My Last Blog............... Of 2006.......... :)

Well.. Looks like this is going to be my Last Blog of 2006.

Wow... What a Year... It has been quite something...

1.Work...
2.Leadership...
3.Roadshows...
4.Sheer Total Enjoyment...
5.Really Hardwork...
6.New and Unique Experiences...
7.Growing as an Individual....
8.New Friends
9.A Great fun filled,happy and ever Interesting Life as always...
10.The Truth...

It just had everything...

Best of all... Or as sane people would say unfortunately as always I had to top it of with an Accident.... :)

I finally getting a break and I off for 10 days....

Alvida 2006... You have given me a lot of new experiences...

See you in 2007...HOPEFULLY WITH A WHOLE HOST OF NEW EXPERIENCES WAITING FOR ME SOMEWHERE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.....

Gandhigiri V.S. Phatshala

The war has been on for sometime know, who will go to the Oscars as India's entry. Ultimately it was Rang De Basanti which will represent India, but Lage Raho Munna Bhai will contest the Oscars Independantly.

But the question is not who goes to the Oscars or who wins. The questions should be much broader.

Firstly, why such a hype over the Oscars, it is hollywood's way of recognizing it's finest and not Indian film industry's (or for the initiated Bollowood or Kollywood or Lollywood etc.. what ever you want to call it). Our film industry is so diverse that and so regional that it is very unlikely that an American is going to appreciate the subtleties of such movies. For him, Rang de basanti my be like any other action movie and Lage Raho may not make any sense to him at all. So I don't think it should really matter to us who goes to the Oscars. What we should bother about is our National awards and our award shows which although they are full of glitz and glamour they still represent the best we have to offer.

Secondly and more important, whose legacy is true. The one who got us independence through Ahimsa or those who split their blood and split others blood for the freedom of their motherland. Who's legacy is true. When we think about it, the honest answar is both. Let's not say, one was better than the other, because both were vital to where we are today. But, whose path is best followed today......

At once we will all say Gandhi's non violence no doubt, but let's look at reality again, look at the world around us. We don't follow his ways, we are in an eye for and eye world and that's how most of us live. But there are things in his ways that we could follow, maybe, just maybe we all could put down our weapons and be civilized, but will the terrorists pay heed to such action. They will call it inaction and terrorize us all the more. We are not in that era anymore, but even in that era, the battles were not won by non violence alone. In every struggle there is always a good dose of violence mixed in with the nonviolence. So maybe there is no clear winner. We all know we should all stand up for the truth and justice, but the way we do it is up to the individual.

Then again, maybe instead of looking at such issues on such a large scale, maybe we should look at it at our level, that is inside each and everyone of us. Tomorrow when you go to the office and you find the colleague whom you hate standing in front of you, what to you do, frown and walk away, or give him a sweet smile and say Good Morning from the bottom of your heart. Maybe that would be the first step to reconciliation. Out smiles are the best weapons we have in todays corporate world. I have always believed and still believe that one genuine smile will always evoke another and this is the best way to live.

I know this article is quite broken and does not reach a result. But that is because, there is no answer. How must one react, with flowers and truth(or love) or with guns and truth(or insults).
It's the decision of the individual.

Rahul........

The Poor and I... And maybe You.. (You Decide)

So I was going to work the other day, Was just like any other day. On my way to work and was stuck at a signal with the sun blazing down, when a couple of little kids came up to my bike. On was selling vehicle wipes and the other was begging. I was planning to pick a cloth for my bike anyway, so I decided to buy it from that little kid. Once I did that girl came up to me and started begging, pleading saying how hungry she was, but as usual the way most of us normally shoo them away I did too, she gave me a hurt and angry look but I didn't give it a second thought, the signal changed and I was on my way, I have not seen her since. But that got me thinking. Why is it that we are all so cynical when it comes to beggars on our roads, especially the children and the old. Why do we always think that the money is anyway going to some guy who has put them on the roads. We've also got to realize what would happen to them if we didn't help. Because one way or the other, they are begging to save their lives. There is in every religion and in each of our faiths the duty to help those less fortunate than us. But how many of us actually do it?? This little incident got me thinking of the way I've been and the way I've let others influence my thoughts in such things. I have been so fortunate to be born into a well off family that I have never had to feel such abject poverty and am sure anyone who is reading this has not faced it either. We may not be millionaires, but to those people on the roads we may as well be.

A couple of days later was at a coffee shop and when I left, there was a similar scene in front of me again. And again at first, I did not even react. But then this thought popped into my head and I turned to my friend who was next to me and asked her to give the lady some money.

The Point is this, If ever you feel that you can help someone so desperate and somewhere in your heart something tells you to do it. Please do it. I hope I will they next time my heart twitches even the slightest for someone so poor.

Rahul....

Profile Photo

The Life and Times of ME....

So many Months....
So Many Drafts...
Been a long time since i put something up on this page...


At times I think of my Life and find it to be the strangest ride in the world. I'm sure everyone feels this way...I have always thought of myself as different and have always thought there is something in me that no one else has.. and it times I may have felt down and out feeling that I am good for nothing.. We all have experienced such moments in our lives. Times where we feel we are unbeatable and times when we feel the world is all set to drive a dagger right through our throats....

Today I work for one of the largest conglomerates in the world at one of the lowest positions in the company for a Engineer but at the same time am being recognized and appreciated for my work.. As a Software Engineer my Job entitles writing code and delivering defect free services to the customer and more so in maintenance projects where the focus is totally on what the customer wants and not what he needs. Anyway in such an organization where the only focus is the basic work and with the work force of my company alone at 80,000, and my office at 200 it is a nice feeling you get when your colleagues many years your senior treats you as a peer. The time when some one asks you to take the initiative or applauds you for the same or you are treated like a leader are times you feel that you are unstoppable. This is when you feel that you can do anything... And then you think back 2 years... My only aim at the time and to a certain extent still is today is to do my Master in Business Administration.. From the time I was doing my final years of college all I wanted to do was become a manager.Two years on and 6 exams and 2 interviews later, I am still waiting for that elusive seat. Maybe it is my ego, but I feel I deserve to be there and do my MBA at the best with the best. But my problem with Numbers has always left me one step behind the competition. Mathematically average and Analytically string is how I would describe myself, but today's world demands that one be equally strong in both. Language has never been a major problem for me so I is not pertinent to bring that up here. But, it is this, this inability to crack the exam despite my knowing that I can is what brings me down. So today I at that strange place where at one side I feel excited at the path my career is taking in the software industry with the fear that it's size will allow me to grow only so much and on the other hand is my wish to get that degree in management.


And then there are my passions, I love this place.. Time and Mind permits and I am here. I love to write and that is my long long long passion and love....I have always been an avid writer. Although my novel has not made much progress over the years, it is my short articles and my need to same something about anything with the chance that it may be read by millions that keeps bringing me back to my blog. Over the years I have thought and rethought about becoming a journalist but have dropped the idea so many times that I have now decided that it is best left as a passion and a hobby along with things like sketching and the rest.

And finally something that I will go back to eventually, long life permit is teaching. I have always felt I would love to teach. Become a lecturer and share whatever little I know with others.It is something I feel very passionate about but I don't thing it can be a career. So may be someday I will go back to it. Right now I am young.. Too Young to just teach....

Then is the most Important part of my life and that is my family.. My Mom and Dad two of the most loving people who are some of the best doctors I know, my girl who will make a great manager some day and my friends who are my constant support and sometimes guides. They all, always make me feel like a winner and that is what I am...

