WAR AND CRICKET

IS CRICKET WAR BY OTHER MEANS ?

There was a time—I am not sure if it still persists-when the Pakistan cricket team motivated itself to take on India on the cricket field with their captains freely exhorting his mates with the war cry of jehad. Thus it was for the Pakistanis not just a cricket match but an extension of their religious doctrine of jehad against kafirs and idol worshippers that the Indian team consisted of. . Quite recently one member of the Pak team made the error of repeating similar sentiments when he said that when Pak lost to India they had let down Muslims everywhere. He was ticked of by the Indian media—I am not aware what the Pak media said about this. The Indian media roundly condemned the player for not realizing that the indian team had star players who were Muslims –Irfan Pathan, Zahir Khan, Munaf Patel—who considered themselves Indians first and for whom their faith was irrelevant on the cricket field. Millions of Indian fans, overwhelmingly Hindu considered these players their heroes and poster boys.

I must add that Imran Khan was once quizzed on this jehadi mentality . He said that the Jehad cry was purely to motivate the players and did not connote a religious war at all. I know from reports of Indian players that they have always been loved by Pakistani cricket fans and players when on tour to that country. Perhaps we ought not to make an issue of this. Javed Miandad ,one of the most aggressive Pak players is known to abuse India cricketers on the field but at the end of the day’s play would put his arms round the same players and drag them to his home for excellent biryani !

Now come the Australians for whom sledging is an article of faith. This matter became a big issue when India toured Australia recently. Sledging was suspended, the Aussies lost and there was talk that Australians cannot win when asked not to sledge. I wish this were not true The Aussies are true champions and their wins have been consistent, emphatic and did not depend on luck .Indians seem to depend on this factor rather consistently !

Now comes the turn of our own heroes—Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh.

The latter almost got into serious trouble for making racist remarks against an African Australian player .Some Indians tried to bail Harbhajan out by saying that calling someone a monkey—which really started it all-- was not a racist remark. I am afraid this is a serious misconception . I need only to remind readers that a US Senator called an Indian a ‘macac’ –a species of monkey—and that was the end of that senator’s political career . Such was the strong reaction to this ‘ ‘racist’ remark by the Indian community in USA. .

It was India’s financial clout that was unabashedly on display to bail out the offending Indian player.

Sreesanth is a strange guy. In the episode in which Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth in full view of millions of TV viewers Sreesanth was seen crying like a baby[in contrast to his strenuous efforts to portray himself as an aggressive guy] with Preeti Zinta consoling him the way a mother tends to her cry baby. At that point all of us felt sorry for him. But later it transpired that there was another side to the story.

The officiating umpire confided to the media that Sreesanth was indulging in sledging all through the match .Sreesanth in conclusion was asking for trouble This of course does not justify the slapping but may explain it.

When I contrast the Australian sledging with Sreesanth’s I find one serious difference. Sreesanth does not back up his behavior with performance. Sreesanth is in the news for many reasons except performance-- dances, snarls , sledging ,smirks but all this is almost Shakesperean—Full of sound and fury signifying nothing !

I suspect that he is aiming at a film career-- . he has signed up to act with Malayalam Star Mamoooty !

The BCCI in a rare display of maturity ticked off both Harbhajan and Sreesanth by telling them that they ought to learn from Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman who behave like perfect gentlemen on and off the field. These players did not dance , sledge or slap anyone. and yet played outstanding cricket.

I recall that in my school days the fact that I was called to play for my ‘house’ team was enough motivation to play at my best.

Those were days of innocence. Now it appears that for some players the honour of playing for the country and being paid astronomical sums of money are not sufficient motivators. They have to add insult and injury !

K.R.RAVI

USA

INDIA'S GREATEST MAN IN TROUBLE

BREAKING NEWS---AMITABH IN TROUBLE – AAACHOOO-- NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT

I recollect a Hindi news channel rushing to tell viewers breathlessly in the BREAKING NEWS format that

‘AMITABH HAS CAUGHT A COLD’

I SWEAR THIS IS TRUE

I hope I am stating the obvious when I say that the Indian English language media seems to be obsessed with issues affecting the middle and rich classes. Indeed our middle classes and the rich are also obsessed with their own issues to the almost total exclusion of crises facing the vastly more numerous poor. Of course there are exceptional empathetic journalists—like P.Sainath for example —but the bulk of reportage almost totally denies the existence of our desperately poor people.

