Opinion: AAP has proved that no dream is too big

December 8, 2013 will be inked with a golden stylus in the history of Indian democracy. Arvind Kejriwal's victory against the Delhi Chief Minister will go down as one of the brightest chapter in India’s electoral history especially, in a post-JP era. Aam Aadmi Party's victory, despite them being in number two position in India's capital city, is a victory of masses. It is a victory against the corrupt. It’s vote against the power-hungry Congress. Above all, AAP’s performance gives you a reason to believe that no dream is too big.

Firstly, it makes a common man believe that politics is not just the privilege of elite and the ruling class. For generations, Indian democracy has revolved around the two national parties -the BJP, and the Congress. Formed during the winter of the 2012, Delhi election results is an incredible achievement on the part of the AAP, for, not many gave them a realistic chance in run-up to the election. With no prior experience, AAP has managed to reach out to the common people and not just in the posh up-market areas but also carved a base for itself in the rural areas in Delhi. Ripples of Arvind Kejriwal’s victory are bound to resonate in various parts of the country. Especially, the youth of this nation, who were by and large cynical about the 'Indian political system’, now have something to look forward to. Too all those youth out there in offices, #AAP has given them a viable option apart from the Congress and the BJP. It has installed a feeling of self-belief among entrepreneurs, working class people, start-up hopefuls that India also can change for the better. It can also create a corruption-free environment where hard-work and dedication will be rewarded.

Secondly, the election results showcases that mass uprising can’t be taken for granted and common people can’t be fooled all the time. All these while, Congress party banked on its populist announcements and freebies to hide their miss-governance. The ploy simply didn’t work for the party as an informed public showed them their place. Credit must go to the #AAP for reaching out to public and explain them the intricacies of the decision taken by the government when it came to populist schemes. Occasionally, Indian democracy has thrown some mass leaders, support mainly coming from a particular caste or religion but, never before it has been witnessed that a party without any so called ‘social-formation base’ doing so exceptionally well. Something that JP always wanted to do. AAP’s success will inspire many more to join politics and work towards bringing in the change that was considered impossible.  

Thirdly, the results will help bring a generational shift in the mindset that politics can never get rid of parochial policies. That new ideologies can be carved, and people with cleaner slate can get their long-awaited dues is one of the biggest outcomes of these elections. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, head of the Centre for Policy Research, in his well articulated thoughts published in the Indian Express much before the elections, said: “You may not be the biggest fan of all of Arvind Kejriwal's institutional proposals. But there is no question that he played a significant part in transforming the discourse on corruption. He has empowered many others to say that business as usual cannot continue.” The election result has precisely proved Mehta’s observation.

Finally, and more importantly, 2013 Election results – apart from teaching a lesson to the corrupt and non-functioning government– will help start a new discourse in Indian polity. A discourse which was once started and championed by Jai Prakash Narayan but failed by his followers.

These are extremely early days to ask if AAP can extend this electoral gains all across India or not, but it has definitely succeeded in ushering in Hope - one of the greatest harbinger of Change. 

#Change #electionresults2013 #AAP # Delhidecides

Post-retirement, can we expect a more eloquent Sachin?

By Himanshu Shekhar

This has been a monumental week in India’s cricketing history. After 24-long years and 200 Tests, arguably, modern cricket’s greatest batsman is bidding adieu. It’s Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell time.  It is not just any other November in India. It is a week were emotions have just got the better off everyone, and, in the end, even the God could not hide it.  Nation cried with the man. 

It is definitely not an ordinary week for Indian cricket at large. Hardly anyone, who is remotely attached to cricket, is oblivious of the fact that the man who has conquered almost every batting record in the book will no longer be seen in active cricket. Tendulkar has decided to call it time, whether his fans have agreed to it or not is a different question.

Post November 16, 2013, Indian crickets’ most colossal story will only be about reflections from the past. Tendulkar, for many, was synonymous to cricket. His retirement is bound to create a huge void not just in the Indian batting order but in the hearts of millions of fans. MS Dhoni’s side might find a worthy replacement like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma but for fans it will take time to find an icon that charmed one and all with not only his strokes but his mannerism as well.

For all these years, every time he walked onto bat, it seemed that he was wearing an iron-jacket, shielding himself from the surroundings. His focus was only on one thing – the release of the ball from the bowler’s hand. Anything outside the field never bothered Tendulkar. He chose to reserve his opinions or comments for all these years on many issues. Can he afford to do it now?

