The Corrupt Government - And You

Each time we point fingers at the government, at the corrupt people in power, at the scams - we must give ourselves a kick in the back. For not asking. For not doing anything. For electing them. For waiting for someone else to do it. For not standing up when corruption goes on around. For actively participating in corruption.

From building registrations to tax evasion, to fake bills to petty bribes, taking shortcuts to hiding the truth - we are all guilty and whatever happens to the government happens to us. After all they represent us and if we call them corrupt, fat, uncaring, looting the poor etc etc its time we looked at what we are doing. From employing under aged maid servants to not paying our dues to society, morally and financially, we are as guilty as they are. Only when we kick ourselves enough will we have the guts to take a stand like Anna Hazare did - who started with nothing to bargain when he started his demands for the Lokpal Bill but his life. And only with such high stakes did the government scramble from it position to hand him the gazette, fearing crises reminiscent of the Middle East hear if anything happened to this man.

What have we staked for our country? Joining the marches or lighting candles or sending SMSes as faceless citizens is one thing - good, that we participated, but we need to go far beyond that. We need to walk the hard path, we need to slowly and steadily show with our acts and convictions what we want to happen. If we want change, we must be the one to bring it. We must be the change like Gandhi said. So instead of thumping your chest, go and kick yourself once for all the times you acted out of your integrity. That will give you the conviction to ask for what we want as a right.

Somewhere we have lost the right to ask. Which is why we wait for Anna Hazare to ask on our behalf. I see so many youngsters, so many people of all walks, the media, joining the movement. But I do hope they all realise that it is not about fighting THEM, it is about US. They must understand that THEY are US. We elected them because those ladies and gentlemen reflect us - our morals, our values, our desires, our sensitivity, our sense of responsibility. Start looking within and make the changes now - bit by bit. That is one sure way to speed up things in the right way for sure. That way we can also ask with the same conviction that Anna Hazare asked. Else we will be forever wanting someone to change THEM - which is an extension of US. Now we don't want anyone to change us do we? Us self righteous, unctuous, finger pointers?

Leadership Lessons From Sangakarra - What Not To Do

There are certain things that I felt Sangakarra missed out on in the World Cup final against India. Some of the greats have already said that there were a few things they would not have done if they were him. Here is my list of leadership lessons from the Lankan captain that day:

1) Making four changes from the winning squad: I thought that was a bit too much. Four changes? It's almost a new outfit playing the final and one who has just flown in as a replacement! Showed little faith in the team that got you to the final in style. Also showed you were rattled by the opposition's reputation.

2) Dropping Mendis: I always believed that you must go with the strength of what you have than what the opposition has. So the argument that Indians play spin better shows a lack of confidence in your own bowler - in fact your star bowler that far in the tournament, Mendis. Same for Dhoni who sat out Ashwin for Sreesanth. You have to trust your guy to work rather than what the others can do. Bad captaincy and bad reasoning by both captains.

3) Not attacking after the two early wickets: Sangakarra gave the game away by not attacking at all. The ease with which Gambir and Kohli settled down and took the bowling apart clinically was just not done. He just did the safe things and showed no innovation as a captain. No catchers, no cutting off the easy runs. It was almost as if he got awed by the prospect of winning the Cup and went into sleep mode. The changes he made and the field placements were below average.

4) Hoping to win rather than going in there and sealing it: Sangakarra made the cardinal mistake of hoping things would fall in place. And he hoped and hoped that Murali would do some magic (big hope as Murali was off colour almost all through), hoped that his new bowlers would do something, but he really did nothing more than hope. To me he appears to be one of those captains who hopes - one who does not make things happen and instead hopes that the opponents make the mistakes.


5) Giving up too soon: As early as maybe when Kohli was gone and MSD came and started settling in, Sangakarra's body language said that everything was over. I have not seen any captain give in so easily an so early on such a big match. There was nothing inspirational and he just went through the moves. I heard Ajay Jadeja say that by teh 17th over he knew we were home. That was how bad it was. Imagine an Aussie side defending 275 in the final! They would have fought tooth and nail until the last run.

6) Bowling Kulasekara ahead of his main bowlers in the death: When the run rate is falling and you have one strike bowler who has the capability of taking two or three wickets in an over like Malinga, your best chance is to push the other team till the last over. So you start bowling your best bowlers in and hope they push up the run rate or force a mistake from the batsmen so you can put the pressure on. That is the only chance. Then the last over can be bowled by anyone, and if there are two new batsmen and some 8-10 runs to get, you sill have chance. But you bowl Kulasekara, the weakest bowler all evening in the decisive 46th or 47th over instead of the better bowlers, the match is pretty much sealed in that over and the match is over without your best bowlers finishing their quota.

