Happy New Year Gooners! One made all the more pleasant of course by a huge morale lifting win over title rivals Chelsea. OK, so the game wasn't technically on the Boxing Day but Arsenal made sure they threw a heavyweight punch into the faces of those critics who questioned our ability to win the big games.
Having lost to Manchester United away at Old Trafford a fortnight ago still pinches a lot but this victory should come as healing cure and restore the belief about this side that has maturity to win the games when they matter the most.
It does'nt get any easier from here on. The fixtures for festive period have just begun and we need to maintain the consistent run of form in our next 3 games against Wigan, Birmingham and Manc City.At the same time we must also hope our rivals and current leaders drop some points, as we do not face them at Emirates till end of April.
The Champions League draw is always very exciting, arguably even more so when you reach the latter stages. Fortunately for us Gooners it is something we have had bitter experiences in recent seasons against the super favorites Barcelona. To be honest, Barca play at a totally different level; so I will be content even if we manage to lose only by an odd single goal.
And of course there is the domestic cups that Arsenal are chasing and as a fan I will take them all this season. Bring on whatever cup we can win this season. I believe this has to be the season which will wipe out the tag line of "5 years without trophy".
The only regrets for this season so far have been the defeats at home to Spurs and Newcastle. Also in some small proportions Wenger's resistance to signing a decent goal keeper. But on the plus side, we retained Cesc Fabregas after intense summer speculations and also don't get me wrong, we have played better this season, in fact for me we've played better and lost but may be we have been so much better that it still keeps us very close to our opponents.
The season is long,
Our squad is strong.
We have the desire,
to go higher.
We shall overcome the syndrome,
The Cup will finally come home.
Good Wishes & Happy New Year To Everyone. Cheers!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Pictoblog!
Snaps from my recent trip :)
Just before entering the beach:
Hmmmm. Nice :)
Temple View:
Me:
Evening scenery:
Life's a beach -
Just before entering the beach:
Hmmmm. Nice :)
Temple View:
Me:
Evening scenery:
Life's a beach -
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Diwali Weekend
It ocassionally happens that I have something spectacular to talk about so I thought its time I blah blah about something. But I got confused as to which topic to write. I have three things on my plate and I can write about 1024 words on each, but instead I choose to write just a few sentences on what I think on those topics. D'oh! I am going to talk about some of the events that took place during the Diwali weekend - Barack Obama's visit to India, India's drawn test match against Kiwis & my vacation trip to the beaches of Ganpatipule.
Obama Visits India:
The Obamas arrived on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. Grand arrangements were made and Manmohan Singh himself went to receive the most extraordinary couple at the Mumbai airport. Ever since his first speech for the Democrats as a presidential candidate, then on the day he took his oath and gave his first speech as a victorious President, then later when he made a few decisions in correcting the US Economy along with the Fed - he has been my personal favorite! And now here he is in my motherland wooing zillions like me.
Q) So what is he here for?
A) He is here on an economic mission. As two great functional democracies, India and the United States must be seen standing together and exuding confidence of a distinct world view, based on protecting pluralism and peoples’ will. His list of business includes seeking greater market access for US companies in the retail and financial services sectors, and greater technology protection for energy companies.
Q) Did India get what it expected from the US Prez?
A) Well, the answer is certainly 'yes we did'. President Barack Obama has proved skeptics wrong. He made all the noises we wanted to hear: support for a permanent seat in the UNSC, lifting curbs on dual-use technology exports, cooperation in homeland security and membership of restrictive multilateral treaties and organizations such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group, strongly advising Pakistan to whip crack on all the terrorist outfits to make way for peace dialogues, announcing more opportunities in educational institutions for Indian students in order to build knowledge warehouses, accepting the fact that outsourcing is still the way to go for the US companies. Apart from all these, he also paid rich tributes to Aryabhatta, Gandhiji, Rabindranath Tagore and Ambedkar.
The bottomline - He is liked in India not because we think he will donate a few million dollars to us, but because Indians like men of character and wisdom. His speeches reflect his mind and his heart. As a man of wisdom and straightforward heart that loves India, he is welcome but the rest is a ruthless race for business. Hence keeping all our eggs in the US basket will not be wise.
