and strike with clockwork precision, are highly trained, motivated and armed. Was any such thing expected to develop in the first place?

The Home Secretary recently revealed the Naxals plan to overthrow the Indian Government by 2050. Was it just a statement to taint the image of the Naxals? Within 24 hrs a Naxal Leader snubs the Home Secretary and says they would overthrow the Indian Government long before 2050. Talk about confidence and motivation, and where we find it in our country and for what needs! Forget the threat of Pakistan and China, when we can let internal matters get so out of hand.

We need not look far to see who spawned this revolution. Inequality always breeds resistance. But the extent to which it is happening in the case of the Naxals is purely because of the ignorance of the Government to address problems of vast sections of the Society. As highlighted in my earlier blog we allowed absolute poverty numbers to increase. Ignorance is bliss, maybe in the short-run. But in the long-run? The Red Army is answering it!

Pitch Report II

Welcome to the second edition of Pitch Report. On paper the English team has whitewashed Bangladesh 3-0 in the ODIs. But a closer analysis reveals more. More often than not the English found themselves in a soup, which is expected when being led by a Cook (a not so good one). This led to them clutching at straws (they missed Andy) and depended on the Irish and the Saffers to see them through.

T20 is all about fancy stuff with the clubs also sporting fancy names. So why leave the World T20 alone. A list of fancy names have been suggested for the different countries.

1. Aussie Pups (They are led by one)


2. India Bouncers (To either bounce back or to get bounced out)


3. SA Chokers (Rhymes well with LA Lakers and the chokers tag is all too famous)


4. Paki Missiles (Suicide missiles)


5. WI Chillers (As chill as their captain)


6. English Expats (More expats than English in the team)


7. SL Bamboozlers (Perform tangential to expectations)


8. NZ Dark Horses (They are given this tag in every ICC tournament)

Now concluding with some IPL news. It is becoming increasingly unclear as to whether the IPL is a sports event or a security drill. There is more in the news about security than cricket. The latest rumours read something like this. John Howard, the former Australian Prime Minister and ICC Presidential nominee who will succeed Sharad Pawar in 2012, released a statement saying that a terrorist attack on the IPL is as likely as spotting a kangaroo on Indian streets. His intentions are clearly to please the BCCI, of which the ICC is a part. Now Lalit Modi is sweating over the news of  an escaped kangaroo from Vandalur Zoo, Chennai.

Lobotomy

According to wiki lobotomy is "is a neurosurgical procedure, a form of psychosurgery, also known as a leukotomy or leucotomy". It was widely popular in the 50s to diagnose psychiatric conditions. Considering the risks and side-effects associated and development of better techniques, use of lobotomy gradually declined from the 60s.

Lobotomy is just one among many medical innovations. It is pathbreaking in the sense that it seeks to cure psychiatric conditions, people who have been otherwise condemned and deemed not curable. So what is the purpose of all medication? Increase our life span, of course. But we need not look far why that life span has shortened in the first place. Medical inventions and innovations have not drastically increased our life span. Instead in the first place they battle many diseases brought about by our own indulgence.

This is not to belittle significant inventions and innovations, as medical science works hard to improve our quality of life. It is just that in our path of development we have lost our way, and disturbed nature's balance, which comes back to affect us in many ways. We have accepted that the way ahead is to live with it. It's innovations like lobotomy that challenge the imbalances of nature in our quest for a better life.

PS: I just asked a friend what to write about and he told lobotomy. I hadn't even heard the word then. If you do have any such abstract suggestions do mail me :)

Holi as a source of business opportunity!

Fresh signboards had appeared outside a textile shop in Mumbai. "Special offer on T-shirts after Holi". On further investigation, the shop run by a former SIMSR student has decided to give 50% off on T-shirts during the weekend after Holi.

Says the proprietor, "On detailed market analysis by the esteemed agency PC Thomson, we are seeing a surge in demand for T-shirts just after Holi. It has been technically termed the tear-and-wear effect".

Not surprising considering how Holi celebrations have evolved over the years. Until recently Holi meant spraying colours on one another. But the more adventurous and other people in their path have culminated celebrations in new ways.

As people run out of colour but still full of adrenalin, they go for what we call the tear-and-wear effect. T-shirts are torn apart to the extent that they are not even fit to scrub tables. These torn pieces serve the purpose only as souvenirs of the celebration.

This explains the surge in demand for t-shirts as people unexpectedly lose them. But what with experience curve effects, the demand may surge before Holi next time as people shop for cheap t-shirts to wear on the day of the festival. One more reason for guys to develop six-packs!

A Subcontinental Feast!

India won the hockey gold in Olympics uninterrupted from 1928 to 1956, six in a row and a total record of 8 golds. India's cause was helped by Dhyan Chand and 10 other players. Pakistan has won the same honours only three times, but the World Cup four times. (India only once)

Strange that Pakistan have won fewer golds than India in Olympics. But India seems to keep its record, whatever may be the context. The Indian team in 1928, 32 and 36 was also fairly represented from Lahore and Karachi.

The strength of the subcontinent in hockey has been phenomenal over the years, and so has been the popularity of the game. As the skills waned, so did success in recent times. Neither country can boast of being favourites in the World Cup. As they meet again today, amidst all the rivalries, and misunderstandings, and prejudices, and terror threats, and security; a brand of hockey specific to a region will be unleashed.

Har santh kahe, sadhu kahe, sach aur sahas hai jiske mann mein, anth mein jeet useeki rahe!

Three cheers for India and Pakistan!