Take for example a recent report that appeared in the Hindustan Times.This report was about a conference of top medical specialists on SLEEP DISORDERS. If the report is to be believed the conference was called to discuss the consequences of sleep disorders of youngsters working in BPO’s[Call Centres]. I can imagine the scene at the conference—detailed Powerpoint presentations, thorough discussions, lot of tut- tutting on the ‘crisis’ facing these youngsters. Apparently the sleep deficit makes them take to cigarettes, alcohol. drugs, etc. The report did not tell us if the proclivity for promiscuous behavior [whispered about in society] was discussed or whether that topic was avoided considering the middle class sensibilities involved.

My question is this—for centuries workers in India have been working in night shifts in textile and other mills . I have not heard about any research report or seminar on these and other issues affecting these workers. Why is it that when ‘ people like us’ are affected we become very sensitive to their problems. I agree that most people are more sensitive to issues affecting people who have a similar background. But why is the press or the medical fraternity averse to discussing issues affecting all affected people irrespective of station in life ?

Take the case of the middle class anger and media frenzy that was on display in the JESSICA LAL case. Admittedly this was a case of miscarriage of justice and needed to be highlighted. But why is it that we are totally indifferent to many more issues of injustice to the millions of poor in our jails. I can recollect many instances where a poor man has been and still is in jail for over 20 years for unproven charges as small as pick pocketing ? In most such cases the accuser is a rich man and the accused does not even know that he is entitled to bail. Which lawyer will make the effort to bail him out considering that the poor man cannot pay any fees?

A paper reported that a middle aged Bihari street vendor was sleeping on the pavement in Pune after a hard day’s work selling snacks earning , by his own admission, about Rs. 1000 a month .The bulk of this was remitted to his family consisting of a cancer afflicted wife and three small kids in Bihar. Last week goons of the Shiv Sena accosted him at night and CHOPPED OFF HIS HANDS. The man’s ‘ sin’? He was a Bihari and had no business living in Pune and depriving marathi speaking people of a ‘livelihood’. The media mentioned this tragic incident in a report so small that anyone could have been pardoned for not noticing it alongside other reports of a far more serious nature like cricket scores for example. Does anyone care ? Will funds be raised or lawyers be urged to assist the family to get justice and compensation ? Would the response be as indifferent if the hands copped belonged to a rich man’s son?

I recall that several years ago there was a dispute between the Board Of Control of Cricket in India and one player on the eve of a Test match. The entire cricket loving public was ‘agonizing’ over the fate of the player and of our performance in the Test if he were not selected . The issue took a legal turn and unfortunately a Sunday intervened and the ‘ nationwide tension became palpable, the courts being closed.To the great relief of the entire nation the matter was adjudged by a Supreme Court judge AT HIS RESIDENCE ON A SUNDAY ! I wonder if the Bihari man will get any such justice.

At a conference at a 5 star hotel in South Mumbai a journalist asked Sri Sri Ravisankar if he were a 5 star urban guru what with his followers including film stars, multi millionaires and top politicians. In reply Sri Sri asked the questioner if he would be willing to meet him at a remote village where he[Sri Sri] and his people were digging toilets for the extremely poor ! What he left unsaid was that it was the media that preferred to attend conferences in 5 star hotels rather than travel to a remote village.

Few of us may be aware that everyday 6000 kids die of starvation in India. That India has the largest number of slaves in the world even as we pontificate that the US discriminates against African Americans.

By all means our media ought to tell the world of the many achievements we have to our credit. We do not do this well enough. But let us also give a voice to the many tragedies facing our poor.

K.R.RAVI

USA

KILL--RED TAPE

HOW TO STRANGLE SOMEONE—WITH RED TAPE

It has been said that bad tidings come in threes.

I got a taste of this recently.

First came the news that Indian babus—the much derided government officials from the peon to the top echelons were to get an hefty pay rise.

Then came the news that India’s bureaucracy is no longer a crisis for India. Don’t celebrate. It is now raised to the status of one of the great WORLD PROBLEMS [Courtesy the ECONOMIST magazine of U.K.]

The third bad news in this closely related list came in the form of the following headline

Man dies on road, cops can't decide whose case

The report says as follows

New Delhi: Twenty-four-year-old Ravi Girdhar, met with a fatal accident on Monday. The call centre employee died on the spot after his motorcycle hit the road divider on the Delhi-Noida border, in the Capital's Mayur Vihar area.

