Just happy that Brian Lara has got in right against Australia after 9 innings Down Under. Undoubtedly the best batsman of our generation, miles ahead of most contemporary batsman and a shade better than Sachin.
And wasting a lot of time at :
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
No, we dont allow
“We don’t allow this”, the assistant to the principal said.
“Oh Okie... Can I speak to her?” I asked.
“But she won’t allow. We don’t allow this”
“That’s fine. All I need is just to get to speak to the principal”
“I will ask her but as I told you we don’t allow this”. And she went into the Principal’s cabin.
This lady was getting on my nerves.
It was the all too familiar tone of negation and disapproval. I was outside the door of the principal of one of the more prominent schools in the city. And I needed permission to interview 3-4 students from this school as a part of my project. I had already conducted about 80 odd interviews by now. Consumers in the age group of 14-40 years were my target respondents and I had also interviewed 12 students from 3 different schools in the city of Chennai .With this school, I would have finished my quota of school interviews in Chennai.
The assistant went in with my college ID and my bonafide certificate and I saw her speaking to the principal from outside. She came out after a minute or two and said “You can go in”.
Okie, I said to myself. Here’s my chance to do it in style and rebut that assistant. Come on baby, let’s roll on, let me get my familiar pitch in place, get the approval of the principal ,get the students, make them laugh and smile at my questions and lets be done with these interviews in no time.
Sometimes I am too optimistic.
Surprisingly it always pays off. Well… almost.
“Yes, please come in”
“Thank you Ma’m. My name is Issac and I am from the …”
I generally take about 50-60 seconds to get the entire story in place; this was no different and I pause after that.
Pause.
“I see but we never allow this”.
Now this was different. I had been to 3 schools already and no principal gave me this. Not even an All-Girls school’s principal. This was a goddamn co-ed. I made an alteration to my pitch.
“This is for an academic project Ma’m and I have already been to other schools and...”
“We don’t allow such things. I am sorry”
Such things?!?
Her tone suggested that she was taking me to be a 22 year old assassin with a pen and a writing pad in hand.
“Yeah, we don’t allow any interviews with students”
“Ma’m, I would not take more than 15-20 minutes and I need only 3 students”
“We don’t allow. I am sorry”
I don’t know where exactly I picked up the habit but I love having fun while the situation is serious at times and this seemed to be a good setting.
“Well Ma’m, can you give me one good reason why you don’t allow such things?”
I loved that look that she gave me next. Priceless.
More so because I am sure she was not expecting a question like that. And now that I was rejected anyway, I was having my share of fun.
She gave me just what I expected as a reply, “No, we do not allow our students. That’s it. Other schools may do that, we don’t”
I really needed a reason though as to why I would not be allowed to interview the students. At times like these I wish the Right to Information Act be applicable to private institutions also.
It was not a surprise that I would not be allowed to interview the students. I too understand. They have their own right to reject but I was getting irked by that “we-don’t-allow” drone.
I came out, took a bus to another school and got my 4 interviews of school students completed. No harm done.
What happened though is, I think the symptom of a larger malaise (and unlike in other cities probably the only one) in Chennai.
We don’t allow.
We don’t allow to kiss .We will arrest you for vulgarity.
We don’t allow dancing in pubs. We are closing down the pubs.
We don’t allow screening plays like Vagina Monologues. We will burn the theater.
We don’t allow people to talk sex and virginity. We will take Khushboo to court.
We don’t allow newspaper editorials that hurt us .We will take N. Ram under custody.
Liberalism is a way of living not a fad. And it hurts far fewer people than the devils allow one to imagine. Forget the 21st century modern India talk and think about it.
Would you rather get summoned by a court for talking about virginity in a free nation that practices freedom of speech and expression as a fundamental right or would you rather remain silent and not talk about things that you think might be true. So if kissing, dancing, screening plays is not allowed let’s know why they are not allowed. And let’s also know why they can be allowed. Let’s talk about things and respect people who talk. Differ, Contest, Argue but respect people who talk and don’t slam a PIL for God’s sake because when you do you stifle the next voice who wants to talk.
