CHAAND MEIN DAAG

The first ever 20Twenty tournament that happened in September 2007 was one of the most exciting tournaments in cricket for sometime now. More so for a cricket crazy person like me as the Indian team managed to emerge triumphant against odds. The 20Twenty form of the game is quite a boon for both cricket lovers as well as the players. For somebody like me who spends from 8 to 5 in office and travels for an other 2 hours in a day can watch a major chunk of the game on a weekday. The shorter form of the game has reduced the amount of time spent in front of the TV. I managed to watch all the matches of the tournament and I must pass on the credit to the new form of the game. One-day internationals and Test matches were killers in a way as we spent a huge time in front of the TV sets just watching cricket. The players are also less stressed both physically and mentally, physically because of the shorter time spent on the field and mentally too as you need to just hit out or get out. Not many would point a finger for getting out at 12 off 3 balls. The sheer terseness, excitement, thrill and anticipation of mighty blows out of the stadium out performing the number of dot balls has been the unsurpassed offer in cricket. This form of cricket has been an icing on the cake for cricket lovers all over the globe.
The rules of the game have possibly been modified best to provide complete entertainment. However, there is possibly one DAAG in the newly found CHAAND of cricket. The super 8 match between India and Pakistan ended up in a tie. And much to the excitement of the Indian supporters and to the shock of the Pakistan supporters, India outperformed Pakistan in the 5 ball shoot out. This was the first time we saw anything like this on a cricket field. The players were figuring out the next steps as it happened and the Indians seemed to just enjoy every moment of it. While it was fun watching it, the cricketer in me did not let me digest what happened in the bowl out. It was all but cricket. It had no fielder, no genuine bowler and most importantly no batsman. How can you finish off a cricket match without a batsman in the centre!!! Horrible, should I say? But as some may say, DAAG ACHCHA HAI! Some of my friends felt it was fair and fun. However, I felt like watching a LAGORI or a CHOOR CHAND game (These are aiming games with the ball, called so in Kannada.)

I somehow felt the new rules had betrayed the game of cricket and the ICC should quickly re-look at the shoot out rules in case of a tie-up. A possible solution could be another over for both teams with the batsmen scoring runs and with the fielders around. And the winning team is the one that scores more runs in the decisive over. This sounds more like cricket to me. I genuinely hope that ICC relooks at this!

Am 'I' doing enough?

Being one of the so-called ‘Core Bangalorean’ group makes me feel proud. I am extremely proud of my city. It has been a wonderful experience to see Bangalore grow from a pensioners’ paradise in the eighties and the early nineties to a true cosmopolitan by the turn of the last century. I thank my stars sometimes for being at the right place at the right time without any efforts from my side.

At the same time, the growth in the last decade and a half gives me heart burns. The population of the garden city was around 4 Million in 1991, which doubled in a decade (around 6 million in 2001) and the present day statistic stands at around 9+ Million. The vehicle population has increased from less than 0.3 Million in 1981 to 3.5 Million as of today. The present vehicle growth rate peaking an all time high of around 40 to 50% YOY

The city which was initially built to carry 2 Million commuters in the nineties is now overstressed with a commuter population of 6 Million on a daily basis. Every day I drive to office, I am invited by smoke, pollution, dust and unnecessary honks. I am forced to switch on my AC in such a beautiful weather. I strongly feel that the government should quickly improve the infrastructure and do something to smoothen the on-road life of the citizens.

However, over a period of time I have realized that it is we, the citizens who can bring about a big change in our on-road lives. We just need to question ourselves on simple things like how many times have we got frustrated and honked unnecessarily, how many times have we got past the gentle red light and ahead of the whistling policeman, how many times have we cared less for the commuter next to us, how many times have we created a mess by shifting lanes, how many times have we asked the auto fellow to speed up in a slow zone, how many times have we cared less to ensure that our vehicles are certified emission OK.... The list is endless.
It is important that we introspect on these questions and see what changes we should make to ensure that 'WE' don’t create a mess. As the great man has said, "Be the change you want to be” Strong value system and self discipline have seen exponential benefits in the long run and the Mahatma has proved this to us.

The amount of improvement in the quality of road-life if each one of us can bring in some self discipline and change positively would be unimaginable. I have now stopped blaming any one for the situation that we are in. I need to correct myself first.