WORDSPA

The In-Laws’ Effect

2011-08-28T12:40:00.004+05:30

I happened to meet one of my childhood friends, after ages. A great character… gifted, a good mimic, sometimes serious, good humoured, and also moody — but, quite an average student in school and college.

We walked down memory lane… going through the wonder years of childhood.

Those were, indeed, our best days… despite the fact my friend seems to have made things work well for him in professional life. His career overseas, he emphasised, “was most fulfilling.” He also expectedly [of what I knew of him] said that he never equated success in life with money. This is, of course, a cliché most of us resort to when we don’t want to speak about our bank balance, or stocks.

My friend is married to his college sweetheart — their relationship is just what the doctor ordered. Each living closely, having their own space, freedom and dignity. It’s been a fabulous relationship, based on total trust and commitment. Great.

Now, the conversation became serious. My friend told me that his wife’s parental family — who belong to the same stock, or roots — was culturally different. He, however, told me jocularly that the only right decision “they ever made was agreeing for our wedding.” My friend said that they were also extremely good folks from the East [though they keep a calculated, subtle distance from knowing your financial health, or distress!]. They are folks that customarily “respect” their son-in-law.

No sooner he finished, my friend looked a bit sheepish. The reverse consequence of hospitality? Yep. He told me how his brother-in-law “orders,” never requests, as to what he expects of others to do — except his Home Minister [aka his wife].

He also observed that, “They seem to do everything according to their convenience — whether it suits you or not.” “What they decide is ‘absolute’ for you and for them.” “They just inform they are visiting, and you have to accommodate — even if you have someone, a guest, visiting you at the same time.” “The worst part — they don’t tell me they are coming. They just come... Next, they quickly announce that they are coming again after a fortnight.”

Now, my friend began to really speak. His in-laws, he said, are good hosts, all right — so long as you submit to the idea as to where they want you to sit, for instance, at the table, or in the car… Be it a family dinner, or get-together, or a picnic.

He also voiced that his in-laws don’t speak; they scream. They trigger a “throatful hah, hah, hah.” Or, “Hee, hee, hee.”

I could not imagine myself being in his position. But, sometimes in life you have to — to keep things and good, warm relationships, such as these, going.

Just as my good friend does.

10 "Best" Of No One Like 'Em

2009-10-19T11:39:00.006+05:30

We, Indians, seem to be obsessed with certain people, mostly celebrities -- our media are no less.

To cull a random roll-call:

1. There's no one like AB, or Big B. Not even the greatest, or the Daddy, of 'em all -- Dilip Kumar.

2. There's no one like Sachin Tendulkar. Yes, there isn't. Not even Gundappa Vishwanath, Sunil Gavaskar, or Rahul Dravid.

3. There's no one like A R Rahman. Not even the good old Naushad, or the legendary Shankar-Jaikishan.

4. There's no one like R D Burman. Not even his dad, the great S D Burman.

5. There's no one like Rabindranath Tagore. Not even Tagore himself.

6. There's no one like Shah Rukh Khan. Not even Aamir Khan.

7. There's no one like Aishwarya Rai. Not even Madhubala.

8. There's no one like Himesh Reshammiya. Not even Sonu Niigaam.

9. There's no one, not one local singer, in Kannada filmdom, like "imports," Udit Narain, or Shreya Ghoshal.

10. There's no one -- now, think of "media-invented" tags. Our best CEO, our best director, our best editor, our best cricket writer, our best online journalist, our best author, our best lyricist, our best athlete, our best comedian, our best villain etc.,

What are you waitin' for? Just add, by all means, your 10, nay 15, or 25, "Best-Of-No-One-Like-'Em," to your list. The more, the merrier.

Hail, Indian Media!

2009-10-11T18:31:00.008+05:30

Indian media have -- or, is it has? -- sure come of age.

No newspaper/magazine, TV, Web, or advertisement, is complete without the following indispensable elements [not issues]... in these times... Remember, we are just touching upon the tip of the "info-iceberg," or media-obsession.

* Amitabh Bachchan
* Shah Rukh Khan
* Sachin Tendulkar
* M S Dhoni
* Aamir Khan
* A R Rehman
* Aishwarya Rai
* Abhishek Bachchan
* Celebs, celeb parties, tantrums, blogs etc.,

Newspapers/Magazines:

* Views; not news
* Symbolism; not substance
* Great aesthetics; nothing to rivet, or jazz your mind
* For celebrities, by celebrities, of the celebrities -- for you, the hapless reader
* Everyone's an expert... in word and "feed."

TV:

* Screaming presenters
* Sensationalise, nay dramatise -- it all matters vis-à-vis one's TRPs
* Repeat, repeat, and repeat -- because, the viewer is dumb
* Tacky shows -- the more, the merrier
* Vent and cry -- become a Face in the Crowd
* "Reality" is vanity fair
* Inanities show-case
* Scare, not alleviate; for example, Swine Flu
* Roar; also bloat
* Create; not collate...

World-Wide-Web:

* Free for all
* Anything goes
* Play games
* Post your Face
* Twitter to fame
* Facebook to connect
* Indulge in Spam
* Hack
* Bond, or break
* Spread "ideological" venom
* Get lost in the maze
* Feel dazed? Yep. Welcome -- this is life in "Cyberlane!"

Swine Flu: Prevention Holds The Key

2009-08-07T10:25:00.012+05:30

For the deadly swine flu, there is just one answer — an ounce of prevention is tantamount to a pound of cure.

Also, remember — the simplest of preventative measures and medicines are, sometimes, the best of cures...

... Please take the homoeopathic Influenzinum 200, or 1000, potency, 6-8 pills, twice [morning and night], daily.

Oscillococcinum 200, or 1000, is another great preventative/curative remedy. Dosage: 6-8 pills, twice [morning and night], daily.

As far as natural herbs are concerned, you may include the following in your preventative and curative medicine kit: neem [Indian lilac], ginger, elderberry, cinnamon, and pepper; also, triphala, and echinacea.

Things To Do:

1. Sanitise — Wash your hands frequently... with soap and water. It is estimated that 80-85 per cent of all infections are spread by hands. If you can’t wash your hands regularly with soap, use hand-sanitisers, or lotions [Dettol].

2. Avoid — Don't shake hands. Resort to Namaste.

3. Be Alert — Swine flu symptoms are similar to regular flu: fever, bodyaches, sore throat, cough, runny nose, vomiting, diarrhoea, and tiredness. When in doubt, seek professional medical attention. So far, it’s important to note, swine flu is treatable [and, absolutely survivable].

ADDITIONAL INFO
KEEP SWINE FLU AT BAY

1. Wash your hands — 4-5 times a day
Use anti-bacterial soap/s to cleanse your hands. Wash for at least 15-20 seconds; rinse with running water.

2. Get enough sleep
Try to get at least eight hours of good sleep every night — this will keep your immune system in top flu-fighting condition.

3. Drink adequate water
Drink 10-12 glasses of water, each day, to flush toxins from your system; maintain good moisture and mucous secretion in your sinuses.

4. Boost your immune system
Keeping your body strong, nourished, and ready-to-fight infection is important in flu prevention. Stick to whole grains, colourful vegetables, and vitamin-rich fruits. Take a vitamin C supplement [500-1,000 mg] — daily.

5. Keep informed
Keep yourself updated on information and act calmly. Don't panic.

6. Avoid alcohol/nicotine

7. Be physically active
Moderate exercise boosts your immune system by increasing circulation and also oxygenation in the body. For example, a brisk walk for 30 minutes, 4-5 times a week, will perk up your immunity like no other activity.

8. Keep away from sick people
Flu virus spreads when particles dispersed into the air, through a cough or sneeze, reach someone else's nose... Well, if you have to be around someone who is sick, try to stay a few feet away from them; avoid physical contact.

9. Know when to get help
Consult your physician/therapist, if you have cough and fever; follow their instructions; take medicine/s as prescribed.

10. Avoid crowded areas
Avoid unnecessary trips outside; avoid crowded places.

Make Dreams Come True

2009-03-10T17:57:00.006+05:30

It’s rightly said that an intense desire alone can make dreams come true. This intensity also expands when you have faith in your desire. Faith is belief, yes — and, conviction is the cornerstone of belief itself.

While it is agreed that we are all entitled to have a conviction that certain things are true or real, a strong belief in what you desire when manifest will give you the strength to hold on until it reaches fruition.

It would also help your cause a great deal if you have a deep feeling of knowing, more so by using motivational statements "I know I will be relaxed and energetic," or "I know I will create financial security.” They sound simple, but they have a profound effect on your psyche.

Belief is everything — that you believe you can do it is belief. It’s a positive feeling. It brings positive connotations.

Likewise, if you say that you don’t believe in something is also a belief — that you don’t believe in something. The idea is not a negative feeling, but if it is related to what you feel you can achieve but think that you can’t, you will not be able to reach your goals.

It’s only when you believe that everything is possible would you be able to develop a sense of knowing that it is going to happen, and also work.

It gives you a sense of expectation — and, when you expect your desire to become a reality, you will have the full conviction to enable your desire to manifest itself into being a happening thing.

Cricket's "Laughing" List

2009-01-17T13:21:00.017+05:30

The ICC is a listless body. It does everything it doesn't want to do right, even while playing cricket with a straight bat.