We have always been a shy nation like our cricket team until Mr. Ganguly came out on the Lords Balcony in the summer of 2001 and took off his shirt. I think that day he also took off that shyness from every modern Indian cricketer. But everyday life is not like cricket and as a nation we need to talk more, we need to get ourselves heard, we need to shout. I love the fact that more and more news channels are sprouting up for these are mediums through which we can be heard and I love every time a sting operation is conducted. Someone is telling us that things are not right and the more we know things are not right we get a chance to correct them.
My friend Anish once came up with a gem in one of our everyday conversations. He said “I think there’s something screwed up with our value system; sex is a taboo for us and yet every single day we as a nation produce more humans than anyone else in the world”.
With things like these we confuse the world what we stand for. Thankfully we are still a fairly young nation and I think we really need to allow ourselves to talk to get rid of such contradictions.
“Oh Okie... Can I speak to her?” I asked.
“But she won’t allow. We don’t allow this”
“That’s fine. All I need is just to get to speak to the principal”
“I will ask her but as I told you we don’t allow this”. And she went into the Principal’s cabin.
This lady was getting on my nerves.
It was the all too familiar tone of negation and disapproval. I was outside the door of the principal of one of the more prominent schools in the city. And I needed permission to interview 3-4 students from this school as a part of my project. I had already conducted about 80 odd interviews by now. Consumers in the age group of 14-40 years were my target respondents and I had also interviewed 12 students from 3 different schools in the city of Chennai .With this school, I would have finished my quota of school interviews in Chennai.
The assistant went in with my college ID and my bonafide certificate and I saw her speaking to the principal from outside. She came out after a minute or two and said “You can go in”.
Okie, I said to myself. Here’s my chance to do it in style and rebut that assistant. Come on baby, let’s roll on, let me get my familiar pitch in place, get the approval of the principal ,get the students, make them laugh and smile at my questions and lets be done with these interviews in no time.
Sometimes I am too optimistic.
Surprisingly it always pays off. Well… almost.
“Yes, please come in”
“Thank you Ma’m. My name is Issac and I am from the …”
I generally take about 50-60 seconds to get the entire story in place; this was no different and I pause after that.
Pause.
“I see but we never allow this”.
Now this was different. I had been to 3 schools already and no principal gave me this. Not even an All-Girls school’s principal. This was a goddamn co-ed. I made an alteration to my pitch.
“This is for an academic project Ma’m and I have already been to other schools and...”
“We don’t allow such things. I am sorry”
Such things?!?
Her tone suggested that she was taking me to be a 22 year old assassin with a pen and a writing pad in hand.
“Yeah, we don’t allow any interviews with students”
“Ma’m, I would not take more than 15-20 minutes and I need only 3 students”
“We don’t allow. I am sorry”
I don’t know where exactly I picked up the habit but I love having fun while the situation is serious at times and this seemed to be a good setting.
“Well Ma’m, can you give me one good reason why you don’t allow such things?”
I loved that look that she gave me next. Priceless.
More so because I am sure she was not expecting a question like that. And now that I was rejected anyway, I was having my share of fun.
She gave me just what I expected as a reply, “No, we do not allow our students. That’s it. Other schools may do that, we don’t”
I really needed a reason though as to why I would not be allowed to interview the students. At times like these I wish the Right to Information Act be applicable to private institutions also.
It was not a surprise that I would not be allowed to interview the students. I too understand. They have their own right to reject but I was getting irked by that “we-don’t-allow” drone.
I came out, took a bus to another school and got my 4 interviews of school students completed. No harm done.
What happened though is, I think the symptom of a larger malaise (and unlike in other cities probably the only one) in Chennai.
We don’t allow.
We don’t allow to kiss .We will arrest you for vulgarity.
We don’t allow dancing in pubs. We are closing down the pubs.
We don’t allow screening plays like Vagina Monologues. We will burn the theater.
We don’t allow people to talk sex and virginity. We will take Khushboo to court.
We don’t allow newspaper editorials that hurt us .We will take N. Ram under custody.
Liberalism is a way of living not a fad. And it hurts far fewer people than the devils allow one to imagine. Forget the 21st century modern India talk and think about it.