No matter what I do in my Career. I will be happy. As an Engineer or a Manager or a Journalist or A Blogger or A Teacher or maybe even a Chef...They are all a part of me and although I don't know what I want to do I know I am doing all of this every day even today. So why get myself down wondering where my life is headed. I know all will work of for the best because I know It will.


P.S : This Article is all from my Heart. When I started Off I was maybe A little down, but now when I have finished I am feeling Really optimistic and wonderful This is the power of speaking your mind(or is it your heart).This is me, Rahul Saying thank you If you had the patience to read the whole thing, I know I might not have. Bye Bye... :-)

Rahul Murali Venkataraman.

Condolances

I'd like to salute the Mumbai spirit for recovering so soon from
the Terror Attack yesterday
but, please spare a thought for those who lost their lives not only in Mumbai but also in Srinagar.

Most of us seem to have an attitude which seems to say that terrorist attacks happen everyday in Srinagar so why bother. Come on, it's also a part of India.. I do concede that the attack was more severe in Mumbai.. Put please let us not push the other attack to the background..

We all have hectic lives and all we do is say Tich.. Tich.. and move on with life.. Take a moment and just think of those who lost their lives today...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Bump and A Ditch

Can you picture this scene...

You are driving down a straight road and all of a sudden out of nowhere there is a bump on the road that tosses you up a foot in the air, or you are having a pleasant drive and all of a sudden your vehicle goes into a pothole.

If you know this feeling you live somewhere in India... Read on if you don't and you may figure out how it its to ride a bike or drive a car in this country... I'm not even talking about the extreme cases like Bangalore... I'm talking about my home town of Chennai...

It's 8.30 am , and as usual I'm all set for my expedition to work.. A bag on my back, iPod in my ears, Access card in my pocket and 17 km of travel ahead of me.. It is actually such a pleasant ride if there isn't much traffic(Which hardly ever happens)... Riding down this road at around 60kmph, usually not an issue, suddenly I find a traffic jam... And would you believe it, all because, some one from some municipal agency dug up the road and left a ditch right across it. All because of this little ditch.. there is a traffic jam that ruins your day.. Even better is the Poonamalle High Road.. It's a brilliant road, considering it's a National Highway that happens to run through the city it better be, some genius engineer thought that a rubber tar mixture that they use abroad would work in India, all it has resulted in is a roller coaster ride that you can leave your footprints in if you stay there too long, Seriously, ask any Chennaite and you will get one reply, We have fantastic roads, but, they are full of bumps or potholes..

Ever wondered for a second, if our roads with no further change in the size or the quality of the tar was deviod of potholes and bumps how much relief there would be in the traffic situation of the city...

A Bump and A Ditch.. Two small miscreants who can bring the entire working community in the city to a standstill...

:-D..... I've vented my steam and now I expect everyone who reads this blog to do the same in the comments or atleast in your own blogs........


Rahul..

Reservation/Affirmative Action/Social Inequality

Before I write this article, a small STATUTORY WARNING! I feel very deeply about this issue and I am very biased. These are my views alone and most of them arise from the fact that it will seriously affect me and many people like me, but the reason I am writing this article is to get my thoughts out there and make myself heard.

Ground Realities :

* We are a Cast based society, no matter what our Constitution says. People are still discriminated against in many walks of life.

* Many people of the higher casts treat the lower casts as paraiahs and they believe that their children should get married only within their own community.

* Many people who belong to lower casts tend to have an intense inferiority complex and always tend to draw on atrocities committed by the upper casts. Many of them despite their achievements feel held back by these deep rooted insecurity.

* Cast based reservation for the SC/ST has existed for the past 50 years in the entire country for the upliftment of those tribes and it is still considered a necessity. Many southern states have implemented further reservation polices in the state run institutions to uplift the other backward casts and this too has existed for quite some time now.

Reservation :

Has discrimination in current day India turned on it’s head? Are we looking at a situation where in the future, maybe 20-30 years later we will land up saying that there is too much discrimination against the forward castes they have to be given an equal opportunity? It’s quite possible. People who are forward cast are not necessarily people who have cars and homes. There are people in the forward cast who may be very poor and struggling as well. And by the same token there are people in the lower casts who have more money than most Indians can imagine. Where is the justification for such a policy on reservation at higher centers of learning. NDTV recently conducted an all-India poll on weather the country would want reservation or not and they felt they had found astounding results with 54% of the people in their survey saying that they would support it. Looking a little deeper we find that around 75% of the OBCs and SC/ST wanted it and 43% of people from the general category supported it. Our logic in such a situation would tell us that no sane person is going to say no if he gets his education handed to him on a platter. If I could I would like to pose this very question in a slightly different manner. This question should be posed to the people who the currently proposed reservation is expected to benefit. Would you prefer the reservation in the current form or would you prefer a reservation/scholarship system based on the annual income of the family? And I am sure you will find a not so surprising answer. The poor and destitute OBC,BC and SC/ST will support this proposal and the well to do may not. There are people within the backward communities who feel that this type of reservation may not be the best way forward. This formula, the very controversial Economic Status formula is in my opinion the best option.

There are many dalits who are well educated who feel their children shouldn’t avail of this liberty as they have already. This is another proposed option where the next generation of the backward classes is prevented form taking reservation. In this way the percentage of students availing reservation, conceptually should reduce steadily.

Many people have been appealing for the government to consider improving education at the lower levels instead of doing it at the higher levels, because many of these students who come to these schools of higher learning struggle not only to communicate but also to understand as the medium of education is always English. But the current proposal of reservation will not be rolled back and that is quite clear from Arjun Singh’s comments. His interview with Karan Thapar is below and that will give you a lot of insights into the man and his ideas.

If nothing works and all the students protests are in vain, the government can at the very least open up the seats that are not filled by the SC/ST and OBC students for the General Category so that the discrimination against them for being born into a community is reduced.

Before you go any further, just take a minute think the of Police Brutality and Government of India’s heartless attitude toward the peacefully protesting medical students. We all want justice in this matter and it does not seem forthcoming. So many students have passed out and so many are continuing on their hunger strike and there is no response form the government.

What ever the outcome of this protest and whatever the decision of this government. This sequence of events has shaped a generation and scared our belief in the changing face of Indian politics. The politicians still play vote bank politics and they don’t seem to have any concern for the people of the country.

With this I give you our Human Resources Minister.


Karan Thappar Interviews Arjun Singh on ‘The Devil’s Advocate on CNN-IBN’

Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to the Devil's Advocate. As the debate over the reservations for the OBCs divides the country, we ask - What are the government's real intentions? That is the critical questions that I shall put today in an exclusive interview to the Minister for Human Resource Development Arjun Singh.
Most of the people would accept that steps are necessary to help the OBCs gain greater access to higher education. The real question is - Why do you believe that reservations is the best way of doing this?
Arjun Singh: I wouldn't like to say much more on this because these are decisions that are taken not by individuals alone. And in this case, the entire Parliament of this country - almost with rare anonymity - has decided to take this decision.
Karan Thapar: Except that Parliament is not infallible. In the Emergency, when it amended the Constitution, it was clearly wrong, it had to reverse its own amendments. So, the question arises - Why does Parliament believe that the reservation is the right way of helping the OBCs?
Arjun Singh: Nobody is infallible. But Parliament is Supreme and atleast I, as a Member of Parliament, cannot but accept the supremacy of Parliament.
Karan Thapar: No doubt Parliament is supreme, but the constitutional amendment that gives you your authorities actually unenabling amendment, it is not a compulsory requirement. Secondly, the language of the amendment does not talk about reservations, the language talks about any provision by law for advancement of socially and educationally backward classes. So, you could have chosen anything other than reservations, why reservations?
Arjun Singh: Because as I said, that was the ‘will and desire of the Parliament’.
Karan Thapar: Do you personally also, as Minister of Human Resource Development , believe that reservations is the right and proper way to help the OBCs?
Arjun Singh: Certainly, that is one of the most important ways to do it.
Karan Thapar: The right way?
Arjun Singh: Also the right way.
Karan Thapar: In which case, lets ask a few basic questions; we are talking about the reservations for the OBCs in particular. Do you know what percentage of the Indian population is OBC? Mandal puts it at 52 per cent, the National Sample Survey Organisation at 32 per cent, the National Family and Health Survey at 29.8 per cent, which is the correct figure?
Arjun Singh: I think that should be decided by people who are more knowledgeable. But the point is that the OBCs form a fairly sizeable percentage of our population.
Karan Thapar: No doubt, but the reason why it is important to know 'what percentage' they form is that if you are going to have reservations for them, then you must know what percentage of the population they are, otherwise you don't know whether they are already adequately catered in higher educational institutions or not.
Arjun Singh: That is obvious - they are not.
Karan Thapar: Why is it obvious?
Arjun Singh: Obvious because it is something which we all see.
Karan Thapar: Except for the fact that the NSSO, which is a government appointed body, has actually in its research in 1999 - which is the most latest research shown - that 23.5 per cent of all university seats are already with the OBCs. And that is just 8.5 per cent less than what the NSSO believes is the OBC share of the population. So, for a difference of 8 per cent, would reservations be the right way of making up the difference?
Arjun Singh: I wouldn't like to go behind all this because, as I said, Parliament has taken a view and it has taken a decision, I am a servant of Parliament and I will only implement.
Karan Thapar: Absolutely, Parliament has taken a view, I grant it. But what people question is the simple fact - Is there a need for reservations? If you don't know what percentage of the country is OBC, and if furthermore, the NSSO is correct in pointing out that already 23.5 per cent of the college seats are with the OBC, then you don't have a case in terms of need.
Arjun Singh: College seats, I don't know.
Karan Thapar: According to the NSSO - which is a government appointed body - 23.5 per cent of the college seats are already with the OBCs.
Arjun Singh: What do you mean by college seats?
Karan Thapar: University seats, seats of higher education.
Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know I have not come across that far.
Karan Thapar: So, when critics say to you that you don't have a case for reservation in terms of need, what do you say to them?
Arjun Singh: I have said what I had to say and the point is that that is not an issue for us to now debate.
Karan Thapar: You mean the chapter is now closed?
Arjun Singh: The decision has been taken.
Karan Thapar: Regardless of whether there is a need or not, the decision is taken and it is a closed chapter.
Arjun Singh: So far as I can see, it is a closed chapter and that is why I have to implement what all Parliament has said.
Karan Thapar: Minister, it is not just in terms of 'need' that your critics question the decision to have reservation for OBCs in higher education. More importantly, they question whether reservations themselves are efficacious and can work.
For example, a study done by the IITs themselves shows that 50 per cent of the IIT seats for the SCs and STs remain vacant and for the remaining 50 per cent, 25 per cent are the candidates, who even after six years fail to get their degrees. So, clearly, in their case, reservations are not working.
Arjun Singh: I would only say that on this issue, it would not be correct to go by all these figures that have been paraded.
Karan Thapar: You mean the IIT figures themselves could be dubious?
Arjun Singh: Not dubious, but I think that is not the last word.
Karan Thapar: All right, maybe the IIT may not be the last word, let me then quote to you the report of the Parliamentary Committee on the welfare for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes - that is a Parliamentary body.
It says that looking at the Delhi University, between 1995 and 2000, just half the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Castes level and just one-third of the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Tribes level were filled. All the others went empty, unfilled. So, again, even in Delhi University, reservations are not working.
Arjun Singh: If they are not working, it does not mean that for that reason we don't need them. There must be some other reason why they are not working and that can be certainly probed and examined. But to say that for this reason, 'no reservations need to be done' is not correct.
Karan Thapar: Fifty years after the reservations were made, statistics show, according to The Hindustan Times, that overall in India, only 16 per cent of the places in higher education are occupied by SCs and STs. The quota is 22.5 per cent, which means that only two-thirds of the quota is occupied. One third is going waste, it is being denied to other people.
Arjun Singh: As I said, the kind of figures that have been brought out, in my perception, do not reflect the realities. Realities are something much more and of course, there is an element of prejudice also.
Karan Thapar: But these are figures that come from a Parliamentary Committee. It can't be prejudiced; they are your own colleagues.
Arjun Singh: Parliamentary Committee has given the figures, but as to why this has not happened, that is a different matter.
Karan Thapar: I put it to you that you don't have a case for reservations in terms of need, you don't have a case for reservations in terms of their efficacy, why then, are you insisting on extending them to the OBCs?
Arjun Singh:I don't want to use that word, but I think that your argument is basically fallicious.
Karan Thapar: But it is based on all the facts available in the public domain.
Arjun Singh: Those are facts that need to be gone into with more care. What lies behind those facts, why this has not happened, that is also a fact.
Karan Thapar: Let’s approach the issue of reservations differently in that case. Reservations mean that a lesser-qualified candidate gets preference over a more qualified candidate, solely because in this case, he or she happens to be an OBC. In other words, the upper castes are being penalised for being upper caste.
Arjun Singh:Nobody is being penalised and that is a factor that we are trying to address. I think that the prime Minister will be talking to all the political parties and will be putting forward a formula, which will see that nobody is being penalised.
Karan Thapar: I want very much to talk about that formula, but before we come to talk about how you are going to address concerns, let me point one other corollary - Reservations also gives preference and favour to caste over merit. Is that acceptable in a modern society?
Arjun Singh:I don't think the perceptions of modern society fit India entirely.
Karan Thapar: You mean India is not a modern society and therefore can't claim to be treated as one?
Arjun Singh: It is emerging as a modern society, but the parameters of a modern society do not apply to large sections of the people in this country.
Karan Thapar: Let me quote to you Jawaharlal Nehru, a man whom you personally admire enormously. On the 27th of June 1961 wrote to the Chief Ministers of the day as follows: I dislike any kind of reservations. If we go in for any kind of reservations on communal and caste basis, we will swamp the bright and able people and remain second rate or third rate. The moment we encourage the second rate, we are lost. And then he adds pointedly: This way lies not only folly, but also disaster. What do you say to Jawaharlal Nehru today?
Arjun Singh: Jawaharlal Nehru was a great man in his own right and not only me, but everyone in India accept his view.
Karan Thapar: But you are just about to ignore his advice.
Arjun Singh: No. Are you aware that it was Jawaharlal Nehru who introduced the first ammendment regarding OBCs?
Karan Thapar: Yes, and I am talking about Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961, when clearly he had changed his position, he said - I dislike any kind of reservations.
Arjun Singh: I don't think one could take Panditji's position at any point of time and then overlook what he had himself initiated.
Karan Thapar: Am I then to understand that regardless of the case that is made against reservations in terms of need, regardless of the case that has been made against reservations in terms of efficacy, regardless of the case that has been made against reservations in terms of Jawaharlal Nehru, you remain committed to extending reservations to the OBCs.
Arjun Singh: I said because that is the will of Parliament. And I think that common decisions that are taken by Parliament have to be honoured.
Karan Thapar: Let me ask you a few basic questions - If reservations are going to happen for the OBCs in higher education, what percentage of reservations are we talking about?
Arjun Singh: No, that I can't say because that has yet to be decided.
Karan Thapar: Could it be less than 27 per cent?
Arjun Singh:I can't say anything on that, I have told you in the very beginning that at this point of time it is not possible for me to.
Karan Thapar: Quite right. If you can't say, then that also means that the figure has not been decided.
Arjun Singh: The figure will be decided, it has not been decided yet.
Karan Thapar: The figure has not been decided. So, therefore the figure could be 27, but it could be less than 27 too?
