Advent of Kaliyuga

In Kaliyuga, God does not show Himself so often and has left humankind to deal with the problems pretty much on its own. Yada yada hi dharmasya... seems a bit far.

The Kaliyuga in Indian cricket has truly set in over a period of just about three years. The two articles that sum it up beautifully are:

• Right-arm over to God - published in Rediff.com on March 02, 2003, after the WC clash between India and Pakistan.
• Joining the rank of Mortals - published in cricket.org on March 20, 2006, after Tendulkar got out so cheaply and so outrageously and got a well deserved booing from a knowledgeable crowd of Wankhede Stadium.

Now that Tendulkar has stepped down from that pedestal, it is time for us cricket fans to start scrutinizing his form and questioning his contributions to the team. He has now joined the ranks of Sauravs and Laxmans and if he is so much required to maintain the morale of the team, kick Greg Chappel out and make him the coach. If BCCI cannot kick Chappel for contractual reasons, they should create a new post of motivational speaker in the cricket team and appoint Tendulkar for life. The selectors dropped Ganguly because they wanted to make way for youngsters. After a sequence of 16, 23, 19, 14, 23, 26, 16, 28*, 4 and 1, time has come to dish out the same treatment for Tendulkar.

Indian Idol

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Last week, I happened to watch the Indian Idol on Sony. I saw almost all the episodes last time, but have not been following this season's shows at all. I was puzzled by the behavior of two of the three judges - Annu Malik and Farah Khan. The comments that they kept on making against the Indian public and television viewers were simply apalling.

Annu and Farah, I have a piece of advice for you - if you have agreed to the rules of the programme that these rounds are going to be decided on the basis of viewer votes, then understand the fact that a normal Indian television viewer does not understand classical singing, ragas, rhythm and what you call X-factor. (S)he goes more by whether the song was sung properly or not. Here, the choice of song itself is very important. So, you need to stop making comments like - "how can the Indian viewership keep such a talented singer like you at the bottom of the chart". Are you kidding yourself or are always that arrogant? Everyone who makes it to that level is not just good, he or she is probably one the best. Someone among them has to be at the bottom, right?

And if you keep making fun of people like me, I will have to remind you -- Annu, you are just a copier of songs and very few of your original compositions are really worth listening. Farah, the less we speak of your understanding of music, the better. If you guys think that the singers are really that great, give them chances in your songs and films. I am sure that you are not prepared to do.

I have a piece of advice for Sony Television too. Reign in these two and stop calling them judges. Technically and theoritically, they cannot influence the result. They just sit there, get free money and say whatever they like. The Indian public is the real judge. It is we who are actually pay money to vote (remember, every phone call and SMS costs 6 Rupees) and on top of it, get insulted!!

If the Indian public is capable of deciding which Tom, Dick or Harry can rule the country, then this is just a music competition. Are you going to decide the next finance minister of India based on the result?

Out of the three judges - I really respect Sonu Nigam. He is indeed talented as a singer, and even as a person, he is simply brilliant. His comments are crisp, clear and always to the point. He does not mince words and at the same time is never disparaging. The other two have a long way to go before they can match up to him.

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Let it go...

Let it go Saurav... It is not worth the fight, because you are not worth it. The Indian cricket team is and will be better without you. Let other youngsters come to the frontlines.

Do this bit for the country and the country will be proud of you. We cricket fans will forever be indebted to you. We will dedicate the World cup 2007 win to you.

No, not again !!

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The Maharaja of Kolkata has been again appointed the captain of Indian cricket team... Why can't selectors be a bit more prudent and get rid of this person once and for all? Here is a letter I had sent to Times of India earlier this year (which they did not publish, of course)

From: Kshitij Sharma
To: lettersbg@indiatimes.com
Date: Apr 17, 2005 9:32 PM
Subject: Indian Cricket team - I want my money back
Dear Mr. Editor,

When it comes to the Indian cricket team, who are they answerable to?
a) The BCCI, under whose contracts they play?
b) The brands and corporate houses whose products they endorse?
c) The Indian fans, for patriotism’s sake?

I don’t think it is the third option; otherwise, they would not lose without putting an iota of effort. Let us keep patriotism out of this discussion, and realize that directly or indirectly, they are answerable to the Indian consumer whose spending habits power this economy.

Saurav gets his paycheck because someone buys a particular mobile connection or a television. Rahul waits for someone else to get impressed by his acting skills. Sachin lends his smiles to a motorcycle manufacturer. For every bottle of cold drink that is sold, a portion of the money is paid to the cricketers.

When I, as a consumer, buy a product, I expect a sense of satisfaction. However, a portion of the money that I spend, however miniscule it may be, is being paid to these cricketers, which they do not deserve. It's a waste. Aamir, Amitabh, Shahrukh, as other celebrities who endorse products, at the least entertain us. What do these cricketers do?

All the members of this cricket team, if you have ever endorsed a product, or even otherwise, you are answerable to me. Either get your act straight or make way for others. If you cannot do both, I WANT MY MONEY BACK.

Kshitij Sharma
Bangalore
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