Kiwis test India's mettle:
The 1st test between India and New Zealand was played out in this festive period. So, MSD finally won the toss and elected to bat on a flat track. As expected we saw easy early fireworks from Sehwag in first innings and Sachin decided to make us wait longer for the record 50th test ton. Jesse Ryder loves to toy around with Indian spinners and he once again stood rock solid to protect his wicket. However, it was Chris Martin's majestic bowling spell and inexplicable harakiri by Indian batsmen which swung the test match in New Zealand's favour. At 65/6, I had almost given up on India's chances to save the test match; it was time for the Kiwi Redemption. But what can be said about Laxman that's not been said before? It is perhaps easier to define Laxman in crisis situations. "Laxman just did what he always does, He scores runs." The fabulous wristy shots come and go, the singles are always flowing, the gaps are found repeatedly, and his face is calm. There is the ball and his reaction to it. That's it. On the other end he had Harbhajan Singh, high on confidence after scoring career best 69 in first innings, he started second innings in a similar flashy fashion. He played the reverse sweep, the hoick over midwicket, the walk-down-the-pitch-and-smack shots, and the lofted hits over long-on fielders. But that's Bhajji the batsman for you. He failed miserably with the ball in hand but ensured that his efforts with bat help the cause. There was a stark contrast in the way both VVS and Harbhajan batted to save India from going down in the series described as cakewalk for the reigning champions.
A trip down the Konkan Lane:
I spent my Diwali in Ratnagiri district of the Konkan region. It felt good to be away from the noisy and smoke filled Mumbai during the festival. On this piligrimage, I was accompanied by my parents and relatives. We left Mumbai at 11 pm and after 8 hours of driving through the Sahyadri ghats we reached the location early morning 7 am. After a couple of hours rest, we went to the Ganpatipule temple to seek blessings from the elephant-god. From there we moved to a few places of historic importance, Keshavsut's memorial (a reknowned poet), Lokmanya Tilak's Birthplace (a freedom fighter). Then after having spicy lunch we headed back to our cottage to take afternoon nap. I spent my time playing football with my cousins and after sunset we all spent our time splashing waves on the beach. The scenery at the beach front was absolutely awesome: the cool low tide waves, the sun setting against slight drizzle of rain causing a magical rainbow. On the next day we visited the Ratnadurg Fort built by Shivaji Maharaj's Navy Admiral Kanhoji Angre. The horse shoe shaped fort is surrounded by the sea on one side and village on the other side. Whenever I visit such forts, I get nostalgic and I imagine how these forts still withstand the nature's brute force. Hats off to the architects of those ancient times and clearly should be an embarrasment for the builders of the bridge at CW games, New Delhi. From there we carried on with our trip to another of temples in that region. Marleshwar temple is within a mountain cave and dwelling place of Shiva. (the father of elephant god). The mythology says that Shiva has been reincarnated in this place for the betterment of villagers to protect them from snakes. And it may be true indeed. Inside the temple there were snakes lying around and the priests that were near by the idol. I was hell terrified and I made a quick exit from the temple by offering my prayers from the edge of the cave. :) We then marched on to museum created to depict the life of Shivaji Maharaj, our great Maratha Warrior. That was our last stop before we started our journey back home. The return journey is always more tiring than the onward journey, but all in all it was a great trip, one to cherish for a long time. I'll soon post some pics from the trip.
Cheers.
Obama Visits India:
The Obamas arrived on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. Grand arrangements were made and Manmohan Singh himself went to receive the most extraordinary couple at the Mumbai airport. Ever since his first speech for the Democrats as a presidential candidate, then on the day he took his oath and gave his first speech as a victorious President, then later when he made a few decisions in correcting the US Economy along with the Fed - he has been my personal favorite! And now here he is in my motherland wooing zillions like me.
Q) So what is he here for?
