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“Corruption is our Birthright “….I’m Amused…but I’m Not !

What’s Integrity to an Opportunity !…across the spectrum from Agriculture to Business to Utilities to Sports to Social and Public Services to Government Spending to Banks and Brokers….scams abound

Our Nation has plunged into a Morality Abyss…we need to rebuild our People and Institutions from fresh…because Corruption,Communalism and Criminality are so deeply embedded in our psyches that they are now our mindsets….we need to be purged…we need to be reborn 

“Corruption is our Birthright”…seems to be our mantra…..Big Corruption gives birth to Baby Corruption….and Baby Corruption grows Big….and the Cycle continues….and children of Politicians become Politicians…and their children in turn….

Big Corruption…..ABC…Adarsh/A Raja….Bofors…..Commonwealth Games……with Ministers proclaiming and defending action saying they were only following precedents and policy and procedures laid down by predecessors !…Blatant & Brazen Loot….Heaven help us ! 

Baby Corruption….Poilce and RTO…had an interesting conversation with a Mumbai Traffic Poilceman…”I’m willing to lay down my Life in my Line of Duty….but who’ll lay down Life for these corrupt MCs & BCs that we have as Commissioners in our Senior Police Force !”…the guy was sadly and badly demoralised…In another instance RTO Tout ,in cahoots with those inside RTO,asked for Rs 500 to simply delete the Bank Financiers name from the Car Registration Book after Loan was repaid and Bank had given an NOC….refused …so my Man was made to come four times to the RTO for this simple job…under pretext that some document was missing,or the counter is closed for the day,or that the work will take a day more…..   

That Big Corruption is more wrong  than Baby Corruption can be argued on Scale but not on Concept…Corruption is Corruption…Period….Today you’ll do it for Rs 100…Tomorrow you’ll do it for Rs 100 crs ! 

Self Regulation works only where Morality is intact…so we need External Regulation…but by appointing pliable Heads even these Regulatory and Investigative Agencies become compromised…End Result is that there is no quick and fair punitive action to serve as a strong deterrent….there always seems to be a way out !…and a price to be paid for it !   read more

Twitter Shashi Tharoor gets a Taste of Twitter Lalit Modi !

Our Junior External Affairs Minister and UN ‘could have been’ Secretary General Mr Shashi Tharoor has been ‘twittering’ annoyingly and has been chided by his party, Congress several times…he yet holds on to his Ministership

His adverse and taunting Twitter comments on the Visa Policy Draft after 26/11 and on calling the Economy Class as ‘Cattle Class’ when commenting on the austerity measures had angered his Congress Party Leaders…many of who called for his scalp

Then he courted controversy again when staying in a 5 Star Hotel in Delhi instead of his allotted house…an MP who does not live by example !

I have followed Tharoor’s eloquent English on International Debate Forums and I must confess,I was disappointed….armchair stuff…not really a field worker and completely out of sync with the ground realities…simply had no pulse for and of the people….smirky arrogance was clearly my conclusion

Such a demeanour and behaviour can only emanate from one who’s well,I mean really well cushioned in life !….if you know what I mean !

Developing Proof of this is this new IPL controversy on the real Owners of the Kochi Franchise that was strongly supported by Tharoor and won the bids with a Rs 1500 crs + bid….Is this an Investing Mistake !?….this quantum of Monies !?…will the Franchise be able to recover it!…Is this a genuine Indication of True and Fair Franchise Values !?…It does not matter really what you think !…the ground reality is that such monies are being bid and paid !…Most are excited….few caution!…I’m one of those few !…..It’s always difficult to assess Intangibles…..and IPL’s,albeit growing, Brand Value is not an exception  

So I’m clearly bemused that we have the IPL Chairman,Lalit Modi locking cudgels with Tharoor over Twitter….In an ironic sense Tharoor is getting a taste of his own Twitter Medicine ! from Lalit Modi……Modi has revealed the Stakeholders of one the Consortium Stakeholders in the Kochi IPL Franchise…an interesting name is of Tharoor’s close woman friend,and rumoured to soon become his wife in his third marriage…another revelation is the granting of free equity to a few…Modi accuses Tharoor of pressurising him not to dwell too much on the identities of the stakeholders…There are rumours of Tharoor having a financial stake in the Kochi Franchise…..Tharoor denies this,saying he only spoke to Modi to inquire why he was delaying the signing of the Kochi Franchise Deal…there are strong reports that Modi favours Ahmedabad to be part of the IPL Franchise…but they had lost in the bid auction…..Kochi Franchise complained to the BCCI,accusing Modi of breaching a confidentiality clause and revealing stakeholders names on a public forum like Twitter read more

Coach,Kirsten has the Guts to come out and pinpoint the IPL for India’s early ouster in the ICC T-20 Cricket World Cup

I’ve said it before and I say it again…There is obscene money in Indian Cricket and the IPL is simply a creation and extension of this…what with those crazy auctions and High Winning Bids for a Team  !…you’re putting a tag on a cricketer like a commodity !…and the price tag level discrepancies between players,especially from the same Country,is causing resentment among them !

