IPL and Communal Harmony

Indian cricket has come up with a new gig, the Indian Premier League(IPL). Would it be successful, may be. I have my own reservations against the whole process, at least in the Indian cricket context. I am very much opposed to the players being auctioned like commodities (for any sport). Indians are used to seeing the Indian team as one national team and do not necessarily have any regional allegiance. Regional cricket (e.g Ranji Trophy) is not popular at all in India. Regional tournaments are held to have a pool of players, mainly for the selectors to choose from.

Now with IPL, players of all nationalities (cricket playing countries) are mixed up in one team. Now would we be able to  split our allegiance ? I might belong to Delhi but my favorite Indian player might be playing for some other team. Or lets say Ricky Ponting (Australian, assuming is playing for my state) thrashes my favorite bowler who plays for another state. Who do I support, in these scenarios ? As it is in India, tempers run high when it is cricket, imagine what would happen if it becomes regionalised. Would it change the communal balance of India, it remains to be seen. 

IPL itself was a knee jerk reaction by the BCCI to put up something against the Indian Cricket League (ICL) which was thought of by the Subhash Chandra of ZEE TV. BCCI threatened the players of a life ban if they played for the ICL. ICL now has all the unsuccessful players or retired players.

IPL has all the big names attached to it like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya etc. None of the players came up against this whole thing of auctioning players (Dravid briefly mentioned in a press conference about his about his reservations against it), may be it is lot of money to just pass up. I detest the fact of someone owning the team. I know it is common in soccer, football, basketball etc, but even there I am not very comfortable. I for one feel that Sports, Arts, Music, Mathematics, Science etc should be done for its own sake. I am not opposed to making money, but it should not be the be all and end all of everything.

Would IPL bring camaraderie and understanding between players of different nationalities (given we have so much sledging on the ground) or would it flare up the passion and emotions attached to cricket and bring regionalism among the Indians, remains to be seen.

Tamil Movies - Reality vs Reelity

Movies depict both reality and fiction. They do not have to be completely real as long as we can differentiate the real from fiction. You can make films like, Back to the Future knowing very well, that it is a fiction. If you show something in movies repeatedly, then it should have at least some element of reality to it. Overall trend in the Indian movies has changed in the past, people have started to experiment with different and bolder subjects, which is good and healthy for the movie industry. It has also become very common to have sexual innuendos in songs and dialogs and to show actresses in skimpy clothes, especially when it not required at all. Not sure if that is really healthy.

I have no objection whatsoever about all that, my objection is, the way actresses are shown in Tamil movies versus the reality there is, in the society. My point is not to censor movies, rather to be an open society so things do not seem unreal. Tamilnadu, though a giant in many respects, is very conservative when it comes to dressing (especially women) or issues related to sex. Dress, which would be very common in any western society or even in some Indian cities like Delhi or Mumbai, would be a no-no in Tamilnadu. I do not know if it is a coincidence, but most of the actresses in Tamil movie these days are from northern India. It could be because they have no reservations doing such roles. Hindi movie actresses dressing up in bold attire does not look that artificial because it is not uncommon for affluent people in northern India (including Mumbai) to wear such dresses.

Few days back there was a big hue and cry about the way one of the actresses dressed, in a 2007 top grosser. It was wrong to single out one actress when the whole industry is doing the same thing. Another yesteryear lead actress Khushboo, was in trouble when she spoke her mind about premarital sex. There is nothing wrong in showing sensuality or sexuality if the film demands it. It should not look forced upon or unnecessary (this is actually true for Indian movies overall). Do not show it just to titillate the audience. Why shun something in real life when it is shown as part of the culture in every movie. Either make believable movies or be an open society. Don't have double standards about it. We got to be more open about things, if we want to move forward.

Padma Awards - Is there a North-South divide?

Is there really a bias against southern India, while dishing out the padma awards. I thought about this, when a few days back I got to know that one of the greatest actresses of the Indian cinema, who is also a Guinness world record holder for the maximum number of movies, and to my knowledge the only real female comedienne in Indian cinema, Ms. Manorama (Tamil Actress) was awarded a Padmashri only in 2002. This is, after working in 1,500 movies for almost 50 years. It is a shame that she has been recognized after such a long time where as Madhuri Dixit gets an award after may be 20 years of work. It is not that Madhuri Dixit's body of work is far better than that of Manorama. Do not mistake me, I am a big fan of Madhuri Dixit. I am just not comfortable with the unfair treatment meted out.

