Victory is not always winning the battle, but rising every time you fall … Thus spake Napoleon Bonaparte but one suspects now is not the best time to administer this motivational dose to the New Zealand cricket team. In a single day they found themselves putting in a lion-hearted effort to put up a fighting total after being derailed a number of times, but dug deep and put themselves on […]
One of the most significant examples of the neglect of the North-Eastern part of India is the near exclusion of legendary figures of the region from the national historical narrative. The nation would have been even more poorly served had the fascinating exploits of the heroic 17th century Ahom general Lachit Borphukan been confined to a mere footnote in history. Corrective measures came rather late in the day when, responding […]
Dhoni, finisher par excellence, but given his onerous responsibilities the title of an ‘enforcer’ would probably have been more appropriate. Not only did he ensure that the matches ended on the right note, during numerous crises, he shielded the less able, guiding the team towards safer shores, before launching the final assault. Age has evidently blunted his reflexes if not his instincts and rendered him less efficacious in certain situations. […]
During the 1987 Cricket World Cup in India during one of the group matches, England were set a target of 240 runs in their 50 overs by Pakistan. This was of course a formidable score during that time. At one stage England were cantering along, with Mike Gatting and Allan Lamb scoring relatively easily. The commentators marveled at the ‘professional’ approach of the Englishmen, who having being weaned on a […]
“Zinda dilon ki hai yahan zindagi … murda dil khaak jiya karte hai.” This dialogue might not have been from one of Feroz Khan’s iconic films, lesser still it was a release that tanked at the box office without so much as a whimper. But that is besides the point, the significant thing is that it endorsed a creed that was at the very heart of this flamboyant actor’s existence. […]
The eminent British Critic Neville Cardus once said “We remember not the scores or the results in after years: it is the men who remain in our minds, in our imagination. A true batsman should in his most of his strokes tell the truth about himself”. And so they do, but while the object of Neville’s subjective, romantic pieces and his flowery prose were the flamboyant wizards of the willow, […]
The famous American author John C. Maxwell said “ A lack of realism in the vision today costs credibility tomorrow”. This could very well apply to the Indian film industry where most of the scripts celebrate the make believe and maintaining the semblance of reality is essentially an afterthought. Suspension of disbelief is a term that is not only missing from the lexicon not because realism has been suspended but […]
Somebody said “Value your opinion, it’s worth as much as theirs”. But this simple yet so effective message seems to be lost on many Indians. Possibly patches of the colonial mentality endure behind the sheen of modernity and progress !!! A commonplace article by a designated ‘Time ‘ magazine author labeling Narendra Modi as the Divider-in-Chief seemed to have the cannonballs rolling for the political opponents to load their artillery […]
Batting may be cricket’s heartbeat but fast bowling is its pulse. The pulse though is witnessing a rapid descent of sorts with the tearaways somewhat losing their way. Never a constant feature in any bowling lineup, apart from possibly the West Indies till the nineties, the speed merchant is now, due to unresponsive pitches, unkinder rules and cruel schedules, almost approaching extinction. Rabada !!! … say the optimists but that […]
The creative climes of Bengal have inspired original thinking among its people for decades but TMC’s recent ingenious election stunts are setting a benchmark of a different kind. As part of its election strategy, popular Bangladeshi actor, Ferdous Ahmed was employed by the TMC to campaign for one of its candidates in a border town. While mercenaries position themselves in different regions around the globe from Syria to South America […]