There is something as “Too much of a Good Thing” and IPL is just that…It’s tempting Cricketers to play more for Obscene Money,their Franchise and BCCI and not for India !…It’s devaluing the sacred Indian Cap !

I may be harsh ,but I’m calling it like how I see it !…and I believe Millions of other Indians too see it !…Mind you,I hold absolutely no grudge against players earning well…ofcourse you entertain during the IPL…but let it not be at the cost of the Indian Cap !

Easier said than done though ! Think about it ! if you were a Cricketer and were offered a Rs One Crore Annual Contract in IPL…that’s a little over US $ 200000…you’d be a fool to reject it ! unless ofcourse you think your’e worth more !…..A Rs 20 lakh Annual Contract from BCCI to an Indian Player may then not look that lucrative !

Money appears to be a better motivator than Patriotism !….. When a Player shores up his Bank Balance with IPL Millions there is visibly  a distinct slackening in attitude,intensity,motivation and competitive spirit to earn a place in the Indian Team….A place in the Indian Team, ofcourse, would be the Icing!…but the IPL Cake is big enough !

So who’s bidding so high in the IPL ! ? Should we then blame Shah Rukh Khan,Preity Zinta,Ness Wadia,Lalit Modi,Shilpa Shetty,Neeta Ambani and Dr Vijay Mallya for India’s poor show at the ongoing ICC T-20 Cricket World Cup !?

India was knocked out from the ongoing ICC T-20 Cricket World Cup and it was refreshing to see our Coach,Gary Kirsten,come out in the media and actually confessing,that it was in his view,the IPL that caused problems for India in the World Cup and led to their below par performance….This is the gist of what Kirsten said or implied :

  • The Indian Players showed fatigue and tiredness after a month long IPL tourney in South Africa
  • Many players carried their niggles from the IPL to the World Cup

Zaheer Khan injured his shoulder in the IPl and yet played for India in the World Cup…He will now probably miss the series with West Indies beginning on June 26…Sehwag  was injured in the IPL,but yet was part of the Indian Team at the World Cup…He just could not play in any match…and had to then reveal how  serious the injury was…he was replaced by Dinesh Kartick …so you had both,our bowling and batting spearheads incapacitated for the World Cup   read more

India just short balled out of the ICC T-20 Cricket World Cup

India and Dhoni just lost it ! Expect a Swift and Strong Media and Public Backlash in India 

I penned this blog title before the last ball was bowled!

We lost to England in a crunch Super 8 game by just 3 runs!… We needed 154 to win and 19 of the last over… We got just 15 !..4th ball was hit for a six by Pathan… fifth ball he hit to Long On and just a single was taken ! when Going  for Two would have put some pressure on the fielder ! and given strike back to Pathan… who knows ! he could have hit the last ball for a Six and tied the game !… what actually happened was that we needed an impossible 8 to win of the last ball and Dhoni managed a Four.We ended at 150/5 chasing England’s 153/7.

Dhoni needs to shoulder full responsibility as a ‘completely out of clue’ captain ! Get Anil Kumble back ! he commented on this lack of Intent in going for Two runs on the penultimate ball 

Dhoni, himself seems to have lost the art of hitting sixes on call or frequently !…. so vital to facilitate a win in the T-20 Format….. there was no real killer instinct to win !… they were playing matter of fact… no sense of intensity or even enjoyment…something is amiss in this Indian Team ! It seems divided !… Dhoni, you paraded your team last week to show unity and dispel Indian Fears of a split in the Team….This spirit was not evident on the field !

Dhoni needs to answer himself first before he answers the nation

He boasts in the Aircell ads how while playing Cricket he connects on Facebook through his Mobile to connect with Friends and have fun….. I wish he had connected with me on Facebook… I could have conveyed to him to bring Yuvraj in early to Bat… we would have won the Game.  

He held back the in form Yuvraj Singh till late… Jadeja scored 20 + but took over 30  balls to do it !Rohit Sharma and Raina failed in two consecutive games. Yuvraj came in at 4 down after 10 overs and hit the first ball he faced for a Six! he scored a quickfire 17 in Nine Balls before a brilliant Foster stumping of Swann got him.

And if you see the margin of just 3 runs that seperated us,I must comment harshly on Harbhajan Singh needlessly gifting away 10 runs by bowling two unnecessary wides that went on to cross the fence with Yuvraj misfielding one of these.

And Ishant continued to bowl short… and surprisingly Zaheer gifted easy boundaries continuing to bowl a wrong legside line  read more

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