The game is fixed.....

     April 2, 2011 witnessed one of the highest points of international cricket, when Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit a confident six to bring India it's share of World Cup glory after 28 years. The whole world was watching - the cricketing world that is - with more than two thirds of the followers from India alone with the rest of the fan base from the rest of the countries. The stakes were high, both for the World Cup finalists, as well as all other 'entrepreneurs' who make their living off the outcome of the game; which has a been a pet peeve of many betrayed fans.

     Ever since the match fixing scandal boiled and spilled over world cricket, there has been a sizable number of cricket fans who doubt the authenticity of game results. The accusations reach a fever pitch when the games go down the wire. For a common fan, the situation just gets too confusing on whether to believe in the game-fixing rumors or to stay innocent and have a childlike entertainment out of it.

     A movie has actors, a plot with the right amount of spice and twists and turns with a finale. Similarly, the game has it's performers in the form of athletes who perform 'live' on a field in front of not only the crowd,  but the millions others glued to their TV sets. The actors in a film get the help from the director, the make up crew and choreographers, whereas the cricketers have to deal with a constantly changing plot and without much on-field instructions. They also have to rely on each other's abilities to do what they are asked to do.

     Just like a movie has a finale, which we never want to hear about beforehand, the game has a final twist that we do not know. A movie experience could easily be ruined by the spoilers, however in a game of cricket (or any other sport), no matter how much it is 'fixed', it is extremely tough for a majority of fans to really know what, how and when anything is going to happen. If we were to enjoy a movie that lasts on an average of about two and a half hours- a finite amount of staged storytelling - there is not much of a problem in watching a staged game.

     A movie, a TV series, a circus, or a stand-up comedy show is successful only after hours, weeks and days of practice and retakes, as it applies. Whereas in a game, the players have only a limited chance to perform to the script and only a little time to correct their actions if anything goes askew. Thus, performing to the script is even tougher to achieve. So let us all enjoy the game we love, and not despair over something we only suspect is staged. If the game is fixed, so is the fate.

Fool's gold

     Be grateful for the friends you have, be thankful to your family that helps you out in all situations. Be comfortable with the body you have, be calm with the weather outside as it is weaving another pleasant experience for you in this world. Do not fight the situations that you cannot ever change.
    
     Be happy for there are multitude ways to be unhappy. There are an awful lot of situations that will fill you with disappointment. For some reason, unhappiness lingers while joy fades like a rainbow. Like Edison quoted, when he found the right metal for his bulb: "I found 999 ways of not making a bulb", our life is filled with many more than 999 ways to sadness.

     Finding happiness and peace of mind has always proven to be a mirage. In fact, the quest for it has driven some people out their homes, leaving behind their possessions to find the answers. It is more unlikely than likely that most of us will ever bump into an answer.

     Life is like sailing a ship in an endless ocean with the sails catching the winds of emotions. Left loose our emotions will lead us, better, drag us in directions without us knowing where we are going. Just because the air is windy does not mean you set the sails high. While the answer to this is to not moor your ship in the middle of nowhere, it is not letting loose the sails all the time. Remember, the entire ship is yours. Set the sails free only when the wind is in the right direction, and most importantly, take control of your rudder.

     There will be choppy waters. There will be obstacles. But unless you understand these obstacles are the doors to continued joy, happiness will elude you. Had it been as simple as to walk through all the doors, there would have been no doors at all. Do not sit down thinking about how troubling it is unlock every door. Think about the joy of finding the right combination and move forward to achieve it, for an empty mind is a devil's workshop.
    
     The devil here is no mythological hideous creature with horns, sharp teeth, red eyes and a lust for blood. But it is the devil that will make you feel depressed. It is the dweller of nothingness. Do nothing and it will start to consume you. It will make you leave your ship and plunge into water. Do not ignore the help of others who throw the buoy at you, as they mean nothing more than help. They may not mean to get you aboard their ship, but help get you on yours. Do not turn away your well-wishers for their may be someone who might want to get aboard your ship. For their will be someone who will appreciate the beauty of your ship.