Arjun Singh:I don't want to speculate on that because as I said, that is decision, which will be taken by Parliament.
Karan Thapar: Whatever the figure, one thing is certain that when the reservations for OBCs happen, the total quantum of reservations will go up in percentage terms. Will you compensate by increasing the total number of seats in colleges, universities, IITs and IIMs, so that the other students don't feel deprived.
Arjun Singh: That is one of the suggestions that has been made and is being seriously considered.
Karan Thapar: Does it find favour with you as a Minister for Human Resource Development?
Arjun Singh:Whatever suggestion comes, we are committed to examine it.
Karan Thapar: You may be committed to examine it, but do you as minister believe that that is the right way forward?
Arjun Singh: That could be one of the ways, but not the only way.
Karan Thapar: What are the other ways?
Arjun Singh: I don't know. That is for the Prime Minister and the other ministers to decide.
Karan Thapar: One way forward would be to increase the total number of seats.
Arjun Singh:Yes, definitely.
Karan Thapar: But the problem is that as the Times of India points out, we are talking of an increase of perhaps as much as 53 per cent. Given the constraints you have in terms of faculty and infrastructure, won't that order of increase dilute the quality of education?
Arjun Singh: I would only make one humble request, don't go by The Times of India and The Hindustan Times about faculty and infrastructure, because they are trying to focus on an argument which they have made.
Karan Thapar: All right, I will not go by The Times of India, let me instead go by Sukhdev Thorat, the Chairman of the UGC. He points out that today, at higher education levels - that is all universities, IITs and IIMs - there is already a 1.2 lakh vacancy number. 40 per cent of these are in teaching staff, which the IIT faculty themselves point out that they have shortages of up to 30 per cent. Given those two constraint, can you increase the number of seats?
Arjun Singh:That can be addressed and that shortage can be taken care of.
Karan Thapar: But it can't be taken care of in one swoop, it will take several years to do it.
Arjun Singh:I don't know whether it can be taken care of straightway or in stages, that is a subject to be decided.
Karan Thapar: Let me ask you bluntly, if you were to agree to compensate for reservations for OBCs by increasing the number of seats, would that increase happen at one go, or would it be staggered over a period of two-three or four year old process.
Arjun Singh: As I told you, it is an issue that I cannot comment upon at this moment because that is under examination.
Karan Thapar: So, it may happen in one go and it may happen in a series of several years.
Arjun Singh:I can't speculate on that because that is not something on which I am free to speak on today.
Karan Thapar: Will the reservation for OBCs, whatever figure your Committee decides on, will it happen in one go, or will it slowly be introduced in stages?
Arjun Singh:That also I cannot say because as I told you, all these issues are under consideration.
Karan Thapar: Which means that everything that is of germane interest to the people concerned is at the moment 'under consideration' and the government is not able to give any satisfaction to the students who are deeply concerned.
Arjun Singh:That is not the point. The government knows what to do and it will do what is needed.
Karan Thapar: But if the government knows what to do, why won't you tell me what the government wants to do?
Arjun Singh:Because unless the decision is taken, I cannot tell you.
Karan Thapar: But you can share with me as the Minister what you are thinking.
Arjun Singh: No.
Karan Thapar: So, in other words, we are manitaining a veil of secrecy and the very people who are concerned...
Arjun Singh:I am not maintaining a veil of secrecy. I am only telling you what propriety allows me to tell you.
Karan Thapar: Propriety does not allow you to share with the people who are protesting on the streets what you are thinking?
Arjun Singh:I don't think that that can happen all the time.
Karan Thapar: But there are people who feel that their lives and their futures are at stake and they are undertaking fasts until death.
Arjun Singh:It is being hyped up, I don't want to go into that.
Karan Thapar: Do you have no sympathy for them?
Arjun Singh: I have every sympathy.
Karan Thapar: But you say it is being hyped up.
Arjun Singh:Yes, it is hyped up.
Karan Thapar: So, then, what sympathy are you showing?
Arjun Singh: I am showing sympathy to them and not to those who are hyping it up.
Karan Thapar:The CPM says that if the reservations for the OBCs are to happen, then what is called the creamy layer should be excluded. How do you react to that?
Arjun Singh: The creamy layer issue has already been taken care of by the Supreme Court.
Karan Thapar: That was vis -a-vis jobs in employment, what about at the university level, should they be excluded there as well because you are suggesting that the answer is yes?
Arjun Singh: That could be possible.
Karan Thapar: It could be possible that the creamy layer is excluded from reservations for OBCs in higher education?
Arjun Singh: It could be, but I don't know whether it would happen actually.
Karan Thapar: Many people say that if reservations for OBCs in higher education happen, then the children of beneficiaries should not be entitled to claim the same benefit.
Arjun Singh: Why?
Karan Thapar: So that there is always a shrinking base and the rate doesn't proliferate.
Arjun Singh: I don't think that that is a very logical way of looking at it.
Karan Thapar: Is that not acceptable to you?
Arjun Singh: No, it is not the logical way of looking at it.
Karan Thapar: So, with the possible exception of the creamy layer exclusion, reservation for OBCs in higher education will be almost identical to the existing reservations for SC/STs?
Arjun Singh: Except for the percentage.
Karan Thapar: Except for the percentage.
Arjun Singh: Yes.
Karan Thapar: So, in every other way, they will be identical.
Arjun Singh: Yes, in every other way.
Karan Thapar: Mr Arjun Singh, on the 5th of April when you first indicated that the Government was considering reservation for OBCs in higher education, was the Prime Minister in agreement that this was the right thing to do?
Arjun Singh:I think, there is a very motivated propaganda is on this issue. Providing reservation to OBCs was in the public domain right from December 2005, when Parliament passed the enabling resolution.
Karan Thapar: Quite true. But had the Prime Minister specifically agreed on or before 5th of April to the idea?
Arjun Singh: Well, I am telling you it was already there. A whole Act was made, the Constitution was amended and the Prime Minister was fully aware of what this is going to mean. Actually, he had a meeting in which OBC leaders were called to convince them that this would give them the desired advantage. And they should, therefore, support this resolution. And at that meeting, he himself talked to them. Now, how do you say that he was unaware?
Karan Thapar: But were you at all aware that the Prime Minister might be in agreement with what was about to happen but might not wish it disclosed publicly at that point of time? Were you aware of that?
Arjun Singh: It was already there in public domain, that's what I am trying to tell you.
Karan Thapar: Then answer this to me. Why are members of the PMO telling journalists that Prime Minister was not consulted and that you jumped the gun?
Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know which member of the PMO you are talking about unless you name him.
Karan Thapar: Is there a conspiracy to make you the fall guy?
Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know whether there is one or there is not. But fall guys are not made in this way. And I am only doing what was manifestly clear to every one, was cleared by the party and the Prime Minister. There is no question of any personal agenda.
Karan Thapar: They say that, in fact, you brought up this issue to embarrass the Prime Minister.
Arjun Singh: Why should I embarrass the Prime Minister? I am with him. I am part of his team.
Karan Thapar: They say that you have a lingering, forgive the word, jealousy because Sonia Gandhi chose Manmohan Singh and not you as Prime Minister.
Arjun Singh: Well, that is canard which is below contempt. Only that person can say this who doesn't know what kind of respect and regard I hold for Sonia Gandhi. She is the leader. Whatever she decides is acceptable to me.
Karan Thapar: They also say that you brought this issue up because you felt that the Prime Minister had been eating into your portfolio. Part of it had gone to Renuka Chaudhury and, in fact, your new deputy minister Purandar Sridevi had taken over certain parts. This was your way of getting back.
Arjun Singh: No one was taking over any part. This is a decision which the Prime Minister makes as to who has to have what portfolio. And he asked Mrs Renuka Devi to take it and he cleared it with me first.
Karan Thapar: So there is no animus on your part?
Arjun Singh: Absolutely not.
Karan Thapar: They say that you did this because you resented the Prime Minister's popular image in the country, that this was your way of embroiling him in a dispute that will make him look not like a modern reformer but like an old-fashioned, family-hold politician instead.
Arjun Singh: Well, the Tammany Hall political stage is over> He is our Prime Minister and every decision he has taken is in the full consent with his Cabinet and I don't think there can be any blame on him.
Karan Thapar: One, then, last quick question. Do you think this is an issue, which is a sensitive issue, where everyone knew there would have been passions and emotions that would have aroused has been handled as effectively as it should have been?
Arjun Singh: Well, I have not done anything on it. I have not sort of what you call jumped the gun. If this is an issue, which is sensitive, everyone has to treat it that way.
Karan Thapar: But your conscience as HRD Minister is clear?
Arjun Singh: Absolutely clear.
Karan Thapar: There is nothing that you could have done to make it easier for the young students?
Arjun Singh: Well, I am prepared to do anything that can be done. And it is being attempted.
Karan Thapar: For seven weeks, they have been protesting in the hot sun. No minister has gone there to appease them, to alley their concerns, to express sympathy for them. Have politicians let the young people of India down?
Arjun Singh: Well, I myself called them. They all came in this very room.
Karan Thapar: But you are the only one.
Arjun Singh: You are accusing me only. No one else is being accused.
Karan Thapar: What about the Government of India? Has the Government of India failed to respond adequately?
Arjun Singh: From the Government of India also, the Defence Minister met them.
Karan Thapar: Only recently.
Arjun Singh: That is something because everyone was busy with the elections.
Karan Thapar: For seven weeks no one met them.
Arjun Singh: No, but we are very concerned. Certainly, all of us resent the kind of force that was used. I condemned it the very first day it happened.
Karan Thapar: All right, Mr Arjun Singh. We have reached the end of this interview. Thank you very much for speaking on the subject.

