Sunday, January 27, 2008

The Warrior of Oz.


The twenty seventh day of January 2008 marks the end of an era.

Climbing up the stairway with measured steps he disappeared in to the dressing room perhaps never to wield the willow in white and baggy green ever again. With his departure from the 22 yards at the Adelaide Oval the curtains have come down on the career of the greatest wicket keeper batsmen in the history of the game. He redefined the role that the wicket keepers had to play in the game of cricket. Prior to Gilli's era, wicket keepers were perceived to be fielders who kept wickets and were push over batsmen.


With the advent of Adam Gilchrist all that changed. He not only mesmerized the cricketing world with his magical glove work but also captivated millions with his maverick like batting prowess. Who will ever forget those fierce cuts, the bludgeons to the cover fence, the pull shots in which the ball was picked up from outside the off stump, those slashes that went for maximum and the mid air collections behind the stumps. His game was simple-see the ball, hit the ball. Never fazed with burden of having a sound technique, he wore his heart on his sleeve. A team man to the core, he bailed Australia out of many precarious situations. Gilli is a fierce competitor but never in his career has he ever crossed the line. Opponents not only feared him, they revered and respected him. Perhaps his greatest contribution to the game is his dauntless spirit and an uncharacteristic simplicity.


It would not be improper to stand up and salute this champion cricketer who not only entertained but also mesmerized and enchanted spectators, Aussie or non Aussie alike. There are many who play the game but only a few like him who uphold its spirit. Above anything else Gilli will be known for his unparalleled sportsman spirit. He never waited for the umpire to rule him out , he always, without fail, walked if he was out. Unlike some of his fellow Aussies he is a glittering star that shone amongst the heap to battered, rotten and decaying sportsmanship. Adam Gilchrist will be missed and while i pen down these lines i can not contain myself for affection.


They say cricket is a gentlemen's game, if at all there has been a gentleman who has played the game, allow me to say it is Adam Gilchrist's game.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

India Poisoned.



Optimism, undoubtedly, is a contagious disease and it is spreading very rapidly. The euphoria about India’s high growth rates never seems to cease. However, the prospects about India’s future are not as rosy as they are being made out to be. The quantum of celebration about the growth rates is totally unwarranted. We have been blinded by the glitz of pomp and show, forgetting to look at all the gross ills that exist in India and worse we even think that India is ready for take off the radiant heights of becoming an economic super power.

To put things in perspective consider the facts. Firstly, around a third of India’s children suffer from under nutrition. About a fifth of them will lose a major organ before they attain the age of 25. The malnutrition levels in India are higher than many nations in Africa. Children are supposed to be the future of a nation and by looking at India’s under nourished children we can safely conclude that India’s future is quite bleak.

Secondly, a third of the people in India do not even know how to read and write. Quite a few of the 2/3 who are literates can barely read and write. Coupled with it is the fact that not many people pursue higher education. Besides higher corporate salaries have added to this trend and thus pure science and basic research have taken a beating. Without R&D a nation can not develop and sustain its growth rates, leave aside the dreams of taking off and becoming a superpower.

Thirdly, the rate of decline of poverty in the post reform era has been lower than the rate of decline of poverty in the pre reform era. This has invariably led to an increase in relative poverty and inequality. If this trend is not reversed total consumption may fall and this will lead to fall in the growth rates of GDP.

Fourthly, the India’s growth is highly skewed and looks unsustainable given the state of affairs of the economy. The manufacturing sector is growing at over 10% while the electricity sector is growing at barely 7.6%. There is already a mismatch between the two and the gap is increasing. Therefore the growth can not be sustained unless alternate viable sources of fuel are recognized soon.

Fifthly, the agriculture sector which employs about 60% of the workforce continues to grow at very low rates. This has made agriculture an unviable activity for many. Thus there has been an exodus from the rural areas to the cities. More than 100,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last ten years. Blatantly put this amounts to one farmer suicide per hour. The growth process has by-passed this sector. In short, the trickle down has not happened. Development has not taken place.

No doubt that the growth rates in India have been bullish but India still ranks very low on the Human Development Index. The buoyant stock exchange reflects the state of the corporate sector and not the economy as a whole. It is corporate India that is “poised” for a take off, India as a nation isn’t. We still have quite a few problems to solve on earth first, why take off and go to the moon then?