A) He is here on an economic mission. As two great functional democracies, India and the United States must be seen standing together and exuding confidence of a distinct world view, based on protecting pluralism and peoples’ will. His list of business includes seeking greater market access for US companies in the retail and financial services sectors, and greater technology protection for energy companies.
Q) Did India get what it expected from the US Prez?
A) Well, the answer is certainly 'yes we did'. President Barack Obama has proved skeptics wrong. He made all the noises we wanted to hear: support for a permanent seat in the UNSC, lifting curbs on dual-use technology exports, cooperation in homeland security and membership of restrictive multilateral treaties and organizations such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group, strongly advising Pakistan to whip crack on all the terrorist outfits to make way for peace dialogues, announcing more opportunities in educational institutions for Indian students in order to build knowledge warehouses, accepting the fact that outsourcing is still the way to go for the US companies. Apart from all these, he also paid rich tributes to Aryabhatta, Gandhiji, Rabindranath Tagore and Ambedkar.
The bottomline - He is liked in India not because we think he will donate a few million dollars to us, but because Indians like men of character and wisdom. His speeches reflect his mind and his heart. As a man of wisdom and straightforward heart that loves India, he is welcome but the rest is a ruthless race for business. Hence keeping all our eggs in the US basket will not be wise.
Kiwis test India's mettle:
The 1st test between India and New Zealand was played out in this festive period. So, MSD finally won the toss and elected to bat on a flat track. As expected we saw easy early fireworks from Sehwag in first innings and Sachin decided to make us wait longer for the record 50th test ton. Jesse Ryder loves to toy around with Indian spinners and he once again stood rock solid to protect his wicket. However, it was Chris Martin's majestic bowling spell and inexplicable harakiri by Indian batsmen which swung the test match in New Zealand's favour. At 65/6, I had almost given up on India's chances to save the test match; it was time for the Kiwi Redemption. But what can be said about Laxman that's not been said before? It is perhaps easier to define Laxman in crisis situations. "Laxman just did what he always does, He scores runs." The fabulous wristy shots come and go, the singles are always flowing, the gaps are found repeatedly, and his face is calm. There is the ball and his reaction to it. That's it. On the other end he had Harbhajan Singh, high on confidence after scoring career best 69 in first innings, he started second innings in a similar flashy fashion. He played the reverse sweep, the hoick over midwicket, the walk-down-the-pitch-and-smack shots, and the lofted hits over long-on fielders. But that's Bhajji the batsman for you. He failed miserably with the ball in hand but ensured that his efforts with bat help the cause. There was a stark contrast in the way both VVS and Harbhajan batted to save India from going down in the series described as cakewalk for the reigning champions.
A trip down the Konkan Lane:
I spent my Diwali in Ratnagiri district of the Konkan region. It felt good to be away from the noisy and smoke filled Mumbai during the festival. On this piligrimage, I was accompanied by my parents and relatives. We left Mumbai at 11 pm and after 8 hours of driving through the Sahyadri ghats we reached the location early morning 7 am. After a couple of hours rest, we went to the Ganpatipule temple to seek blessings from the elephant-god. From there we moved to a few places of historic importance, Keshavsut's memorial (a reknowned poet), Lokmanya Tilak's Birthplace (a freedom fighter). Then after having spicy lunch we headed back to our cottage to take afternoon nap. I spent my time playing football with my cousins and after sunset we all spent our time splashing waves on the beach. The scenery at the beach front was absolutely awesome: the cool low tide waves, the sun setting against slight drizzle of rain causing a magical rainbow. On the next day we visited the Ratnadurg Fort built by Shivaji Maharaj's Navy Admiral Kanhoji Angre. The horse shoe shaped fort is surrounded by the sea on one side and village on the other side. Whenever I visit such forts, I get nostalgic and I imagine how these forts still withstand the nature's brute force. Hats off to the architects of those ancient times and clearly should be an embarrasment for the builders of the bridge at CW games, New Delhi. From there we carried on with our trip to another of temples in that region. Marleshwar temple is within a mountain cave and dwelling place of Shiva. (the father of elephant god). The mythology says that Shiva has been reincarnated in this place for the betterment of villagers to protect them from snakes. And it may be true indeed. Inside the temple there were snakes lying around and the priests that were near by the idol. I was hell terrified and I made a quick exit from the temple by offering my prayers from the edge of the cave. :) We then marched on to museum created to depict the life of Shivaji Maharaj, our great Maratha Warrior. That was our last stop before we started our journey back home. The return journey is always more tiring than the onward journey, but all in all it was a great trip, one to cherish for a long time. I'll soon post some pics from the trip.