Sorry for the generalisation -- I lament, but agree, with Robert Blake, "To generalise is to be an idiot."

I don't mind being called an idiot in the context of ICC's choice of Test cricket greats in an all-time legendary list of players that, "otherwise," casts a magical spell on generations of fans.

It's first horrendous to omit Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar in the Top 10/20 -- and, rope-in Dale Steyn, next... way ahead of Michael "Whispering Death" Holding.

It's obvious that tons of newsprint will spill "bitter" bile on the selection, now and in the days to come, but the fact remains that ICC is living in mediaeval times. Or, the epochs of the maharajahs whose fancies ruled the mind of kingdoms.

It's always been a case of "colour" ruling the roost with ICC. Moderates would not fancy the "take," yes; but, it's increasingly, and shockingly, becoming apparent that there are two rules for the same thing... as far as ICC is concerned.

Not just on the field of play, but even outside of it.

Instances are just too many -- they are all part of our mind's canvas.

But, now comes the real dud -- this "ludicrous list" -- of an exercise, an exercise in futility, or misplaced logic...

Is it any wonder that you find Rahul Dravid way down the rankings -- notwithstanding his excellent overseas batting average that stands next only to Sir Don Bradman's? It is not rocket-science -- it denotes the hallmark of a truly great batsman. Dravid is, doubtless, one. Period.

Let the Third, or Fourth, Umpire intervene and declare ICC rankings of "greats" as not just "plumb" LBW, but clean bowled, caught-behind, clearly or of the faintest of edges, run-out, by a margin or a whisker, handling the ball, obstructing the field, hurling a beamer etc., etc.,

We don't want, or need, such tamashas -- or, heights of imbecility -- that bring dishonour to the willow-cherry sport, its players, and also fans.

Not High Five

2008-12-28T11:08:00.019+05:30

Everyone’s speaking and writing about the year that was unlike any other year.

First, the diabolical terror attack on Mumbai, which was, in effect, an audacious assault on India, its very heart, spirit, and soul.

Second, the fall-out of the attack — the tragedy of lost lives and desolate families. Can you measure, even if you despairingly picture, a million wounds on the canvas of Mumbai life?

Third, Condoleezza came and cooked her bowl of political Rice — she dared, but she did not bare the ogre ensconced in a country that knows no civility.

Fourth, the blow hot-and-cold diplomatic war by India — just as much as PAF played to the Gallery, Full of Hot Air.

Fifth, Mayawati, who never says “maya culpa,” has shamed a nation — a nation, as Winston Churchill cynically said, would go “into the hands of rascals, rogues and freebooters.” If Mayawati isn’t the high-point brazen, outrageous embodiment of such a simile-turned-into-reality, who is?

Thankfully 2008 will be quickly behind us — so, let's make 2009 a better year. Somehow.

Mumbai Burning

2008-11-30T17:43:00.010+05:30

Wednesday, November 26, 2008, was not just a horrific day. It freeze-framed a gory picture -- the most scary of all in the history of free, independent India.

It was also, quite in opposition to Winston Churchill's famous phrase, our worst hour.

In one fell swoop, terror's perfidy of hate destroyed the template of India's glory, her famous tryst with destiny.

Not just Mumbai, the entire country was stunned, shocked, rocked, and shaken beyond belief.

It's worse than a huge earthquake -- it was a quake >Richter 10 on the human psyche, or mental scale.

One was lost, desolate and wobbled beyond relief.

Terror hit us like a tempest -- a tempest which Shakespeare would never have imagined in his fertile mind, or compass of his genius.

It's something that was unprecedented -- it dented India's spirit, her sense of pride, her sense of tolerance, no less.

We paid a big price for what -- our weak political resolve.

It's high time we had a national government in place -- people of stature to run the engines of power with honour, dignity, integrity, courage and strength.

We don't need politicians we are familiar with anymore. We need men and women of steel, vision, and candour, drawn from different fields -- who are endowed with the will to change India and, in turn, change the world... for the better.

Is this asking for the impossible?

Richard & I

2008-10-11T22:38:00.011+05:30

Richard Firshein is one of world’s much-read and appreciated columnists.

A leading physician in integrative/complementary medicine, Firshein is also a gifted wordsmith. He writes on health and medical subjects, for the lay and/or the specialist reader, with simplicity, precision, and clarity.

I first got to know Firshein when I read his much-acclaimed book, Reversing Asthma — rated one among the Best 100 Books of the Last Century… I was immediately drawn to his ideas.

I was so impressed that I sent him an E-mail, suggesting that I’d be delighted to do a story on his “hands-on” asthma treatment plan — as outlined in the book.

I got a swift, positive response from his office. I sent him a handful of questions. Firshein responded promptly. My story appeared in the Sunday supplement of one of India’s leading dailies.

It did not take long for me, thereafter, to establish a regular channel of communication with him. As luck would have it, I happened to be one of the first writers that received a review copy of his yet another landmark work, The Nutraceutical Revolution [2000]. I reviewed the book — and, also wrote an in-depth article on his work on reversing asthma, in a medical journal I edited, at that point in time.

I admire Firshein’s impressive range of work, and also his writing — he knows this quite well.

Ah, he makes my day when he reverts on his articles’ final edits, with one or two suggestions, but only when appropriate, and just as promptly — “It’s fine, please go ahead.”

Wait a moment... Firshein has been enormously kind to offer me the publishing rights for an updated India edition of The Nutraceutical Revolution [now rechristened 20 Wonder Nutrients]. It is, doubtless, a dream-come-true for me.

Paradox Of Contrasts

2008-09-10T10:35:00.007+05:30

We live in a funny, or is it a mad, mad world?

I am not referring to the great, old Hollywood movie — It’s A Mad, Mad World. Or, Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, another equally brilliant film, which was set at a time when crossing the English Channel, in our flying machines, seemed quite like climbing Mount Everest astride a camel.

What I am referring to is… the wonder world of medicine — where the wonder drugs, or ideas, of today, are replaced by the more wonderful drugs, or ideas, of tomorrow.

Or, in some cases, great ideas… gone askew.

Just think of it. It’s Sunday morning, and I chance to see an amusing news-item. That alcohol — nay, three glasses of wine a week — may keep arthritis at bay!

Gosh!

It sounds quite akin to the good effects of smoking, as some believe, can stall the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease on memory loss — the difference being of degree.

Is this not just a small price to pay and tide over a big problem, you’d ask. Or, whether such “incursions” could lead to cancer, heart disease, or cirrhosis. Maybe, maybe not. Go figure!

It does worry me — albeit, I don’t smoke or drink — that some enterprising prankster may soon recommend Alzheimer’s and arthritic individuals to smoke, and drink wine in small doses, as a way to good health and well-being.

Maybe, this is a far-fetched “initiative” to suggest all by itself — unless, it becomes a paradox of contrasts. Again. Of some jug-head aiming to conquer disease in their own Utopia!

Whatever it is, I shudder to think of improbabilities — lest they happen!

Self-Help, Best Help

2008-08-09T10:29:00.010+05:30

I am conscious of the power of self-help, or New Age, books.

Books, or no books, the point is — each of us has a self-help resource within us that, when properly used, might save us a trip to the bookstore!

What it is, you may well ask. It is all a question of using your imagination for the higher purposes of your own welfare. This includes academics, or work, or home life.

To use your imagination, you need not resort to buying expensive books, or gadgets, including self-help books. For example, whenever I am dispirited, I close my eyes and imagine that I am in an isolated place in Nature — in a flower-filled meadow, or a lovely sun-baked beach in the Caribbean. I imagine it now — and, I am there!

So, can you!

It’s simple. By imagining yourself in a nurturing situation you begin to have the very same physical and emotional effects as actually being there. I believe that all of us constantly generate a flow of mental images and mentally-induced situations. At any given moment, for instance, we are all formulating ideas, worrying about something, picturing a past event, or day-dreaming about the future. When we use such images to our advantage, we can not only help ourselves but also others. If this ain’t “self-help,” what is?

To pick another example. All great men and women, down through the ages, have actively encouraged their imagination. In so doing, they have recognised, or recognise, that imagination provides them access to unconscious processes related to health, illness, and spirituality.

Here’s one method I follow:

I use repeated “counter” mental images and/or creative imagery for a few moments of quietude every day. Through this process, I am able to draw in positive life energies. These energies, I feel, help me produce changes for the better. They also not only help me reduce tension, and promote self-healing, they are also endowed with the power to help you achieve goals: like giving up smoking, improving your academic scores, or increasing your athletic ability.

So, what are you waiting for? Your “self-help book” is within your own imagination. Just use it, and enjoy the benefits.

Good & Bad

2008-05-04T10:45:00.013+05:30

William Shakespeare said, “There's nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

The best thing to do is you should speak good, think good, and be good.

Good is what you believe in and do.

Nobody sees things exactly the same way. One may see the same thing a hundred different ways than you do. So, there is no one complete way to determine what is bad or good.

What is "good" to some people may be "bad" for other people, depending on the circumstances.

As time and situations change "good" may become "bad," and "bad" may become "good."

So, you may again ask: what is good? What is bad? Well, the thing is it is difficult to know what is good and bad, and finding out can be sometimes tricky.