At the risk of being repetitive, I would once again state that this is no ordinary week. Apart from the Little Master’s retirement, two more significant development happened which went largely noticed. Former captains and two of Tendulkar’s team-mate, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble opted to speak their mind on issues bothering cricket – corruption and governance.

These consequences are important. According to me, there has to be (a) substantial jail term for the offenders,” Dravid said during a discussion on ‘Ethics and Integrity in modern-day sport’, organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation. One can not recollect if anyone else of his contemporary cricketer has taken such a stance.

A day later, it was the turn of Anil Kumble. “My three-year stint, along with my colleague in the Indian team, Javagal Srinath, who is the secretary, taught me a few things, and I believe now that just as other areas of the game - like umpiring - administration too can benefit from having people who have played at the highest level,” Kumble said while delivering the MAK Pataudi lecture.

Perception about the Indian cricket is in serious question today. In fact, it has been for a long time now. The unwanted controversies surrounding the IPL have just added fuel to an already burning house. Not going too far back, the recent controversy surrounding the team’s tour to South Africa has put the governing body (BCCI) in bad light.

The BCCI maybe the best run administrative body financially, but is it the most well managed organisation when you compare it with other nations? Is BCCI the most respected body? Is it doing enough to raise cricket’s infrastructure at the grassroots? Is BCCI doing enough to bring transparency?

In coming months, we would like to know where Tendulkar stands on these pressing matters.

“Some perceptions have to be willed into reality. For years we thought we were a sporting nation, but we had little to show for it,” Kumble reminded the august gathering at Pataudi lecture.

We would like to see Tendulkar add all his weight and experience behind Indian cricket, maybe Indian sports. In many ways, this has been a significant week for Indian cricket.

End of an era - Sachin Tendulkar announces retirement

Ending months of speculation, Sachin Tendulkar has announced to quit all forms of cricket. Tendulkar, who has already announced retirements from twenty-twenty and ODIs, will play his last Test match (200th) at his home venue at the Wankhede.

"All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years. It’s hard for me to imagine a life without playing cricket because it’s all I have ever done since I was 11 years old. It’s been a huge honour to have represented my country and played all over the world. I look forward to playing my 200^th Test Match on home soil, as I call it a day," the master batsman said in a statement released by the BCCI on his behalf.

"I thank the BCCI for everything over the years and for permitting me to move on when my heart feels it's time! I thank my family for their patience and understanding. Most of all, I thank my fans and well-wishers who through their prayers and wishes have given me the strength to go out and perform at my best."

The announcement immediately evoked emotional reactions as Tendulkar fans took to the social media expressing their sentiments. His teammates in the Indian dressing room, and outside it, were also not far behind in expressing their thoughts. 

"Privileged to have seen a child prodigy gone on to become a true legend of the game from very close quarters. All the best Sachin," tweeted Sanjay Manjrekar.

Not far behind were his friends and admirers in the media.

 "We all kind of expected the announcement some day. But now that it is here, its hard to soak in, no matter what your views," tweeted television commentator and presenter Gautam Bhimani.

The grudge against Tendulkar

Himanshu Shekhar

Sachin Tendulkar’s contribution to improving Indian cricket is nowhere near his tremendous influence on it.

Whether one admits it or not, Tendulkar is synonymous to cricket. He is the heartbeat of millions of cricket fans across the globe. He is not a model; any more than, say, Neville Cardus was a model for aspiring cricket writers.

But my big grudge with Indian cricket’s biggest name is – unlike Cardus, who changed the course of cricket writing, Tendulkar has done little - apart from illuminating the craft that he practices - to shape the future of the game which has given him everything.

Here are a few examples.

The pro-DRS-camp has resigned to the fact that it will only take an umpiring error, which sends back Sachin at the score of 99, to convince the whole of India about the merits of the system.

To have or not have a DRS is a different debate altogether. But that statement, often made or written in a lighter vein, signifies the influence of Sachin Tendulkar in Indian cricket.

Going back to the parallels drawn with Cardus, unlike him, Tendulkar has always been an establishment figure.

It’s not that one asks him to get into an ugly fight, for the way he has conducted himself over the years has been nothing less than an inspiration. However, his silence on key issues concerning the administration and running of the game leaves people like me baffled.

