Twenty20

I was among those who had given up on cricket after a series of events broke my trust in the honesty of the game. Then, our humiliating first round defeat in the World Cup convinced me that the game had come to an end, atleast for me. But then arrived Twenty20.

India beats Pakistan
And what a match it was last night! A nail-biting India-Pakistan encounter reminiscent of the famous battles between the two countries at Sharjah in the late '80s. And this was even better. In the 20-over a side, three-hour blitzkrieg, the match was clearly not over, as the cliche goes, until the last ball was bowled. 141 was hardly a target to protect, one thought. But as Pakistan struggled to keep its wickets, you sensed victory in sight. But the Pakistani middle order had other plans in mind. With some swashbuckling batting they brought down the asking target to just 12 runs in the last over. Two boundaries and three later, they dashed India's hopes and had to score just 1 run to scream victory off the last ball. Sreesanth ran in to deliver, with hope in his mind and his heart on his sleeve, the batsman found the fielder and the fielder found the stumps. Run-out. Tie. The first ever in a Twenty20 Indo-Pak match. Then began the bowl out. 5 bowlers from each side take turns to hit the unguarded stumps. India cruised through with all its 3 bowlers - Sehwag, Uthappa and Harbhajan bang on target. Pakistan's respected seamers failed to knock the stumps down even once.

So India won. But has cricket lost?
At first glance, I , like many of my friends, cringed at the idea of Twenty20 cricket. Many purists filled up newspaper columns to defend the purity of the gentleman's game being besmirched by a format for street-urchins. But then, this is tailor-made for television. Think about it. When was the last time you sat through an entire one-day match? This is just 3 hours. It's fast paced, exciting and puts purists' arguments of pitch, weather and wind and the typically Brit pre-match commentary irrelevant. So will ODI die? Of course not. Did Test cricket die because of the ODI? Frankly, we have seen some magnificent test matches quite recently in England. Net net, the game of cricket has evolved. The format may take away its gentle charm as we know it, but it infuses a fresh bubbly energy that is too good to resist. Cricket is back. Atleast for me!

(Picture Courtesy: The Hindu)

DMK - Split Wide Open

There is never a dull moment in Dravidian politics and this time cracks have appeared in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. What triggered this political crisis was a seemingly innocuous opinion poll published by Tamil daily Dinakaran, owned by the Maran fold. The poll found that over 70 per cent of Tamil Nadu preferred MK Stalin as the successor to Karunanidhi, while elder brother MK Azhagiri had an embarrassing 2 per cent support. Enraged by the poll, thugs from the Azhagiri camp ransacked and set the Madurai office of Dinakaran on fire killing three innocent employees. In a swift turn of events, Karunanidhi summoned over a 100 party functionaries for an emergency meeting and decided to strip Dayanidhi off his ministerial badge. Even before the show cause notice reached him, Dayanidhi faxed his resignation to the PMO, phoned Manmohan and Sonia and hurriedly called a press conference to declare his allegiance to his "Thailavar Kalaignar" (Leader Karunanidhi). "I am born DMK man and I will die a DMK man, " he thundered.

Dayanidhi's meteoric rise

I remember, in early 2004, just after the DMK had walked out of the NDA and before UPA was born, Dr Manmohan Singh had come to meet Karunanidhi at his Chennai residence to forge an alliance between the DMK and Congress. Standing next to Karunanidhi, clutching his hands was a shy translator - Dayanidhi Maran. His rise since then within the party has been nothing short of spectacular. Dayanidhi smoothly slid into the space vacated by his late father Murasoli Maran, Karunanidhi’s nephew. Though lesser in age and stature, it was on Dayanidhi's shoulder that the old Kalaignar depended on during public meetings. It was Dayanidhi who was chosen as a candidate in DMK's bastion, Central Madras constituency during the Parliamentary elections and it was Dayanidhi who was rewarded with a ministerial berth at the Centre, overlooking many seniors. Karunanidhi had made it clear that Daya was his favourite grandnephew.
Dayanidhi meteoric rise raised many eyebrows within the party and outside but no one dared to question his position. After all, he was part of the family and the inner coterie of Kalaignar. Those who did, like Sharat Kumar, actor and former MP, were thwarted and thrown out. You could not take on the Maran brothers especially when the DMK was in power. Or it seemed.

