Day 218-2011 : The English Nightmare

The Indian cricket team has had a pretty cool last year and a half.  They haven't lost a series, for the last 11 series, have sat on the top of the world Test rankings throughout the year and in April, won the World Cup as well.  Truly, a dream run!

They must be, however, beginning to realise that this dream was only a prelude to what they might call, in a couple of months' time, as the 'English Nightmare'. 

The India v/s England series was billed as top draw, a battle between, arguably, the world's two best cricket teams.  At stake is the top spot in the world Test rankings.  It has however, turned out to be a damp squib.  Two tests down, it has been a no contest between a tired, ill-prepared, injury ridden side and a well prepared and disciplned side.  The Indian side has been slow on the field and doesn't have a clue on how to handle swing and seam.  The only exception has been 'The Wall', excelling at the place where he made his debut about 15 years ago.

England now have an unbeatable 2-0 in the series.  So what are the reasons for this disgraceful slump? 

The symptoms:  No Virender Sehwag, the musical chairs between Yuvraj and Raina, Gambhir injured and to top all of that, the main strike bowler, Zaheer Khan out with a hamstring injury after bowling a few overs in the first test. 

For once, I would not blame the cricketers at all.  Clearly, we do not seem to be taking good care of our cricket team!  The BCCI has been greedy and these are all the symptoms of that.  The schedule of the Indian team is jam-packed; the idea being to milk it more!  The World Cup followed by the long and hectic IPL followed by the West Indian series and then the current England series.  Those who have been part of all of this, should be exhausted by now!  We run the risk of pushing some of our talented cricketers to the brink of burnouts.  Is BCCI killing the hen which lays the golden egg?

On the other hand, the English team look to be very well prepared.  It is probably the strongest ever English team that I have seen in the last few decades.  They seem to have sorted out their ego issues (especially prima donna KP!) and the captaincy capers.  Strauss has led well.  They have planned the downfall of each and every Indian batsmen meticulously.  Their batting line up is solid!  And most importantly they look hungry and want to be the best team in the world.

As I watched the two test matches on the telly, it was very evident that I have been watching the world's number one Test team.  But it certainly wasn't India.

Take care.

Day 284 - A Magical Week!

One shoots bullets from his fingers, the other caresses cricket balls with his magic wand.  Both are big blockbuster hits this week!

I am just back from watching the Tamil film 'Enthiran' starring Rajinikanth, the ultimate crowd-puller!  Crowd puller he definitely is, not only in India both elsewhere as well.  For instance, he is extremely popular in Japan, of all places!  Coming back to the film itself; it is a special effects extravaganza which keeps you engaged for a little more than 3 hours!  I can safely say that I haven't really seen anything like this in Indian cinema before.  No wonder it is the costliest Indian film ever made, at Rs. 150 crores.  And Rajini, the superstar, does pull in his worth at Rs.45 crores.  Skipped a beat?  Yes, that is exactly how much Rajini was paid for Enthiran, to play the double role of a scientist and a humanoid robot created by himself.  The story itself is very predictable.  However, in my view, the film is doing roaring business (Rs.117 crores in box office collections) because of the following:

1) The Rajini charisma.

2) Superb special effects; probably the best ever seen in Indian cinema.  The last 30 minutes of the film is especially terrific!

3) A stunning Aishwarya Rai; I do not like her much, but in this film she looks fabulous!

All in all, the film does live up to its hype.  Rajini, at the age of 60, is stunning, to say the least. By the way, he is probably the only superstar who has no qualms being himself and being seen with his bald head in real life.  Hats off to Thalaivar!

The Rajini Magic.

The other blockbuster hit this week was India's nail biting, edge of the seat winning effort against Australia in the first test match at Mohali.  Kudos to the magician from Hyderabad.  The man with the most unique initials in the cricketing world is truly Very Very Special.  VVS Laxman played tormentor to the Aussies yet again with his almost run a ball effort which won India the match.  Never one to play the ball under his nose, he used his bat like a wand; scoring runs effortlessly all over the ground, when wickets were falling at the other end.  India at 8 wickets down and still more than 100 runs to get for a win, were a goner.  I had switched off the television at this point of time as well.  3 hours later, I was pleasantly surprised to be informed that Laxman and Ishant Sharma were still at the crease and India were inching towards a victory.  Ishant Sharma scored 31 sterling runs and his effort was equally important as Laxman's.