Cheers.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
FIFA Ballon D'Or
FIFA and France Football have announced the nominees for this year's prestigious FIFA's World Player of the Year Awards. Players from Spain have dominated the list and rightly so. My dissection of nominees on a slightly different angle from which I can probably conclude who could be the winner on Jan 10 2011 in Zurich, Switzerland.
League-wise:
La Liga =11
Bundesliga = 5
Serie A = 4
Premier League = 3
Club-wise:
Barcelona = 6
Bayern Munich = 5
Real Madrid = 4
Inter Milan = 4
Atletico Madrid = 1
Arsenal = 1
Chelsea = 1
Sunderland = 1
Position-wise:
Goalkeepers = 2
Defenders = 4
Central Midfielders = 6
Attacking Midfielders = 5
Strikers = 6
Historically speaking:
Barcelona = 7 winners (Romario, Ronaldo X 2*, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho X 2, Messi)
Real Madrid = 4 winners (Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane, Cannavaro)
Juventus = 4 winners (Baggio, Zidane X 2*, Cannavaro)
AC Milan = 3 winners (van Basten, Weah, Kaka)
Inter Milan = 3 winners (Matthaus, Ronaldo X 2*)
WC 1994 Finals = Romario scored in shoot out
WC 1998 Finals = Zidane scored
WC 2002 Finals = Ronaldo scored
WC 2006 Finals = Cannavaro
(Note: * denotes played for 2 clubs in the same year)
Based on above statistics, it is safe to say that neither England nor Premier League players have left their mark on awards night. Only once on top and mostly finished in second or even in third place. The above stats also conclude that a central midfielder playing for Barcelona in La Liga who has also scored the goal in the Finals of the World Cup stands the best chance of winning the award. Andres Iniesta. This year also sees the introduction of FIFA Manager of the Year award. The choices again are not surprising, because they all have either won some trophy for the club/country for the year or have been longest serving managers for their historic clubs.
The obvious and popular choice would be to give this award to someone who has helped the country win the world cup or club achieve a treble in all competitions. Vicente Del Bosque and Jose Mourinho have achieved the feat with their respective teams; One had the players who knew their roles and performed as champions they were known to become and the Special One possesses special management skills and he knows exactly how he wants his team to play and makes them victorious champions no matter what. But one manager who stands out for me is he who believed in youth system, he who symbolized attacking football the way his Nazi ancestors used Blitzkreig on the armed forces, he who keeps a 'Loew' profile. Joachim Loew.Well those are my votes for awards, who do you think is the most deserving player to win it this year?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sachining & Shining
Hello again and a warm welcome to thee. This one is a short blog. I wrote a few weeks back about how bureaucrats are bringing disrepute to country by mismanaging the Games. I feared if India’s a one sport nation. Two weeks later those doubts have been put to rest.
A lot of news hungry section of media sensationalized and brought much malign to the Games. However the artists from India ensured a grand opening ceremony witnessed by thousands in the stadium and many others on television. I only watched it in bits and pieces and some on You Tube and forwarded emails… Reason – Arsenal vs. Chelsea. It is also people like me who do not watch the good things happening around but are first to criticize when things go wrong. But I have made a decent effort to overcome that and have kept a close eye on India’s performance in Games. 32 gold medals and counting… make me feel proud of the athletes. We have achieved more than what we did 8 years ago in Manchester. With medals in Shooting, Weightlifting, Boxing and Athletics and awaiting medals in Table Tennis and Hockey, it clearly shows the youth is participating in all possible games. And who are these winners – most of them from the small towns and cities of the country. Our next aim should be to repeat such performances in Olympics as well and try to beat the Chinese, Americans and Russians in some of the games in which they dominate the world sport. I would urge parents of all youngsters in the country to take up sport seriously as part of academics and encourage them to remain fit and healthy when the events such as these come knocking at the doorstep.