No one expects an Amol Muzumdar or a Paras Mhambrey to come out in the open, voicing their opinion and get on the wrong side of the authorities.

But Tendulkar can. However, he never does it.

Take for example, the case of mindless number of IPL games. The tournament can easily be cut and re-sized into a format to give it meaning. Many have raised their concerns, but one has heard little from the Little Master. He carries huge respect in the dressing room. But, has he provided any kind of
leadership when it was actually required? The best thing he did in time of crisis was to step down as the India captain.

Last time Tendulkar reportedly took a stand, an entire tour was on the verge of being scrapped. Upset with the three-Test ban on Harbhajan Singh in the monkey-gate episode in Sydney, Sachin reportedly sent a message to Sharad Pawar, the then BCCI president: “In this hour of crisis, the board should stand by him. I suggest we should play in Perth only if the ban is lifted.”

The rest is history. The ban was toned down and the tour went ahead.

If Tendulkar cares for the reputation of cricket in India, or he bothers a little for the appalling state of India’s premier domestic tournament, the Ranji Trophy, he should voice his opinion. He has been oblivious to the running of the game when he could have done a lot.

It was no surprise that his childhood friend and cricket buddy Vinod Kambli broke down in tears, suggesting that Tendulkar could have done more. ‘‘We are very close... we were very close. He could have done a little more, but he didn’t,” Kambli was heard saying.

By no means has one suggested that Tendulkar should have meddled in the selection matters. Had Kambli actually taken some cue from his routine, the situation would have been different. But did Imran Khan wait for Inzamam-ul Haq to come to him and then offer advice? Doctors give advice. Leaders just motivate, inspire and push their men to achieve newer heights.

All these years he has never raised a voice against the powerful. India needs a systematic change as far as saving the game is concerned. But his silence on key issues grappling Indian cricket is getting to a disconcerting level. Will we ever see Sachin Tendulkar breaking the disciplined system-obliging image for issues which really matters to the cricketing world and India in general?

Centuries ago, English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon had a lot to say on human nature and virtues. “Silence,” Sir Francis claims “is the virtue of the fools.”

Movie Review: Gangs of Wasseypur

Wasseypur no different from Munshi Premchand’s India

By Himanshu Shekhar

With emotions over melodrama, intensity over acting - Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur is a deft narrative of an India which the suburban middle-class have conveniently chosen to ignore.

Wasseypur is set in the backdrop of the Bihar-Jharkhand border where coal mining, smuggling and gang wars are not just rampant but an integral part of life.

So, any movie based on the coal mafia and gang war is bound to draw parallels. The question you will ask is: Is Anurag Kashyap trying to match Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece - The Godfather? There’s uncanny similarity between the two plots. But to stretch that logic beyond a point would be grave injustice to one of India's most talented directors. The movie, in flashes, takes you to the plight of the coal workers in the region and showcases how youngsters take to arms if deprived of a respectable living. 

From Birju in Mother India to Sardar Khan in Wasseypur, not much has changed in Indian villages. If ever there is a re-birth of Munshi Premchand, he won't have to search for plots. Struggle, hardship, the poor and bahubalis are in abundance in our villages.

That's exactly where Wasseypur gets its hero - Sardar Khan- astoundingly portrayed by Manoj Bajpai.

Sardar Khan injects the common audiences with doses of Biharism (Bakaiti).

Not just the protagonist, but each single character in the movie has been carefully crafted and little details attended. Jaideep Ahlawat as Shahid Khan, Richa Chadda as Nagma Khatoon, Mukesh Chhabra as Nawab Khan, Tigmanshu Dhulia as Ramadhir Singh, Anurita Jha, Jameel Khan as Asgar, Harish Khanna as Yadavji, Piyush Mishra as Farhan, Huma Quershi as Mohsina, Reema Sen as Durga, Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Faizal, Raj Yadav, Raj Kumar Yadav are names which will be taken seriously by Bollywood from here on.

It will be very surprising if Gangs of Wasseypur fails to be the watershed year in career of these extremely promising actors.

Sardar Khan talks in Bihari, his one-liners, his love scenes with his wife and his extra-marital overtures makes you laugh out of your seats. On the other hand, his extraordinary rebel stare and liberal use of swear words, packed by some scintillating dialogues - Bajpai raises the bar for acting, as far as quality goes.

He kills people, fights Ramadhir Singh (who also happens to be the murderer of his father), cheats on his wife, goes to jail but still you don't want to hate him.