Even though the accident took place at around 4:40 am on Monday, Ravi's body lay unattended for over two hours as the police from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh quarreled over who should handle the case — and so, for over two hours, no one took Ravi's body to the hospital.

It was only when Ravi's relatives were informed and they arrived at the spot at 7 am, his body was transferred to the hospital, and then to in a goods carrier.

The police of both the states though, conveniently deny any charges of shirking responsibility.

Experts, however, say such incidents shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

Former DGP of Uttar Pradesh, Prakash Singh says, "Any police post would like to have one less case in its records. No one wants to take responsibility and spoil their track record."

My ‘ practical’ friends told me ‘Ravi you will agree that the man had already died so the bureaucratic attitude though terrible did not really matter’.

Then read this episode.

A man was moving from the western railway platform to the central railway platform in the inhumanly crowded Dadar station in Mumbai. Being crowded at the best of times it being the evening rush time the man became breathless and suffered a heart attack right in the middle of the overbridge. One samaritan contacted the western railway authorities and informed them about the fallen man and requested quick action. The western railway guy came after some time, saw the fallen man and decided that the patient was on the eastern half of the platform and was the responsibility of the central railway. The august official of the central railway was ‘ requested’ to come, which he did after some time. The ailing man was still alive at that point of time according to eye witnesses. There arose a dispute between the two august officials each one insisting that the man was the other’s responsibility since he had fallen in the other’s jurisdiction. Even as the debate went on the man breathed his last –more than an hour having elapsed.. Doctors said that if only the man been brought to the hospital nearby immediately he could have been saved.

But then RULES ARE RULES unless you are a V.I..P

But our babus will get their pound of flesh .They are in for a hefty pay rise. The cost will be borne by the tax payer who is at the mercy of this slothful administration. I recall Gurcharan Das writing about his visit to the residence of a senior I.A.S man. He saw the man appeared downcast contrary to the normal demeanor of an I.A.S man who reeks of arrogance. Das asked him why he was so morose. It transpired that the I.A.S man asked his son what his career ambitions were considering that he had just completed his graduation . He specifically asked if he would be keen to join the I.A.S..

The son replied that the I.A.S. was full of sloth, negativity and corruption and he had nothing but contempt for the service.

I ask –Is our bureaucracy the solution or part of the problem? The ‘ECONOMIST’ FEELS IT IS A PART OF THE WORLD’S PROBLEMS !

K.R.RAVI

USA

SAD ITS A GIRL

IT’S A GIRL—HOW SAD

I saw this headline in the news

Parents disown newborn girls, want boys

The news was as follows

Chennai: Two babies were born within a few minutes of each other in a Chennai hospital: a baby boy to Farida and a baby girl to Kamakshi. But the hospital staff mixed up the identity tokens and handed over Farida's boy to Kamakshi.Later they tried to rectify the error but Kamakshi's family refused to accept the girl child "My grandchild was a son and I want my son,” said girl child's grandparent, B Annamalai.The authorities have now decided to order a DNA test to resolve the issue.

Before the tribe of Chennai baiters rushes to the predictable conclusion that this a ‘madrassi’ craze here is a similar news item from Mumbai amazingly on the same day.

Meanwhile in a similar case, no DNA test could help three-month-old Khushi Jaiswal in Mumbai. Khushi was abandoned at the Lokmanya Tilak hospital at birth because the Jaiswals insisted the hospital swapped their male child with her.

Though a DNA test has proven that Khushi is indeed Jaiswals’ child, the family refuses to accept her.

Hospital authorities say that if Khushi's parents don't accept her willingly, they might have to consider giving her for adoption."

"She needs to be taken to a good family, she can’t be kept at a hospital forever,” said Dean, Lokmanya Tilak hospital, Suleman Merchant.

Khushi's parents are now caught in a legal battle over the issue.

This preference for the male child is an age old and tragic phenomenon in many societies not just in India.

But that is not the point I wish to make.

My request to you is as follows

Assume that we are in the pre-DNA test days, Assume also that the ‘hindu’ child was given to the Muslim woman and vice versa, Then fast forward your mind to say thirty years from now. You meet the ‘hindu ‘ girl [now a Muslim ] and ask her about her views about Islam and hinduism . Also meet the boy who was born from the womb of the Muslim woman but was brought up in a hindu family. What will their beliefs, attitudes, comments about their own and the ‘other’ faith be ?