A nation who’s emotions are boiling over, I end this article with a quote which goes to show how insane reservations are….

Unconfirmed Source(Aziz Premji) :

I think we should have job reservations in all the fields. I completely support the PM and all the politicians for promoting this. Let's start the reservation with our cricket team. We should have 10 percent reservation for muslims. 30 percent for OBC, SC/ST like that. Cricket rules should be modified accordingly. The boundary circle should be reduced for an SC/ST player. The four hit by an OBC player should be considered as a six and a six hit by a OBC player should be counted as 8 runs. An OBC player scoring 60 runs should be declared as a century. We should influence ICC and make rules so that the pace bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar should not bowl fast balls to our OBC player. Bowlers should bowl maximum speed of 80 kkilometer per hour to an OBC player. Any delivery above this speed should be made illegal. Also we should have reservation in Olympics. In the 100 meters race, an OBC player should be given a gold medal if he runs 80 meters.


Rahul Murali V

Courtesy : CNN IBN and A Forward from a friend

Where did you go???

Well that's the end of India's winning streak while chasing. They lost the match by just one run. Kudos to the West Indies, not a single person gave them a chance of winning even a single game against the mighty Indians... Lest we forget the are the current ICC Champions trophy winners. Well it just goes to say how unpredictable this game is... Anyone can win a One day Match.. But!!! This blog is not about the outcome of the game persay... It is about a really interesting incident that took place during the West Indian innings...

Irfan Pathan is running and bowls to Ramnaresh Sarwan who taps the ball into the onside and goes for a run, the ball is beautifully fielded by the Indian youngster Suresh Raina who proceeds to throw the stumps down. Sarwan had his nerves about him and tried to get back to his crease.. Well it's a close run thing... All the players including Virender Sehwag who was standing at square leg turn to Square Leg umpire to appeal...Only to find to their surprise that he is not there... The Umpire Billy Doctrove was instead at the far end the ground literally facing the umpire at the stumps... Our West Indian umpire had gone down to the boundary ropes at the end of the previous over to say something to the groundsmen and the umpire at the bowlers end Arshad Rauf called for the next over to start without noticing that his partner was not on the field... Well, even though Sarwan was in as shown by T.V. replays, Rauf called the ball dead and asked the bowlers to restart the over...Sarwan was in so there was too much controversy over the ball being called dead, but what if he was out of his crease, ans the ball had been declared dead, would the Indian team have agreed to the decision...

But the rest of the over was very interesting to see Sehwag standing in his position at square leg shoulder to shoulder with Doctrove to macke sure he does not run away again somewhere I guess.. And in the next over when Doctrove was at the bowler's end and the batsmen pinced a leg bye, he as so confused by the incidents that had just transpired that he lifted one leg as a signal and then he lifted his other leg... When an appeal was made against the batsman he still looked a little confused... But he got his wits about himself soon enough and business as usual resumed....

This must be one of the funniest moments in cricket in the recent past after Sreesanth dancing efforts on taking his first wicket in a one day game....

Cheers,
Rahul....

Calypso MAGIC...

Caribbean Tussle

Rahul Dravid and his men have been in the Caribbean for a week now. They are trying to get an old monkey off their back. They need to defeat the West Indies convincngly and break the record of not having won a series in the Caribbean for the last 30 years. Looking at the West Indies of today, the Indians definately start as favorites, but they will not be meek pushovers like the Zimbabweans or the Bangladeshis.

The last time the Indians were there, under Saurav Ganguly's captaincy they were a team on the rise, but they did not manage to win the series. They lost the 3 test and levelled the series. The Indian team is 3 in the world in both forms of the game and the West Indian team too seems to be confident after their demolition of the Zimbabwe team recently.

With "Brian Charles Lara" at the helm no one knows what to expect from this stalwart. Can he inspire his boys to defeat the the mighty Indian team which has had quite a few shake ups in the recent past but still looks very strong with new stars like Dhoni (Now the Number 2 batsman in the world in ODIs), Suresh Raina and Sreesanth coming to the fore. I believe that the Indians will win the series hands down but in this game you never can say. The Caribbeans in their home environment with the tremendous crowd support may just spur them on to something miraculous and it will also be interesting to see how the young Indians do in hostile conditions.

There are a few worries in the Indian camp with injures to Ramesh Powar and S.Sreesanth but they should be strong enough to come out of it and be ready to take their place in the team in time for the 2-3 one dayer. Sachin Tendulkar has been the foucs of all the attention in the Indian media off late to see if he can recover in time to join the team for the Test matches and the World would be in for a special treat of seeing two of the world's greatest batsmen on the same stage maybe for the last time in test match cricket.

The test matches are still a while away and we hope sachin will be fit in time for the series, for no other reason other than it will be great to see that dual.

The Indians play their first one dayer later today on a pitch that is supposedly a green top. With the pace attack that the Indian currently boast of it should favour the Indian team. With a solid win over Jamaica the Indians should be really high on confidance.

A Second Chance

Ravi Shastri was recently quoted saying that the selectors should be ruthless in selection and old players should not be given another chance unless the current crop does really badly and there is no more backup for them. This would seem to imply that no matter what Ganguly or Zaheer or D.Mongia do in first class cricket, he feels they should not be given a second chance. I feel we should never forget some of these cricketers because they have match winning abilites and the door should never be completely shut on any of them. If the door has to be closed, let them close it themselves with mediocre performances.