Personally. I thought Mahela was a better captain. I would like to see how Dilshan leads. He is an aggressive and thinking guy who adapts quickly. And all in all Lanka could have done better than they did that night. It was like they were in awe of the Indian batting line up all through! Anyway some lessons from that too.

Chariots Of Fire - Movie Review

Watched 'Chariots of Fire' for the second time - this time with utmost concentration the other day. I have been hearing Vangelis's music score for the movie for more than twenty odd years now, since the days I was a dreamy eyed Engineering student and it featured first in a tape I loved dearly those days, but it was only last year that I laid my hands on the DVD. The first time I watched the movie was a rather scratchy affair with a bad sound system so I could not get most of what was happening - but this time it was good and it enthralled me.

'Chariots of Fire' (1981) and is the real life story of two athletes who run for Great Britain in the 1924 Olympics - Eric Liddell the Scottish missionary who runs because he thinks that is what God gave him his speed for, and Harold Abrahams, a Jew, who runs to fight prejudice and more than that, to pursue his search for excellence - to be the fastest man. The movie begins with Lord Lindsay, a colleague and friend of Harold's from Cambridge, recounting his association with Harold Abrahams at Harold's funeral service in 1978, and their years at Cambridge circa 1924.

Fresh in Cambridge, Harold is joined by a bunch of young athletes, Lindsay, the aristocrat, Stallard and Aubrey Montague, who all turn out to be the best of friends - from the time Harold and Lindsay run the Trinity Court Run together. Harold's desire to be the fastest athlete is known and the college and his friends expect great things from him. But when he meets the Flying Scot Eric Lidddell in a race and is beaten thoroughly, the arrogant and defiant Harold is almost heartbroken. He realises that he needs to work harder to realise his goal. To beat the Scotsman and others in that league.

That is when the movie got more interesting for me. Harold, desperate to better himself, seeks Sam Mussabini, a professional athletic coach and begs him to coach him. Mussabini says that athletes are like brides and they must wait for the coach (the groom) to propose and not the other way round. But eventually Sam decides to coach Harold and it is fascinating how he teaches him such wonderful techniques that make sense in our lives. 'Over striding is the worst thing,' he says and makes Harold practice running within his stride, within his God given limits and push within that. Always within, never by overreaching. Ah, wonderful philosophy. 'Head straight, never glance sideways,' is another gem which though a technicality, tells much of much we lose by concerning ourselves about the progress of the guy next to you. Things that don't concern you - and you can lose a race for precisely that. And so many more things that I loved in that coaching part. 'From now on,' says Sam to Harold when he takes the assignment. 'I want to to think of Eric, Paddock and Scholz (the three great sprinters of that ers) leering at you.' Eric Liddell trains by himself in Scotland, running for the glory of God and astounding many with his speed.

Both Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams are selected to represent Great Britain at the 1924 Paris Olympics along with the others. On the ship Eric, the devout missionary and a certain medal prospect, learns that the first heat of the 100 metres, is on a Sunday. He refuses to run the heat saying Sabbath is for the Lord and his decision throws the entire contingent into a frenzy. Despite everyone, including the royalty, convincing him otherwise, he refuses. Harold has to race alone against Paddock and Scholz, the American heroes who are favoured to destroy all else. Harold qualifies for the final of the 100 metres though Paddock takes the honours in the 200 meters heats. Lord Lindsay wins his event, 400 metres hurdles and brings home a bronze, the first medal. He also proposes that he would like Liddell to run his other race, the 400 metres, which is on Thursday 'just to he can watch Liddell run'. Aubrey loses his steeplechase event, but Harold Abrahams scorches the track and his demons as he beats Paddock and all else in the 100 m final. And in an event that is not his, Eric Liddell demolishes all opposition in his 400 m run, running in that strange fashion of his, for his God.

Truth is always stranger than fiction. Seeing this movie, or Invictus, I wonder how these wins were possible. What kind of men were they? Ben Cross and Ian Charleson, as Harold and Liddell are perfect. Liddell apparently went to China as promised, to preach, and died in the World War II, while Harold went on to achieve greater glory in sports and administration in England. It is a fantastic movie, a wonderful story that is told very well. Must watch if you get the chance!

Anti-Corruption Walk at KBR - My First Gandhi Topi

This morning me and Ramaraju joined a walk conducted by the Hyderabad Adventure Club at the KBR in support of the fast by Anna Hazare. We landed up right on time at six and found a small group gathered there. Ranjan Sood, an ex-Ranji Trophy player for the Services and a league player who represented IAF during my school days (he was the first Ranji player I played against back in 1982), was at the helm of affairs. When my friend Anirudh Basu told me that he was Ranjan Sood I figured it might be him and so it turned out.

