Simplifying The Daily Existence

This might sound shocking to some of you, but to me it makes perfect sense. The recent wave of anguish and helplessness among people and their attempts to protect the women of Delhi got me started thinking if there was a place that could be considered safe within the capital region. Come to think of it, women have been groped, molested, raped, and murdered within their homes, offices, public parks, and upmarket hang-outs. What does this suggest? Firstly, we, as a city, should stop priding ourselves on living in the capital of India. A city that has its soul bloodied with women and minor girls on an everyday basis just cannot be projected as the seat of political or financial might. On that note, I would also like to add that we, as a nation, shouldn't be too gung-ho about Democracy.

We have manipulated and shamed every constitutional right, and a country that cannot even respect its soldiers should keep its mouth shut and not roar about being the biggest Democracy. Coming back to this discussion, it emerged that the Delhi Metro was perhaps the only place in the city that can be officially termed "safe" for women, i.e., the front bogie reserved for female commuters. The story can take an ugly turn in the general bogies, but so far, the Metro has managed a reasonably impressive record. Thanks to the combined strength of fellow women passengers, absence of threats (men) and strict penalties on those who try to force their way in with the typical, 'Chalta Hai' attitude, the women's bogie of the Delhi Metro is at least one spot in the city where a lady can be forgiven for thinking that she is living in the capital of a behemoth, billion-people nation. 

Updated on January 29th, 2018

Just saw the brave women and men recognized for their courage at the 26th January parade in New Delhi. Just makes me wonder that if half of us started fighting back, the entire mob of idiots who assume us for ready victims, break the law jokingly, and scoff at the system that rules us, things would be a lot better. When you see a woman being harassed at work or in public transit, do you try to get involved or at least try to polarize others towards the event so that someone can intervene and save the day? There are superheroes; we have to look out for each other...this is not some emotionally-ridden thought for the day, but the sad reality that we just don't accept.

The Metro continues to serve the city without grudges or any discrimination. Its services have been diversified and amplified to ensure that Delhi Metro riders are further comforted. However, something is missing in all that is being planned for the Delhi Metro. I have a recommendation, and I guess it does make some serious sense. There are a lot of folks like me who use the Metro for traveling daily, from the city to the NCR.

Luxury-class ticketed, higher-fare express route services make sense

Despite the great connectivity, the sheer volume of passengers and the interchange takes a serious toll on the comfort factor, often leaving the commuters gasping for breath. I want to propose an Express Line. This service could be run just three or four times a day from major city pick-up locations, straight to the NCR drop points without stopping in between. Such a service cannot be run during the high-traffic hours. It would only be feasible towards the earliest of hours when the Delhi Metro commences its services for the day, and maybe just once or twice more during the course of the day. Once the daily NCR commuters know of such a service, they and their workplaces would ensure that it is used to their benefit. The Metro, too, can benefit from it by charging a premium amount for an exclusive service.

This won't be surprising to those who have the slightest bit of observant sensibilities. However, it could be shocking to those who remain lost in their own world, within the confines of their utterly blissful ignorance. In a way, I actually admire the latter kind, for they don't realize the absolute mediocrity and retarded mindsets that surround us. By now, you would be wondering what I am blabbering about. I realize the introduction to this discussion is a bit too long, but I just wanted to create some sort of a cerebral platform before I dive into what is a shameful fact about riding the Delhi Metro, i.e., the presence of slightly perverted, overtly enthusiastic voyeur lovers who are always on the lookout for an opportunity to glance down a lady's cleavage. Yes, this also suggests that I tend to look around too much, but I don't go around eye-balling cleavages unless they are shoved in my face, unavoidably and suddenly.

The reason I have turned "Romantics" into "Metro-antics" is simply because displaying your love, lust, or whatever makes you stick to your guy/gal in the presence of at least a thousand watchful eyes unashamedly in the Metro is just beyond my levels of comprehension. How can anybody explain a guy and gal, sandwiched between sweaty armpits and massive bellies, stopping just short of pecking each other? This is probably the worst kind of PDA I have ever come across. This is not about me being irritated by something bearable to others. This is not being jealous about not having a girlfriend at the moment. It is about basic manners, hygiene, and reacting to a few fools that can be located in each of the Metro cubicles. They were always around, usually limited to the few, empty corners of the Metro platforms, often taking refuge along the unused sections of the stairs. This is something that still goes around and is digestible. It doesn't make you sick if a couple is slightly cuddled up a few meters away from you, but having to bear the same sight within the confines of the usual, overcrowded Metro cubicle just makes me nauseous. Is it desperation or just the urge to announce to the world that yes! Do we have a date that makes people do such things?

