Racism and all that stuff

Well time for me to get out some stuff out of my system and what better than cricket and to it connected something related to society. Yes I am talking of the racist taunts that were made by the section of the Indian public towards Andrew Symonds. Apparently there was this huge section of crowd that decided to pick on the constant thorn in the Indian side, Andrew Symonds and heckle him for the heck of it. Heckling by the crowd is not something new and its been something that has been going on for quite some time. I remember attending an India -Australia test match where a section of the crowd has a real go on Shane Warne but it was not something that was very serious or anything and it was clear to Shane Warne himself that the crowd was having some fun at him and he responded back by doing small jigs for the crowd. However , matters tend to be taken seriously when the element of racism is introduced into it. Symonds is the most famous colored cricketer to represent Australia and is indeed a perfect role model for the game. A fearsome striker, a fabulous fielder in any position, one of the strongest throwing arms in the history of the game, a medium pacer or a spinner as the need dictates, he is probably the cricketing equivalent of the total football concept expounded by the likes of Cruyff and Beckenbauer.
Comparing him with a monkey and making monkey gestures speaks volumes for the mentality of the Indian public as a whole and also reveals the depth of hypocrisy present in them. With our obsession for fair skin , while we ourselves aren't as fair, the tendency to mock someone for not being so and comparing a cricketer like Symonds leaves a bad taste in the mouth. What makes it all the more appalling is the fact that this took place in Mumbai. This is the very image that flashes around the world. The commercial capital of India responding in such a disgusting fashion.
However what is more important at this stage is to recognize that this is not an isolated incidents. The number of cases relating to race abuse has been on an increase. South Africans were abused by a section of the Australian crowd last time they toured Australia. All this points towards a very disturbing trend. The growing intolerance of the fans across the world. This could probably be a result of the shrinking of the world as more and more communities come into contact with one another and in the process discover that each one is not what they expected the other to be.
Whatever happens, Dec 26th Boxing Day test match at Melbourne is going to be represent a BullRing (No Pun intended)

Sleepless at IIM B

Its 3.47 AM a time when the world (at least that part of the world in which it is 3.47 AM) is asleep and here I am wide awake. Gosh I think I would have probably been an owl in my previous janma. Guess this is the time to indulge in some arbit thoughts like the very purpose of our existence yada yada yada. Naah its too intellectually nauseating for me to think of those things. So I hit upon a rather novel method to fight off sleep. I decided to ping all those who are active on Gtalk and trouble them :)

4.00 AM: Cheap buggers. Why dont they switch of their lappies when they go to sleep. None of them has responded and finally i end again at this page. Well looking at what can be done for morrow, the 1st thing that comes to my mind is the Lord's Test Match. Wow thats gonna be an absolute corker with India losing it in 3 days. Hell. Chuck that. It will make me depressed.

What else? Guess I have a few novels lined up for morrow and after. I am also reading a comic series. Man dont I love comics especially by Frank Miller. Seriously Cooooooooooooollllllll. Ok here I go off again on a tangent to movies. That was from Sivaji. Man I am a disgrace. I still have not watched the movie. On second thoughts chuck that. I doubt if I can afford a hair cut now as I am currently in a situation that is my favorite color in all circumstances but not for this. RED. Total red. An aside to my favorite topic of finance. No bank would be willing to loan me even a withdrawal slip.

All this now reminds me of acads. I have my midterms lined up from Sunday. Gosh that so seriously scares me that I am not going to sleep for a week and so I think I will stop thinking of that.

4.10 AM: I am still awake. What the hell? Looks like Athica's bread omlette have not had their usual effect. Reminds me of the time back at PSG where we would be awake till 4 so that when the gate opens, we would rush off to NMB to have tea and come back and crash almost instantaneously. Boy those were truly amazing days (and nights). It was good fun to stay awake till 4 and wake up at 2 in the afternoon. Guess our body clock had been following the Atlanteans (guess they must be the only ppl between Brits and the Yanks). Ok I have decided to start reading Infrastructure Privatization (IP for those in love with acronyms) (yawn). That will decidedly put me to sleep as I saw as proof one of my friends keeling over with the book despite the fact that she just woke up from a nap.

End Terms Ahoy

Well here we go again. 3 months of blood (ok not mine), sweat (Bangalore this year is sure hot) and tears(again not mine, a certain somebody who shall go unnamed in the interest of public err my safety), culminates in this defining moment called the End Terms. Well the auspicious event kickstarts tomorrow with 4 hrs of fart in a paper called competition and strategy and then macroeconomics in the afternoon. Now having spouted all this fart about the exams I better get back to studying. Needed something to type and exercise my frustrations on.

Rajni Bday Celebrations

For probably the second time in my life I have celebrated the birthday of Rajnikanth (the 1st occasion way back in college was a muted affair). This was even more fun and made more so by the fact that everything was done at the last minute. First things first. It was an awesome effort from SMS. That guy was the real spearhead of all this celebrations. He was after people doing something from a week before.

In typical IIMB tradition, we Sambhar Mafia decided to have a birthday mail for the great man. But deiciding on the content took hell lotta time. while this was going on, a batch went to buy sweets, pumpkin as well as crackers to make it a grand occasion. The birthday mail took some time in the contents part whereas the pictures part didnt take much time. Once the mail was done, the videos from his movie were cut and edited and put in order by SMS. Also arranged was the music necessary which was necessary to get the mood of the situation and this was arranged by me with help from Praveen. So all was set for the celebrations at 12.

By this time, the poster of Rajni along with some decorations to L^2 was also done. At 12 it started ( Be practical. When have things started on time. It's probably the "standard" time in play.). With the usual holdups for audio and video settings, the first thing to be played was "Oruvan Oruvan" from "Muthu". With that the mood was set for the next hour. The mood was further heightened when Praveen performed a archanai with crackers bursting in the background in symphony. It was great fun. It was more than a celebration. It was an identification of all Tamizh people on campus that there are things that bind people more than language. Atleast for me, because I am a die hard Kamal fan.

The enthu of the people was amazing. In between, a "psued" Rajni(Manoj) slipped in and cut the cake and this was the time for sweet distribution. And so it went on and finally concluded with the song "Vetri Kodi Katu" from "Padayappa".

It was totally fun and spontaneous. Definitely looking forward to do it next year. In my mind, I know that though Kamal is a far better and versatile actor, Rajni has the link with the people.

vinays musings

vinays musings

Farewell

All good things in life come to an end though we would wish it to be otherwise. In this respect, the retirement of Michael Schumacher does cast a shadow depriving the world of F-1 of one of its brightest champions.

A man to whom you cannot remain indifferent to. You had to like him or hate him. I for one have an avid fan of the great fan. My interest in F-1 began with him and i fear may end with him. I have admired him for the total ice control that he had as well as an unflappable attitude behind the wheel. Also the utter ruthlessness of his performance was another facet of the great man. A 7 time world champion as well as the holder of many records, he still fought till the last race of his career showing many that he still is good enough to beat most of the competition.

In a way, it is fitting for a giant of Schumacher's stature to retire this way. Even his critics would have to say that the man went out with a bang, in style rather than a whimper as sportsmen generally tend to do.