The law changes all the time. Something that used to be legal may become unlawful; or, something against the law in one country may be officially permitted in another country! So, what is good and bad?

There is again no clear answer.

To find out what is good or bad, you should listen to your inner voice, or the life stories of great men and women — of philosophers and the learned. For example, Mahatma Gandhi.

You should learn from their stories and their life's lessons — and, try to be gentle with everyone you come in contact with in daily life.

This is the best way to cultivate goodness in you and also spread goodness around you!

Manage Your Time

2008-04-20T02:12:00.007+05:30

When you manage time well, you’ll have more time for yourself.

The best thing to do to manage your time is by putting some basic time management techniques into practice.

1. Use a student diary, or an old notebook. You may also convert an old exercise book into a diary, or buy one from a bookshop. Write important events such as after-school activities and daily homework status in your diary.

2. Try to break complex homework tasks into smaller projects and then plan out the work. If a project is due in two weeks, work-out what needs to be done and work backwards from the due date.

3. Measure the time you spend on homework and work efficiently and quickly. It is common for many children to think they have spent hours doing homework when they have really wasted much of their time away sharpening pencils, arranging books, or playing games on the computer. Establishing a set time for such activities is an effective way of working quickly.

4. Prioritise your work. Categorise your homework as either “Important,” “Urgent” or “Both.” “Important” means the task needs great attention to detail before it can be completed, while “Urgent” means it is due soon, usually the next day. This helps you take control of your work rather than leave it until the last possible moment.

A valuable time management technique for children is to establish a work routine that suits individual physical requirements as well as schedules. You may be a night owl who can work productively after dark, while your friend, John, may just go to sleep when the Sun goes down.

It is, therefore, best to have different homework routines that reflect your “best” time of the day — to study, play and/or use your time effectively.

Not Quite Like The Capital Yet

2008-03-02T22:49:00.012+05:30

By way of reference to a traditional context, or web of thought, book publishing in Mumbai purports to extended pragmatism -- a relationship that stands for publishers’ “financial” acumen, if not “jackpot” for writers/authors.

This despite the fact, that, a host of writers and authors have made the urbane Mumbai novel a speciality construct. As author Githa Hariharan epitomises, “… the fabulous, inescapable face of metropolitan India… of polyphonic chutney the modern Indian city is: commerce, myth, technology, revivalism -- [which] all add their unique, assertive flavours to its soul.”

But, the fact of the matter is: the publishing scene in Mumbai is quite unlike New Delhi, now the Mecca of Indian publishing. Mumbai, for instance, has not had as huge a hit, or stupendous “bookbuster,” like Arundhati Roy's Delhi-based IndiaInk-published, Booker Prize-winning magnum opus, The God Of Small Things, now unequivocally standardised as one among the top 20 great novels of the last century. This prompted Salman Rushdie to vindicate that prose writing of Indian writers in English “is proving to be a stronger and more important body of work than most -- the so-called vernacular languages…” You couldn’t think of a better, or worse, sweeping manifesto -- or, call it what you may.

Mumbai has had a long history of publishing books of all hues, colours, frames of reference, and context, thanks to the city’s cosmopolitan culture and flavour. While books on the city per se abound, right from the 19th century, or even earlier, works as diverse as cuisine and technology, arts and the sciences, fiction and non-fiction, law and lifestyle, sport and medicine, Bollywood and music -- you name it, and you have it -- they have all seen the light of the day, and continue to do so… with definitive intent, if not effect.

Sure, the authors may not have made it big and/or laughed their way to the bank yet. Reason: it just cannot happen in the present dispensation, because writing newspaper/magazine articles is much more “lucrative” than getting a book published in Mumbai. Besides, the print-run, if it is anything “substantial,” is small -- not more than 1,000-2,000 copies… for a worthy title. On a royalty of ten per cent, on copies sold, and at a cover price, which isn’t too steep, the payment an author may get, in the best of times, is anybody’s guess.

One cannot, at the moment, also make a living by writing books -- unless, of course, you get your book published for an undisclosed, fancy advance abroad. This does not happen to everyone, unless, of course, you are a writer, who’s as fancied as they come, or are made out to be.

Says Rajan Das, an old hand in the book trade: “Most of the publishing action is in Delhi, although there are a few good publishers in Mumbai.” A veteran in the line, Das feels that this is due to “high-tech printing at low-cost Delhi offers to publishers.” He adds: “Many foreign publishers are coming to India to print their books at economical rates, without compromising on [international] quality.” Printing books, in Mumbai, notes Das, is expensive, even if there’s been an almost ten-fold increase in [book] publishing in the country, in recent years. He observes: “Unless and until printers in Mumbai bring down costs, the situation isn’t going to change.”

Now, the big question. How does a first-time/new/unpublished, author get his/her book published in Mumbai, or even elsewhere. Obviously, for a writer, who’s based in Mumbai, it’s much more practical to get a publisher, and printer, in town. S/he would feel comfortable, if not be in control of operations. Avers Bipin Shah, another long-time books aficionado: “That’s the difficult part. For a new author, the publisher has to put in a lot of money. Most publishers are not willing to do that, even if they want, or wish, to.” This, he says, has to change, because only when you invest, would you be able to attract attention for a book[s] and also readers.

Shah’s advice to would-be authors: “Your book, first and foremost, has to be good and, most importantly, marketable. Next, your publisher has to ‘pitch-in’ for quality paper and printing. The packaging and pricing have to be right. However, it is ultimately the content and quality that hold the key to a successful book. Add to it marketing, which is sound and aggressive, and you also have the services of a good distributor, you’ve everything going just right for you… albeit nobody can predict the outcome of any book.”

As far as books, in the English language is concerned, Jaico, emphasises Das, has been doing quite well in Mumbai -- so also Alchemy. Jaico has not only launched several new authors, but has been very supportive of their cause -- by way of sales just as well.

Das feels Jaico is, by and large, a safe bet for new and old authors, although he says, that, “they take too long a time to bring your book out!”

When Age Is No Age

2008-02-04T01:48:00.009+05:30

“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying," Woody Allen once wrote in his inimitable purple prose.

The fact is: modern biomedical researchers have made enormous progress in deciphering the mystery of aging. According to them, physical imperishability may not be immediate; however, the day is not far off when death is essentially deferred, if not fully elective.

The obstacles to youthful longevity are not just biological, but also political. What’s more, a majority of our celebrated thinkers are at odds to the idea of long, healthy lives. As Leon Kass, a leading bioethicist, puts it: “The finitude of human life is a blessing for every individual, whether s/he knows it or not.”

What’s more, as author Francis Fukuyama emphasises, young geezers will “refuse to get out of the way; not just of their children, but their grandchildren and great grandchildren.” Adds Daniel Callahan, another noted bioethics scholar: “There is no known social good coming from the conquest of death.” He concludes: “The worst possible way to resolve this issue is to leave it up to individual choice.”

However this maybe, there’s good reason to being optimistic from a scientific standpoint. “The prospects of dramatically increasing human longevity are excellent,” says Steven Austad, a top-notch biologist. In addition, many researchers themselves foresee the human race being placed at the intersection of the second longevity revolution. They aver that the first longevity revolution occurred in the early 20th century, as infant mortality declined, and infectious diseases were conquered. As a result, they add, more young people now enjoy the opportunity to become old. The next longevity revolution, by contrast, they visualise, will actually put off old age.

From nature’s perspective, evolution in human beings has “picked” a set of genes that keep our bodies in good shape long enough to mature sexually, yield progeny, and raise them to maturity. All of this in about forty years of one’s lifespan. The supposition: if our body bestows a lot of energy in repairing itself, it will reduce the amount it can dedicate to reproduction. While this maybe good for individual bodies, your germ cells have no interest in keeping you young forever.

A case in point. Michael Rose, a biologist, has firmly established the evolutionary connection between sex and death by breeding fruit flies. Only those flies that reproduced late in life and bred them with one another were selected in the study. Result: the longer it took the insects to reproduce, the longer they lived. Rose’s lab show-cased flies that lived 130, instead of the customary 40 days.

Paradoxically, researchers have found that the genes that are helpful in promising healthy youth are damaging down the line. The tumour-suppressing p53 gene, for instance, keeps us away from developing cancer in early life. However, it does this at the price of stimulating our immune systems to raze the reserve of rapidly dividing stem cells that inflate our tissues over time. Simple premise: as our stem cells are “annihilated,” our tissues deteriorate. Result: aging, or what’s called “antagonistic pleiotropy.”

There are also a host of factors that kill people — from diseases to accidents. Hence, the big question: is there an upper limit on human lifespan? Reports the respected magazine, Science: life expectancy has been increasing at about two-and-a-half years per decade, for the last 150 years. To cull an example. The maximum human lifespan, perhaps, was 122 years achieved by one nicotine-smoking French citizen, of all people, who died over ten years ago!

There’s more than a ray of hope, yes — for healthy longevity. As The Washington Post predicts that it will be possible for us to “re-seed the body with our own cells that are made more potent and younger, so we can repopulate the body.”

But, one stumbling block remains in this blog-post I've compiled: stem cell transplants are at least a decade, or two, away — maybe, even more distant!

There hangs a tale — quite sublime.

Comedy’s First Knight

2007-12-25T20:30:00.012+05:30

Charlie Chaplin died on Christmas Day, exactly 30 years ago [1977]. His magic will live so long as the art of making movies lives. Forever.