What does your exercise tell you about the source of religious beliefs? Are they inborn or cultivated? What would happen if parents did not indoctrinate their kids on religion and instead exposed them to all religions with all their contradictions?

In the light of your findings how do we treat religions hereafter ? Is it justified to hate and kill others in the name of religion ?Is it right to say that ‘my religion is the only authentic one’ , ‘the only one that will lead to salvation?’

I wish to leave you to do the exercise. I have done this many times and I could write a book on my findings.

K.R.RAVI

USA

© ravi

DONT READ IF YOU ARE WEAK

DON’T READ THIS IF YOUR HEART IS WEAK

I recall having written in an earlier blog that Indian bureaucracy is no longer India’s main problem. Someone read this sentence and immediately sent me an email along these lines.

‘Ravi have you gone mad ? How can you say bureaucracy is no longer our problem ? Has it suddenly improved? Stop writing blogs if you are not in control of your senses.’

This was followed by another mail from the same person ‘Sorry I reacted without reading the entire blog .You went on to write that India’s bureaucracy is now a WORLD PROBLEM . Bravo Ravi’

A day later I came across this gem from Arun Shourie’s book.

It appears some I.A.S officers in the Steel Ministry made notings on files using red and green ink. This was in early 1999. T h e minister was taken aback -- how dare these babus use these inks when the tradition did not warrant this ?The matter was referred to t h e Department of Administrative Reforms [DAR]for clarification—what is the rule in this regard?

Detailed research and many meetings and months later came the reply—the matter concerned ink and hence ought to be referred to the Directorate of Printing ! Many meetings later this latter dept gave its considered opinions—there are no orders/instructions/guidelines in respect of use of different inks and the matter may be referred to Dept Of Personnel and Training [DPT]of the Home Ministry. This letter giving this opinion was lying in the DAR for several weeks after which the matter was referred to DPT. A few weeks later DPT opined that the subject pertains to ‘Manual of Office Procedure’ which is regulated by DAR. hence this dept may ‘take a view’. The DAR took this line—this matter concerns the longevity of ink hence the right dept to give its opinion may be the Director of Archives.[DA].The big official in DA said that for fountain pens blue and black inks may be used since these inks are permanent and for ball pens red, green, blue and black are permanent. DAF was not totally convinced so they referred the matter to the Ministry of Defence .The latter replied that ink colour is not a question of longevity but of seniority .This dept said that red ink is used by Ch- iefs of Staff, green by Principle officers, blue and black by others.

After two years the matter was finally settled !

Need I say more? This may break your heart.

K.R.RAVI

USA

ARE INDIANS CIVILIZED?

ARE WE A CIVILIZED NATION?

I have sometimes been told that I see only the negative side of events in India. I do not agree with this assessment but can you blame me when I feel totally shocked and despondent when I see headlines like the following?

SHOCKING HEADLINE ---1

Woman, baby die after hospital refuses admission

.

Kanpur: A dalit woman and her new born child died when she was forced to give birth on a road after doctors refused to admit her.

The doctors refused her admission, as she did not have the money to pay the hospital.

NEWSITEM ….2

• Dalit paraded half-naked for stealing

. Patna: A middle-aged Dalit woman in Bihar was tonsured and paraded half-naked on the orders of the husband of a woman village head for allegedly stealing a few bananas.

Basra Devi, in her mid 50s, of Balua Basanta village in Vaishali district was meted out the "punishment" on Saturday. "I was forcibly tonsured and paraded half-naked in the village by the people despite pleading that I was innocent," Besra Devi said.

According to villagers, after she refused to pay a fine her head was shaved.

"How can I pay a fine when I don't have enough to eat?" she said.

NEWSITEM ….3

A few days ago, some landowners chopped off the fingers of a 10-year-old Dalit girl, Khusbu, for plucking a few leaves of spinach from a vegetable field in a village in Bhagalpur district.

A Dalit youth was beaten and humiliated in public by some powerful people in a village in Muzaffarpur district after he refused to work in a field without wages.

NEWSITEM 4

Turned away by hospital, woman delivers in parking lot

MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE: This is not the first time doctors at the same hospital have refused poor patients in critical condition.

Gurgaon: In Gurgaon, there is news of a tragic case of medical indifference. A woman lost her baby due to lack of medical attention at the right time.

