There are few things that make us uniquely Indian...........here's one of them.
It was heartening to see 25 year old Bindra grab a gold at the Beijing Olympics. It's a great achievement given the country he represents. Yeah the debate I want to open up is, what's India's contribution in his achievement. Does India deserve the laurels he's bringing to the country.
In a country of a billion people or more, we struggle to create sportsmen who can rub shoulders with the world's best. India lacks the set up required to create Olympic heroes who can go for gold. The system is skewed. The sports authority of India is a laggard unit crippled with inefficiency, lack of funds, foresight and infrastructure. The people who run it are even worse. With due respect, Mr Kalmadi who has been warming the seat of the president of the Olympic association deserves to be shown the door for poor performance. Add to it the fact that India does not have a great sporting culture. Unless you become a Sania or a Bindra or a Paes your future is bleak or unsure. As a result most parents discourage their wards from taking up sports as a profession.
Here we have Bindra who was fortunate to have the resources required to take up a sport as expensive as a shooting. All credit to him for the hard work and results he has produced. How many people in this country have this opportunity. The moment Bindra won the gold, the who's who of Indian politics jumped in to grab some eye balls.
As I researched the internet I found this
Punjab - 1 crore - home state hero
Harayana - 25 Lakh - neighboring state hero...Phew
Chandigarh - 5 Lakh - city's sporting hero, state wasnt enough
Karnataka - 10 Lakh - country's hero
Madhya Pradesh - 5 lakh - no clue why they announced.
worst of all...........
Indian railway's, rather our very own Lalu Prasad Yadav - Free AC rail travel for Bindra and a companion for life.
I am still waiting to see what rewards the other states are going to announce.
My senses tell me that a man who could afford a personal shooting range at home, travel to Germany on personal expenses for training will never travel on the Indian railways.Bindra hails from a successful business family and received a 5 star hotel as a gift from his dad.
Now when Bindra tasted success everyone wants to hand out people's hard earned taxes to Bindra as gifts. More like "Chance pe dance" as if they had a role in his success. Most of these jokers occupying prominent posts would have dismissed shooting as a casual sport had Bindra approached them for some funds to train.
I would be glad if the government spent this kind of money in cleaning up the sports establishments in the country and let the corporates handle the successful heroes.Corporates follow eye balls and today it is on Bindra, tomorrow on some one else. This way we'll be able to create more Bindra's in the country. It's time to instill some senses back in the brains of decision makers to create a strong system for sports and sportsmen to thrive. Otherwise it'll probably take another 25 years to grab the next gold at the Olympics.
Also read http://www.rediff.com/sports/2003/sep/04spec.htm
in Telegraph I came across this article where the writer echoes my sentiments !
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080821/jsp/opinion/story_9718064.jsp
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Know thyself !
I was inspired to write this after reading an article on rediff ! (yeah I somehow still like rediff ). The link to that article has been provided at the end of the blog.
The moment you meet someone for the first time it's common practice in our country to ask "where are you from"............that's been a tough question for me. I have had to go through this routine.
Stranger/friend: So elli, Bangaloora
me: No, I am from Palghat, Kerala
stranger/new friend : So you are a mallu.
me: No I speak tamil at home and have been in Bangalore for 9 long yrs and so I know Kannada
This has been a routine conversation each time I meet someone at Bangalore.
The fact of the matter is my roots or so called origin is Palghat, Kerala and I belong to this community commonly referred to as Palghat Iyer's, but I have never lived there. I was not even born there.My parents were not even brought up there but I still claim that I belong to Palghat. My grandparents moved out of Palghat in their teens probably. It's getting a little dizzying right now.
I had my schooling at Trivandrum, college at Bangalore and working in Bangalore/Dallas. Yet I speak a language that is not a part of any of the three places. Every region I have lived in has left an impression on me....my lifestyle, food, dress, language etc.
As the article says life has become a nomad of sorts where in constant quest for economic prospects ( job is an economic factor) people (in fact Indians) travel to wherever there's an opportunity waiting. They start living there and modifying their lifestyles to suit that place. They start drawing influences from that region and start undergoing a change. Imagine a person who has lived across 3-4 regions in his life span.
For me to trace my roots has been easy since my parents constantly remind me about the place, the culture. My food habits and customs followed at home are still authentic to Palghat.
The article also makes an interesting mention about the challenges this pose to new generation kids. They have a tough time tracing their roots.
The same question........"where are you from" might be daunting for a kid. For e.g: my niece who is 2 yrs old might have a tough time accepting the fact that she's from Palghat, forget telling others. She does not even remember India forget visiting Palghat. Imagine the challenges that she would have as a kid or my sister would have explaining it to her. My sister tells me that the little one is learning English faster than it's mother tongue !
As more and more Indians make the world a "flat" place and migrate such cases are going to increase. Will smaller communities cease to exist, will unique small cultures, customs fade away ....I don't know just yet, ASK THYSELF !!!!!!!!!
also read : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/07guest1.htm
The moment you meet someone for the first time it's common practice in our country to ask "where are you from"............that's been a tough question for me. I have had to go through this routine.
Stranger/friend: So elli, Bangaloora
me: No, I am from Palghat, Kerala
stranger/new friend : So you are a mallu.
me: No I speak tamil at home and have been in Bangalore for 9 long yrs and so I know Kannada
This has been a routine conversation each time I meet someone at Bangalore.
The fact of the matter is my roots or so called origin is Palghat, Kerala and I belong to this community commonly referred to as Palghat Iyer's, but I have never lived there. I was not even born there.My parents were not even brought up there but I still claim that I belong to Palghat. My grandparents moved out of Palghat in their teens probably. It's getting a little dizzying right now.
I had my schooling at Trivandrum, college at Bangalore and working in Bangalore/Dallas. Yet I speak a language that is not a part of any of the three places. Every region I have lived in has left an impression on me....my lifestyle, food, dress, language etc.
As the article says life has become a nomad of sorts where in constant quest for economic prospects ( job is an economic factor) people (in fact Indians) travel to wherever there's an opportunity waiting. They start living there and modifying their lifestyles to suit that place. They start drawing influences from that region and start undergoing a change. Imagine a person who has lived across 3-4 regions in his life span.
For me to trace my roots has been easy since my parents constantly remind me about the place, the culture. My food habits and customs followed at home are still authentic to Palghat.
The article also makes an interesting mention about the challenges this pose to new generation kids. They have a tough time tracing their roots.
The same question........"where are you from" might be daunting for a kid. For e.g: my niece who is 2 yrs old might have a tough time accepting the fact that she's from Palghat, forget telling others. She does not even remember India forget visiting Palghat. Imagine the challenges that she would have as a kid or my sister would have explaining it to her. My sister tells me that the little one is learning English faster than it's mother tongue !
As more and more Indians make the world a "flat" place and migrate such cases are going to increase. Will smaller communities cease to exist, will unique small cultures, customs fade away ....I don't know just yet, ASK THYSELF !!!!!!!!!
also read : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/07guest1.htm
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