The real question - Stalin Vs Azhagiri

This is a question that Karunanidhi has warded off for many years. But it is clear that MK Stalin is heir apparent to the throne. Though he does not match his father in terms of charisma, stature or popularity, Stalin is the emperor in waiting. Stalin does not see eye to eye with his elder brother Azhagiri, who has always been the problem child in the family. Azhagiri runs a parallel government in Madurai irrespective of whichever party is in power. Much to Karunanidhi’s chagrin in the past, Azhagiri even engineered the defeat of DMK candidates in the local elections if they were not of his choice. He even has a criminal case against him for the murder of DMK leader T.Kirutinan. So the best Karunanidhi could do was the buy peace with him. Though Azhagiri does not hold a post in the party, all decisions about Madurai has his blessings. For several years, this peace treaty has worked for Karunanidhi. Now that the uncomfortable question that Kalaignar has hitherto kept under wraps is out in the open, will the Azhagiri-Stalin war resume again? Therefore, the fallout of the opinion poll does more damage to Karunanidhi than it does to the Marans or Azhagiri.

Where does it leave the Marans?

For anyone tracking Tamil Nadu politics, this is the missing piece in the puzzle. The Marans had it all going for themselves. Dayanidhi was basking in the glory of bringing investments to Tamil Nadu as the Telecom Minister. Kalanidhi’s media empire was growing at a furious pace. His Sun TV had gone public; he had expanded his grip from television to radio to the print medium. Why, the newspaper in question, Dinakaran, was acquired recently by Kalanidhi. It was relaunched at rock bottom price and was the fastest growing daily in the state. So why would they upset the applecart? There in lies the mystery of this case.

(Picture courtesy: The Hindu)

Not so special economic zone!

The Govt of India has decided to cap the maximum size of a Special Economic Zone at 5000 hectares. This would mean that larger SEZ projects - such as Reliance's Navi Mumbai project would not be approved. There's more, State Governments can bring down the cap on the maximum size on their whim. This clearly defeats the purpose of SEZs being large standalone islands with state of the art infrastructure. If they are not large, then what's the point? Can't states just be content with IT parks or Industrial townships rebranded as SEZs?

What's so special now about SEZs?

But the real dispute is not about size, It's about land. And, here's the latest - State Governments have been told to stay away from "compulsory" land acquisition. That means, corporates would transact land deals with farmers directly. The Commerce Secretary argues that the process of land acquisition is a "commercial" transaction between a buyer and a seller. Therefore, States will have no role to play in the deal. Let's for a moment buy the Govt's argument that it is just a commercial transaction. If that be the case, why should the Govt bother to cap the size of an SEZ. If there is a willing buyer and a willing seller, why not leave it to them?

Lessons from Nandigram

The Nandigram genocide clearly displayed that land acquisition is anything but commercial. It is not just about finding a right price for a piece of land and ensuring that the cheque reaches the farmer. It is also about rebuilding the farmer's life when he has been uprooted from his home and his industry taken away. And, it is also about generating alternative employment for those hundreds of landless labourers who work on these farm lands on daily wages. Tell me, can the Govt afford to adopt such a hands-off approach and leave it to market forces?

Facts prove that the Bengal Govt bungled on Nandigram. So does this strengthen the case for greater and more effective State intervention or weaken it? Shouldn't it be the responsibilty of the Govt to regulate land acquisition not just in the case of SEZ but also in non-SEZ projects where large scale acquition is involved? Instead of greater regulation and intervention, this Govt has clearly washed its hands off any issue arising out of SEZs. The political backlash of another Nandigram seems too heavy a price to pay for the UPA Government. But wait a minute, wasn't it the same Government that swore about a putting a comprehensive rehabilitation policy in place before approving SEZs?

