Sports, Life and Sour Grapes!

So Pakistan did win the T20 World. Not that I am a big fan of this format of the game, but still, it is no mean achievement for a team which has not played competitive cricket for a sustained period, thanks to all the internal conflicts. Congratulations.
Indian radio channels are celebrating Pakistan's victory by mocking Younis Khan's lack of ability to speak good English. I agree, his not so good with the language but boy, he can bat! Remember his batting against Indian Cricket team!

I do not think that it is just Indian phenomena. The fans of Manchester United worldwide have suddenly started to see the negative influence that Christiano Ronaldo was having on the dressing room. I guess now that he is sold to Madrid (although for an amount which I dont consider 'Vulgar'), the ostriches have finally got their heads above the sand. All the fans who so badly wanted to see him stay are now relieved that he is gone.
I am sure similar sentiments would surface about Carlos Tevez as well now that he has confirmed that he won't be staying. "Oh, he is too similar to Rooney!" OR " He ain't worth that money!"
My take: I wanted Ronaldo to stay. He is irreplacable. I don't think tevez leaving is all such a bad thing. That might give chance to young Macheda and Welbeck.

I guess we devalue the thing that we cannot get to ease the pain of not getting it. It is the same with the girls who ignore advances. All of a sudden she is not pretty anymore!
Sour grapes!

Rape, class and India

Shiney Ahuja is accused of raping his maid. Should have been a simple enough headline somewhere on the 4th page of a Mumbai newspaper. It is not. Shiney is a bollywood actor, famous and married.

Well, this is not the first instance of a rich and famous being accused of such an act but what is a first is the media and the public reaction to it.
Part of the reaction is, naturally, condemning the act. It is the other part that I am not so comfortable with.
The audience is baffled by the fact that the victim is the maid. Most of the comments that I see on the various news websites express disbelief and some even go to the extent of suggesting that the entire episode is a stunt by the maid to extract more moeny of her employer, which has gone horribly wrong. A section of people condemn the act not because it is rape, but it is a maid. How can someone rape his maid, someone who is not even good looking, is poor and as some readers say,"stinking"?

So the source of disgust is not the act, but the victim's social status. Is it OK to rape a high society girl? Or one should only try to rape people in their peer group? Why is it that the society thinks that the higher income people have more intergrity? Why is it that we all stood up for Priyardarshini Muttoo and Jessica Lal but cannot find enough courage to speak for the incident that happened in Khairlanji some two and a half years back?
Do we feel hurt more when we can relate to the victim in terms of lifetyle, and aspirations? And if yes, why?
Shouldn't the crime be judged on the act alone?

Amidst all this, Times of India published the findings of a the medical examination report, which will put to shame the porn magazine writers with the details and the decriptions. They did nothing of the sort with so many other such incidents.
The girl was perhaps raped within the closed walls of an apartment. The jury is still out on that one.

Times of India raped her publicly on the pages of a newspaper that is circulated widely.
Add to it the plethora of jokes doing rounds on Shiney Ahuja's episode. We have made a mockery of an incident that should have been unanimously condemned.

My India, what have you become?

Mumbai and Me

Mumbai is a humbling city. No matter how much money you make, there is always someone making more than that. And its not just about money. The typical middle class dream of owning a house is a luxury here!
No matter when you reach this place, you would feel that you missed the bus by atleast 3 years.
How come the magical number of 3? The property prices double every 3 years, so the flat that you could have bought in your today's salary 3 years ago is already beyond your budget. By the time you make and save enough, the locality of your affordable house will move 5 further from your place of work (away from Mumbai, not towards it). So you have to chose cheaper house,or longer commutation time daily. And trust me, the prices will decide for the latter.

So every day when you hang on to the dear handle in the local train, you curse for being a good 3 years late!

Its like you are always chasing something here, no wonder the city never stops. Its like running on a treadmill which is moving faster than you can. You huff and puff, but you don't progress. This place sucks the life out of people, and leave them walking zombies, dazed with dreams that were never fulfilled.