Doctors at Gurgaon Civil Hospital refused to deliver the baby as they felt the case was complicated.

She delivered the baby in the parking lot after she was turned out of the hospital. The baby died soon after.

This is not the first time doctors at the same hospital have refused poor patients in critical condition.

Another baby had died in a similar manner a few months ago but the hospital authority had completely ignored the case.

"We were told to take the child to Delhi after a few hours because the doctors said that the case was very complicated. But she gave birth on the pavement," said the lady's husband.

Now tell me-- Am I to be blamed if I feel despondent?

I may add that no doubt our media is becoming more and more vigilant and is these days quick to draw public attention to such grave societal ills. But I can wager that for every such tragedy reported, many more may go unreported since the powers that be in many areas are capable of preventing poor people from reporting such atrocities to the media.

There is another aspect that often goes un- discussed in the media and in public in general —it is the middle castes and not the so called forward castes that are largely responsible for such acts of brutality. But our politically correct media have not yet summoned the courage to call a spade a spade.

A third aspect is that such gross acts of caste hatred are more evident in North India than say in the south. There are historical reasons for this. Thus the reform movements of Narayana Guru in Kerala, the Justice Party movement in Tamilnadu, the social reforms of Maharajas of Mysore in late 19th and early 20th century brought the worst acts of caste hatred—the kind we now see in North India to almost an end .I do agree that more needs to be done .

You may notice that the politically , socially and economically powerful OBC class is cornering the handouts of an obliging political class. Now that this class has tasted blood following the Supreme Court judgement upholding reservations in higher education –there will be no stopping them . They have already demanded reservations in the judiciary. Also on the cards is reservations in the private sector.

I am reminded of something an India sociologist said in the context of merit being of no significance anymore in our country . The sociologist said that merit seems to matter and caste religion no bar only in CRICKET, FILMS AND THE UNDERWORLD.

If we are so brutal to fellow human beings what chance do animals stand in India ? Ask the Tiger. The animal not Tiger Memon the gangster !

K.R.RAVI

USA

.

reservcats

SEEN A RESERVCAT?

I have a suggestion

Will our honourable politicians stand up in parliament and pledge as follows :

I PROMISE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE NATION THAT I WILL ,NO MATTER WHAT THE CRISIS, COUSULT AND WHEN REQUIRED BE OPERATED BY A DOCTOR WHO HAS OBTAINED HIS/HER MEDICAL DEGREES UNDER THE RESERVATION CATEGORY., I ALSO PLEDGE THAT MY FAMILY MEMBERS SHALL ALSO ABIDE BY MY PROMISE. I AM CONFIDENT THAT THESE DOCTORS ARE HIGHLY COMPETENT AND I, THROUGH MY PLEDGE SEEK TO DISPROVE THE SUGGESTION THAT THOSE WHO BENEFIT FROM RESERVATIONS ARE IN NO WAY DEFICIENT IN MEDICAL COMPETENCE’.

I request readers to tell me what the response of the MLA or MP of their constituency would be to this suggestion of mine.

Let me give you some nuggets of information in this regard :

The Messiah Of Mandalism former Prime Minister V.P Singh goes to LONDON almost every fortnight to get dialysis done AT OUR COST. We the taxpayers foot his humungous bills . The consummate politician tat e is e does not say that he preferred to avoid Indian doctors .You will be shocked to know the reason he himself has proferred for this extravagance

THE WATER QUALITY IN INDIA IS SUSPECT !

I request readers to calculate the costs and confirm my suspicion that it may be cheaper if London water is imported in a few tankloads for the benefit of te Prime ministerial kidneys.Maybe Singh does not trust our doctors.

That other great messiah Karunanidhi had his nephew Muralasoli Maran sent to the US for costly treatment for almost a year. The incredible secret is that the late Maran was kept in a cabinet position at the centre for this entire period SO THAT WE THE TAX PAYERS WOULD FOOT THE BILL !Obviously Indian doctors did not measure up to his demanding standards.

I can cite quite a few such instances but you get the point.

We can see similar policies in respect of language—the most vociferous supporters of regional languages—Karunanidi, Bal Thackeray, Mulayam for example –had their kids/grandkids educated in the best of English language medium schools.

Contrast this with a recent headline

I trust Indian doctors: Big B

CHENNAI: Veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan says he trusts Indian doctors and prefers to be treated by them whenever he fell ill.