His denial to accept the hegemony of Ramadhir Singh - the Bahubali politician - leads to a war which involves killings of innocent and provokes retaliatory fire, leaving the town in a lurch. All this while Khan's wife Nagma Khatoon's presence is constant in the background. Played by Richa Chadda, Nagma's resolute character is reliable and steady. Demonstrative, if not dominating. Don't be surprised if she walks away with the best female actor award.

Like any Shakespearian plot, revenge and treachery is one of the characters of this movie. That's where Nagma brings a trust factor in the movie.

How often you have seen women happily accepting every injustice meted out by her husband? Unlike Durga - Sardar Khan's extra-marital love interest, played by Reema Sen - Nagma loves her husband unconditionally. Durga on the other hand, cheats Khan and virtually conjures with the opposition gang and successfully plots her husband's (Sardar Khan) death. 

However, with so many sub-plots running simultaneously, one logic of the narrative occasionally starts meandering from its theme.

Harsh and heart-wrenching socio-political realities had often set the narratives in Indian cinema. Wasseypur is no different.

However, there are two types of movies. One, those which present the exact truth regardless of whether it attempts to break the stereotype and leave you optimistic at the end or not. Also, there are movies which leave you with lot of soul-searching but give you hope. Taare Zameen Par and Rang de Basanti are examples.

The background score and the songs in the movie are simply amazing. Interwoven with the script, at no point it attempts to take you away from the reality. Manoj Tiwari after a long time has come from the benches to Bollywood’s actual playground with his song ‘Jiya tu Bihar ke Lala’. Songs in this movie are a blend of Bihari and Bhojpuri and is a refreshing change from the loudness of Mikka & Co.

There are other good songs too in the movie which have an earthly touch. Proper care has been taken to load everything with the taste of the regional diaspora in mind. Woh womania and Keh ke loonga catch you with their folksy boisterousness.

As audience and reader, you have every right to differ with what I feel, but I must say that as a common man, I would wait for something extraordinary from the immensely talented, versatile and perfectionist - Anurag Kashyap.

The Wall was not built in a day

By Sajal .K. Patra

Whoever said that public memory is short must have visited India a couple of times before reaching this conclusion. Just a year ago, when India were in South Africa, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was still the best captain India ever had. Dravid was still the ‘WALL’ and Laxman was still known to be Very Very Special’. A year down the line, Dhoni seems to be Villain Number One in the country who can easily replace Gabbar in Sholay.

Rahul Dravid is no longer the Wall. The word going around is that there seems to be a five-and-a-half inch peep hole in the wall now and Laxman from being very very special is now on the verge of getting dropped.

It was one of those days that have become all too common on the Australian tour — gloomy, depressing, demotivating -- as India were rolled over by the Aussies and went on to lose the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 0-4. That raises a lot of questions about the effectiveness of some of the senior players.

Dravid and Laxman have been put under the microscope which, to an extent, is unfair as the entire batting line-up failed to deliver.

Dravid, a man who first stepped into international cricket when unorthodoxy was at its peak with pinch-hitters scoring runs defying the standard shots of cricket. He was head and shoulders above everyone technically and has scored more than 13000 Test runs. Add to that the over-10000 one-day, not to forget the number of catches he has taken in the slips.

When you say 13000 Test runs, one has to pause for a second and understand the magnitude of what it means. Dravid, unlike Tendulkar or Ganguly, was not that gifted. He has maximised his talent through long hours in the nets and hard work, amazing power of concentration and determination. Every time India were staring down the barrel, Dravid stood out like a lotus in the mud or a solitaire among insipid batting.

His brilliant performance over the years have always been overlooked as every time he had taken the ship out of troubled waters, there was somebody who came out and played a classic. We remember the famous Kolkata Test match because of Laxman’s heroics but we forgot that there was one man who gave him able support and scored 180 runs before Harbhajan Singh ran through the Australian side.

India had their backs to the wall in the 1999 World Cup after losing against Zimbabwe. They had to win every match after that to keep their hopes alive and when the moment came, Ganguly stole the show by scoring 183 runs and once again the man at the non- striker’s end was Dravid, who scored 148 in that same match.

Dravid has always been the unsung hero of Indian cricket, be that Adelaide in 2003-04 where he scored a double-century. However, Ajit Agarkar, who grabbed six wickets, stole the limelight. Or in Headingly, where Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly all got centuries but it was Dravid who weathered the initial storm.