Burnout

Player burnout seems to be a major issue for players these days. I feel there is a very simple solution to the entire issue. Most cricket boards contract 25-30 cricketers for the national team every year. Which means they feel they are good enough to represent the country, they should put in a rotation system in place where the best cricketers play maybe 3/4 of the time and the rest of the time they can be rotated with the second rung players. They could take 18 people on tour instead of 16 and implement the policy, this also gives you more injury cover. 18 would mean 3 bowlers, 3 batsmen and 1 wicketkeeper on stand-by. That is sufficent cover for all the players on the field. The schedule cannot get less exhausting and this is the best way forward. Like Kapil Dev said, they are professionals and if they feel they need a break let them take a break.


Rahul Murali Venkataraman
(Correspondent http://rahulblah.blogspot.com)

The State of Freebies...

So... the elections are over and there is a change of hands again... Will the TN gov. keep it's promises to give Rice at Rs.2/- a kilo... Is it possible? Can they give colour TVs to families under the poverty line....Even if they do... What is the point if they don't have the electricity....
The bold promises made by the DPA is going to be under serious scrutiny....

These are some of the key points in the Manifesto:

“Quality rice” at Rs. 2/- per kg through P S (rate at present Rs. 3.50)
Color television sets for homes without one
Free gas stoves to all poor women
Maternity allowance of Rs. 1,000/- per month for s x months for poor pregnant women
Members of self-help groups for women will rece ve Rs. 45/- per day as training
allowance once again
Eggs twice a week along with the nutritious noon meal for school students
Unemployment allowance of Rs. 150-300/- for unemployment youth
Generate employment opportunity to 3 lakh youth n the state
Self help groups for youth and free computer training to youth n rural areas
To take steps to set up IT Parks n Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai , Salem and
Thirunelveli
Introduce metro rail in Chennai and its suburbs
Upgrade airports at Madurai , Trichy, Coimbatore, Tuticorin and Salem
To waive all co-operative loans of farmers and extending free power to weavers n
addition to farmers
Assign 2 acres of land to poor landless families
To restore all concessions withdrawn from government employees
Institute a third Police Commission to redress grievances of the police force and
intents on implementing the recommendations of the s xth pay commission as and
when they are announced
To enact a legislation providing reservation for minorities in Tamilnadu
To urge the Centre to bring in a constitutional amendment for a separate reservation
for Muslims and Christians and repeal the anti -conversion law
Revive the Legislative Council
Reduce bus and rail fares h ked by the AIADMK regime
MGR film city will be re-established – outdoor shooting charges will be rolled back Kannagi statue will be back on the Marina


With the left already saying that if the center helps the state in distribution of these freebies it would have to do the same all around the country, the FM is going to have a tough time getting his house in order...

With the elections out of the way it gives rise to another issue...Reservations..
With nationwide protests underway from the professional students community the government should think twice or thrice before they implement it.

With the HRD minister saying he is not going to look into the matter again all hope for the youth lies with the Cabinet and the bill getting shot down in the parliament.....

This state and country are in for a seriously testing time.....
All the best to all of us....

"I guess we are responsible for anything that happens because we are the ones who have put these people in power..."

Rahul.....

Woah....... It's been quite some time

Well I've had some month so far... It's been insanely hectic... So well I finally did it I bought something with my money...A Cell Phone... I always wanted Muhahahah... Anyway...Just a blog to brag....
he he
cya
Rahul....

AND THE SHIT HITS THE CEILING....(SRM CHAOS)

Students of the SRM Engineering College on the outskirts of Chennai went on a rampage after reports that the college had lost its AICTE affiliation.

According to students, the Principal told them that instead of B Tech degrees they would get B Sc degrees.

Enraged by the news, students protested violently on the campus, smashing computers, windowpanes and even the principal's car.

The NDTV crew was also attacked by local goons and their cameras smashed and broken by the Kancheepuram district Superintendent A Amalraj. But after media pressure, the police have returned the tape.

Police inaction

The college authorities have done nothing to stop the hooliganism on campus. Even the police seemed unable to rein in goons from neighbouring villages.

In view of the situation going out of hand, all the students were asked to leave and the college has been shut down indefinitely.

Meanwhile NDTV has lodged a police complaint and a delegation of journalists met the Director General of police, Tamil Nadu who promised a fair investigation.

So this was the news item released by NDTV

I am an Alumnus of this college and here is some information form a current student who comes under demmed university.

all about aicte approval and UGC for deemed univs 2/28/2006 5:43
well guys lot of comosion go over here and there....let me just fill in with really imp facts or acts for deemed to be university colleges...1) every college in tamilnadu was affliated to anna university by the year 2002(the yr is imp)...2) aicte gives immd. approval to all govt university and their affliated colleges also get the thing sanctioned fast..later its fully approved...3) but over the time many of gr8 college who got the aicte approval(in 2002) (as they were under the anna university rule then ) are now given the deemed university status by UGC ....and always the aicte approval given to the college is only for a period of time hence it was there from 2k2 to 2k5 for all colleges .... 4) now this year 2k6 ...anna university gets automatiaclly the approval(govt college duh!)..hence so does the affliated colleges... but no more is the deemed univs under anna univ. hence we dont get the approval easy way.... we have to seperately apply like new inst. then there will be inspection auditing then approval will be given ..belive me guys govt process takes time....>>> but according to the rules formulated by UGC (nder whom aicte comes) ...deemed univs come under Direct supervision of UGC and MHRD like IITs and NITs do... so we dont require aicte approval... and this is clearly stated in the official webpages of aicte...>> taking into the above cond. our colleges took there on time (as its just not that imp)...but for foriegn colleges the application depends on the aicte approval status on college...there our college hits a brick wall... hence there is actually no need for aicte(as colleges like MIT ,cardiff,carneigmellon accept our status and the australian govt. too )..but there is a need(if ur applying for some colleges abroad... as for the CAT exam candidtates we will have to wait for Govt to give its verdict cause when SC told iims to follow AICTE list there was no deemed univs..but now we do...lets just hope for the best people...


Here is another current student......


After three years of oppression by the managment, the hostel students struck back with full force at the college....they blocked the highway for nearly two hours....broke all the glass panes of the hotel managment block....broke everything in royal cafe and royal inn....looted the supermarket....broke everything in the hi-tec block.....looted at least 70 computers from the comp.sci lab in the high-tech block.It all started when a news started circulating in the hostels that we are going to get B.Sc degrees instead of B.Tech coz the college was not recognized by the AICTE. The Sannasi and KRS guys got into a group and went to the Princi's house and demanded a clarification. They failed to get a satisfactory explanation, and by this time many more students who stayed in nearby rooms joined the group. Mob mentality took over and the rioting started. Our chairman came with 60 police personnel and the brought the situation under control quickly lathicharging the students. Some 30-40 students were detained in a marriage hall, but they were released the following morning and i don't think any FIR's were filed.The college tried desperately to prevent this whole episode from coming in the media and even broke the tapes and camera of the NDTV crew who came to cover the incident...but obviously such an incident cannot be supressed and SUN NEWS did a report on it. Though the looting and the destruction was regrettable, the fact is that the college would have severely punished anyone who would have taken part in the non-violent protest planned the following day morning.

Now here are my 2 cents worth...