     The jewels of happiness are littered all around us. Lust them, want them, but do not fall for them. They might appear to be right in front of us, but be careful because there might be a strong current lying in your way that could wreck your ship. Test the waters, think if you can make it or can afford to take the risk. Talk to others to find if it is worth the trouble.

     And most important of all, do not worry. You will fall in water, you will sail uncontrollably at times, the jewels will elude you. But never let loose, for no one knows which direction to go, but you will more often than not, know where not to go. May be happiness just lies in sailing smoothly, helping the fallen and accepting the help, and taking a break at times. Not all jewels are meant to be had.

The T20 Theory of Conflict Prevention & Integration

Unity in Diversity

India, the seventh largest country in the world, is also the second most populous country in the world. Not only it is the second most crowded country, but it arguably a country with the most diversity packed per square capita. There are at least about 20 languages being spoken at the moment, and all major religions freely practiced. And on top of it, there are multitude difference within people from the same geographic area, religion and language. No wonder the British were able to employ the divide-and-rule policy to great success.

Cracks in the joints

Being a country with a large number of inherent fractures, India does demonstrate a great deal of 'Unity in Diversity'. As much as it is touted, it has also caused a number of problems. The problems range from regionalism, favoritism, castism to terrorism and 'secessionism'. There is always a great number of people who feel they are being wronged or do not get the attention of the government due to their different identity. While it is not true every time, unfortunately some times it is.

Cricket, the common denominator
So what are the reasons that keeps India together, despite the diversity. Let's not think in terms of intangibles like, 'the feeling of oneness', 'patriotism' and the like. Religion, language and customs are already ruled out. The history of medieval and ancient India is a proof of India's divisiveness. The real things that bring Indians together are a common cause. The Indian army and Cricket are the biggest factors that gels this mosaic population. While people keep on integrating with one another through the army, it is a silent and unglamorous process. Cricket on the other hand is flamboyant and exhilarating, and it is publicly broadcast to millions of people. It is always great to see Indians of all regions cheer together, when India plays.
The stage
IPL has been a phenomenal success in India. It's rise in popularity is so alarming that international cricket is being seriously challenged by a league format from one country. Currently (10/17/10), there are only 8 teams in the league, covering different zones of India. It might be argued that this might fuel regionalism even more, but coming to think of it, it is much different than the tensions that exist between various Indian states today. For eg. The rivalry between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore would be much more amicable and friendly than that exists between the two states over the border dispute. If in future, the league continues to expand and if it is doubled to include 16 teams, we could have even more regions being represented in the league and henceforth more number of people would feel included in the process of 'Indian' cricket.

The Upside
Some of the biggest advantages of this greater participation would be more people to people contact and lesser strife between communities. More players would get an opportunity to plays for various clubs out of their hometowns and more people will cheer for a player of their team, regardless his origin. I would assume, Chennai Super Kings fans would be more grateful than resentful of having their team led by 'North Indian' MS Dhoni.
The introduction of club cricket to more remote regions of India, like the Northeast, will create more jobs, more financial stimulus and greater media attention accelerating their integration. The presence of a popular entity like a cricket club in the region and with a great amount of money and pride at stake, state governments will take an active role in solving the problems of terrorism and separatist sentiments. The renewed financial promises and greater respect in the public eye, can change the psyche of the people from the region leading us to a spiraling trend of money and harmony from the grassroots.
Better and meaningful integration
Instead of singing patriotic songs and asking for calm and peace in the wake of poverty and joblessness, this will be a more effective way to achieve the same results: Strong and united country. If this could help turn around the friction to a healthy rivalry within a country, could it be extended to achieve stability and peace within South Asia..and beyond?

One Bedroom Flat

One Bedroom Flat

Written By An Indian Engineer

       It has been a while since I have been moving around and been away from my dear ones. There are millions of such people out there. Owing to this fact, a few sappy and really weak emails make the rounds on the world wide web describing 'how pathetic our lives are away from our family, friends, society, culture, country'...depends, which version you are reading (We are somewhat to blame for this, since we always crave for sentimental, sensational stuff and plainly ignore the normal, good stuff). So here is my version, One Bedroom Flat, which hopefully will not be touching and kissing, but instead will be something which will help you forget the touchy-feely-clump-in-the-throat sadness.