How can it be that one of the greatest players in the world can go from being the best to be talked about in unceremonious terms?

As and when Dravid takes a call and decides to hang up his boots, the country will lose the greatest No 3 batsman it ever had. The media and the fans will be robbed of the privilege of watching this artist at work; we will mourn that he never got his due, even more so as his exodus from the game would take away the gentlemanliness of the game which the game still tries to potray as its devoted element.

When you reflect at his career, it is a reward for intelligent planning and determined execution, a man who always put a price stag before his wicket, one who bats with the tri-colour and has the hallmark for being remembered as one of the greatest players India has ever produced.

Dravid is the tour-de-force of technique and application and deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the mightiest efforts of Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Steve Waugh, almost all of whom I have seen. His achievements are nothing less than any of these great players and the time has come for each one of us to appreciate his contribution to Indian cricket which spans over a period of 15 years.

Rahul Sharad Dravid was not the product of our system but a product in spite of our system. When the man decides to call it a day, the country will realise what they have lost and with that, probably his importance.

Proposing Sachin Tendulkar - The Prime Minister

Proposing - Sachin Tendulkar the Prime Minister

 
By Himanshu Shekhar

"I Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar do swear in the name of God that I will faithfully execute the office of Prime Minister of Republic of India, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law, and that I will devote myself to the service and well being of people of Republic of India,” this will be the exact text which cricketing legend might have to read the day he becomes the Prime Minister.

Today on this day, I am proposing Sachin Tendulkar as Prime Minister of India!

Oops! You must be wondering, whether yours truly has gone crazy. Let crazy be thy name. Go back to the oath and you will come to know what I am talking about. If cricket is one religion which binds every single individual in India, then Tendulkar is the God. All the more reason why Hindu, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists and others, regardless of what they practice, are bound to accept. What the great Mughal emperor Jalal-ud-din Mohammad Akbar could not do with Din-e-Ilahi, I propose Tendulkar to do it.

This is just the ideal weather (read time). With no Steve Bucknor around as the speaker of the house, Tendulkar stands all the chance to win a trust vote incase of a hung verdict.

Time magazine once rated him as the most powerful Indian on earth and that too with just a wooden bat at his disposal. Little champion from Mumbai is India’s most prized possession for over two decades and has fired on all cylinders, at-least more than India’s ICBM Agni – I & II.

Maestro has devoted his entire life in service to the nation. This in no way is taking away from all those men of steel and substance who layed their lives for securing our borders.

After reaching 50th Test century, Sachin ‘Ton’-dulkar boasts of a CV which no cricketer on earth ever had, leave alone the statistical exception Sir Donald Bradman was. Renowned historian Ram Chandra Guha in his book - A corner of a Foreign Field -says: "In the history of cricket, four individuals have had a definitive impact on the game; the Englishman W. G. Grace, the Australian Don Bradman, the West Indian Garfield Sobers and the Indian Sachin Tendulkar."

"He is certainly one of the four greatest cricketers ever," adds Guha.

“…like millions upon millions of Indians, they're mad about the one maddening sport at which this dismally un-athletic country excels. And, again like millions upon millions more, they all worship the same hero: a 5-foot, 5-inch tall, curly-haired, 37-year-old cricketer with a reedy, teenager's voice who just might be the Greatest of All Time -- and the best athlete you've never heard of. His name is Sachin Tendulkar. But here in India, he's simply Sachin,” Jason Overdorf wrote in Huffington Post.

Sachin Tendulkar is the most followed Indian on globe today and in times when criminals join politics and turn overnight custodians of constitution or people like Ms. Roy (Arundhati), who call themselves an Independent Mobile Republic, it won’t be a bad idea to have India’s most trusted man contesting for the most coveted crown.

The little genius might have rubbed his state-mates like Raj Thackeray the wrong way by preferring to chose India over Mumbai but there is no denying that when it comes to Tendulkar – India often stands united.

Coming to the business end, if a pilot (read late Rajiv Gandhi) can take the hot seat in troubled times and guide the nation to some degree of safety and his ‘non-political’ wife can later on successfully decide who will India’s Prime Minister then I have every reason to believe that Sachin Tendulkar stands the chance of becoming nation’s first ever sporting Prime Minister!

What an Idea Sir ji?

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