Anyway it was a nice motley group of young and old, adventurous and non-adventurous and we all gathered quietly, held some banners and put on the Gandhi caps and walked away in silence. I guess we walked some halfway on the outside and walked back from the outside from the Cancer Hospital route, distributing some caps along the way. People were cheering, waving and some even joined. The group came back to the KBR main gate where some sloganeering was going on and a bit more crowd had joined. I was not sure what the agenda was after that and me and Ramaraju decided to discontinue the walk with the sloganeers and went off to continue our walk. On the way back we realised that the group had grown nigger and they were now heading towards the Jubilee Hills Checkpost with a sense of purpose. A few media people were there as well and several others could be seen joining the group.

The walk is on tomorrow as well at the KBR Main Gate at 6 a.m. from what I gathered. I propose to go again. It's nice to be part of the group (long as they walk along quietly). Slogan shouting bores me. For me this was a first though - walking in some kind of a march. Hmmm.

Go Anna Hazare Saab - The One Genuine Act Of Public Service This Century

I was suddenly drowned in news about Anna Hazare's fast against the government's slow and meaningless reactions to the Lok Pal Bill. I had no idea that such an Act existed and that there were deliberations about it. But what can one expect from our leaders who have made this entire country into such a sham, especially in areas like containing corruption, making public servants and public money accountable, making elections more transparent, making the administration more transparent just to serve their own interests. Yes, there have been changes and some signs of progress, but it has been far too slow, far too much in the interests of a few and the majority of the mass is still struggling.

Elections are funded primarily by slush money, mostly unaccounted. That every one knows. It would be interesting to see how much parties declare as having actually spent and get a sting account on how much has actually been spent in buying votes. In Tamil Nadu the other day one enterprising revenue official by name Sangita (may her tribe increase) recovered over 5 crore in cash lying on the top of a bus! Talk of politicians wealth in Andhra alone goes upward of thousands of crores and it is funny that they talk of thousands of crores in such trivial fashion. the race is between each of them to earn more than the other, to may the position pay. So they earn in dubious fashion, spend in the hope of getting a position from where they can misuse and manipulate the system to fill their coffers. To get reelected they need votes so they buy the votes, or give so many freebies to sections and make them dependent for life. These sections are addicted to freebies and it is the greatest injustice anyone can do to another. Governments go bankrupt as they fund these subsidies (Andhra has given many such) and tax the ones they have by the throat, the middle class which has everything accounted for. The poor is exempt and the rich is exempt.

Industrialists fund the leaders in the hope that they get some largesse in terms of policy or some favours like the 2G scam and many other corporate scams. There is no doubt that much of the money that comes to the politicians, apart from the stuff that they amassed illegally which is for private use, is from industries. It is then no surprise that once the party comes to power they bargain for good positions and make the money on public funds. Companies benefit, and many industrialists who have no patience to run around the Ministers have become Parliamentarians themselves. For public service?

The beaurocracy is unshakeable and also cannot be got at. Only in recent times we have heard of the amazingly corrupt IAS couple who had crores of rupees in cash at home. But they are only one couple. Go and see any IAS or IPS officers house and you get an idea. No one can build these kind of houses with the kind of salaries they have. And most of them are above the law. They are almost always politically affiliated or they know too many secrets. So everyone keeps everything within - the beaurocracy, the industrialist, the politician. And in recent cases, the judiciary to some extent. Somewhere in these sections of the public lies the maximum amount of unaccounted wealth and it is common knowledge.

However we cannot get at them. Most corrupt public servants are normally ignored unless they get too greedy or act out of line. When governments get vengeful they start action and even that may go nowhere because even if all the investigating agencies find them guilty, there are some other people above them in Ministries and other places which can be easily compromised, in fact most times party to the same crime, who have to give permission to proceed against them. Why? God knows. Actually we know. So they cannot be sentenced or punished. It is like a gang of thieves who have retained the right to loot and also retained the right as to who to punish - which is normally not their own. Punishments are only for the small fry - the clerk who has been bribed 50 rupees, and so on.

What the Lokpal Bill does is make everyone accountable - from what I gather. Which is being met with such resistance from the government that it is shameful. Why two days - do it NOW! Unless of course you have something to hide - which I am sure everyone has. And make no mistake every single political party has a share in the pie, every one has a stake and every one will become answerable. But since they have to make the law they will not, because they will have to go to jail. So they will resign some obscure committee, arrest some junior officer, beat up some youngsters, throw mud on Anna Hazare and his band and do all that is within their control to stop this Lokpal Bill from being brought out in the way it should. Unless of course there is a kick in the rear from the very Lok that is completely harassed by this system and why not - there is an uproar in every country and why not India.