Cricket is Religion and Sachin Tendulkar is GOD. And He once again showed why He is an All Time Legend of a cricketer. Coming into 2nd test match after being named ICC Player of the Year, Sachin showed no signs of high headedness. He did what He does the best; a double century while guiding Vijay to his maiden test hundred. Even the statisticians must have forgotten the count of records that Sachin keeps on adding to his name. He can be compared to Ryan Giggs in this aspect – I once heard that Giggs played his 98471st minute on the pitch and that was published as a club record. Hehe, just joshing. :)
A 2-0 win over the Aussies looks so flattering to be deceived; but it was a hard earned series win which involved huge efforts from the entire team and bowlers especially, Zaheer Khan. He reverse swung the sessions of the match in India’s favor which the Australian bowlers failed to do. The momentum is now with India as we go into ODI series and hope they youngsters come good again. The prep for World Cup 2011 has to begin from now…
Congratulations & Thanks a Ton to All Indian Athletes in Commonwealth Games 2010 and Indian Cricket Team for giving 2 joyous weeks!!!
A Proud Indian.
A lot of news hungry section of media sensationalized and brought much malign to the Games. However the artists from India ensured a grand opening ceremony witnessed by thousands in the stadium and many others on television. I only watched it in bits and pieces and some on You Tube and forwarded emails… Reason – Arsenal vs. Chelsea. It is also people like me who do not watch the good things happening around but are first to criticize when things go wrong. But I have made a decent effort to overcome that and have kept a close eye on India’s performance in Games. 32 gold medals and counting… make me feel proud of the athletes. We have achieved more than what we did 8 years ago in Manchester. With medals in Shooting, Weightlifting, Boxing and Athletics and awaiting medals in Table Tennis and Hockey, it clearly shows the youth is participating in all possible games. And who are these winners – most of them from the small towns and cities of the country. Our next aim should be to repeat such performances in Olympics as well and try to beat the Chinese, Americans and Russians in some of the games in which they dominate the world sport. I would urge parents of all youngsters in the country to take up sport seriously as part of academics and encourage them to remain fit and healthy when the events such as these come knocking at the doorstep.
Cricket is Religion and Sachin Tendulkar is GOD. And He once again showed why He is an All Time Legend of a cricketer. Coming into 2nd test match after being named ICC Player of the Year, Sachin showed no signs of high headedness. He did what He does the best; a double century while guiding Vijay to his maiden test hundred. Even the statisticians must have forgotten the count of records that Sachin keeps on adding to his name. He can be compared to Ryan Giggs in this aspect – I once heard that Giggs played his 98471st minute on the pitch and that was published as a club record. Hehe, just joshing. :)
A 2-0 win over the Aussies looks so flattering to be deceived; but it was a hard earned series win which involved huge efforts from the entire team and bowlers especially, Zaheer Khan. He reverse swung the sessions of the match in India’s favor which the Australian bowlers failed to do. The momentum is now with India as we go into ODI series and hope they youngsters come good again. The prep for World Cup 2011 has to begin from now…
Congratulations & Thanks a Ton to All Indian Athletes in Commonwealth Games 2010 and Indian Cricket Team for giving 2 joyous weeks!!!
A Proud Indian.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Whaddaaplayaaa!!!
Hello readers, Welcome to the 11th edition of my simple blogs. Today I am writing this is in ecstasy. No, I have'nt been taking drugs or have been high on ale, but I just witnessed a heart breaking, nerve wretching and happy ending test match in office breakout area which India won convincingly by more than half a day to spare. Claps. Claps. Claps.