On further digging I found that Ilayaraja, the maestro in music, has still not been awarded a single Padma award, it is a shame for the country. Ilayaraja has been recognized internationally. How can I forget our very own Rajinikant, even he has not been awarded any Padma award yet. Shahrukh Khan has already received one. What is the criteria that Shahrukh Khan satisfied but Rajinikant did not? I feel it is just because of the larger audience and a greater exposure for Hindi movies and the marketing that is done for such movies. If iconic status was the reason, then Rajini had it before Shahrukh and still continues to have it. Do you see a pattern emerging here.

Similarly, Mani Ratnam, Semmengudi Srinivas Iyer, S.P.Balasubramaniam had been ignored for a long time before they got their Padma Shri awards a few years ago. All these people I mentioned are stalwarts and are not in any ways dependent on any of these awards, but this definitely points out a flaw in the way the awards are decided. These artists are and would remain great forever, irrespective of the awards. I am glad that at least artists like KamalHassan, A.R.Rehman were felicitated, at the right time, and not ignored.

I know some artists have vented out their anger at the system in the past and have in fact returned the awards back to the government of India for not recognizing their talent when it should have been. I think this is a part of a bigger problem, of not recognizing our talent in due time. It took a G.H Hardy, a great mathematician, a British, to recognize Ramanujam's mathematical genius. I hope we learn from our mistakes and are balanced in our treatment towards anyone and everyone.

Chak De India or Check De India

Chak De India, as per me is by far one of the best movies made, if not in the history of Bollywood film industry, in the recent past. I also think that it was the best performance by our King Khan. Patriotic theme was nicely woven into this movie. This is the second sports movie, after Iqbal, I know of in the history of Indian films which was completely about the game. It was all the more refreshing to see that it was about our national game which is seldom talked about.

But this is not what this blog is all about. This is about what Shah Rukh Khan said in the media before and after the release of the movie and his actions that followed that. Shah Rukh claimed that he has always liked hockey and that he has played it during his college days and such. Also that he would like his kids to take up sports and how much respect he has for the sports persons and all that. All this is fine, except that you would think that a person showing so much passion towards a game, would do something to elevate the status of the game in India and elsewhere (India has not even qualified this time for the Olympics, first time in the last 80 years). But that was not to be the case.

Instead Shah Rukh poured in money into IPL (Indian Premier League - Cricket), which has no lack of funds, if required. He has shown that, he is just another business man who knows where to put his money. Cricket already gets the maximum media coverage. Cricket does not need big names attached to it. I have nothing against cricket, in fact I am a big cricket enthusiast myself. But I just feel that other sports in our country should be encouraged and promoted more than what is being done, if not giving the same status as cricket.

I have always felt that celebrities can and should exploit their stature in positive ways for the betterment of the society. I am not saying that they do not do charity, I am sure many of them do. But more than charity if they attach themselves with a noble cause, that would go a long way into the future. At the end of the day charity and social work cannot be forced, it has to be voluntary. I just feel that Shah Rukh could have had a real "Chak De Phatte" moment, had he really done something for hockey instead of cricket.

This Date That Year

March 14: Pi Day

I didn't know until I read on Mar 14, that it is celebrated as a Pi day because of 3/14. I, having done my Bachelors in Mathematics, have always been fascinated by this number. I have seen the movie and also read several articles and books on the subject. Movie is very disturbing though.

I just thought I would share it with everyone, since not everyone knows about this day. We celebrate so many days why not this. At least to me it is just a way to celebrate the association with mathematics. It also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday.

Check this out, you would get all the information about Pi here,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_day

March 19, 1474: Venice Enacts a Patently Original Idea

First known written law to grant and protect patents.

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/03/dayintech_0319

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Indian movie awards and the obsession with english language

I have often wondered, why most of the people getting a Hindi movie award, not speak in Hindi at the award functions (which is the language for which they are being given the award). I have been wanting to write about it for sometime now. In fact in this year's star screen awards, Sajid Khan mentioned about this issue in one part of the award. 

Let me make it very clear that I am not against any language, in fact people are free to speak in any language they feel like. I am in fact writing in English. My only point is, if you can make or act in a Hindi movie then what is so shameful about speaking the same language when it comes to award functions (although I can understand people like Rehman, Mani Ratnam speaking in English because they do not know Hindi or know only broken hindi). I do not know, are we trying to impress the western world, who hardly think very highly of our movies or hardly watch our award functions.