Would you rather get summoned by a court for talking about virginity in a free nation that practices freedom of speech and expression as a fundamental right or would you rather remain silent and not talk about things that you think might be true. So if kissing, dancing, screening plays is not allowed let’s know why they are not allowed. And let’s also know why they can be allowed. Let’s talk about things and respect people who talk. Differ, Contest, Argue but respect people who talk and don’t slam a PIL for God’s sake because when you do you stifle the next voice who wants to talk.
We have always been a shy nation like our cricket team until Mr. Ganguly came out on the Lords Balcony in the summer of 2001 and took off his shirt. I think that day he also took off that shyness from every modern Indian cricketer. But everyday life is not like cricket and as a nation we need to talk more, we need to get ourselves heard, we need to shout. I love the fact that more and more news channels are sprouting up for these are mediums through which we can be heard and I love every time a sting operation is conducted. Someone is telling us that things are not right and the more we know things are not right we get a chance to correct them.
My friend Anish once came up with a gem in one of our everyday conversations. He said “I think there’s something screwed up with our value system; sex is a taboo for us and yet every single day we as a nation produce more humans than anyone else in the world”.
With things like these we confuse the world what we stand for. Thankfully we are still a fairly young nation and I think we really need to allow ourselves to talk to get rid of such contradictions.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
A Few Good Jobs
The following post coming three weeks into my project could get you a lil worried about my state of mind in my incumbent company. To soothe the fears of my well-wishers let me at the very outset say that the following post bears no resemblance to any real life situation I am facing now. Any inference to such resemblance hence is purely coincidental.
I have tended to believe that for a job to be well done or for a relationship to prosper there is a spark that needs to be present. A job could pay you the best in the country but if that spark is absent it’s just another job. It could very well have been the filling of the petrol tanks of ongoing vehicles at a gas station at the same level of wages.
You could be out with Salma Hayek on a moonlit night but if her speech and manner makes you yawn you could very well have been out with a hag on the same moonlit night.
Not all of us are lucky enough to get a job with that spark and it’s not too unnatural for us to crib about it. Employee turnover (or attrition for the need to stay in vogue with the latest HR nomenclatures) is a reality every organization faces. And this is because of this spark that some people do not derive from their jobs. They get bored, fed up, disappointed, irritated and look for greener pastures elsewhere.
But if one does have that spark factor in his/her job it is unlikely that he/she will ever leave that job. Nothing else could explain M.F.Hussain still painting his canvasses, Dev Anand still directing movies and R.K. Laxman still drawing caricatures. Or Brian Johnston holding his mike for 48 years, or Sean Connery still acting or Madonna still singing.
Why even, Mr. Buffet still investing, Mr. Gates still thinking and Ms Paris Hilton still laundering. Okie, pardon the last one.
I have also tended to believe that whatever life offers you, there is atleast one soul who’s got a better deal and atleast one soul who’s got a worse deal than you in this world. So if you think you have got one helluva boring job, I thought it would be nice to know what could be the most boring jobs in India and presented below is my list in no particular order.
The Coast Guard: It’s in everyone’s best interests that he does not come into action. He spends his time gazing on the beach and watching hordes of travelers come and go by. Usually he has an umbrella to himself and every once in a while a kid waves him a Hi. I once observed him at one of the beaches in Trivandrum; he dint have a thing to do for the three hours we spent there.
The guy distributing pamphlets on the roads: This chap is handed a bunch of catalogues or pamphlets early morning by his employer for a day and he keeps handing it over to people walking by. Most people don’t even look him in the eye, worse - some do and take a copy and throw it on the road without a peek.
Mechanics who fill tires: I bet it should be interesting should he overfill any of those tires with loud consequences but these chaps are too efficient for that. It’s amazing how he never ever makes that mistake; another of those unnoticed operations that run at greater than Six Sigma. (Why dont we study them as a case study but will sure take notice should Prince Harry come and extol their capabilities is something I shall take up at a later date.)
Guy stamping envelopes with the P.O Seal at the Post Office: Seriously, one after the other, how can you keep doing that an entire day and for an entire week and then week after week!!!