I woke up today morning with a feeling that Sachin will finally deliver when it matters the most and silence his critics. One can't blame the Master - he did his bit with the bat and fell to Bollinger's tact. I left for office dejected having absolutely no hopes on Dhoni pulling it off for us. Well, I had forgotten about one man army against the Aussies, who very recently in Sri Lanka series bailed us out from a similar position chasing 258. The Very Very Special Laxman.
VVS joined Sachin at crease with India still 140 runs behind. Remember Laxman was playing with an injured back. He accumulated runs at fast rate thus taking pressure off Sachin's shoulders. Even after Dhoni's run out; Laxman kept scoring steadily in partnership with Ishant Sharma. Whats up with this lanky bowler, bowled no-balls in both the innings before a dream spell where he picked 3 wickets. Now I gotcha why he bowled no-balls, he had them balls preserved for batting in tense situation. VVS and Ishant took the game away from Australia. Bravado.
In the closing stages of the game, Laxman showed all his emotions on the pitch. It was so apparent that he just wanted to win this game so ever badly for his country. He gestured throwing a bat at Ojha, scolded Raina for hearing his decision before making a call on whether to take a run. All in all, it was a sweet effort from the Hyderabadi batsman to once again pin down Ponting's men. As the winning runs were scored the entire country erupted in joy. The players from dressing room went running to the field to congratulate the heroes. And there I stood in office breakout area, with almost teary moist eyes, murmuring to meself,
"Thanks VVS. Take a bow, my son."
I woke up today morning with a feeling that Sachin will finally deliver when it matters the most and silence his critics. One can't blame the Master - he did his bit with the bat and fell to Bollinger's tact. I left for office dejected having absolutely no hopes on Dhoni pulling it off for us. Well, I had forgotten about one man army against the Aussies, who very recently in Sri Lanka series bailed us out from a similar position chasing 258. The Very Very Special Laxman.
VVS joined Sachin at crease with India still 140 runs behind. Remember Laxman was playing with an injured back. He accumulated runs at fast rate thus taking pressure off Sachin's shoulders. Even after Dhoni's run out; Laxman kept scoring steadily in partnership with Ishant Sharma. Whats up with this lanky bowler, bowled no-balls in both the innings before a dream spell where he picked 3 wickets. Now I gotcha why he bowled no-balls, he had them balls preserved for batting in tense situation. VVS and Ishant took the game away from Australia. Bravado.
In the closing stages of the game, Laxman showed all his emotions on the pitch. It was so apparent that he just wanted to win this game so ever badly for his country. He gestured throwing a bat at Ojha, scolded Raina for hearing his decision before making a call on whether to take a run. All in all, it was a sweet effort from the Hyderabadi batsman to once again pin down Ponting's men. As the winning runs were scored the entire country erupted in joy. The players from dressing room went running to the field to congratulate the heroes. And there I stood in office breakout area, with almost teary moist eyes, murmuring to meself,
"Thanks VVS. Take a bow, my son."
Friday, September 24, 2010
Let's Wake Up!
Welcome to the milestone 10th edition of "KEEP IT SIMPLE" blogs. So without wasting much time lets just get straight into the sporting subject that is concering Brand India's image - the Common Wealth Games.
Now that the commonwealth games are ljust 9 days away the preparations are really going down to the wires. Honestly, I am more than a little confused about whether to support the games or not.
In 2008, Pune - a city in Maharashtra hosted Commonwealth Youth Games and we saw tremenduos development in the city. The journey from Mumbai to Pune which was earlier 5 hours is just about 3 hours today. The magnificent Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports City at Balewadi boasts of state-of-art infrastructure and the notable feature of this event was that the competition venues of all sports events and the Athletes Village were located in one single complex. The event was held successfully.
Earlier in summer, apart from a few major roads which were still dug, a few flyovers which were still under construction, the organizers thought that they will easily complete before the D-Day. Govt. stepped in, did some inspection and requested the CM of Delhi to fasten the work. A few months ago, the reports of corruption and scandals broke out that heavy machinery were bought and cheaper amounts and accounted for crores of rupees. Media created a furore and rightly so. Once again the Govt. stepped in and helped Kalmadi to come out clean. The CWG boss visited the Games Village in Delhi and in his report he said that "the preparation is far from over, but we all are working towards achieving one common goal." A few days back some more events took place viz., an Australian carried RDX and showed that security can breached easily and then we had the roof collapsing at one place, a bridge at some other place. So a common man asks these questions - What problems are the organizers facing? Who are responsible people to fix them? Are we just a 1 sport nation? Are we ready as a nation to host any such events?