SRM Engineering College had the potential to be one of the best in the State of Tamil Nadu but when the college received it's demmed university status it started it's slow decline.
The college for the past 3 years now has been more interested in raking in the moolah and not in the least bothered as to how it would affect the reputation of the college when it geva admission to over a 1000 students, of which almost a third in a single department. This was asking for trouble in itself. The problem is with the AICTE application. This has noting to do with the admissions given but it definately shows the laid back attitiude of the college when it comes to the students. This incident has portrayed the college in a very bad light. I feel bad to say that I am an alumnus of that college. I am after all a n Anna University student and that's the degree that I hold, but I feel bad for all the people who joined that college 3 years ago with the expecation of doing a degree in a college that had a reputation of being one best under the anna university banner.. If the entire situation now goes belly up, all they will have to show will be be B.Sc. degrees which are worth nothing at all because they are not recognised by the AICTE.. which means they cannot write any exams right now for their further studies.... The careers of over 4000 young people is on the line in the current scenario. If some plays with thier futures in this manner noting but what happened it SRM yesterday can be expected. What are they supposed to do... Sit on their hands and heels and let thier careers go down the drain.. My sincerest request to all parites involed in sorting out the acctreditation status to please get the house in order atlest for these 4000 students. The matter can be sorted out at a later date for the new joinees if there are any..

Here is wishing my best to all the current SRM Demmed Uniersity stuents, hoping that a suitable solution comes out for the mess you all are in...


Rahul...

Too Much News????

With a surfiet of news channels on televison today, I was just wondering when the bubble will burst. There arn't too many way to persent the same piece of news but they all seem to be trying. The next step they all seen to be taking is "EXPOSEs".. So times I wonder if the news channels arn't overstepping thier bounds with this kind of investigative journalism. Taking only the positives it is a really incredible way to get the truth out but sometimes it borders on entrapment. Some of their journalistic exploits are plastered all over their news channel and at times they ignore all other news, thinking only what they have exposed is important. Even when it comes to sports and bollywood insteat of reporting the news, most news channels seen to be interested in sensationalising it... Sometimes this goes a bit too far leaving a bad taste in the mouth. The funny and maybe ironic thing is that most of these news channels are run by fablous journalists in their own right and all they seem to be interested in is making the rating and making news themselves.

In my opinion the number of news channels on air today is the maximum that can be accomodated and a couple more come will see the bubble burst and may see a few of the smaller players shut shop and look for something a little more lucrative.

Rahul Murali

(An Aspiring Journalist)

Writing A Cricket Eulogy

With the Indian team for the first test against England being announced today, it looks like it's the end of the road for one of India's greatest captians. But is it too soon to write him a eulogy. He would want to fight back and try and stage a comeback. But with the chaiman of selectors making it clear that the team is looking toward the future, makes it almost immpossible for Saurav Ganguly to make it back into he team. So I'm writing a Eulogy although my heart feels it's a bit immmature.


Saurav Ganguly has always been measured against a different yardstick in Indian cricket.Maybe he was unfortunate to be born in the same generation as two all time greats in Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. He made his one day internation debut in 1992 where Sachin also played and unfortunately he was not ready and he failed.He was dropped from the team and at the time must have been considered another selection mistake. Four years hence at Lords the home of cricket Ganguly made his test debut against England. He was in brilliant touch and he made a spectacular century.That was the beginning of a wonderful carreer. He was to go on and become one of the most feared batsmen in the game. In 1999 in the world cup in England the astonishing innings he played against Sri Lanka at Taunton sealed his status as a great player.

In the year 2000 when the Match Fixing controversy dealt a knockout punch to International Cricket and had Indian Cricket at dead center, Ganguly was appointed Captian of India. Ganguly changed the way Indian Cricket looked and played, he brought in a type of aggression that was alien to Indians at the time. The team scaled all new heights, Youngsters got opportunites and grew into stars because Ganguly fought with selectors and made them persist with them. Players like Yuvraj, Kaif, Harbhajan all owe Sourav Ganguly a lot for where they are today. The five years Ganguly led India, the team reached the finals of the Champions Trophy twice, and were joint Champions once, reached a World Cup final, won the Natwest Trophy. Beat the world champions at home after being down 1-0 in the series, Levelled the series against them in their own backyard, beat Pakistan in Pakistan... These are no mean feats for an Indian team. He took Team India to a point where they were close to being considered the best in the world.

Rahul Dravid once called Ganguly -- God on the Off Side and that's exactly what he was... The ease with which he stroked the ball through the covers was breathtaking. The way he stepped down to the spinners and wached them for six was awe inspiring.

It is truly ironic that the team against whom he announced himself to the world is the same team against which he career might just have come to an end.

Saurav Ganguly the man will be remembered as one of India's greatest captians. Lest we forget he has over 10,000 runs in one day cricket and has the second highest number of centuries in the game. He averages over 40 in tests and has 12 centuries. He is a great player. And he should be treated as what he is a Great who has given a lot to the game.

SOURAV GANGULY BEING THE MAN THAT HE IS WILL NOT TAKE THE SELECTORS DECISION LYING DOWN AND IS BOUND TO FIGHT BACK. ALL THE BEST TO HIM.


Rahul Murali.

On a Personal Note....

STATUATORY WARNING: NOTHING REALLY INTERESTING HERE.. IT'S JUST SOME OF MY THOUGHTS AS TO WHY I BLOG....



Well... It's been a really long day today... Just thought I'd post one quick blog and hit the sack.... Over the last week I have posted quite a few blogs and I hope the trend continues. It has been really fun to just come here and share my thought with God knows who... It's been healing... I have always loved writing and want to someday in the future do something releated to journalism or just write short stories or whatever.. The fact is I love to write and until I find a larger outlet for my thoughts, this blog is going to be the bombarded with my musings and anguish and happiness and laughter and intellectuality. :-D I am a little crazy at times and at times my blog maybe wierd so beware those who read it you are warned.. Do read the topics as they are normally a good give away

No matter what this portal is mine alone and so I think as far as possible i will keep it forever active

Cheers

Rahul...

And That's another one day international victory for India...

Well..The Hutch Cup already won... It was time to put the icing on the cake and that's exactly what the Indian team did.......Fabulous performance by M.S.Dhoni... The ease with which he hit those sixes was mind boggling.. Y.Singh has shown some incredible maturity and the theam has become spectacular at chasing down targets...
It would really be delightful if they could just learn to defend the scores that they post. They actually have bowlers who are awsome when things are going their way.. They just need some people who will put their hands up in the bowling department when things are not going too well for the team.Irfan,Zaheer,Agarkar,R.P.Singh all bowl around the 130 kph and that is just not enough these days.... Except for R.P.Singh who is new to the team, the rest of these guys started their carrers bowling at 140 kph atleast. Agarkar and Zaheer were definately up there. We do have bowlers in India who can generate that pace... But unfortunately they are injured. Balaji and Nehra are two bowlers who can consistantly get up to that place.. But if they are not fit there is no place in the team for them. The Pakistan Under 19 team today decimated the Indian U-19 team is the finals but there was one stand out performance and that was P.Chawla he returned with figures of 4 wickets for 8 runs in 8 overs and the control that he showed was spectacular.With A.Kumble having at best a few years left in the tank this kid is a great prospect for Team India in the future. His batting was not half bad, he as left not out at the other end on 25. Here's hoping he does well and makes it to the team. World cricket could some quality leg spinners... It ain't Warne's exclusive club.. I Harbhajan Singh does not get fit in time for the England series it may not be a bad idea to give this youngster a run.. Although that said it may be a bit too early because he is just 17 years old. An Indian team filled with people who swing the ball. A team that's hunting for spinners. Who thoght we'd see this day. England are in India with 3 spinners 'caus they know it's gonna turn... India will always find some spinners somewhere but what they need is pace and one man who could provide it is the much hailed Munaf Patel.. He was called in once to test the Indian batsmen out against some serious pace. He ahs been given a opportunity to play in the BPXI against England. If he makes a mark, it would be a great idea for the selectors to give him a look in.... It would bring some tremendous variety to the Indian attack.