Exclusive!

We journos love the word 'exclusive' in the context of an exclusive story. It gives us a sense of achievement and euphoria of having information that no one else has. But let me talk about 'inclusive'. You know, it's now fashionable to use the word 'inclusive' in the context of inclusive growth and this whole spiel about bridging the divide between haves and have-nots. On Budget Day, Chidambaram sprinkled the i-word generously in his budget speech, my Editor picked it up for his edit, TV discussions repeated it ad nauseum and all the pink papers included 'inclusive growth' in their post-budget op-eds. In fact, recently, I also read an interesting piece titled The All Important Inclusion .... do check it out.

Now having heard/read all that's been said/written about the importance of inclusive growth, I just have one question: On one hand, this Government claims that it wants inclusive growth. Says it is committed to creating equitable distribution of opportunities. On the other hand, it allows Special Economic Zones that are elitist, well-endowed, tax-less, lawless privileged enclaves of excellence.

Tell me, do you really buy this inclusive story?

The Left's Not So Right Anymore!

It made riveting television. An event that left the left red faced. The debate in Parliament was on shifting a Maritime University from Kolkata to Chennai. The left accused the Government of trying to clandestinely shift the university (beats me how one can secretly move a darn college!) and "damaaje the intarest of Waste Bengaul." So, tempers flared, voices raised and before an adjournment could be called, our beloved comrades rushed to the well of the house and almost came to blows with their own allies - MPs from the DMK!

Mind you, this is the same political grouping that traditionally takes a moral high ground on everything including 'parliamentary' behaviour. Much to Somnathda's chagrin, Members of Parliament from the left behaved like hooligans that afternoon. While most left leaders have scant respect for TV etiquette, (except Karat and Yechury, but if you have ever seen D.Raja and Dipankar Mukherjee on air, you'll know what I mean) watching them stoop to fisticuffs was a new low. Gurudas Dasgupta was at a loss of words, and that doesn't happen too often to him especially in front of a TV camera, justifying such lumpen behaviour. I just wish a few punches landed on TR Balu. It would've been grand fun! Wonder how Lok Sabha TV does in the ratings game.

(Picture courtesy: ibnlive.com)

help! i cant post ...blogger's conked

This English Yaar!

“Where are you putting up?” asked this petite acquaintance from Delhi. Putting up what? I almost asked. Ah! she meant to ask where was I staying. Dinner table courtesy restricted me from poking fun at her inadvertent faux pas. Starters arrived but the lady refused to stop. After I told where I was “putting” up, she attacked, “So how is the job ‘opPORtunities’ in Mumbai?” I thought of mentioning that if she wasn’t pretty, my old English professor would have used this ‘opportunity’ to skin her alive.

You know …what’s with these Delhi-ites? They are fashionable, I mean they are great when it comes to dressing up well to shop at M-block but their urge to butcher the Queen’s language is much more than their lust for butter chicken. But hang on, there was more murder that evening.

To be fair, she was a well-educated, confident, young woman, an expert in retail banking but had scant respect for pronunciation. “So what do you ‘hair’ in Mumbai? (Read - ’here’) . If she said that in Tamil, she’d be jailed for unparliamentary language. (Tamil abuses and their English skills can be saved for another blog). So, I said, I am splitting hairs over my job ‘here’ in Mumbai.

At main course, it was homicide. “I have to return back to Dhelli imme-jiately. I am taking today evening flight.” The city, my love, is called Delhi with a hard D. Don’t even get me started on “immediately” – that word has been a victim of national torture.
After all this, I was in no mood for dessert. And as we tipped the waiter, came her piece de resistance, “Give me your ‘cuntact.”

My case rests.