Laxman, Ishant and the rest of the victorious Indian team celebrate the win.

With the gutsy fightback and holding their nerves during the last few moments, India showed the Aussies why they are ranked the number 1 test team in the world by ICC.  I hope they stay there for a long time.

By the way, the opening ceremony of the CWG games was a huge success!  Some respite from the constant torrent of bad news related to the organisation of the event in Delhi.  And what's more, looks like the Indian contingent is winning medals galore, a lot of them golds. 

Hope we continue to do well and erase the bad memories in the run up to these games.

Take care.

Day 228 - Ek Gharonde Ki Talaash!

In India, 'Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan' (Food, Clothing & Shelter) are said to be basic needs that every individual strives for day in and day out.  I did not realise till very recently how basic a need 'Makaan' really is.  It is a symbol of a sense of security.  It assures you that at the end of the day, you have a place of your own to go to; to rest after a hard day's work and unwind.  This weekend I was in the unenviable position of finding a new dwelling for myself, if I did not agree to my landlord's demands, in line with the market conditions.  The very thought of looking for a new place again, in a space of 10 months, was depressing.  But it did bring out very starkly the feeling of helplessness for not having a residence of your own.  I also suddenly realised the pain of those people who do not have an abode to go to at the end of the day.  Those who make do with temporary shelters under bridges, inside large pipelines, on the foot paths, etc.

India, by the way, leads the pack of top real estate investment markets in Asia for 2010, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Urban Land Institute, a global non-profit education and research institute, released in December 2009. The report, which provides an outlook on Asia-Pacific real estate investment and development trends, points out that India, in particular Mumbai and Delhi, are good real estate investment destinations. Residential properties are viewed as more promising than other sectors. While, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru top the pack in the hotel 'buy' prospects as well.

Amazing! This means that in this concrete jungle, that Mumbai has become, there is still more scope to build inanimate towers of bricks and mortar.  I have been on the lookout to buy a house for myself for the last few months in Mumbai. The timing hasn't been that great because due to the continued recovery of the investment markets, real estate prices have bounced back to original boom time levels, and in some cases, way above realistic levels.  At least way above 'my' realistic levels.  Due to this I have let go of some very good opportunities, expecting the prices to come down, as I thought the price rise is temporary and a result of the pent up supply in the system during the recessionary period.  It is probably not only me, because I did read reports of actual sales of residential properties coming down over the last few months due to the unrealistic price levels.  On the other hand, however, I hear that even at these unrealistic levels there is enough demand.  Only yesterday, a builder told me that he had closed bookings in a matter of hours, when he launched another tower in an existing project. Confusion!  What to do!?!

In a country like India, I guess, demand will always outstrip supply, as the PwC report indicates.  So, have I lost out by exiting from my property in Chennai?  Have I lost out on the opportunities of buying some good properties in Mumbai, just because I did not want to take the risk of buying in an inflated market?  Maybe, the wise thing to do for me now is to buy at current levels very soon.  I hope some interesting options come my way.

By the way, I did have a wonderful conversation with my landlord today which resulted in the resolution of my short term problem.  Hence, all is well.

Take care.

Day 227 - Mera Bharat Mahaan!

It was interesting reading Chetan Bhagat's column in this morning's newspaper.  This little piece of prose was about a conversation between the Prime Minister and his speech writer to discuss the content of the PM's Independence Day speech from the Red Fort in New Delhi.  It was a funny take on the apparent lack of focus of the PM and his government to deal with the real issues and only wait for the instructions from 'you know who'!