Here it goes:

THE reality, that's it, reality has no adjectives.

     Suresh, a common guy, was the elder brother amongst the brother and sister, to his parents living with their parents in India in their single bedroom flat. A young and resourceful boy, like millions others around him and around the country, he was a recent engineering graduate. His parents were naturally proud of their son who had become an engineer with flying colors.

      Of course, Suresh and his parents had their worries over his education put to rest. Suresh was coming out of the academic bubble and entering the fierce arena of job hunt and earning decent wages. Suresh's parents were slowly aging and retirement was only a few years away. Suresh had to find a good job soon, or may be start a business. In either case, get on with money making.

      Being a decent engineer, he landed a job in a nearby factory as Engineer Trainee and began working on a shop floor, dealing with the machines and grime. Dirt, sweat, heat and long hours dominated his time at work. But a decent wage and the happiness of applying what he always had been dreaming to do, numbed his troubles.

      His parents were happy. He was not unhappy for sure. Life was going smooth. Then one day, one of his friends, Manish, called him up,

Manish: Hi Suresh, Manish here. Listen, what are you doing Friday evening.

Suresh: You know, my job, goes on till late, plus go to go work on Saturday.

Manish: Oh crap! You guys suck! Software industry rocks, we get the weekends (Blow# 1). Anyways, I will postpone my treat to you guys till Saturday evening. But listen, I got a chance to go work 'onsite' for my client. To New York. Can you believe it? (Double whammy)

Suresh: That's awesome dude! Congrats. Your treat better be a splurge. US tour, plus you'll be printing money, in dollars.

Manish: Sure! See you then.

       Suresh is happy for his friend. He realizes that one of his best buds will be not just out of the city, but out of country. But this is a temporary assignment. He tells his parents about it. They are happy for his friend. Weeks go by, Suresh continues with his life and then another of his friend flies out.

       As time passes by, Suresh makes progress in his career, but nothing too dramatic. Meanwhile, his friends, cousins, distant friends and not-so-much-friends keep on flying out like a flock of birds, as if sensing it is time to move on to better, warmer regions.

       Fast forward here: Suresh gets married, has two kids, his sister got married and moved to UK. Parents are aging.

       Friends are flying in and flying out of the country in the meantime, as if it was a commuter journey within the city. They are all posting incredibly beautiful pictures of Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate bridge, Niagara Falls and the stunning natural and man-made landmarks of the western world. Girlfriends, wives, kids are hiking around, merrying at parties, in casinos, at bbqs. Some friend is biking in the woods, other showing off his Audi. Third shooting pictures with his Nikon "Ultra-Cyber-Blast ZX150" camera and so forth. On their frequent trips to India, they bring Suresh, caps and tees of the cities they were living in. Perfumes, body lotions, watches and what not.

        On the other hand, Suresh is still in his same job after many years, at a higher post than he originally started out still living in his one bedroom flat, unable to afford a better, slicker one and is continuously fighting off inflation. His parents pass away thinking their son didn't really make much out of his life. He feels he did not achieve much in life. His close ones write him off as being unambitious. Suresh is really sad in his life. He feels he did not fulfill the dreams of his parents of being richer than they were. But now it is too late to change the course. He is burdened by his responsibilities. He is deeply sad and trapped in his own life.

         Now, the million dollar question: Was Suresh's life worth at all? He started out in a single bedroom flat and ended up in a single bedroom flat. Most of his friends went on to better lives. He was not able to provide the comforts his friends achieved to his family. He got mired in his job and familial responsibilities. He was unhappy.

         This is my alternative story as a response to all the nostalgia-laden, emotional, Swades like stories that try to make us feel bad after many of us achieved their dream of coming to US or elsewhere in the western world. Who would want a life Suresh lived? Any takers here?

The Pursuit of Happyness....

Now, this is something that would have comforted Suresh and would have kept him happy. This is just a perspective on happiness.

1. Suresh never CHOSE to get a job that would have gotten him abroad. This was not going to happen for him. He had to DO something about it.