Being an avid Metro user and a keen observer, I couldn't help but notice people who choose to remain clueless and wander the Delhi Metro platforms as if they are sightseeing. For the uninitiated, I am not talking about people using the Delhi Metro for the first time or those who are genuinely dumb. I am talking about folks who use the Delhi Metro rather often and actually know the routes. However, they have this penchant for asking for directions, reconfirming the routes, and re-reconfirming what they already know. These Lost Souls can be found at most Delhi Metro stations, vaguely floating from one co-passenger to another, nodding their head after hearing an answer they already know. Please understand that the Delhi Metro platform offers immediately searchable and easy-to-understand information. So what drives people to repeatedly confirm their position on a Delhi Metro platform despite being fully aware that they are in the right place and won't be kidnapped by aliens? I guess it is just a case of being spooked out by the long, winding tunnels of the Delhi Metro, which they fear might suck them into oblivion, or an overworked sense of imagination that makes them feel that the Metro tracks are ghost-controlled and tend to change every day after midnight!

This is a bowling partnership that the Indian team had been praying for some time now. Strangely, Kumble and Harbhajan never managed to create the kind of spin combo that the Indian team and fans had always hoped. This is despite Bhajji and Kumble having played together for nearly a decade. In stark contrast to this, Pragyan Ojha and Ashwin seem to be gelling rather well.

The Similarities: Both Ashwin & Ojha are traditional spinners. I am referring to the fact that they depend upon flighting and allowing the pitch to play its part. While Bhajji has always been too quick to be labeled a typical off-spinner, Kumble was a far cry from being your conventional leg spinner. Some cricketing experts have even labeled Kumble as being a skiddish seam bowler with a leg-spinners' action. Even more, both Ashwin & Ojha are equally poor fielders. Both of them are slow to move and even worse in anticipating where the ball is going is going in the outfield.

The Challenge: Ashwin & Ojha face the challenge of keeping their places cemented in the Test squad. This is not surprising since Dhoni and the selectors in general seem to have an inclination towards retaining Harbhajan Singh irrespective of the number of times the Turbanotor fails to deliver. Secondly, with more than 300 test wickets to his credit and a couple of test centuries coming in the recent past, Bhajji will always be preferred, i.e. the moment either Ojha or Ashwin err the slightest in their performance.

Conclusion: The left-arm and leg-spin combination is working fine for India at the moment but calling either Ashwin or Ojha "great" is premature and uncalled for. Nearly everybody would agree that both of them are essentially bowlers with limited talent but an appreciable talent. Both of them need to work upon their overall fitness and fielding to ensure that they can contribute beyond the bowling aspect only.

This was a strange dismissal of sorts. Very old-world in its charm and represents the nuances of Test cricket in its purest forms and I enjoyed it in every, possible way. Nafees was batting with his team already having lost two wickets and as usual, Tino Best was gruning, howling and jumping, trying to scare the batsmen with short-pitched deliveries. To his credit, Nafees did not lose his focus and resisted the temptation of hooking. This was impressively done since the pitch was a typical, fifth-day patch and the bounce was highly unpredictable. Just when I was beginning to suppose that Nafees would continue to resist the bait, he was cajoled into trying to pull by some of the surrounding fielders. I cannot recall his name, but one West Indian player, even animated the pull shot to Nafees, egging on the Bangladeshi batsman to try and pull. For some inexplicable reason, the very next delivery, Nafees played into the oldest game of the cricketing book and tried pulling a Tino Best delivery that could have been easily avoided. Best caught the ball that had managed to sail a few feet in the air himself, completing a smart caught & bowled dismissal. Nafees would be cursing himself to have allowed the typical fielding sides' nonsense get to him. I haven't seen anything like this for at least three or four seasons and for a moment, it was humorous. Just loving this season of test cricket in the sub-continent. 