Whatever happens then, this Lokpal Act must come and we must do all we can to support this movement because that will break the root of all evil. Everyone and everything will be up for scrutiny and for punishment where wrongs have been committed. The system will finally be bled of this bad blood and fresh blood will start flowing again.



But to get back to Anna Hazare saab and his great act, this is singularly the one act that shows the nation to be wearing nothing, to be naked. When we have such an issue on our hands, we are only drugging ourselves with all sorts of other distractions - like the Emperor who wore no clothes, we have been walking naked, thinking we are progressing very fast and that we are the next super power. Until an ageing potbellied Gandhian Anna Hazare shouted out the truth - 'Hey, you are not wearing any clothes!'

Another Gem From Dhoni - It's Simple

This morning I read another gem from Dhoni in the newspapers. He said 'Cricket is a simple game really. It is only by thinking too much into it that we complicate things.'

That is so true of life itself isn't it? We complicate what is really a simple thing. And we get what we look for  - the one who looks for simple things finds it simply and the one who looks for complications finds it. And that is the paradox of it all, it is difficult to make it look simple. The difficulty is in the preparation, in obtaining the clarity and then presenting it in a simple manner. Ah, to see such professionalism and expertise in our country is a treat!

So many times, in life and cricket, we win and lose matches and situations in our own mind. We conjure situations, weigh expectations, see statistics and succumb to our preconceived notions. But if we focus only on what we can do, prepare for it well and then just stay true to your preparation irrespective of the bedlam that's surrounding you, more often than not you find doors opening. Miracles happening. And taht is what this young lad from Almora is saying. Don't fight the demons in your head. It's pretty simple really. Prepare, go and act as the situation unfolds.

This is going to be the most famous mantra for the future, this four letter word KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid!

The Indian World Cup Win - Lessons to Us All

Now that India has won the World Cup it is time for us to follow suit. Unlike the 1983 World Cup this was a win that went almost as per script. This time was not hoping to win, it wanted to win, played to win and made it come true. It is always harder when you are the favourites, when you have to deliver. But true professionalism is when you deliver when it is expected of you.

So like the Indian team, we need to spell out our goals and get set to achieve the highest peaks in our respective fields. If anything, this team that looked so patchy in the earlier rounds, old and , has given me a new energy to focus on my goals and my dreams. If this team of stars, egos, unfit players and most importantly inconsistent players can raise the game the way they did at every occasion, we can too. If they can show the burning desire to win as they did in the final and in the earlier two matches, I can too. And now after it is all done, I am more than convinced that this team's greatest lesson to anyone is its preparation, its acceptance of its limitations and the way it used itself in the best way it can. If they can win a World Cup in four years, we can do something equally good for ourselves!

In my opinion all the members of the 2007 team burned with the ignominy of that defeat. None more so than the highly combative S.R. Tendulkar. Instead of finishing his career in a blaze of glory, he was heading downward. In his mind he must have made up his mind to correct at the very next World Cup. Since then, I am sure, much of his thought, act and preparation must have gone into how to get his hands on World Cup 2011. He would have burned with that thought many times. Again, I will hazard a guess, but I do think that his focus and commitment at his age and experience must have pushed many younger players into following suit. If Sachin can do it, I must!
And so must we also rise, from our personal levels of mediocrity and set our sights on something truly magnificent. Forget the past and set yourself a big goal! They had four years - we can s take the same number of days, a 1000 odd days!



So, for us it begins with a goal.

• A big, juicy, ambitious goal.
• A time frame - 1000 days
• A mad desire to achieve it for oneself and for a greater cause - the country, the people etc - mostly those who have written you off as a failure are truly our greatest motivators because they provide the first spark
• A clear visualisation of what you wish to achieve - the Cup in your hand
• A plan - take as much time as you can but get all the details right
• A process - stick to it
• A team that is supportive - cut out the naysayers
• A team that backs your mad dream no matter what
• A team that pushes you to be your best - even if they are critical they must be pushing you to be better
• A team that trusts you and that you trust- tough to get but get it
• A team that works together
• A preparation that keeps you always focussed on your goal, not on the past or the future
• A schedule of actions that makes you the best you can be, that pushes you to improve each time
• A building of belief as you go through the process - belief that will come to your aid when things look bleak
• A desire to achieve no matter what - sweat, blood, tears - big things need big efforts, big sacrifices

Thanks Gary Kirsten, Paddy Upton, Sachin, Dhoni and company for living it and showing us how to go for glory!