Charlie Chaplin was to comedy what Sir Don Bradman was to the game of cricket. Inimitable. Timeless.

Chaplin was born in London to Charles Sr., and Hannah Harriette Hill — both small-time entertainers. When Charlie’s parents separated soon after his birth, the little kid was left to the care of his mother who, through years of mental upheaval, suffered a mental breakdown. She went to an asylum, and died in 1928. Charlie and his older half-brother Sydney were brought up at an orphanage. His was, doubtless, a traumatic childhood — and, it provided the ground swell for his creative flair and genius to sprout, with more than a sense of Freudian "chutzpah."

Chaplin [1889-1977] sure inherited from his parents “stage” genetics, or gift of the gab on the sets, of entertaining people. He could mime superbly and also dance with consummate skill — both mandatory qualities in the silent era. Besides, he also drew on his own poverty and fight for survival to fashion his legendary character — the tramp.

Chaplin got his first major break in 1913, when he signed up with Fred Karno Company — a British vaudeville unit that was touring the US. He made immediate impression and was signed on by Mark Sennet of Keystone — renowned makers of slapstick one-reelers. It was actually Sennet that inspired Chaplin to make his first film, Kid Auto Races At Venice, a movie which also marked the debut of Chaplin’s famous alter ego, the tramp.

How did the character evolve? In Chaplin’s own words:

“I had no idea of the character. But, the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the make-up made me feel the person he was. I began to know him, and by the time I walked on to the stage he was fully born. When I confronted Sennet I assumed the character and strutted about, swinging my cane and parading before him. Gags and comedy ideas went racing through my mind.”

Chaplin explained to Sennet: “You know, this fellow is many-sided, a tramp, a gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, a lonely fellow, always hopeful of romance and adventure. He could make you believe he’s a scientist, a musician, a duke, a polo player. However, he’s not above picking up cigarette butts or robbing a boy of its candy. And, of course, if the occasion warrants it, he will kick a lady in the rear — but, only in extreme anger.”

Within a short time, Chaplin went to Essanay Films on a contract of $1,250 a week — a huge sum those days. And, in 1916, Mutual signed Chaplin for a whopping $10,000 a week.

The impoverished lad from London had come a long way. However, the inner urge of every artist began to propel him in a new direction — Chaplin was anxious to make his own films. As he was indulging in slapstick and sentiment in his earlier films, he was also experimenting. He was always trying to create a poetic celluloid movement through settings and props, through mime, and through his elegant though seemingly "clumsy" excursions. Soon, he was in a unique position of being able to script, produce, direct, and star in his own films.

Chaplin sure expressed his cinematic genius with universal empathy, because his highly imaginative mind allowed him to mix sentiment, pathos, humour, and lyricism like no one else. Result? Classics followed in quick succession: The Kid, City Lights, The Gold Rush, Modern Times, The Great Dictator — a dig at Adolf Hitler’s megalomania – and, so on. Although some of his last feature films — Monsier Verdoux, Limelight, and A Countess From Hong Kong — did not become great hits, Chaplin’s cinematic genius and humanism continue to enthral newer generations of audiences all over the world — in a language everyone understands. Chaplin’s own.

Chaplin, of course, made his own kind of movies and on his own schedules. He made them in the old-fashioned way, insisting on seeing to every detail himself. He did not like sound — not music though — and, resisted changes in Hollywood and its film-making process. This did not affect him and his talent for making wonderfully hilarious films. This explains why Chaplin came to be — and, still is — idolised with unreserved directness. His scenery is a collage — not a metaphor. It’s a cocoon of Chaplin’s expressions which one has always tried to break through to the reality outside. As a critic commented, "Chaplin’s work resembles a hall of mirrors reflecting only one image, Chaplin himself."

The rest is pure magic. Chaplin gave the tramp and his psyche a new identity. The way he wielded his walking stick; the pattern of his splay-footed, shuffling walk; or, the waltz which would get transformed into a hurried sprint when pursued; his shy and almost restrained smile; the mercurial swiftness with which he would dodge someone, not to speak of his ability to skate at the edge of the precipice — all these images urge us to rewind and witness every bit of it over and over again.

Chaplin’s magic is eternal too — it has audiences laughing at his antics even before one gets to know that the little fellow, with the bowler hat, baggy trousers, toothbrush moustache, and delightfully expressive cane, was a transplanted cockney entertainer.

However, for a great man, Chaplin’s life was mixed — of triumph and trauma. Chaplin attracted as much attention for his films as for his affairs and marriages — three of which were disasters. The only happy marriage that lasted was his fourth with playwright Eugene O’Neill’s 18-year-old daughter, Oona, when Chaplin was aged 54. Besides this, Chaplin was in the public eye for his not-so-consistent sympathy for communist ideals. He once made a stormy exit from the US on “political grounds,” and returned to the land that had made him a celebrity like no other only to receive his Oscar.

All the same, whether he was at home or on the sets, Chaplin ran the show. Acting, for him, was all artistry, and reels of celluloid captured its essence and more. What was also amazing about Chaplin’s consummate excellence was his own sense of beliefs and the amazing measure he was able to achieve with subtle realism.

Chaplin remains a class act. More importantly, his everlasting mosaic celebrates his imperishable status as Comedy’s First Knight — no more, no less.

Dream To Keep Fear At Bay

2007-11-12T22:32:00.010+05:30

All of us picture our dreams as amusing, even if strange. Most of us dream about an hour each night; or, maybe, just over four years in an average life-span. Isn’t this a notable part of our lives? You bet. Put simply, dreams are our own strong personal creative founts of hope — one that we can use to perk up any aspect of our wakeful life.

There are many ways to using our dreams to improving the quality of our life, health, and well-being. Here’s one that’s easy to practice.

We all know that dreams and dream images emerge from a great river of life experience. Attending to dreams is particularly imperative. This expression relates to a force, or energy, at work beyond conscious intent. It is, therefore, as vital to pursue and also follow in association with the art and practice of what is called dream work, or the dream imperative.

The dream imperative is the all-encompassing vessel of psychic energy. While this “vast reservoir,” or unconscious space, has yielded its secrets over the ages, it is, by nature, intangible and obscure. Among the many ways it manifests is during sleep — through the imagery of dreams. Where does this forceful energy come from? Simple. Complex. Image-making is the function of our psyche. It moves towards dreams, because this is the way the psyche in us draws to itself and intentionally seeks our actual focus.

There are many expressions of this psychic dimension of reality: from the psyche’s intention towards us and its dynamic expression… to our very own dreams in the practice of dream work. In other words, it is the seat of our psyche, or soul — encompassing both the image and its metaphor. And, as we learn to speak the language of the psyche as it has been spoken through the ages, in dreams, music, art, poetry, religious rituals etc., we also pay close attention to the voice of the dream as it shows up in our daily life experiences.

The value of practicing dream work is not so much to diminish fear, though this may happen. The value is actually keyed to assisting us to bear the alarming reality in relation to the source of psychic life, which pervades and notifies all reality.

When we carry dream images consciously, we are able to maintain a balance between us and our concern for others in the midst of the great known, or unknown, fear looking in our face, today. It also helps us maintain a connection with an underlying psychic reality that connects all life in the midst of so much devastation, all around us — be it violence, war, or any other man-made disagreement.

Yes, there we are! It is only through consistent attention to the world of dreams that we are discovering the most rewarding outcome of all: a relationship with a creative source of inspiration that sustains us when logic and reason misfire.

Here are a few tips — in order to dream, or practice dream work, with purpose, for good physical, emotional, and spiritual health and also well-being:

Write on a piece of paper your dreams in the current situation.
Try to gel your thoughts to the basic theme.
Note down feelings on awakening, during the dream, and the present.
Stay with the image that holds the greatest level of energy.
See how images, feelings, and associations from your dreams show up during wakeful life.
Wait for the dream to reveal itself.
Visualise the dream in art, music, sport, and in everything you do during the course of the day.

Sweet dreams!

Of Sound And Raga

2007-09-20T17:27:00.012+05:30

Spiritual, or religious, states, all over the globe, are often equated with light. However this maybe, one primal fact remains: our spirit is created not by light, but by sound. Hence, the vintage expression: “In the beginning was the word…” — or, sound in the form of divine speech.

Divine sound is the cause of all manifestation — a tremendous power. Great musicians, for instance, aver that sound is God’s power — in other words, Náda Brahma, the divine sound that reverberates through the Universe. Which explains why we have been traditionally taught that sound is God, what with music being the spiritual discipline that raises one’s inner self to divine bliss. The power of sound, or mantra, as you’d have thought, has, therefore, been given a special pride of place in everyday life — an expression of tremendous spiritual strength.

A dynamic, highly individualised, and non-violent, way to approach conditions we wish to change, mantra, in simple terms, is a Sanskrit word with many shades of meanings — a tool of the mind, divine speech, language of human spiritual physiology, and so on. It is also an extension of energy — a therapeutic “gizmo” for healing problems that we face in life, one time or the other. Mantras, quite simply, not only help us to feel more at ease, or more energised, they can also help us cope with illness and effect physical healing.