It is a thought that scares the hell out of me. Everyday I back myself to survive this place, every night I convince myself that I did.

Transformation begins...

Just two months back I was a student in a B-School. We have a tradition of yearbook where my friends wrote testimonials for me. I have not been very wise in choosing the right words to express myself when I talk to people. My friends joked that I had the subtlety of a sledge hammer. They said I needed to be more politically correct in expressing myself.

Now that I am working on an assignment where I will be facing clients, clients who, by the nature of the business I am dealing with, would be eccentric and egoist! My boss says that I am the right person to do the job coz he thinks 'I am a nice, diplomatic kid".

I am sure my friends will laugh out loud when they hear it. I don't know why but I take that as a compliment.
The game is on.

Qualifications and Politics

Bhartiya Janta Party took on board IIM Calcutta graduates to 'manage' their campaign.
The result is that they had a loss of 22 seats.

Just reinforces my belief that qualification has no role in Indian Politics.

Its been a long time...

It has been really long since I have posted anything here. Going by some of the comments, I have been missed by some. Thanks for that.

There has been a lot that has happened in my life over the last four months but although it is important for me, (the new job, moving to Mumbai, earning again) there is not much masala there. I work with a Dotcom firm now that is known for the interesting comments on its message boards. I have seen some of them on my blog too, and that is something that I am not happy about.

It is a free world, we all have opinions. What is important is how we express them. I was a 20-21 year old not so long ago in my life, and have seen some of them on MTV Roadies. I always believed that the Roadies culture was a one off thing. I have never seen such obscenities mouthed in real life and I certainly do not endorse them.

One must understand that certain things is this world are contextual. An American will not understand Gajodhar Bhaiya jokes. Someone who has lived in condos all his life would not be able to see the challenges people living in a house made of thatched roofs face during the monsoon. There is a wide spectrum of experiences that people have, and nobody can feel all of them.

We all must learn to respect when we do not agree or understand.

A comment by a gentleman/lady by the name of Readoholic and its reply by anonymous is what I am talking about.

To Readoholic: You do not have the judgment of what to read and what not, then it is not my fault. I am sure you would not dare to say such things when you meet people face to face, else you might have your face rearranged. But Internet gives people like you a place to hide. Good for you, bad for us!
To Anonymous: Thanks for defending me. One's dignity must always be maintained! My father taught me not to bite a dog when he bites you, and I think you can use the same advice.

May be, we all need to learn a bit of netiquettes.

An extraordinary love story!

These are bad times, in every possible way. Economy, politics, jobs, even the Gaza strip, there are things the way they should not be.

I am sure there are tales of doom to be told, but I will try not to add to the general sinking feeling that is around and will tell you a story. A story which happened around me, a story that I think would leave a smile on your face, and if it doesn’t, then you have been tracking the financial world a bit too much. Leave the pink paper down and read Calvin and Hobbes for a change!

I was standing at the Chatlet Le Halles metro station in Paris, waiting for the M4. I was annoyed about the fact that time between two metros at around mid night is 8 minutes instead of the 3 minutes during the day. My education has taught me that it minimizes cost and optimizes performance but when you are waiting on a cold night at a station, you don’t really care much about economic sense.

It was not really crowded and I was waiting for the train. My attention was caught by a man who was signaling something to a woman on the opposite platform. He threw a kiss at her and she blushed. Buoyed by the fact that there were not too many passengers around, she responded.  The man went down on his knees as if proposing. She extended her hand as nodded as if she agreed. They were both smiling and throwing kisses. I said to myself, Paris is indeed a romantic city.

I was smiling as I looked on, but the drama was cut short as her train arrived. The woman got into the train and leapt for a window seat. She was still smiling and throwing kisses. The man waved his hand and she reciprocated. They kept waving to each other till the train disappeared. The man stood on the platform waving his hand.

My train arrived and I got in. I left for my apartment wishing all the happiness in the world for the couple. I wished them good health too, so that their love lives long. I guess they needed it.

And yes, the man was over 65 and the woman was atleast 60 years old.