The table cleaner in a restaurant: A dirty towel, his customary weapon along with a plastic or aluminum tray. Wipes in different styles, leftovers of different shape and sizes but that’s all his job description allows him to accomplish.
The doorkeeper at corporate offices: His job is to open the door every time someone comes or threatens to come his way. Since the door is a modern marvel he doesn’t have to push it back. The door automatically shuts in poetic motion and our man starts waiting for the next man to come his way.
The ticket checker at Multiplexes: This is an offspring of the increased spending of the modern Indian Consumer on watching movies in Multiplexes. With so many screens around no one ever knows which the right screen is .So we have an assistant in uniform whose job is to utter any of the following sentences over and over again."Go straight Sir, first screen on left”, “The Screen on your right Ma’m, once you reach the end of the alley” or “It’s the one on the left, besides the popcorn stall over there.”
The Driver: His skill in dealing with all the other vehicles on the road is matchless. But once he leaves his Saab in the morning at the office , he has to spend and entire day waiting for his boss to come out of the office. Worse still, Murphy’s Law tends to wreak havoc with him at times. His boss often comes out or summons for him at the only moment when he decides to go out for fag.
The HT ‘Let there be Light’ teaser campaign: This was in March in Delhi when I saw a chap on the bridge near the Sarai Kale Khan Bus standing blindfolded on a footpath holding a placard that read “ Let there be Light” . This was in the morning at around 9 a.m. on my way to the office.
On my way back at 5:30 p.m., I saw the guy rooted to the spot.
Thank God, you have got a great job and now get back to work! : )
I have tended to believe that for a job to be well done or for a relationship to prosper there is a spark that needs to be present. A job could pay you the best in the country but if that spark is absent it’s just another job. It could very well have been the filling of the petrol tanks of ongoing vehicles at a gas station at the same level of wages.
You could be out with Salma Hayek on a moonlit night but if her speech and manner makes you yawn you could very well have been out with a hag on the same moonlit night.
Not all of us are lucky enough to get a job with that spark and it’s not too unnatural for us to crib about it. Employee turnover (or attrition for the need to stay in vogue with the latest HR nomenclatures) is a reality every organization faces. And this is because of this spark that some people do not derive from their jobs. They get bored, fed up, disappointed, irritated and look for greener pastures elsewhere.
But if one does have that spark factor in his/her job it is unlikely that he/she will ever leave that job. Nothing else could explain M.F.Hussain still painting his canvasses, Dev Anand still directing movies and R.K. Laxman still drawing caricatures. Or Brian Johnston holding his mike for 48 years, or Sean Connery still acting or Madonna still singing.
Why even, Mr. Buffet still investing, Mr. Gates still thinking and Ms Paris Hilton still laundering. Okie, pardon the last one.
I have also tended to believe that whatever life offers you, there is atleast one soul who’s got a better deal and atleast one soul who’s got a worse deal than you in this world. So if you think you have got one helluva boring job, I thought it would be nice to know what could be the most boring jobs in India and presented below is my list in no particular order.
The Coast Guard: It’s in everyone’s best interests that he does not come into action. He spends his time gazing on the beach and watching hordes of travelers come and go by. Usually he has an umbrella to himself and every once in a while a kid waves him a Hi. I once observed him at one of the beaches in Trivandrum; he dint have a thing to do for the three hours we spent there.
The guy distributing pamphlets on the roads: This chap is handed a bunch of catalogues or pamphlets early morning by his employer for a day and he keeps handing it over to people walking by. Most people don’t even look him in the eye, worse - some do and take a copy and throw it on the road without a peek.
Mechanics who fill tires: I bet it should be interesting should he overfill any of those tires with loud consequences but these chaps are too efficient for that. It’s amazing how he never ever makes that mistake; another of those unnoticed operations that run at greater than Six Sigma. (Why dont we study them as a case study but will sure take notice should Prince Harry come and extol their capabilities is something I shall take up at a later date.)
Guy stamping envelopes with the P.O Seal at the Post Office: Seriously, one after the other, how can you keep doing that an entire day and for an entire week and then week after week!!!