"I trust Indian doctors and always prefer them treating me.The Indian doctors are doing wonders in the medical field and they are more talented compared to Western doctors," Bachchan said here today while spending time with a group of poor children, who had undergone free cardiac surgery at the private K J Hospital.

Here is a suggestion

I suggest that every doctor who has graduated under reservation scheme ought to be required under law to suffix his name with the fact of his or her having benefited from the quote scheme. For example

DR. SENTHIL M.D. [RESERVCAT]

K.R.RAVI

USA

OUR V.I.P.'s-an embarassment .

LAUGH OR CRY AT OUR V.I.P’S ?

It was a bad day for United Airlines at an airport at Denver. There was only one receptionist to issue boarding cards to the dozens of travelers thronging the counters.

In walked a pompous man, brushed his way through the waiting agitated people, thumped the receptionist’s table and demanded that he be immediately issued a ticket and ‘a first class one at that’.The receptionist was unfazed.

‘I will try my best to give you a first class ticket but please join the queue’ she replied.

Not content with not being given V.I.P treatment the pompous man shouted in a way reminiscent of an Indian V.I.P

‘Do you know who I am?’

The receptionist calmly spoke into the PA system ‘This gentleman wishes to know who he is .Can someone assist him please?”’

The crowd laughed to the great embarrassment of the pompous man.

‘ **** you’ he shouted.

‘Even for that you will have to join the line’ she said, still calm.

I narrate this episode in the context of an Indian M.P apparently coming late to board an Air India flight after the gates had been closed. The pilot refused to take off . An argument ensued. The M.P was upset and threatened to report the pilot to the Privileges committee of the Rajya Sabha. The pilot protested his innocence. I am sure the great M.P will have his own version of the incident but what I read in the website is as shown in the following link http://www.ibnlive.com/news/pilots-association-wants-kerala-mp-to-apologise/62979-3.html

The truth will never be out since an honorable M. P is involved and the media and ordinary people are helpless against these august people. I can also predict that no matter who is at fault the pilot will have to pay the price , he will be suspended for ‘misbehavior’ and even demoted to Pavan hans where he will fly helicopters even though he has been to Seattle or France and has been trained to fly the latest jets.

Contrast this with the way in which no matter how rich or powerful or successful you are in the US you are treated the way everyone is treated. Even Bill Gates is subjected to security checks whenever he comes to Congress for submitting his testimony . I wish we did not do a hodge podge of things. Amartya Sen remarked that India has learnt the worst aspects of socialism and capitalism .We have not learnt the way capitalism generates competition ,rewards the best and encourages dynamism . On the other hand were have not learnt even from Cuba which has a fine education and medicare system.

\We have learnt the way the privileged people in a communist country [also called ‘oligarchs’] enjoy privileges denied to the vast masses , and the greed that is the feature of unbridled capitalism.

K.R.RAVI

USA

IS IT A MIRACLE?

A COURSE IN MIRACLES

I have been doing a little bit of research on miracles. I came across this insight by an eminent physicist Micio Kaku on tis topic.

Anything that is not forbidden is mandatory ! To put it another way—Unless there is a law in physics that forbids a technology it is sure to be built someday.

What is impossible in terms of the science of physics?There is a hierarchy of three.

CLASS 1—These are likely to become possible in the next few years or decades. Or may be a century,here we are talking of using known laws accompanied by sophisticated engineering .You may be surprised to know that the writer includes invisibility, ray guns, psychokinesis, some forms of telepathy among this class.

CLASS 2 –These may take centuries or millennia to perfect.

CLASS 3—This is where the fun begins as far as my readers are concerned. These refer to things that violate known laws of physics and can be said to be impossible. Thus the laws of gravity are known to be inviolable. hence any Bollywood hero shown to jump from the street to the top of a skyscraper even as he bursts into a song without deviating from the tune set by the music director can be termed as a class 3 miracle .

But let’s stop to ask –are we sure that these laws are totally proven, without any exception whatsoever?

Let’s just play a mental game.

A 5 year old blind girl [blind from birth] listens to a piece of music. She then is made to sit in front of a piano. She as never been taught to play this instrument .The laws of physics or of any science tell us that there is no way she can play the tune on the piano since she has never ever learnt how to play the instrument.