Jokes apart, on the eve of India's 63rd Independence Day, as is the custom every year, there is a multitude of material written with the intent of analysing India's progress in the 63 years that we have had to define our destiny as a country.  There are umpteen number of television shows on the same subject in this period as well.  Obviously, patriotism, and more importantly, the criticism of how we have progressed as a country after our independence in 1947, is big business and makes good newsprint.

I have a slightly differing view.  I think, as a nation, we have progressed wonderfully well in the last 63 years!  True, we haven't done as well as a Singapore or a Thailand, but the fact of the matter is, that these countries have not had to work on such a vast and complex landscape, that India has had to.  A country where there is a multitude of religions, castes and creed, a country where the dialect of the various languages spoken changes every 500 kms, a country which is large enough to have all the natural resources, a country which has many rivers, mountain ranges and deserts, a country where the difference between the rich and the poor is large that it cannot be bridged ever, a country where there is complete freedom of speech and a country where there are the resultant large number of political parties and their definitions of progress!

I think we have done very well in most sectors; agriculture, manufacturing, technology and services being at the forefront.  We have had lop-sided development in some of the socially relevant sectors such as education, health and sanitation.  Nonetheless, we have still moved forward.  Some of the sectors have received attention a little late; infrastructure being the best example.

The one sector that we probably have not been able to progress much has been the 'mindset' sector.  Majority of the populace of this nation seem to be plagued by a disease called inferiority complex.  For example, even today, the fairer your skin, the more respect you are likely to command!  We have a long way to go to be able to respect ourselves as an able nation, have the confidence to be the best in the world, able and willing to participate, collaborate and lead.  This is the sector which I intend to track our progress on.  I think this is what will expedite our progress in all the other sectors in the years to come.

Happy Independence Day!  Take care.

Day 199 - Deprived...

There was a time when I could do with only 2 hours of sleep.  This was during the early years of my career and the brief period of time just before it.  And I had that lifestyle over a long period of time, due to various reasons.  The first and foremost was the amount of time spent at the workplace.  When one is just starting off in one's worklife and is a bachelor living alone, there is seldom a thought given to the number of hours spent at the workplace.  The workplace, in fact, tends to become one's home and the colleagues, family.  The second reason is being young!  When you are in your twenties, you want to do everything and pack in as many things as you can in a 24 hour day, including long chats on the phone late into the nights! :-))

That was flashback; and it was a good one.  Pan to today.  Eleven years down the line and with a family to care for, I can still do with 2-3 hours of sleep on the odd day, but, as you might imagine, it starts becoming more and more difficult as you age.  Lack of sleep does have its impact on the next day, when one feels very lethargic and sleepy.

I recently read an article about the prevalence of sleep deprivation and the consequent health syndrome of Obstructuve Sleep Apnea (OSA) spreading throughout urban India, in India Today.  Over the last few years, I have noticed that we, as a society, are sleeping lesser and lesser these days.  The benchmark of everyone going to bed by 10 PM is no longer applicable.  Most families are wide awake till 11 PM - midnight!  Even children, like my own, are sleeping lesser hours.  It is said, medically, children grow more when they are asleep.  Sleep deprivation in our cities, is doing a disservice to the future of India.  The Philips Sleep Survey says 93% of urban Indians get less than 8 hours of sleep per night!  I think this is a very dangerous trend.  Sustained sleep deprivation leads to OSA, thus increasing the risk of diabetes and heart ailments.

There are various reasons behind this trend.  The Indian economy and its integration with the global economy is the most important reason.  India, because of its time advantage of being able to bridge the east and west, has preferred to grow the services sector.  Hence you have people working unnatural hours in call centres, sweat shops and back offices higher up the value chain.  Additionally, their families have adapted to this lifestyle over a period of time.  The other reason is the opening up of the media and the huge number of TV channels airing myraid soap operas till late in the night.  Clearly, this is a lifestyle issue and the solution lies in changing one's lifestyle.

At the beginning of this year, I made a promise to myself that I am going to try and get 8 hours of sound sleep every night.  It hasn't been consistently possible till now.  However, let me rededicate myself towards this effort.

Sleep well.  Sleep tight.  Take care.