The table cleaner in a restaurant: A dirty towel, his customary weapon along with a plastic or aluminum tray. Wipes in different styles, leftovers of different shape and sizes but that’s all his job description allows him to accomplish.
The doorkeeper at corporate offices: His job is to open the door every time someone comes or threatens to come his way. Since the door is a modern marvel he doesn’t have to push it back. The door automatically shuts in poetic motion and our man starts waiting for the next man to come his way.
The ticket checker at Multiplexes: This is an offspring of the increased spending of the modern Indian Consumer on watching movies in Multiplexes. With so many screens around no one ever knows which the right screen is .So we have an assistant in uniform whose job is to utter any of the following sentences over and over again."Go straight Sir, first screen on left”, “The Screen on your right Ma’m, once you reach the end of the alley” or “It’s the one on the left, besides the popcorn stall over there.”
The Driver: His skill in dealing with all the other vehicles on the road is matchless. But once he leaves his Saab in the morning at the office , he has to spend and entire day waiting for his boss to come out of the office. Worse still, Murphy’s Law tends to wreak havoc with him at times. His boss often comes out or summons for him at the only moment when he decides to go out for fag.
The HT ‘Let there be Light’ teaser campaign: This was in March in Delhi when I saw a chap on the bridge near the Sarai Kale Khan Bus standing blindfolded on a footpath holding a placard that read “ Let there be Light” . This was in the morning at around 9 a.m. on my way to the office.
On my way back at 5:30 p.m., I saw the guy rooted to the spot.
Thank God, you have got a great job and now get back to work! : )
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
Home again!
Am kicked about this break after a breakneck last four months . :)
And am feeling bad about leaving SP again for even 3 days!
And rrreeaallyyyy looking forward to watching the Second One Dayer of RoW Vs Australia with my ol' opening partner Jubin at home.
And Sis is not going to be home...
And Dad isnt the greatest cook in the world. : )
And am feeling bad about leaving SP again for even 3 days!
And rrreeaallyyyy looking forward to watching the Second One Dayer of RoW Vs Australia with my ol' opening partner Jubin at home.
And Sis is not going to be home...
And Dad isnt the greatest cook in the world. : )
Saturday, September 24, 2005
A First!
Interviewed Subroto Bagchi in Room #223 , Hotel Leela ,Mumbai
My first big interview , caught on camera.
Lasted 10 minutes.
The kick of having done it still lingers. :))
My first big interview , caught on camera.
Lasted 10 minutes.
The kick of having done it still lingers. :))
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Gosh ! The World!
The world.. the world ...Ever thought about it?
It's so truly Goddamn funny!
Things that start and stop on their own, things you cant help and things you cant decide...
Funny, plain funny!
It's so truly Goddamn funny!
Things that start and stop on their own, things you cant help and things you cant decide...
Funny, plain funny!
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
On Cricket- I
Starting with this post, a new series of my views on the game of cricket, on some players, on some of the issues the game's facing and the never ending controversies. This is something I used to regularly do in college but got cut off for a while . Back on air now. : )
On Gilchrist:
Gilly has a style of his own. He would'nt kill you but just hit you.And for some of us that's a pleasure. Cuts,sweeps,pulls,straight drives and more cuts,sweeps,pulls and straight drives. Before you would even acknowledge his presence on crease, he would be on 20 odd and by the time you have a plan he's crossed 50. And by the time you figure the plan's not working he's making the common man on the ground outside the stadium find the red cherry he's just dispatched over square leg. A tremendous asset to any side with a lightning batspeed and an even faster walk to the crease and back when it comes to that.
He is acknowledged as one of the top batsmen today but contrary to what some seem to believe I dont subscribe to the view that he's the best around. Contemporary cricket does have atleast 4 batsmen who would rank ahead of Gilly in my book. I am a huge fan of his batting style but not his batting. For he can still be more menacing than he currently is.
He is mercilessly destructive for a bowler's morale and I said it elsewhere that where Gilly fails to make it to the top league in my book is because the bowler is always in with a chance with him unlike a Lara or a Sachin or a Dravid or Vaughan who once in for some time would make you toil for their wicket.