I will try answering these to the best of my knowledge.
Q) What problems are the organizers facing?
A) It could be a lot of things - support from Govt. in terms wages for unions/workers (most of them who are from backward classes), the corruption that exists in the heirarchy where every top manager wants to have his share of commission and profits. Secondly, it has been raining incessantly in Northern parts of India,The rivers and dams are over flowing causing deluge in many places. This adds to possibilities of outbreak of epidemics and all the hygiene related problems. Thirdly, the Ayodhya case hearing & growing inflation rates and opposition party calling country wide agitation programs are not helping Govt. to focus on one single issue at a time.
Q) Who are responsible to fix them?
A) Well, it should have been the responsibility of the organizers and the State Govt to ensure that all went smooth. Leadership, Ownership & Accountability are the words one must follow in this situation. Yesterday, PM has stepped in for the nth time and has set a 24hr deadline to clean up the Games village. But then, I tell myself that some of these jokers, which basically means the top guys in the organising committee and the civic administration and their political masters, have had 7 years to get things ready, and delayed things deliberately to create panic so that no question asked funds are released. So they deserve no mercy. And then again, the thought creeps up. Why should the nation be embarrassed for the folly of these individuals, especially when we know that those responsible for the mess are thick-skinned?
Q) Are we just a 1 sport nation?
A) This country hosts IPL every year; whenever it comes to cricket, sponsors invest huge money and all the arrangements for the event happen so smoothly that there's never a need for Govt to step in. The preparation for 2011 Cricket WC is in full swing and most of the stadiums have already been rebuilt and used once in domestic tournaments. We also hosted the Hockey World Championships in Hyderabad 2 years amidst all the bomb scares and terror threats in India. When we talk about architectural designs, in Mumbai we have one of the finest bridges a.k.a Bandra Sea-link, Lewis Hamilton drove his Mercedes McLaren on this very bridge. I would like to believe that we are drifting from the image of being a cricketing nation and we can provide a grand stage to all other sports played across the world.
Q) Are we ready to host any such events?
A) Yes. I think this CWG, Delhi is just an one-off affair where things have gone wrong. If it was any other city, may be things would have been better. Basically what is happening is that all these are being done just because some worthies thought all this is needed in an international city, without a clue as to how it is to be executed. There is science behind tactile tiles, or the angle at which disabled friendly ramps are to be built, for example, but it’d be churlish to expect that anyone is even aware of these aspects. It hurts. It really hurts. How we are being milked can be gauged from the fact that most of those involved in the implementation of these projects have spent considerable amount of taxpayers’ money on overseas study tours to learn implementation of such projects. In the absence of any feedback or accountability, one just ends up spending a lot of money with almost zero benefit.
These mistakes for Delhi event will make us better prepared to host world events in future. Just some basic training and awareness will result in creation of better civic facilities, complement this with putting right people for right job at right time will ensure India's status of a growing economic power will flourish even more and bring joy to the masses in the country.
I am sure, you all are aware of what is being done and have an opinion on how it should be done and I would love to hear them. I can only hope this will somehow help in future. It is easy to give up and live with the rot, but then that is taking the easy way out and we don’t want that. Future is always bright.
Now that the commonwealth games are ljust 9 days away the preparations are really going down to the wires. Honestly, I am more than a little confused about whether to support the games or not.
In 2008, Pune - a city in Maharashtra hosted Commonwealth Youth Games and we saw tremenduos development in the city. The journey from Mumbai to Pune which was earlier 5 hours is just about 3 hours today. The magnificent Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports City at Balewadi boasts of state-of-art infrastructure and the notable feature of this event was that the competition venues of all sports events and the Athletes Village were located in one single complex. The event was held successfully.