Mystical scriptures and teachers, in many parts of the world, have taught mantras as a tool to harnessing sound affirmations — for aeons. However, we ought to remember that it isn’t a panacea. It may not totally solve all our problems. But, it can considerably soften them, so much so it can help us deal with most concerns and necessities of life. With sustained practice, a mantra — one with which you’re most comfortable — can help us gain clarity about life, our purpose, and oneself.

The earliest hymns and mantras contained in the Rig Veda are traditionally considered to date back to 1,500 BCE — possibly even to before 4,000 BCE. It is also established that Pythagoras, the ancient Greek philosopher, was one of the earliest investigators of the physical, emotional, and spiritual effects of sound. He not only proposed his doctrine of the harmony of spheres, but also the ratios between musical notes — something that each of us could resonate in harmony… to benefit every aspect of our being.

According to Thomas Ashley-Farrand, a noted Indophile and scholar, who has practiced mantra-based spiritual disciplines for over 25 years, and teaches Sanskrit mantras and meditation at Chaffee College, US, simple chants are packed with energy. He also explains that it’s one reason why mantras, which are specially designed to generate power sound waves, have it in them to promote healing, insight, creativity, and spiritual growth.

He contends that mantras not only cure specific ailments, but they also help one to find inner peace — being one with the Cosmos. In his easy-to-use, and practice, book, Healing Mantras, which may, perhaps, be one of the best-ever introductions to unlocking the power of every Sanskrit word, Ashley-Farrand presents over fifty mantras. In the process, he also unravels every expression, and explains its appropriate application/s, including pronunciation in a very easy-to-follow manner.

“The practice of Sanskrit mantras,” notes Ashley-Farrand, “increases the vitality and energy-utilising ability of the chakras in our subtle body and the organs of our physical body.” He further explains: “As we grow proficient in mantra meditation, new experiences may begin to present themselves to us” — a sense of mysterious energy that clears away spiritual impurities, energising the chakras, and burning off karma.

Recommended: chanting!

Helpline In Word And Deed

2007-08-12T05:19:00.008+05:30

We all know the import of a major resource — or, call it your own user-friendly helpline, in print, and on the Web — that is making the rounds. In other words, the world of self-help, or New-Age, books. Books, that have a sort of cult image around them. Something you either swallow in big gulps, or not at all.

Your thoughts, as our ancients often emphasised, influence your physical and emotional health. They can even determine your future. Hence, the big question. What would you do to harness the power of your mental muscles? The answer is within you. Just use your creative imagery, or imagination — and, see how you can awaken spontaneous insight. Sounds familiar, with all self-help books? You bet.

Here goes the crux. Take the word imagination. It comes from the root, imaginari, which means, “to picture internally.” Which, in turn, exemplifies our ability to form and express the internal picture — an ability that holds a special key to creative thinking. As the great mathematician Jacques Hadmard found that our thinking process was characterised not by language, or standard mathematical symbols, but rather by visual imagery. Or, as Albert Einstein observed: “The words of the language as they were written or spoken do not seem to play any role in my mechanism of thought, which relies on more or less clear images of a visual, and some of a muscular, type.”

Yes, it is more than a possibility — a ground reality. All of us can use our imagination for the higher purposes of our own existence — both in academics, or work, and at home. To use your imagination, you needn’t resort to buying expensive gadgets — off-the-shelf. Example: whenever you are depressed, or dispirited, close your eyes and imagine that you are in an isolated place in nature. You’d also toy with the idea of a flower meadow, or a lovely sun‑baked beach. Imagine it now — and, there you are!

The concept works! How? According to visualisation experts, simply imagining yourself in a nurturing situation has the very same physical and emotional effect as actually being there. To collate another classical model. All of us constantly generate a flow of mental images and mentally-induced situations. At any given moment, for instance, we are all formulating ideas, worrying about something, picturing a past event, or daydreaming about a forthcoming event. You got it. It’s only through imagination that we can all plan ahead, solve problems, empathise, fall in love, dream — and, generally, make sense of our life experiences.

It goes without saying that all great men/women, down the ages, have actively provoked the imagination. They have also, in the process, recognised that imagination has provided them access to the unconscious processes relevant to health, illness, and spirituality. It’s something that science has also now given credence to: that emotional discord can manifest as physical patterns, or symptoms. These disturbing images, as we all know, can trigger the release of stress hormones into your bloodstream. The resultant effect is commonplace knowledge: illness and disease.

Such “negative” images, as most self-help books emphasise, need not be always harmful. You could use them creatively, for at least 20 minutes, in quietude everyday — to enhance your sense of well‑being. How? By the conscious, repeated use of “counter” mental images and/or creative imagery, while in a state of relaxation.

Result? You will draw in positive life changes — changes for the better. These excursions, researchers reckon, will not only help you reduce stress, combat chronic pain, promote self‑healing, or achieve goals, like being more focused at academics/workplace, but also aid you in giving up a bad habit, like smoking, or improving your academic scores, and athletic ability.

So, what are you waiting for? Just pick up a good self-help book — and, it may all follow!

Whither Indian Cricket?

2007-05-05T18:03:00.012+05:30

If the gods bring to you
A possible and probable prospect —
Accept the gift
As if it were the one you had chosen.

This is the very essence of the topic we have set out to discuss — the contemplation of India’s chances this season: form, or no form.

It’s an import that ought to be one big motto for Rahul Dravid’s talented — and, hopeful — squad.

The inference is obvious. Because, anything else without the vitality of enterprise won’t do — since attitude is everything that makes you a winner, or dud... something through which you’d slide down the aisle of achievement, or greatness, into obscurity — more so, in a touch-and-go showdown, as it were. Test, or one-day, cricket is a stunning revelation of such a metaphor — a thin dividing line between two variants. Of victory and defeat.

Cricket, like any other fusion of the horizons, is a validity criterion: a justifiable interpretation of art and science. Of a rendition dependent upon the circumstances in which it occurs: a strategy for finding a context essential to all explanation, a condition for the very possibility of interpretation. It is also a question of existence itself, even if it is more than a scabbard. It relates itself to observation, too. You’d never want it to end. You’d also never want to forget the past and future. As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it so perceptively: “These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are…”

The allegory holds enough weight for India’s most incredible, and out-of-this-world, triumph in World Cup 1983; we are still harking about it... Because, we have not won the World Cup twice!

It was an unbelievable victory, something that dreams are made of — a topsy-turvy outcome that dazed the mighty West Indians, no less, than what every other critic had been, until then, [un]evenly judgmental about. That Kapil Devils’ ‘made-for-one-day-cricket’ team was a mere pretender to the crown: a club side masquerading as an international ensemble. The ‘quibblers’ had to eat their own words — and, how well they ate them we all know now, even if one would not so much like to recall a few famous names, in the process.

But, for the sake of analogy, let us take a dekko into a possibility theme. There could be many around today who may use a similar theme for Dravid’s squad too, in spite of the fact that the Indian outfit looks quite good on paper: a team that is seemingly well balanced in all departments. Something quite similar to the one that brought India the World Cup, nearly twenty-four years ago — the difference being of degree. Yes, we have a brace of good all-rounders like Yuvraj Singh, who is an outstanding fielder, besides being a useful bowler. But, he’s, unfortunately, a player who’s not consistent, even when he’s the ability to post more than a pile of runs in the toughest of situations with nonchalant ease.

What about the other departments? Our bowling’s weak; our fielding dull. And, with Zaheer Khan just hitting the deck with computerised purport, not with consistent 'sting,' and Irfan Pathan unable to work on his earlier magic, it goes without saying that Dravid could be forced to think of a game plan that can help manage, or contain, the flow of runs — not annihilate the opponent.

The batting will revolve around the incomparable Dravid himself, doubtless. The big worry is: our opening frame is anything but formidable.

So, it won’t be easy for India, even if it is. Yet, if only it places its best foot forward, and does not get bogged down under its own hunk, it can win matches — not lose from a position of strength. Test, or one-day, cricket, after all, is a tough prospect — a team that does well on a connectivity spoor is the team that often wins.

The remainder, however, will also not be relatively automatic, or smooth-sailing. Because, unless you work hard and win, there’s nothing you can do about it. There has to be a method. As Edgar Wind, the greatest scholar of the Renaissance imagination, put it: “A method that fits the small work but not the great has obviously started at the wrong end… the commonplace may be understood as a reduction of the exceptional, but the exceptional cannot be understood by amplifying the commonplace. Both logically and causally the exceptional is crucial because it introduces… the more comprehensive category.”

It holds a tale — a saga for all seasons, and reasons. Not just in life, but also Indian cricket.

Team India: The Best Of The Best-Ever

2007-04-23T06:45:00.013+05:30

It’s too difficult a task to select one’s best-ever India Test side. Firstly, you tend to have your own favourite players — call it personal bias, or what you may. Also, the fact remains that any selection at the individualistic level is wrought with ‘ideological’ problems. It also adds to a dilemma — of a team not being truly representative of the land and its ethos!

So much for the preamble. It explains all — for more reasons than one. Because, notwithstanding the pitfalls, allow me, dear reader, to truly saunter through the realms of a cricketing Time Machine, and delve into the fascinating — an all-time great, or best-ever, India Test team of my own dreams, a team for all seasons and reasons!