The recent Ashes Series was the first one where he failed throughout. And this was a quality attack he was up against. It would be interesting to see how Gilchrist deals with this failure at an age when many others think about quitting the game. Importantly , it would be interesting to know how the Aussie Selectors intend to deal with him, with Brad Haddin waiting to take off should the flight of Gilly be cut short by the selectors. This is pretty much a deja vu for me for not so long back I prayed that Healy make runs so that Gilly would'nt come and take his place. I dont think it is that stage yet when anyone needs to pray for Gilly but yes for the first time in his career Gilly will have to give 'hitting the ball' a thought , something he is not used to and something he should'nt do.
Gilly's batting has been, for the millions of his viewers, all about unadulterated joy, uncomplicated hitting and uncensored flamboyance. And I hope I dont have to start offering my prayers for him anytime soon. Over the years he has cracked some stunning centuries and here's my pick of the lot:
The one in Mumbai ,against India in the 2003 season shud stand out cos of the sheer devilry of heaving Bhajji over and over again against the spin on a dusty track.
The one in Hobart, against Pakistan because it came against a top class attack and because he was batting in the fourth innings and contributed to one of the highestrun chases in history
The one in Durban ,against SA for effortlessness.(fastest double in tests). I remembering him heaving one off Boje over midwicket, a wild sweep and then he stood up to push the ball suggestively in the air so that it could hit one of the billboards that could have earned him some rands.
Easily the most destructive in World Cricket, destructive to a bowler's pride, to a team's morale and injurious to the very health of a bowling team supporter
On Gilchrist:
Gilly has a style of his own. He would'nt kill you but just hit you.And for some of us that's a pleasure. Cuts,sweeps,pulls,straight drives and more cuts,sweeps,pulls and straight drives. Before you would even acknowledge his presence on crease, he would be on 20 odd and by the time you have a plan he's crossed 50. And by the time you figure the plan's not working he's making the common man on the ground outside the stadium find the red cherry he's just dispatched over square leg. A tremendous asset to any side with a lightning batspeed and an even faster walk to the crease and back when it comes to that.
He is acknowledged as one of the top batsmen today but contrary to what some seem to believe I dont subscribe to the view that he's the best around. Contemporary cricket does have atleast 4 batsmen who would rank ahead of Gilly in my book. I am a huge fan of his batting style but not his batting. For he can still be more menacing than he currently is.
He is mercilessly destructive for a bowler's morale and I said it elsewhere that where Gilly fails to make it to the top league in my book is because the bowler is always in with a chance with him unlike a Lara or a Sachin or a Dravid or Vaughan who once in for some time would make you toil for their wicket.
The recent Ashes Series was the first one where he failed throughout. And this was a quality attack he was up against. It would be interesting to see how Gilchrist deals with this failure at an age when many others think about quitting the game. Importantly , it would be interesting to know how the Aussie Selectors intend to deal with him, with Brad Haddin waiting to take off should the flight of Gilly be cut short by the selectors. This is pretty much a deja vu for me for not so long back I prayed that Healy make runs so that Gilly would'nt come and take his place. I dont think it is that stage yet when anyone needs to pray for Gilly but yes for the first time in his career Gilly will have to give 'hitting the ball' a thought , something he is not used to and something he should'nt do.
Gilly's batting has been, for the millions of his viewers, all about unadulterated joy, uncomplicated hitting and uncensored flamboyance. And I hope I dont have to start offering my prayers for him anytime soon. Over the years he has cracked some stunning centuries and here's my pick of the lot:
The one in Mumbai ,against India in the 2003 season shud stand out cos of the sheer devilry of heaving Bhajji over and over again against the spin on a dusty track.
The one in Hobart, against Pakistan because it came against a top class attack and because he was batting in the fourth innings and contributed to one of the highestrun chases in history
The one in Durban ,against SA for effortlessness.(fastest double in tests). I remembering him heaving one off Boje over midwicket, a wild sweep and then he stood up to push the ball suggestively in the air so that it could hit one of the billboards that could have earned him some rands.
Easily the most destructive in World Cricket, destructive to a bowler's pride, to a team's morale and injurious to the very health of a bowling team supporter
