IPL is too perfect to be True; Is it Fixed?

Let me start here with no fancy words, no round about introduction and not the perfectly created sentences. Let me cut it short and come to the point directly. IPL is too good to be true. It is too competitive, matches ending in perfect finishes and points table shuffling till the 14th round to give us the complete four slots for semi-finals. It has been the trend since its inception. It is too good...too perfect to drag my cautious (or wicked) mind to something that may be happening behind those boardroom doors and Modi’s twitter updates. Fake IPL player gave us a hint of that last year, this year Kochi team’s rendezvous with Lalit Modi promises an interesting coming week. If actually ‘All izz not so well’ behind the doors, how can the finishes be so tight and tables so compact? Punjab suddenly starts winning, spoiling other’s party. Bangalore intermittently keeps losing. Mediocre Mumbai is leader of the table and 6 of the teams end up on the same point after every round, still not clear which of them will make to the semi-final. IPL is too perfect to be true. Is someone playing off the field as well? I can’t even imagine players like Sachin, Kumble, Rahul and Sourav to be part of any such activities. But a crooked and manipulative person like Modi can do anything. Team selection, some time, is unexplainable. Does Modi guide owners to dictate captains whom to play and whom not to? Do owners kneel to Modi, knowing well that next year it would be their turn to do good in the tournament? Modi knows very well that predictability will kill IPL and hence he is trying everything to keep results and points table fluctuating. I am happy that I am entertained; but also worried that someone might be selling me something which actually is not it. Is IPL too perfect to be true, or is it my mind which is unable to embrace something which could just be as perfect?

Naxals are at door, state stand still

Finally I got a chance to visit my ancestral home last week, almost after 4.5 years. It is said that change is the only constant and so is it. Village has changed....changed a lot. Some changes were brought by its own people who for the look of opportunities have swamped the locality with shops, though the economic viability of them looks bleak to me; and some by the local government which has recently been focusing on road, electricity and education. Change was evident, so was the beauty of farms during this time of the year. I might have been looking those fields for the first time from a third point of view and believe me they looked beautiful. I might have looked at them thousands of times earlier but never was interested in its beauty. Wheat (locally called Gehu in Hindi) harvesting time is near, so it was all golden over the fields as far as I could see. Intermittently were Maize cultivation...still young and timid plants...so they were still green. The mix of green maize and golden wheat plants spread all along as far as I could see, it was beautiful, indeed mesmerizing. Mango and Litchi orchards are ready for the harvesting season in May and June. This time it is going to be abundance of mangoes and no doubt trees were full of manzars. River had some water but they will soon get dry in coming summer months. Our village is so beautiful, I had never realised this; but today I am proud and optimistic.

Amidst all this beauty came the incident that left me worried and a bit frightened. I and my father were sleeping on the roof top and we heard one blast. Papa said that it might be celebration of a marriage party and we slept off. We woke of next day with the news that a local police station, some kilometres away, had been exploded by the naxals. Ours was never a naxal infested area but situation seems to have changed. Next day was full of police round ups, vehicles carrying commandos plying on the village road; some said they were on round, some said for attack, some said for arrest. Whatever it was...it was not a sign to be proud off. I knew naxals were active in some districts of Bihar, predominantly Gaya and Jehananbad. But Saran was never on card. If they have reached Saran, it means they might have reached other parts as well. Some reports say Bihar government have secretly given consent for operation green hunt, not publicizing it as it is wary of impending state election. Whatever it is....its time state (be it centre or state) act or it would not be too late when naxals reach delhi through state capitals. Reports say they plan to attack cities now. They are marching ahead...they can’t be allowed.....they have options either sit, have dialogue and solve the problems together or go to the gallops of history. I agree they have some genuine demands but gun cannot be the means to get your demands fulfilled. Either come to negotiation table or else be prepared to be sent to a faraway place called hell. A state cannot be held hostage to whims of some organization. Chidhambram is acting swiftly, I am sure he will succeed. Till then I have my fingers crossed.

IPL is Back, so are Memories

IPL3 starts today. Personally, first two has been very memorable, specially the first one. I vividly remember our own battles in Ojas Flat in Pune. Me, Mithun, Ravi and Rohan fought hard, maybe harder than our teams. Me and Rohan were supporting Bangalore Royal Challengers(RCB) all because of Rahul Dravid, Mithun was for Mumbai Indians (I am afraid Tharkeys will force them to change the name to Mumbai Marathis ) and Ravi was supporting Hyderabad Deccan Chargers(DC). I used to send outlook invites to everyone before every RCB match, predicting huge win for RCB and the murder of opposition. But it, usually, happened the opposite in real. We had pasted the full schedule on wall and kept on updating it with every match’s result. By the middle of the tournament, all our team, RCB, MI and DC, we out of the tournament. We left updating the schedule chart. But the enthusiasm of Rohan was praise worthy, he kept calculating all the permutations and combinations for probable entry of RCB to semi-final. Such was he, a way ahead of us, a man different from us.

2nd season was not that much memorable. I had shifted with Mayank and Tapas. Ojas flat was gone. Rohan and Ravi were at onsite and Mithun had shifted to Mumbai. Mayank is not a very ardent supporter of cricket and Tapas was pre-occupied. But the less I was interested, RCB played better. Last few matches were just mind boggling. Narrow wins, impressive batting and killing bowling, add Kumble’s focused leadership to it and what else you want. Above that the occasional steely glances of him along with Mallya’s partying and Katrina’s presence. It could not have got better. RCB reached final and lost (else gifted) it to DC. Whatever RCB was a winner.

This year……..its worse. I am leaving alone, started reading and am more homely now. Hope RCB brings some cheers….cheers……….anyone there with beer mug……..don’t put it down without a sip ………..RCB is out for kill this time 

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