Here goes —

1. Sunil Gavaskar
2. Faroukh Engineer
3. Rahul Dravid [Captain]
4. Gundappa Vishwanath
5. Sachin Tendulkar
6. Vijay Hazare
7. Kapil Dev
8. Dattu Phadkar
9. Bishen Singh Bedi
10. Erapalli Prasanna
11. B S Chandrasekhar

12th Man: Mohammed Azharuddin
Reserves: Mohinder Amarnath, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Syed Kirmani, Roger Binny, and Anil Kumble.

Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar had everything in him, in abundance — as abundant a talent anyone could dream of, but not always achieve. The results speak for themselves. From his magical presence on the playing arena, and his glorious string of records, Gavaskar continues to be a walking advertisement hoarding for just about anything — cricket, or otherwise.

When Gavaskar launched his Test career in the West Indies, in 1971, with a bang, it was god-sent — for the good of Indian cricket. With every passing year, his abilities only improved. So much so, he became an ornament, in Sir Don Bradman’s words, to the game. His stupendous achievement, with the bat, stands tall — a testimony to his character and strength.

What was the secret behind Gavaskar’s success story? First of all, his famous temperament. His commitment, and firm nonchalance. His footwork was just right, for he was rugged without being heavy. He had a sharp eye, exquisitely fleet-footed reflexes and wrists that had the power of steel. His sense of timing and control was brilliant. He was practically setting very high standards for himself without over-estimating his own self-importance vis-à-vis his batting mechanics — a factor that was evident to a great extent in the fruition of his goals.

His stunning record is proof of his prowess. Gavaskar’s statistical roll call now looks like a fairy tale: 125 Tests; 10,122 runs; 34 hundreds; highest score, 236 not out; average 51.12. It celebrates his enterprise, capability, and dynamism in getting things done. It also underscores his sense of mysticism — one that pervades every known forms of understanding. His place is permanent in the game’s greatest portals: for all time to come.

Just the right man to open the batting, and lead the side from the batting front!

Engineer
Faroukh Engineer gets my vote for the simple reason that he combined both the dashing flavour of a buccaneer and electrical energy of a go-getter, with the willow. In his prime, Engineer was adventure-personified. He had an elegant style and subtle dynamism just as well — he could find the gaps with effortless ease. He could also just strut a few paces, down the wicket, and despatch the quickies with both flourish and power. He was, quite truly, the Virender Sehwag of his age, who also packed a new method of his own into his cricketing dynamics. Debonair, Engineer had a regal manner. His walk to the wicket, and his waltzing enterprise behind the stumps were a treat to watch. His wicket-keeping skills were, of course, legendary, standing up as he did, for most part, to the probing puzzles of Prasanna, Chandrasekhar, and Bedi. He’d have been our ideal foil to Gavaskar’s solid presence, at the other end, just as well.

Dravid
Rahul Dravid is, quite simply, a Goliath of a batsman, and one of the finest ever — not just in the traditional game, which was initially his forte, or so his critics amplified, but also in one-day cricket.

Dravid wields the willow like a seasoned guitarist on the stringed instrument. Also, there’s more to his peerless capabilities than what meets the description of aptitude. He has a stately sense of melody in his batting mechanics, and he has emerged as a worthy torchbearer of Gundappa Vishwanath’s ‘Vishy-arty’ enterprise, with his aesthetic pattern and dignity, that touches the sublime. To cull an example, Dravid’s square drive is the real nectar of elevated batsmanship, today. It is a shot that attains nirvana as soon as it leaves his artful bat.

Dravid, albeit an intuitive batsman, is a model of assurance. He gives you the feeling that he means business — nothing else. He does not often give the bowler a ‘clear’ chance, although he sure believes in taking ‘measured’ risks with the bowler, without giving him a fair dimension to succeed. Not that Dravid is averse to experimenting. He is just as well adept. But, maybe, he does it delicately — the difference being of degree.

There are other parallels too. Vishy, in his prime, and Dravid, in the present age, never exhibited that potential for the ‘kill,’ or the so-called killer-instinct, and the top-of-the-draw cult element in modern sport. All they have done is to quite simply and palpably demystify the whole idea in its face and emerge as victors in thought and deed. They have demonstrated that cricket is a mental game — what with that ‘got-to-keep-a-cool-head’ form of medley — a game that is played between two ears.

In so doing, Dravid has also signed himself up into the classical school of batsmanship — a synthesis that has all ways of knowing as a powerful base. One that calls for the fundamental unity of all knowledge with the need to search for all the particles underlying every branch of cricketing excellence. Dravid’s batting is an intellectual convention — not a much-hyped celebrity assemblage — that has its roots in the pristine concept of orderliness.

Dravid’s game is also a revelation by itself — something that may not only be used with special reference, but also between the common equation of flair and the divine. Like his glorious drives or pulls, for instance, which are almost an indispensable part of either spectrum. Also, take into account his concentration — not to speak of relaxation, or better still, the magical power and grace of the swing of the willow — and, control over the bat while executing a great shot…

You can’t have a better player to manage the one-down pivotal position. Or, a cerebral leader — who’s suave, intelligent, and intensely focused.

Vishwanath
A supreme stylist, Gundappa Vishwanath integrated aesthetic judgment with truth and justice: a theory of knowledge of what is truly artistic is also simply articulate. Not only that. He exemplified, in the process, his own spectrum of consciousness, a moment of truth — from empiricism to constructivism, from relativism to aestheticism — all without contradiction. In so doing, he elevated cricket, a sport like no other, into a genuine rainbow coalition, or synthesis.

Not merely a compulsive artist with the brush, Vishy personified the painter in him, whatever the type of lithograph: in his case, varied, batsman-friendly, or hostile, wickets, and laser-beam pace bowling or wily spin. In so doing, he turned the old single-cord tool into a manifold instrument.

Vishy had all the requisites of a top-class batsman. He batted with a velvety feel: from a wrist as powerful as a coil of steel that snapped at every scoring opportunity. He gave a new dimension to cricketing shots with his own sense of sublime delicacy, economy of movement, and action. A born stylist, Vishy’s game was beyond simulation: a derring-do dream, or hypnotic entity, far beyond the realms of imitation, or emulation.

Vishy had, early on, flattered only to deceive in his expression of an art that was all his very own. His brilliant century on Test debut, against Bill Lawry’s Aussie squad, in 1969 — after he had got out for a duck in the first innings — followed by a few good knocks, now and then, were the only highlights, at one stage. Nothing else. Came the Calypso stars, circa 1973-74, under Clive Lloyd, and Vishy, the first Indian to have broken the ‘hoodoo’ of other Indian batsmen who could not score another Test century, following a maiden ton on debut, hit it off wonderfully well. He was a changed, charged batsman.

Vishy made 14 Test hundreds for India, most of them under testing conditions. What’s more, India never lost a Test when Vishy scored a hundred. A selfless batsman, who always played for his team, not himself, Vishy often came to bat with one motto in mind, whatever the level of cricket: entertainment. He made batting look so easy — the easiest of all professions, which it certainly isn’t.

While Vishy was disposed to taking risks, outside the off-stump, he was a majestic run-getter, in either form of the game, with an easy method. He treated the ball like a child; never gave it the pulverised treatment. His timing and placement were truly astounding. For one who was once rejected, by the Indian schools’ cricket selectors, on the basis of his short stature, Vishy was, indeed, India’s finest batsman of his type. His batsmanship, tall in its fulsome stature, represented a noble tradition, first fostered by Ranji and Duleep, and worshipped and practised by the likes of Vengsarkar, Azharuddin and others, and, thereafter, by the likes of Tendulkar, and Dravid.

You can’t have a better batsman than him in any great team!

Tendulkar
What makes Sachin Tendulkar Tendulkar is he seems to play his best cricket against the best teams — when the challenge is enormous, he rises to the occasion just as much. Maybe, he hasn’t led India, with the bat, to many more Test match and ODI victories away from home, as his talent would warrant him to. But, this is beside the point.

All the same — that he scores a century in his every sixth or seventh outing, on an average, is legendary, although it is a different thing that it has not translated the team’s performance into triumphs in like manner. Blame it on the basic ‘swing’ of the team, as one unit, or collective failure — you have a pattern that is quite unique to Indian cricket. We are up and up, when we are up there; and, we are down and down, when we slide down the ladder of achievement just as well.

For a genius with the bat, Tendulkar did not emerge a great captain, though. However, he has more than compensated for it with his flair, style, aggression and stunning luminosity. And, what has earned him more than a phenomenal degree of respect and adulation is his down-to-earth simplicity — this despite being an icon like no other. He maybe more popular than Jawaharlal Nehru, perhaps, ever was — just before India became Independent, or soon after the heady days of free India’s first democratic government.

But, let’s not forget the fact that Tendulkar is a human being — quite representative of human flaws. For a man who seems to have the knack to overhaul every record possible, as it were, or set new highs, there is emerging thought that holds the view that Tendulkar has, in recent times, been playing a wee bit below par. He’s also human — ain’t he?

No disputing his sublime genius — he could just walk into any Test side, in any age.

Hazare
Vijay Hazare was a complete batsman. He’s a man with a mission, too: to revel in any aspect of the game. Divined as he was with a fervent temper, consistency of approach, and wholesome reliance in his own talent, Hazare was a go-getter with a malleable touch. His defence was stable, a bedrock of purpose; his stroke play was original and fulsome. They combined to endow both substance and vigour to his blossoming as one of the most prolific run-getters in Indian cricket.

