Two Honourable Gentlemen

"Every person who does a job faces some conflict of interest or the other. There are many people who work for employers whose practices they may not agree with but they don't quit their jobs because of that. Anyway, I don't really think about it as a conflict of interest because every time I comment, I am being completely honest."" - Sunil Gavaskar

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  "You have to see my body of work over 20 years. It doesn't matter who pays me. I have strong views on cricket which I express freely. If others are offered Board contracts, they should sign up as well," - Ravi Shastri

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These two are pretty honourable persons- they are, if this Times of India report is true, they are paid Rs.3.6 Crores per year by the BCCI to sit in the commentary box and waffle, and what is more, it is mandatory for any broadcaster who is telecasting cricket matches from India to, oh, yes, include them in the panel of commentators.

Nice line of business, right? I believe that BCCI is rewarding these two gentlemen of extraordinary honesty for their extraordinary honesty. If only they send some of its money along to us, we are quite amenable to speaking our mind volubly and honestly.

Shame on Nasser Hussain, for claiming he is getting paid by the channel to have an opinion- what is wrong if you get money for not having one?

Here, we have plenty of opinions, we can run it any which way you want, but like I said, not being as honourable a gentleman as Ravi or Sunil, no one is paying anything to us at all.

But we are willing, and waiting.

Batsmen Should Walk- or at least acknowledge

There is no way you can get it hundred percent right, no matter how good technology gets- even laser guided missiles get their trajectory wrong, what hope is there for hawkeye and hotspot? So, to wait for perfection is to postpone the adoption of technology. There will always be errors in the game of cricket, and we have to accept that.

There is a way to get round this, and to suggest it is near blasphemy- fine the batsmen if they don't walk. Let the bowlers appeal to the batsmen, and when the batsman refuses to acknowledge that he is out, the umpire on the pitch comes in, and when he is not sure, they all go upstairs. And when it is proved that the batsman was indeed out, he is fined ten percent for not telling that he indeed got an edge.

All batsmen, however great or small, who refuse to walk cheat, relying on the fallibility of the system to pile up some more runs. They need to be made accountable for at least some of the errors that plague this insane game that has become a religion in these parts of the world.

A Heavy Defeat

Trent Bridge came to a disappointing end, devastating in fact.  Ranklings apart, India is still a good team when it is playing full strength, though one wonders whether it will be able to do so any time in the near future.  The players are not gettng younger, and every game carries with it a greater risk of injury, ipl or not.

This is a tricky situation, and unless you have the replacement players doing something brilliant to keep their place in the team, you  can't really tell which way it will go.  I'd like to have Pujara and Badrinath in the team in place of Raina and Yuvraj, brave men both, but they are obviously not great under English conditions. At least, Kohli could have played, though it looks like everything is not perfect about him.

The bowling is the problem area, where are the fast bowlers? Praveen is a game trier,  and he will remain a trier, you need people who can do quick strikes, not one wicker per ten overs or fifteen. You need someone to give you a break and then ask serious questions about the new man in.

Obviously you can ask questions of this sort and feel good about it, India has just had a dismal performance, but if Sehwag plays and Harbhajan goes out giving way to Mishra, we might see something different.  England is shaky, in spite of all those runs, you know their batting could land them in serious trouble- when your openers both can't outlast the new ball your team will get gutted one day or the next. Same as what happened to India.

England are playing at home, but with Sehwag teaming up with Gambhir, you might see a different result. A team does not go from great to worst in two days.

Compassion as cure for depression

Ever had the feeling that we see the world in our own self chosen colour, and that the fact that we are happy or unhappy has nothing to do with how the world is, but instead, it all depends on us? I think it is true, and while there certainly is the possibility that you are deluding yourself when you ought not to be happy, it doesn't seem like it works any other way. Just take a look at those righteously indignant people fighting for truth, justice, honour and what not- the moment they get some power, they go and stop people from doing the sort of things they don't want them to be doing.

Anyway all this is of no consequence, it is just that I was confirmed in my theory to read that compassion and kindness go a long way than anti-depressants in curing depression.

Rather than taking anti-depressants, people suffering from depression have an inexpensive way out - practising acts of kindness and compassion, new research claims.