2. He had a loving wife and really nice kids. He was one of the rare people, who had a perfect and happy family. His wife never gave him a hard time over their fortunes.
3. Suresh was making steady progress in his career. Alas, his life in comparison with his friends, marginalized his hard work in his own eyes.

4. Little did he know, that the gifts his friends got him was all cheap stuff. Bought in bulk at Walmart, Costco and the like, despite being of poor quality and at a cost which Suresh could have afforded even in India, it's perceived value went up ONLY because it was a foreign label.

5. All the amazing snaps on the internet only made him FEEL less happy. In fact, most of his friends, even after living abroad and boasting about it in India, were only marginally happier than him. Because, we consume whatever we get. Once we are satisfied with something, all of us are at the same level of happiness.

The Moral of the Story is: Grass is always greener on the other side. Either you understand that it is a mirage, or BELIEVE that it is for real and move your butt to achieve it. Don't get sappy. Don't compare your life against others lives. There are millions of ways to be unhappy and an awful lot of people will help you stay unhappy by their consumerism and/or ambition. Happiness is just a perception away. ANYWHERE!

Hopefully you made it to the end! :)

Playing devil's advocate

Top 5 questions for vegetarians

1. How do you justify leather for shoes, belts, etc?
2. What about mice, guinea pigs and the rest of the animals used in medical trials?
3. What about mosquitoes, cockroaches and other pests that are exterminated to keep our surroundings bug-free and clean?
4. What about deforestation that is spurred by our insatiable consumerism and construction? What about all the animals left homeless due to it? What about all the animals that die on roads after collisions? What about all the animals killed or left to live in horrid conditions due to industrial pollution?
5. What about zoos and circus troupes, where animals are either caged or live in restricted environs for human pleasure?

The Flip Side

1. What if we were to abandon modern life and avoid all of the above, can we live a livable life? Is it practical?
2. Is food from animal source meant for human bodies? Or not really?
3. If all turn to eating meat or if all turn to be vegetarians, will our food supply be strained in either case?

................what is the limit? Is it a bottomless pit of questions?

Incentive

     Have you ever had the experience, where you hear, talk or see something and get an idea, and the same thing happens in some other form the very same day. A kind of deja vu, but very real.
     I was chatting with a few friends in our free time, when two of them were having a debate on the public school system in US. I kept on listening where one of them mentioned, how the public school system is getting worse by the day.
      The natural question was "why?". Out of a couple of reasons, my friend was particularly unhappy about the politically correct grading system in schools. A grading system where even the brightest students don't get an A in a course because it makes the worst of the students feel bad. In order that no one feels left behind or stupid, none of the students are really graded, thus keeping everyone on the same level (at least on paper). DISCLAIMER: This is something I have heard, so it is second hand knowledge, but I imagine it is not far from reality.
      The very same night, I was watching the movie 3 idiots. There is a scene in the movie, where Aamir Khan cracks the exams and is the top student in class. As an honor of those who topped the exams, they were seated besides the college dean in the annual photograph, to which Aamir's character objects saying "it is akin to caste system where a few get the front row while others are pushed behind; and it is not the right thing to do to display the results of an entire class on a notice board, thus making the failure of a few students public".
       The first reaction to this scene from the movie might be approving. But when you think about what my friend said and imagine that happening to you, it becomes evident that political correctness in the grading system takes out the incentive to excel. The desire to do better than others, the urge to take efforts, the importance of hard work can quickly erode in a student, in any human, if it is not going to pay off.
        How about this? If in a 100m dash, if there was not a gold medal to be won, would any of the athletes be as fast? Would I have remembered the name Usain Bolt, if he had not broken the world record? Peer pressure, social stigma  as well as self-esteem and prestige are such real emotions that they will drive us to do better and invent iPhones, satellites and facebooks. It is the source of our progress. Let it not die in the process of political correctness.
        Before wrapping up my social rant, I will quote another scene from 3 idiots, which contradicts Aamir Khan's previously quoted thought. At the end of the movie, the college dean awards Aamir with a special pen that the dean had reserved for a truly outstanding student for decades. Aamir is naturally proud to receive it. Talk about making others feel bad now!