India’s maiden tour of Australia, in 1947-48, was Hazare’s watershed. His tryst with destiny was complete when he scored 116 and 145 in the Adelaide Test — the first Indian ever to attain the signal distinction. His run-aggregate in the five-Test series was a grand 429 — a vindication of his superior ability against the likes of Lindwall, Miller, McCool, Toshack et al. His roseate deification did not go unnoticed. As the Aussie captain, Sir Don Bradman, the one and the only, once observed: “India has produced many attractive batsmen who can hold their heads high in any company, and of those I have seen none gave me more joy than Hazare.” They’re not mere words, but gems, equivalent to winning the Nobel Prize in cricket. For one primal reason. The Don wasn’t really known for being ‘game’ to easy plaudit, or praise.

Hazare was a gentle player — a gentler human being. His batting was all dignity. He was an elegant player of the drive, and the pull, which is otherwise a rasping shot. He often executed even the most blazing of shots with the cool precision of a surgeon. He also played the cut, the flick of his legs, and the delicate leg-glance, with splendour. He was respected for his free-stroking expertise. He could dissect any field, set for him, with computerised congruity.

A great batsman in the classical mould — there can’t be two opinions about his choice.

Kapil Dev
One of India’s greatest all-rounders ever, Kapil Dev had a love affair. With timber, his family’s way of life, vocation, and business. And, the inevitability was distinct. Instead of opting for a career in the yard, Dev was, quite simply, born to play cricket... knocking out the timber from the ground, with the red cherry — his own simple, but exhilarating tool.

Dev’s cricket was always an evolution of mind — a progression of a Pavlovian response — from the basics to the compound, from the compound to the complex, from the reflex to tropism, and from tropism to the instinct. A cricketing natural, Dev was more than a sporting revelation: an epitome of the game’s conscious evolution, a new paradigm of competition, human enterprise, and excellence.

From a ‘tearaway’ rookie, he graduated to become one of cricket’s leading wicket-takers in Test history… among quickmen His transition was smooth: he was conscious of his value to the side. So, he wisely compromised his speed for accuracy, and change of pace — and, served India with both distinction and honour for a long time.

Dev also never put his ‘weight,’ on his follow-through, on his ankles: the made-to-order shock-absorbers. This was, indeed, the secret of his longevity. He gave no respite to batsmen. The ball or bat, to Dev, was a bracelet, not just a weapon of destruction. He carried an elephant’s load on his strong shoulders, ipso facto, following the eclipse of India’s famous spin quartet. Not for nothing was he called ‘Haryana Hurricane:’ a veritable match-winner in both the brands of the game.

A legend in the fast lane!

Phadkar
Dattu Phadkar combined both pace and grace. He was a true workhorse — a never-say-die paceman. He had the ability to swing the ball late, either way, and pumped into his deliveries ‘that’ extra zip to wobble the very best. He would have been an ideal foil to Kapil, if only the two had played together! A fine all-rounder, Phadkar complemented his bowling role as a courageous, dependable bat in any given crisis — much better, perhaps, than most of his ilk.

An all-rounder with the right mix, and the right spirit.

Prasanna, Chandrasekhar, and Bedi
That the deadly threesome held centre-stage, and shaped some of India’s most famous triumphs ever, tell the story of their class act much more effectively than hundreds of words put together. They are the high notes of cricket in all its glory — one that was expertly moulded to work in unison and whir into profound activity by automatic orchestration.

Not that they were alike. Their styles were different; their objective to unsettling the nerves of an opposition batsman ranged from one extreme to the other, and even something in-between. While the crafty Prasanna, the Chopin of spin, would often go on a shopping-spree buying wickets, the prodigal Chandra loved to make his way through unqualified generosity, produce that unplayable ball from nowhere, and take his reward as if it was his by right.

Bedi was, on the other hand, a wily ‘trickster,’ what with his subtle nuance. His deliveries bordered on accuracy: one that often forced a batsman to make judgmental errors, thanks to the volatile, colourful Sardar’s jugglery. But, there was something more, too: razor-sharp close-in fielding with the likes of Solkar, Abid Ali, Wadekar, and Venkataraghavan, that also contributed to the overall effectiveness of India’s spin bowling. This gave them a stunning edge just as well. A definitive framework; even difference. You know why: India’s fielding composition was as lackadaisical as the dodo during the halcyon days of the great Vinoo Mankad, Subhash Gupte, and others.

Bedi was also different. He was the only left-arm spinner in the side; and, as such, indispensable. He remained undisturbed throughout, notwithstanding his ‘brushes’ with the selectors, till the disastrous tour of Pakistan, in 1978-79, when his mastery and his colleagues’ magic suddenly went dry.

Chandra was, of course, spin bowling’s genius of a freak... till the day he hung up his boots. He was the indisputable supremo of an art which was all his own. Not a classical leggie in the fine sense of the term, Chandra was his own personal cursor and scanner. He made his own rules, and decisions. His art will remain his own — unsurpassed. A virtual match-winner, Chandra’s art began when imagination no longer existed... His polio-affected right hand was no less a scourge to batsmen — big, and small.

Whenever Chandra took the red cherry in his gifted hands, and walked up briskly to the top of his short bowling mark, and broke into a lazy stride, and gave the final touches to his rhythm — a jerk... and completed his delivery, there would be an air of expectancy, a sense of deja vu in the batsman’s psyche, and the spectators’ mind…

There won’t be another of their kind again. Enough reason for them to ‘power’ India’s winning edge!

How To Make It As A Writer

2007-03-26T05:28:00.006+05:30

You are in reverie — dreaming of becoming the next best celebrated writer.

You wish you’d key in your article on to your computer and get it published, in a jiffy. Or, you've a great plot for a novel — one you think you’d work on to the best of your ability. Sounds simple. But, it isn’t.

A writer’s life isn’t a bed, nay word, of roses. What is it like, you may well ask — and, you’d derive a generalised pattern that is part of the vocation, or every wordsmith’s song of burden.

Is there a way? Yes, there is… if only you’d heed to a dozen pointers — and, derive the best from them. Call it a fount of survival strategy, which every writer, big or small, has to go through, and learn from, or what you may!

1. A rejection slip is a part of your learning process, or profession, even though it may only reach you if you’re lucky. Many publishers don’t bother; they just dump your story into an already overflowing wastebasket — sometimes even without reading it. Rejection, however, will not mean that you aren’t good. It does not also mirror your potential, technique, and skill. So, don’t you feel dejected. Await your next mail, for a note of ‘acceptance’ to come your way!

2. You need to sculpt your article — make it the best. Let ideas evolve; let the article also evolve. Look at it, re-look at it — if need be, after a few hours’ gap, if you’ve time. Rewrite the piece, if you find that the style may not suit the newspaper/magazine you intend to send your piece for usage. It’s a good sign, if the editor wants you to re-do the piece. It also tells you a subtle fact: s/he likes your work, but would need a copy that suits his/her requirement/s.

3. You’ve to meet deadlines. There’s just no other way. If you succeed in 9 assignments, and fail to deliver the 10th on time, you may never write for the latter again. Hence, know what to take up, and what not to. Know your strengths — the ability to complete a given task in time. Also, don’t you ever discolour your reputation, or image. Missing deadlines is unprofessional. Don’t you ever get that ‘tag’ from your prospects.

4. Writer’s block is, indeed, a fact. It happens to all of us. Just relax. Think of it as a passing phase. Like a batsman’s lean trot. You’ll be back in form, sooner than you’d think!

5. Interruptions are the spice of life. You’ve to attend to your home duties, your own needs etc., You may also need a coffee break. Additionally, your telephone may ring at the wrong time, or a salesman may knock at your door to sell something in which you may not be interested.

6. You should have a dictionary handy, and also a thesaurus. To express yourself better, and also minimise the possibilities of using the same words over and over again.

7. Remember: s/he who tries to please all, pleases none. Everyone’s different. Also, remember you may have your own fan club, and critics just as well. Take the smooth with the rough, and vice versa.

8. Patience holds the key. Many editors don’t respond, pronto. Sometimes, you may need to wait for days on end, before word comes of ‘acceptance,’ or even rejection.

9. It ain’t easy to make money in writing alone. Unless, you have your own USP, or brand equity, of subjects. Remember, not all of us are big names in the field — a Ramachandra Guha, or Arundhati Roy.

10. Hum the good old Beatles song: “The long and winding road…” Also, think that you’ve been there before, even if you have had a potholed ride. It’s only through struggle that rewards reach their fruition. So, don’t you ever give up!

11. Try to be always animated, eager about your work — whether the assignment is well paid, or less lucrative, or even when the expected payment, or cheque, doesn’t arrive on time.

12. Also, remember that language is your only toolkit — keep on improving it every day.

What Will Be, Will Be!

2007-03-11T07:42:00.009+05:30

World Cup 2003 threw in quite a few surprises, as was expected in a tournament of such breathtaking dimension. However, in the midst of it all, there were some big disappointments, too. Most notably, the unexpected “flop-show” enacted by the likes of Shaun Pollock, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mahela Jayawardene, and so on… They failed at a time when their success would have given that added edge to their sides.