Acts of kindness or compassion might serve as an effective treatment for depressed people, say researchers from the University of California, Riverside, and the Duke University Medical Centre.

I am reminded of this news item about something Dalai Lama said,

By feeling compassion for others -- seeing even our enemies in a new light -- we can ease our own stress and anxiety , the Dalai Lama told a crowd of thousands, gathered for his visit to Atlanta in October 2007. Through "inner disarmament" -- reducing anger, hatred, and jealousy -- we create a path to our own happiness and world peace, he said.

This has to be true- depression is more likely the result of your screwing up on people in your life, than some chemical messing about in your brain. In most cases, of course. There will be exceptions.

The game's not cricket, definitely not

This is merely worth a status message on Facebook or Twitter- sad truth is despite all the sanctimonious bluster of Sunil Gavaskar, looks like India ought not to have run out Ian Bell and claimed his wicket. The world might be an evil place, everyone jealous of India's supreme prowess, but this is not the way a champion team plays. Not sneak some underhand thing when you are all but beaten.

I've never liked sunil's sermons, and my dislike grows with age- his patriotism sounds more inane and senseless by the day.

Seems there's nothing new with cricket. Everything is justifiable. Sorry it is not Australia this time, it is India and where we would feel happy, railing against Australia, here we are, having to defend what is obviously wrong and misguided.

A victory of this kind is more bitter than any defeat.

Hope India lose massively from here.

Not so free ride in Bangalore

I was standing on M.G.Road near St.Marks road signal looking out for an Auto to go to my Client place for work. It was 7.50 AM and for nearly 10 to 15 minutes not a single auto came in my direction. Autos were running in the opposite direction but I was hesitant to cross the road as already I tried one on that side of the road when I was coming out of my hotel. He was not interested and keen to go to City (railway station). In attempting to try at that side again I do not want to miss any auto coming on this side. Time ticked along. It was getting late and that's when a white Santro slowed down towards me.

The man in the driver seat asked me if I want a drop. I said, am going to Indira Nagar. He said he would drop me as he is passing by Indira Nagar. I got into the car and it moved. Sooner, I learnt that he is a part time driver, which I didn't realise while getting into the car. After initial enquiries he raised the windows and switched on the A/C. My alarm bells rang, and thought he could be up to some mischief here. Asked him if he wants A/C. He said 'No'. Requested him to lower the windows as I preferred the natural air. He hesitantly obliged. "I just wanted to check the wind flow as my owner complained of it. Nothing else is the reason", he said. Our conversation veered around our native, family size, and his third girl who defied tubectomy. We were entering into Halasoor (Ulsoor) when he suddenly put his left hand in between my thighs, and touched the seat. I was taken aback by his act. Asked him what's he doing? "just cheking the wind flow. my owner madam was complaining about it". He kept his hand there while I made every effort to widen the space around his hand. He kept asking me to keep it the way I was. I said 'no problem'. Within seconds he removed his hand. Was he really checking for wind flow? By the way, what wind flow he is talking about? "Sir do you have 5 minutes. we will go to the Sai baba mandir and then go?"  he asked me. I said "no problem, I will get down and take an Auto from here". He dropped the idea and said he will drop me near at my client place and then go to the temple. As we approached the place I am to get down he accelerated a bit and I told him strongly to stop. He took a turn on the side road. When he didn't stop, I almost shouted at him to stop. He stopped and brought his hand again to my thighs saying "just 5 minutes". Bloody ********, I swiftly got down while throwing his hand back. Asked him how much to pay, he said nothing to pay and that he didn't give me lift for money. I knew it by then. I quickly walked away and as I turned the corner the Santro was slowly moving away.

I was enraged. That man has the right to have the kind of sexual preferences he likes but then it must be with like minded people who give their consent to it. I have taken lift in Chennai and Bangalore when in hurry. But this is the first time something like this has happened. The only difference is, the car came to me instead of me asking for a lift with a thumbs up sign.

As I entered the meeting hall at my client place, the thought that this man, I was talking about, is a part timer driver and that he is employed to drop and pick up the children of the car owner at school everyday, made me feel terribly bad. What can those kids do if this man approaches them (boy or girl) with this kind of intention. I am worried even as I type these words. God save those kids.

Gayle force is a cliche!