But it was an Indian who played that day!

Scene1: An IT company’s work floor in Noida, UP, time around 5:30 PM. All employees park their job, discontinue or cancel the calls giving flimsy reasons and assemble in a single cubical in front of a computer which has cricinfo and cricbuzz WebPages opened, flashing match score and updates. Sachin has reached 185 and all were waiting and continuously cheering every single scored by him; and deep within praying for his double century.

Scene2: A rusty village in Bihar. A villager gets a call from his son’s school in kolkata. His son has been involved in many incidents in school in last one month and the principal was furious. Call goes on for an hour and the person’s mood is off for all over the day. Come evening and he watches the match, still disturbed by the thoughts of morning. By night Sachin scores his double century and he is back to his cheerful mood.

Scene3: Sachin scores his double century on the land of Madhya Pradesh, local govt decides to name a road and pavilion in his honour.

Scene4: President and Prime Minister of India hail his achievement and send congratulatory messages to Sachin.

Scene5: Kapil Dev who played for Haryana demands Bharat Ratan for Sachin. Govt. of Maharashta does the same.

Scene6: Bihar Legislative Assembly unanimously passes a resolution congratulating Sachin.
Scene7: All national and regional newspapers put sachin’s achievement on front page, eclipsing Railway budget on the same day.

Scene8: Record would always say “Highest Individual Score (ODI): Sachin Tendulkar(India): 200* Vs South Africa” till it is broken.

I waited for last two days to read what Thakraeys had to say on this.But I didn’t see any comment till today’s evening when I read on TOI website that they have seconded Maharashtra Govt. demand for Bharat Ratan award for Sachin.I was assuming their eyes would not appreciate this achievement under the negative goggles they seem to be wearing. Just month ago, they had blasted Sachin for saying that he was any Indian first. Sachin has said the same thing again; the difference is just that this time his bat has done all the talking. His double century inning brought happiness all over India; all enjoyed and loved his inning equally. We are proud of Maharashtra for giving such a gifted son to mother India. But it was an Indian who played that day.

Terror Threats: They are Real, I am worried

Hockey World Cup, IPL and Commonwealth games. Three major sports events are scheduled in India in next 1 year. Whole world looking at us, a little worried, a bit scared. Terrorists are planning their strike, meticulously and innovatively. Our government is working full time, agencies are on high alert. But one more terror strike, even of minor intensity, will put India in the league of Pakistan, a pariah where none of the foreign teams are ready to play. This will eventually affect business opportunities. Companies vying to come to India will start thinking twice. There is much on stake for India. I am scared. Hopefully we pull them off well and safely, not one but all three of the tournaments. I hope. I pray.

As Chidambaram remarked, “We need to be successful every time but they need to be successful only once”. He knows the threat. He knows the repercussions.

But what is the solution? We are surrounded by failed states from all the side. Is Israel like strikes only option left for India? We want a developed and prosperous Pakistan, but they themselves don’t allow that. We wanted to help Afghanistan but Pakistan does not want our involvement in Afghanistan. What should we do now? US is playing its own game...China is keeping its card closed. We are left alone, bruised and dejected but definitely not defeated. What should we do? Diplomacy is not successful, not yielding any result. Is Military the only answer?

I had written on the same subject in 2008 also, titled 'Safety First', http://mukulpriyadarshi.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html

फिर 'बदल गया है तू' लोग ऐसा क्यूँ कहते हैं?

आज भी यादें आती हैं,
हवा पुरानी बातों को दोहराती है!
बारिश सावन में ही होती है,
और तारें तन्हाई में साथ जगते हैं!
आखों में सपने तैरते हैं,
और दिल में उम्मीद घर बना बैठते हैं!
सब वही है, सबकुछ वहीं है,
फिर 'बदल गया है तू' लोग ऐसा क्यूँ कहते हैं?

मस्तिष्क अभी भी डर का कोहरा लगाता है,
और शारीर अपनी बंदिशों में जकर लाता है!
सही गलत का पलरा, गलत को बढ़ा दिखाता है,
और पंडित हाथों की रेखाओं से भविष्य बताता है!
सब वही है, सबकुछ वहीं है,
फिर 'बदल गया है तू' लोग ऐसा क्यूँ कहते हैं?

**** Mistakes in hindi writing could be attributed to my limited knowledge of google transliterate tool. I am aware of the mistakes but could not correct it. It is not intentional.

CSE: Centre for Science and Environment

I was going through Sunita Narain's profile on wikipedia and eventually landed up on CSE's website. CSE is the Centre for Science and Environment. It is a public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi. CSE researches into, lobbies for and communicates the urgency of development that is both sustainable and equitable. (http://www.cseindia.org/node/214).

Sunita is current CSE director and was in news for pesticide in cold drinks issue.

Just started wondering, can there be any such similar organization looking into government policies related to primary education, women health and other social policies. A watch dog sort of organization........always keeping the government on their toes and rejuvenating the masses.

Just wondering........