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Who Am I?

Perhaps, you know me, perhaps you don’t. Well I don’t blame you for the latter because I didn’t quite know myself until recently. It may sound strange or even dumbfounding that how could have I not known myself for two and twenty years of my life. Yes, it is unusual yet true.

Only a few days ago a child enquired about my identity from me while I was engaging myself in some hedonistic activity in the nearby community park. I heedlessly blurted out my name. It was only later that evening that the question struck me like a flash of thunderbolt, colour from my face seemed to have slipped off like a garment from a body. You will certainly ask me what was so emphatic about the question adhering to the fact that this question must have been put before me, I suppose, a trillion times already. It was not until that particular evening that this question dawned upon me. I will not give you an answer, rather I will put forth a question and that will be my answer. Is my identity merely confined to my name, my permanent address or perhaps even my PAN which the government shall shortly furnish? You will concur with me that most of us, if not all, or let me insinuate, accept our name as our identity or our identity as our name. Whatever be the case, the case is serious.

All right, let me not inundate you with a volley of non mundane questions and come to the point straight away. My friends call me different names, my mother does so, and my father, he too has his own set of names for me, basically I am an individual with many names and by common definition an individual with a multitude of identities. It baffles me and now you say it baffles you too. With so many identities I definitely have much ado to know myself. The basic question is who am I?

When I look into that question I don’t find a straight forward answer but what I do find is an agglomerated yet, if I might add, distinct answer. I am a son to my parents, a friend to my friends, an enemy to that uncouth fellow with long hair, a crazy admirer of that cherub whom I simply adore. But do these relations define my identity even in the broadest of terms? Am I all about being a son or an admirer, an enemy or even a prospective economist? I guess I am all of it and perhaps I am none of it. Some of the identities I have created and some have been imposed upon me.


I am aware of the fact that history shall remember me for what I have done or even what I have not done. My name will be lost in the pages of history, but let my identity live on long after I am gone. Let it not be lost with my name. Ah! that reminds me, will I lose my identity if I am unable to furnish my identity card which has my name and my permanent address scripted upon it? That is a good question, isn’t it? Dear sirs and madams protect your identity cards; you never know when it might just rob you off your identity.

I am mindful of what I like or what I loathe. I am mindful of what makes me happy and what makes me sad. I am aware of my goals and what I want to achieve in life. I am cognizant of the love around me and, possibly even more, the hatred. I do feel the sun, water, wind earth and ether, every waking and somnolent hour. I am aware of where I am and where I want to reach. I am aware of being a son, a friend, an enemy, an admirer and I am aware that I am aware of what I am aware of….I am conscious of my milieu. I am conscious of what I intend to do. I am conscious of the unconsciousness that I have had about my self. It was not until that day that I found my self… I realized who I was. Today I am conscious of who I am. I am nothing else but consciousness.

The Welcome Note.

Allow me to welcome you to my new blog. Well to be honest this is my only blog therefore you can disregard the aforesaid statement but not entirely. I still want to welcome you to my blog. The purpose of this blog is quite unclear to me. It will not educate you nor will it entertain you. At best it might just overwhelm you. I am sure you are, by now, quite aware of "TAKING STOCK", well it is this very blog that you are reading now. As the name suggests i will take stock of everything that catches my fancy, from the moral policing in Chennai to the stagflation that looms large over the world economy and probably everything in between. I have chosen such a plethora of varied topics so that i am able to update my blog very frequently. Sticking to a topic does not quite interest me for then i run the risk of being inane, insipid and probably mundane. Well nothing comes free of cost thus if you want to read my blog you have to agree to give me a feedback if you disagree then i request to leave without reading my blog. RIGHT NOW... Just in case you decide to give me a feedback you have to concur with one rule regarding the feedback-your feed back has to be blatantly honest. However instead of simply telling me that I SUCK, constructively criticizing my writing will really help me.
Before I end I would like to thank George J.P, Nidhi G, my end semseter holidays, Central Park New Delhi, my train journey from Delhi to Patna and finally the watershed year 2007 for enabling and urging me to write on my blog. Thank you one and all.

With Lots of regards and honesty,
Anand.