Virender Sehewag has just lofted Graeme Swann for a boundary and as I glance at the scorecard reading no wickets for nearly 116, it seems that Day 1 of the first test match between India and England well might turn into another Sehewag special. The way Sehewag is batting, Alistair Cook must be cursing his luck for having lost the toss. Even Gavaskar commented that this time around, Sehewag is looking rather determined. Early on, the Delhi Blaster was a cautious-something he has been guilty of not doing in the last ten innings or so. If he is ready to keep his head down and look upon this opportunity to register another double ton there is nothing that can possibly stop him, at least not the English bowling. Only Stuart Broad has shown some semblance of bowling a line that can contain or challenge the batsmen. Surprisingly, the English bowlers did not use the short bowl, even to Gambhir, despite being fully aware that he is a bit of compulsive puller on typically sub-continental conditions. I end this post, hoping that Sehewag redeems his recent failures by absolutely butchering the Englishmen.

The ongoing test series between Australia and South Africa has confirmed my belief that the SA team has a major advantage over other test-playing nations in having Amla and Kallis in their top, middle order. For nearly a decade, Kallis was anchoring the SA innings alone, time after time, often being the last man standing. With the arrival of Amla, Kallis has found an equally dependable, if not talented, partner. It seems that the Kallis-Amla equation is going to bother test bowlers of all sorts, no matter what kind of pitch or conditions is thrown to these two batting stalwarts. There are a lot of similarities in Amla & Kallis

This question would be reigning supreme on the mind of devoted Tendulkar fans as the India-England test series 2012 gets underway. For many, this is perhaps the last time the maestro would be playing the Brits on home pitches and perhaps, his last attempt at redeeming himself. Yes, I realize that this might sound a bit too judgmental but the fact remains that the great Sachin has failed to deliver as a batsmen in the test arena for nearly two seasons now. His talents and records shouldn't be the parameter to judge his place in the team. Yes, some degree of preferential treatment is understandable since his talent is beyond human comparison and even the Gods dare not question his genius. However, I still maintain that current form should be the driving force for selection. Perhaps, the Great One should lead by example and judge his own form after the first two test matches. If he hasn't delivered in four innings, he could set a precedent by asking to be eased-out for the remaining matches. This could be the yardstick by which Indian teams are chosen in the future since expecting anything transparent or brave from the selectors is akin to waiting for the Titanic to resurrect itself. 

This morning I read in the newspapers that the England team is contemplating two left-arm spinners in the opening test match against India. Supposedly, this view is fueled by the fact that some of the Indian middle-order batsmen have struggled to score freely against left-arm spinners. I understand this perspective considering that even Tendulkar has got out to Ashely Giles who could have been quite useful in the ongoing test series. However, Giles is out of international cricket and Panesar is out-of-form and out-of-favor. The responsibility now lies on the shoulders of Samit Patel who is an underrated spinner, especially by the Indian batsmen who might be hoping to hit him out of the attack. However, Patel could be a surprising proposition assuming he would be given leg-side field settings by Alistair Cook and would get a lot of rough outside the leg stump. However, I don't understand the Panesar vs Samit Patel question. Panesar has not done anything of note in the last three years or so while Samit has scored runs and taken wickets, even if not by the bunch, in T20s and one-day matches in the recent past.

If the economic crisis bludgeoning the European economies had to be used as a parameter to find a parallel situation in the world of cricket, the New Zealand cricketing fraternity would be the most probable option for me. The reasons are not to hard to find for this rather pessimistic but real analysis. Performance of the Kiwi players has been on the decline for nearly four years. Apart from Vettori and a once-promising Ross Taylor, the team does not seem to have any other player who can engage respect or awe from the cricketing fans. To make matters worse, McCullum has turned into a specialist T20 players

The selection of Indian players for the first two test matches against the visiting England team has been made. From what has been reported on TV channels and newspapers, the sports media at large seems obsessed with who is going to form the opening pair for India, who are the reserve openers and what could have been a better selection. To add more fuel to the opener conundrum, the chief selector, Mr. Sandeep Patil underlined that Rahane has been retained as a middle-order batsmen and not-an-opener. What surprises me is that nobody has bothered to question the form of the middle or the late order
that has been woefully short on runs in the last, two seasons. Yes, the Sehewag-Gambhir equation has not been delivering but neither is the Indian middle order. Perhaps, some wisdom will prevail and a journalistic/media resource will highlight the state of the entire batting line-up rather than obsessing about the openers. Just to end this discussion, what is the big fuss about selecting Murali Vijay over Mukund or not giving Rahane a chance to partner Gambhir? The seriousness with which these questions are being raised make it seem like Gambhir and Sehewag have outrun their shelf-life and the possible options are might talents...which is not the case!