Earlier in summer, apart from a few major roads which were still dug, a few flyovers which were still under construction, the organizers thought that they will easily complete before the D-Day. Govt. stepped in, did some inspection and requested the CM of Delhi to fasten the work. A few months ago, the reports of corruption and scandals broke out that heavy machinery were bought and cheaper amounts and accounted for crores of rupees. Media created a furore and rightly so. Once again the Govt. stepped in and helped Kalmadi to come out clean. The CWG boss visited the Games Village in Delhi and in his report he said that "the preparation is far from over, but we all are working towards achieving one common goal." A few days back some more events took place viz., an Australian carried RDX and showed that security can breached easily and then we had the roof collapsing at one place, a bridge at some other place. So a common man asks these questions - What problems are the organizers facing? Who are responsible people to fix them? Are we just a 1 sport nation? Are we ready as a nation to host any such events?
I will try answering these to the best of my knowledge.
Q) What problems are the organizers facing?
A) It could be a lot of things - support from Govt. in terms wages for unions/workers (most of them who are from backward classes), the corruption that exists in the heirarchy where every top manager wants to have his share of commission and profits. Secondly, it has been raining incessantly in Northern parts of India,The rivers and dams are over flowing causing deluge in many places. This adds to possibilities of outbreak of epidemics and all the hygiene related problems. Thirdly, the Ayodhya case hearing & growing inflation rates and opposition party calling country wide agitation programs are not helping Govt. to focus on one single issue at a time.
Q) Who are responsible to fix them?
A) Well, it should have been the responsibility of the organizers and the State Govt to ensure that all went smooth. Leadership, Ownership & Accountability are the words one must follow in this situation. Yesterday, PM has stepped in for the nth time and has set a 24hr deadline to clean up the Games village. But then, I tell myself that some of these jokers, which basically means the top guys in the organising committee and the civic administration and their political masters, have had 7 years to get things ready, and delayed things deliberately to create panic so that no question asked funds are released. So they deserve no mercy. And then again, the thought creeps up. Why should the nation be embarrassed for the folly of these individuals, especially when we know that those responsible for the mess are thick-skinned?
Q) Are we just a 1 sport nation?
A) This country hosts IPL every year; whenever it comes to cricket, sponsors invest huge money and all the arrangements for the event happen so smoothly that there's never a need for Govt to step in. The preparation for 2011 Cricket WC is in full swing and most of the stadiums have already been rebuilt and used once in domestic tournaments. We also hosted the Hockey World Championships in Hyderabad 2 years amidst all the bomb scares and terror threats in India. When we talk about architectural designs, in Mumbai we have one of the finest bridges a.k.a Bandra Sea-link, Lewis Hamilton drove his Mercedes McLaren on this very bridge. I would like to believe that we are drifting from the image of being a cricketing nation and we can provide a grand stage to all other sports played across the world.
Q) Are we ready to host any such events?
A) Yes. I think this CWG, Delhi is just an one-off affair where things have gone wrong. If it was any other city, may be things would have been better. Basically what is happening is that all these are being done just because some worthies thought all this is needed in an international city, without a clue as to how it is to be executed. There is science behind tactile tiles, or the angle at which disabled friendly ramps are to be built, for example, but it’d be churlish to expect that anyone is even aware of these aspects. It hurts. It really hurts. How we are being milked can be gauged from the fact that most of those involved in the implementation of these projects have spent considerable amount of taxpayers’ money on overseas study tours to learn implementation of such projects. In the absence of any feedback or accountability, one just ends up spending a lot of money with almost zero benefit.
These mistakes for Delhi event will make us better prepared to host world events in future. Just some basic training and awareness will result in creation of better civic facilities, complement this with putting right people for right job at right time will ensure India's status of a growing economic power will flourish even more and bring joy to the masses in the country.
I am sure, you all are aware of what is being done and have an opinion on how it should be done and I would love to hear them. I can only hope this will somehow help in future. It is easy to give up and live with the rot, but then that is taking the easy way out and we don’t want that. Future is always bright.
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