The whole world knows that I am an ardent Ganguly supporter... I still believe the man deserves a place in the 16 and I he plays or not is up to to Dravid and Chappell... Remember in test cricket he gives you another bowling option and he has become a very solid batsman.. He is no longer the flamboyant Ganguly of old but he can definately be relied upon to score some steady runs and brings some stability to the team. He is a much improved bowler and his Ranji figure prove that. Where do you put him? That's the big question.. He has offered to open the innings if it means he can stay in the team.. Well that's an option that Dravid and Chappell could consider. Or if Dravid wants to open himself thats fine too. Ghambir is not a touch on Ganguly and between the two of them Ganguly is better any day. This is an option... Sehwag and Dravid as 1 and 2 with Ganguly at 3 Sachin at 4 Laxman at 5 Yuvraj at 6 (if he is fit in time otherwise Kaif) Dhoni at 7 Pathan at 8 Kumble at 9 if Bhajji is fit then put him at 10 and at 11 have Sreesanth. This is my pick for the England series. This looks like an attack with variety and can offer Dravid a lot of options.. Yuvraj,Sachin,Sehwag,Ganguly can chip in with the ball if required...

I don't believe I'm saying this, but I don't think Ganguly should be considered for the One Day team's first 11 anymore for the simple reason that there's a lot of exuberence there that's doing really well... But again keep him in the 16... He's a valuable asset who can come in as cover if someone gets injured...

All in all this Indian team looks like it is heading in the right direction. All it needs is one more quality bowler and for it's current stock of cricketers not to get complacent and to continue performing... For that we need a bench that keeps pusing..If the under 19s can reach the finals of the world cup there is definately a talent pools there waitng to be tapped.. Remember Yuvraj, Kaif and Pathan have come up through the under 19s....

Congratulations to the Indian Teams both the seniors and the under19 for doing so well and here is hoping that the Indians decimate England at home and build a world beating side that may lift the 2007 world cup....


Rahul Murali.

(An avid cricket fan who just like the rest of you Indians out there is very very very opnionated...)

I came across this blog and thought it was fabulous.

Love of Cricket... go to the CNN-IBN site for details...
This guy is really articulate and is a newscaster who is a pleasure to listen to. This particular blog by him on Cricket is very frank.

Here is His Post.

I write this while watching the Lahore India-Pak one dayer like millions of other Indians. When you have cricket on air, "news" in the conventional sense seems boring, even irrelevant. Twenty years ago, I might have seen myself as just one of a handful of cricket nuts, someone who would line up hours before a test match at the Wankhede stadium just to catch a glimpse of my heroes. Today, it seems that the entire country is filled with cricket addicts. More importantly, cricket is no longer a seasonal sport. Switch on your television set, and there is a good chance that there is some international cricket match being played somewhere in the world.


This proliferation of the game has had its impact, not just on the way the game is played but also on the manner in which it is covered in the media. Sports, and cricket in particular, is no longer back page news. More often that not, an Indian victory will find itself on the front pages of the newspapers, with even the venerable Hindu (whose sports coverage remains the most comprehensive), now choosing to place cricket as a front page lead story. On television news channels the cricket deluge is even greater. More and more news channels are investing in cricket programmes, in cricket guests, in cricket trivia. Sports channels may cover the match "live", but news channels also want a slice of the action. Indeed, for many ex-cricketers, the news channels are now a bonus, a chance to make extra money and, in their own way, contribute to the game. Some like Ravi Shastri, Navjot Sidhu, and IBN's very own Krish Srikkanth have become "star" analysts, experts whose every word is latched onto. The current players are also much sought after, even if all that some of them have to offer is a rather banal soundbite after the game. There are some international players who will charge you a 1000 dollars just for a two minute interview (flashed on the screen as an EXCLUSIVE in capital letters). At one level, the cricket punditry is valuable. Would you rather listen to someone whose played 50 tests or someone who has never scored a run or taken a wicket in his life? Indians are obsessed with the game, can you deny them the opportunity to participate in the national debate on the sport, which is now part of the entertainment industry above all else?


And yet, you wonder: is there a cricket overkill? Alongwith the "dumbing down" of the media, is cricket too becoming caught in the trivia trap. One particular channel seems to spend almost all its prime time programming analysing who is the better captain: Rahul Dravid or Saurav Ganguly or worse still, what Chappell and Ganguly said to each other on the breakfast table. Another channel starts an sms poll on whether Tendulkar is finished as a batsman after a couple of relative failures. A third holds public debates where you have to decide which player is the "mujrim". A player can be a hero one day, the next day he can be lambasted as a villain. A lot of idle chatter passes off as intelligent comment. But when you have 24 hours of news time to fill, then chatting about cricket is sure to get you more television rating points than talking about whether the left will withdraw support to the UPA government.


Let me clarify: we at IBN are part of this cricket mania. Given half a chance, we will plaster our prime time with LOC (love of cricket, which I do believe is the most intelligent cricket programme on news channels at the moment). And yet, I must confess a tinge of regret. We cover the cricket, but barely pay attention to the crisis engulfing other Indian sport. Knocked out of the Davis Cup by Korea, languishing in hockey and football, do we really care? Its no longer enough to blame these sports for failing to do enough to "market" themselves, or not throwing up stars. The fact is that these sports are caught in a vicious cycle of anonymity today, and we in the news media are contributors to the exclusion of certain sports from the public consciousness. I plead guilty. Maybe, the world cup football in June this year will be an opportunity for redemption. Till then, enjoy the cricket.


Posted by Rajdeep Sardesai at 18 : 32 hrs

Courtesy CNN-IBN(www.ibnlive.com)

A Blog Just For The Heck Of It...

Hey....

So I know I blogged only yesterday. I know there isn't much to say.
So some hopes still left from the cat..... Just put one of it's lives on the ventilator and have to now hope that I can push through and bell it when it is live and kicking... For those who are wodering what's going on don't bother.. Or go and read my earlier posts.

So, today was Valentine's day...
I guess it's a day to spread the love so all I'll say is I love this blog because it gives me an awsome outlet to a million emotions.

Also for the all the couples in the world... Wish you'll a great time...
Happy V'Day.(To My Better Half... I've wished you in person.... ;-D .... :-x)


Take Care World

Cya Soon

Rahul

Unknown Blogger........ :-)

Well........
It's been over 2 months....
Not my fault... I was a ready to post a new blog when someting happend to blogger adn my post disappeared... Anyway... I have gotten over that and am now all set to post with full JOSH again...... Although I know of only one reader, an ardent follewer of my blog and that is my better half....

So what's going on... Work.... well after coming back to Chennai, I now actually have work... The funny part is that I am actually enjoying myself... Never really thought I would enjoy doing this stuff... It is hectic though...

CAT....... Well it can keep on meowing..... caus despite my best efforts, It's not yet been belled, alothough a some small hopes still do linger......... :-)

So What is OBSESSION...........

A crazy guy with a cell phone which does all that a cell phone needs to do adn much much more who is obsessing about a phone that has caught his eye and just won't go away...... Yup I'm really obsessed with the RAZOR...... It's so sleek and cool.... My phone has all the features that it has but my phone looks like a brick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I'm really rambing incoherently today!!!!!

So where's the next chapter... I'll put it here soon...
All I need is an hour of solitude with no work... So inspiration and It'll be done....


Anyway to my one reader.... (Maybe someday... It'll be 2) :-D.....

Astalavista
Sayonara
Good Bye
See Ya Soon...

Rahul