The ‘Youtube’ download enclosed proves tat maybe we ought not to be h

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntReE2n15bo

K.R.RAVI

USA

SUPERSTAR IN TROUBLE

BREAKING NEWS---AMITABH IN TROUBLE – AAACHOOO-- NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT

I recollect a Hindi news channel rushing to tell viewers breathlessly in the BREAKING NEWS format that

‘AMITABH HAS CAUGHT A COLD’

I SWEAR THIS IS TRUE

I hope I am stating the obvious when I say that the Indian English language media seems to be obsessed with issues affecting the middle and rich classes. Indeed our middle classes and the rich are also obsessed with their own issues to the almost total exclusion of crises facing the vastly more numerous poor. Of course there are exceptional empathetic journalists—like P.Sainath for example —but the bulk of reportage almost totally denies the existence of our desperately poor people.

Take for example a recent report that appeared in the Hindustan Times.This report was about a conference of top medical specialists on SLEEP DISORDERS. If the report is to be believed the conference was called to discuss the consequences of sleep disorders of youngsters working in BPO’s[Call Centres]. I can imagine the scene at the conference—detailed Powerpoint presentations, thorough discussions, lot of tut- tutting on the ‘crisis’ facing these youngsters. Apparently the sleep deficit makes them take to cigarettes, alcohol. drugs, etc. The report did not tell us if the proclivity for promiscuous behavior [whispered about in society] was discussed or whether that topic was avoided considering the middle class sensibilities involved.

My question is this—for centuries workers in India have been working in night shifts in textile and other mills . I have not heard about any research report or seminar on these and other issues affecting these workers. Why is it that when ‘ people like us’ are affected we become very sensitive to their problems. I agree that most people are more sensitive to issues affecting people who have a similar background. But why is the press or the medical fraternity averse to discussing issues affecting all affected people irrespective of station in life ?

Take the case of the middle class anger and media frenzy that was on display in the JESSICA LAL case. Admittedly this was a case of miscarriage of justice and needed to be highlighted. But why is it that we are totally indifferent to many more issues of injustice to the millions of poor in our jails. I can recollect many instances where a poor man has been and still is in jail for over 20 years for unproven charges as small as pick pocketing ? In most such cases the accuser is a rich man and the accused does not even know that he is entitled to bail. Which lawyer will make the effort to bail him out considering that the poor man cannot pay any fees?

A paper reported that a middle aged Bihari street vendor was sleeping on the pavement in Pune after a hard day’s work selling snacks earning , by his own admission, about Rs. 1000 a month .The bulk of this was remitted to his family consisting of a cancer afflicted wife and three small kids in Bihar. Last week goons of the Shiv Sena accosted him at night and CHOPPED OFF HIS HANDS. The man’s ‘ sin’? He was a Bihari and had no business living in Pune and depriving marathi speaking people of a ‘livelihood’. The media mentioned this tragic incident in a report so small that anyone could have been pardoned for not noticing it alongside other reports of a far more serious nature like cricket scores for example. Does anyone care ? Will funds be raised or lawyers be urged to assist the family to get justice and compensation ? Would the response be as indifferent if the hands copped belonged to a rich man’s son?

I recall that several years ago there was a dispute between the Board Of Control of Cricket in India and one player on the eve of a Test match. The entire cricket loving public was ‘agonizing’ over the fate of the player and of our performance in the Test if he were not selected . The issue took a legal turn and unfortunately a Sunday intervened and the ‘ nationwide tension became palpable, the courts being closed.To the great relief of the entire nation the matter was adjudged by a Supreme Court judge AT HIS RESIDENCE ON A SUNDAY ! I wonder if the Bihari man will get any such justice.

At a conference at a 5 star hotel in South Mumbai a journalist asked Sri Sri Ravisankar if he were a 5 star urban guru what with his followers including film stars, multi millionaires and top politicians. In reply Sri Sri asked the questioner if he would be willing to meet him at a remote village where he[Sri Sri] and his people were digging toilets for the extremely poor ! What he left unsaid was that it was the media that preferred to attend conferences in 5 star hotels rather than travel to a remote village.

Few of us may be aware that everyday 6000 kids die of starvation in India. That India has the largest number of slaves in the world even as we pontificate that the US discriminates against African Americans.

By all means our media ought to tell the world of the many achievements we have to our credit. We do not do this well enough. But let us also give a voice to the many tragedies facing our poor.

K.R.RAVI

USA