Hindi speaking belt has often accused southern India, especially Tamilnadu, of not speaking Hindi, the national language. But then where is the passion for Hindi when it comes to the most prestigious film awards. Is there a possibility that they want to cater to the southern India (especially Tamilnadu), I doubt that. 

I think that there is an obsession with english language in India. Speaking in English is considered hep and perceived as being intelligent but they might just be talking crap. In this English speaking race, what happens sometimes is, people do not convey what they have to, and end up making fool of themselves. I remember once my uncle's neighbor was worried that his two year old son has still not started speaking in English. 

Speak whichever language you are comfortable in, but do not feel shy or bad about speaking your own language. 

Super Bowl XLII

This past weekend I saw my first ever football game. I never got interested in football but nevertheless I watched it, because I had my friends watching the game with me. So I thought it would be a good time to sit and watch with a big group and have a nice time. This way I would also get a chance to understand the game. 

I chose the best day to watch it as it happened to be the Super Bowl, and it was our home team New England Patriots vs the arch rivals New York Giants. Game was really close and I should say that I liked it and enjoyed it (might be because of my friends), but in the end it was the Giants who came out triumphant (New Englanders are still in a state of shock). 

But this is not what I want to write here. What really made me write was the end of the game. During the prize distribution ceremony I saw the owner of the winning team walk up to the podium to receive the trophy, then the trophy was handed over to the team coach, and finally the team. 

I was really surprised that those who actually sweat it out on the field were given the last importance. I thought it to be so different from other games where players would receive the recognition in the form of a trophy or medal. I am so very uncomfortable with the whole idea of corporatizing sports, having an owner for the team who gets all the recognition besides making all the money. I think when the team wins, it is the team's time to hog the limelight and that privilege should be given to them. 

I guess even players have never protested against this act, which is why it is still going on. I do not mind the owner (if at all we have to have one) making money, but at least the final recognition should be given to the players. Money should not be the be all and end all of everything. 

Sports Obsessed Nation

I often wonder why US is so obsessed with sports, mainly Football, Basketball and Baseball. Everyone talks about it at work or social gatherings. I am amazed to see them being obsessed about sports which do not even have an international presence or have a negligible international presence at best. 

Everyone seems to have knowledge about these games and has an opinion about it. Even the schools would let you leave if you want to watch the "World Series" and in most cases schools would themselves leave the class early. People would cheer for their state teams would wear their T-shirts and would do tailgating (I have still not come to terms with the tailgating concept). Everyone talks about it from common man to a politician to a movie star to academicians, one and all. In a way it feels like it binds everyone but on the other hand it seems like people are just split into factions, just supporting their own state team. 

I have not seen people talk so much about sports in which US really has an international presence like Tennis, Swimming, Soccer etc or which are truly international. May be most of the sports in which US has done well in international arena are individual sports and I guess people find the team sports more interesting.

I cannot talk about other countries, but as far as India is concerned I have hardly seen people talk about any sport other than Cricket and that too only the truly international matches. But even for that, I do not think people would go to watch a game or their favorite player in extreme weather conditions with their new-born or little kids.

There are some questions that have been troubling me for quite sometime. May be I would find answers to some but for some there isn't one. Why is the baseball finals called a world series when it just involves US? Why is football called footbal when it is hardly played using the feet? Why are these sports not played in other countries? Why are there no real international matches?

Sports and Drugs

Ever wondered why athletes indulge in taking performance enhancing drugs. I have always thought about their unethical indulgence, getting caught and then getting stripped off their medal or trophy. What do they gain by all this? This article sheds light on it. It is a very interesting article which tries to explain this behavior in a game theoretic sense.
It seems this is a dominant strategy for anyone competing. I highly recommend you to read other articles listed on the below page. I am fascinated by Game Theory and keep reading the applications of it. I hope you like it too.

Social Networking

Social Networking has caught on like wild fire. Everyone seems to be on one or the other networking sites like Orkut, Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin etc. I have still not understood how all these networking sites are different from one another. May be it is just about having options. I have till now kept myself out of all these networking. I some how have not bought into this whole idea of social networking.

The only advantage I see, is that through this, one can meet old friends or make new friends. But how many of us really make pen friends. But what is really the value of all this. Potentially it could be used to spread or share views on various topics, but at present it feels more like gossip and eavesdropping on someone else's private space. If it is all about chatting, then we already have messengers available.

May be social networking is the way to the future but I am still not up to it. I still prefer the traditional way of communicating, email.