First things, first.

… Even before World Cup 2003 had taken off, in its actual form, leg-spin legend Shane Warne, who has always been known for his positive approach to bowling, and getting the better of the very best batting talents in the world, tested positive -- for having “swallowed” a substance not favourable by way of fair nutrition practices. He had to fly back home with a feeling of both shame and disgust -- whatever the implications were for his being on the right, or wrong, side of the drug-test fence. Still, it’s not for us, besides limitations of space for this write-up, to debate, or moralise, on Warny’s darkest hour -- because, even a cup of steaming, hot coffee, the refreshing beverage, could give one a “positive” result.

It was a major setback for Ricky Ponting’s great side -- although the Australian think-tank played down Warny’s loss. The strong Aussies could do that, thanks to the resources they have at their disposal -- and, also get away with few, or impressive, flow of words at the press convention, or the pages of every newspaper, or magazine, you’d think of the world over. But, it was sad for cricket to miss Warny -- who’d have picked up more than a handful of wickets and also deposited them in his illustrious career bank account.

You’d think that we are indulging in speculation. Maybe, maybe not. However, the fact is: the tweak, and the flick of the wrist, with Warny’s trademark resolute grunt, at the moment of delivery, weren’t captured on TV. Else, Mandira Bedi would have waxed eloquent on her “Lion of the Day” clips, and taken a hasty commercial break without knowing the meaning of a googly from a wrong ’un. What’s more, the old “dash-horse” Kris Srikkanth would also have gone further, and asked Saurav Ganguly to drop himself way down the order: from 14 to 24, if it’s possible!

Howsoever depressing Warny’s unceremonious exit from World Cup action, there’s more than just a mere jolt waiting for a handful of prominent players from other teams. Most notably, the big flop-show in which the likes of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shaun Pollock, Mahela Jayawardene, Allan Donald, Shahid Afridi, Chris Gayle, Nasser Hussain, Henry Olonga etc., -- and, to more than an extent, Matthew Hayden, the breezy Aussie opener -- took part. It was something that would have delighted Jaspal Bhatti, and his “mis-directed” serials, on Doordarshan, or elsewhere. No problem, the charming Sardar would have thought of a script, on the lines fabricated, by the time this article loses its meaning.

It often happens that one habitually gives priority in one’s thinking to something that is expected, and does not happen. Not only that. It is also not too often that we offer credibility to something that happens the other way around -- players who are thought to be run-of-the-mill, or useful, do pretty well, and even consistently. This applies to life, career, and in every avenue of human enterprise -- and, that’s the way it will be, or has always been.

If Inzy found running between the wickets not much to his liking -- as has been his wont ever since he held the willow in his gifted hands -- Afridi did most of the talking, heaping some of the choicest abuses on his opponents, not with the bat, or with the ball. His flying, popping hair, though better suited for a shampoo, or conditioning advertisement, somehow did not give him the “width” to do well in the tournament. He went too often and too early for his shots; and, if his bat did not hit the ball, the ball would often “plunge,” from nowhere, for his downfall.

Jayawardene’s touch deserted him when it was most needed. A worthy talent, Jayawardene has had this problem for too long -- early nerves. However, in World Cup 2003, his nerves were not really tested, as it were. Because, even before he’d get on with it, he would be back in the cozy comfort of the dressing room. One big innings was all Jay needed -- but, it was not to be.

For Pollock, luck ran out, just as much as miscalculation, or misjudgment. He sure lost his captaincy in the bargain -- but, that’s how South Africa’s fortunes have fluctuated in the world’s premier tournament. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. And, poor Donald, in what was truly his last hurrah, unquestionably made a “Duck” of himself, with his bowling by being not where he ought to have been. He realised that he was much better off writing newspaper columns -- an arm-chair critic of sorts.

Hussain’s cup of woes continued -- and, India was home with a grand victory. However this maybe, the English, one thought, did not really have a chance. But, so did Kenya -- or, so one felt, before the tourney got underway. And, just as much as Hussain did not get going with his free-flowing blade, Marcus Trescothick disappointed. So did that old warhorse, Alec Stewart, and the dependable Michael Vaughan -- they all failed at the most crucial moment.

Gayle was another who did not quite fire -- after he’d played many a “Gale” of an innings in India. Besides, rain played the spoilsport in the Windies-Bangladesh fixture, and Carl Hooper’s side was “thrown” out of the Cup. Gross injustice; but, that’s cricket when you’ve teams like the one from Dhaka masquerading in grand company with no wind to sail. Had the Windies got through, they could have definitely given a few sides a run for their money. More so, as a team moving ahead efficiently, but surely, with new talent -- like Ramnaresh Sarwan, a Rohan Kanhai in the making -- and, with that genius of a bat, Brian Lara, who, when he’s in the mood, can turn a match on his own. Single-handedly.

Not only that. At the other end of the spectrum, not just Olonga, but Zimbabwe, as a side, lost their punch. Somehow. Much was expected from the busy side at the Super Six stage. But, the team, as a whole, caved in. Blame it on the volcano-like situation in the country, or Robert Mugabe, there’s nothing “Heath” could “Streak” -- maybe, with even one of those “expected” wins over India!

All in all, it was one of those days -- again -- when you win some, lose some. But, the sum, for some of the big guns that flopped, was not quite mathematics. It was a gloomy story, they’d all do well to forget.

The last word -– what, if India had not faltered at the last post, against the mighty Aussies? The Cup would have been ours!

It could still be, in World Cup 2007, if only Rahul Dravid’s talented “Men in Blue” don’t give up, and fulfil their full potential on the field of play — and, not just on paper, though…

Good luck, India!

Vietnam Revisited

2007-01-28T07:43:00.008+05:30

The lessons of history have been forgotten too soon, as George Bush's new history of Iraq’s “liberation” unfolds…

This isn't all. It reminds us of one of the greatest debacles ever recorded in “contemporary” history: the Vietnam War, no less.

Here’s why… As we go back in narration, through Robert S McNamara’s memoirs, In Retrospect: The Tragedy And Lessons Of Vietnam [Vintage Books; 1996], we run through situations that are quite akin to the drama of Saddam Hussein’s ignoble downfall and death at the gallows — including the militaristic, political, and diplomatic “excursions” — the difference being the magnificent canvas of high-tech weaponry, and worldwide TV and media coverage — 24 hours of the day.

The best part. All you’d need to do is replace some of the big names. JFK, LBJ, McNamara, General Maxwell Taylor, and National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy, with GWB, Donald Rumsfeld et al — and, you’ve almost a “repeat performance” of a monumental miscalculation gone awry.

Yet again!

When the newly elected President John F Kennedy offered McNamara the post of Secretary of Defence in December 1960, soon after Bob became president of Ford Motor Company, his reply was, “I am not qualified.” As he himself confesses, “I had entered the Pentagon with a limited grasp of military matters and even less of covert operations.”

McNamara also knew nothing of Vietnam. But, why did he accept the coveted job? Simple. Because, JFK told him that there were no schools for defence secretaries, or for presidents. Perhaps, the idiom, if not expression, holds good for some of the present crop of “generals,” and advisors, at the forefront of the Iraq conundrum too!

If the “falling-domino” effect haunted the US throughout the Vietnam War, and beyond, McNamara always urged that US policy, so deeply frustrated by its inability to bring the war to a quick conclusion, be based on two principles: one, US commitment [is] only to see that the people of South Vietnam are permitted to determine their own future; and, two, this commitment ceases if the country ceases to help itself. It is a different matter that, in practice, McNamara did not go so far. Instead, he proposed “a politico-military strategy that raised the possibility of compromise.” Rings a bell, again!

What’s more, McNamara, much to the chagrin of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also made, even if indirectly, an effort to cut short the “bloody” war without a military victory. His problem was that he was willing to go so far and no further. Ironically, he never advised his bosses to get out of the war. That’s really strange. And, he admits his “Himalayan” blunder — quite courageously — which is the most difficult thing to do.

This colossal mistake may have something that more than meets the eye: the “S” in McNamara’s name stands for “Strange,” his mother’s maiden name. But, what was still stranger was that this unusual word took a totally different turn during the Vietnam War: far from being mild and apart from apparently contradictory epithets like “murderer,” “war criminal,” and “peacenik,” the war was also called “McNamara’s War.” This, of course, is ridiculous, because it shifts the blame from a group effort led by a brace of presidents.

Writes McNamara: “Failure in one area contributed to or compounded failure in another. Each became a turn in a terrible knot. Pointing out these mistakes allows us to map the lessons of Vietnam, and places us in a position to apply them to the post-Cold War world…” He further adds: “Although clear evidence has existed since the mid-1980s that the Cold War was ending, nations throughout the world have been slow to revise their foreign and defence policies, in part because they do/did not see clearly what lies ahead.”

Besides, McNamara argues cogently that the world of the future will not be without conflict and racial ethnic tensions. He’s also convinced that nationalism will be a powerful force across the globe. Political revolutions, he says, will erupt as societies advance.

“In these respects,” McNamara notes, “the world of the future will not be different from the world of the past — conflicts within and among nations will not disappear. But, relations between nations will change dramatically.”

It truly has — the difference being only of degree!

Inference? A case of history repeating itself. Of shades of Vietnam… in Iraq!