Indian Cricket.. another  Legend and Superhero.. in the making.. Dhoni  M.S..Now CONQUER THE CARIBBEAN.ALL THE BEST FOR team INDIA

CRICKET is a game the Indians love ( more when the team wins..less when the team loses)But for Dhoni ,playing his best always comes first. Recently he faced criticism from the press for not speaking out about IPL imbroglio. But the same press had praised him several times for remaining silent even when he could have been justifiably vociferous. From the village boy to an international performer and hero who can win matches for the country and team. He leads a very young team who enjoys playing cricket and who has fire in the belly. But this fire can be made to engulf the opposition only when it is fanned by an inspiring breeze that sweeps through the team members with care and love. This inspiration is what Dhoni brings to the ground and the dressing room. He commands so much of respect from his team and they show it on the field. 

This win has come at a time when the whole of India is reeling under very unfortunate situations connected with  IPL starting from Sree and reaching Sri ( but the truth is yet to be brought out ).cricket is a game which is full of passion and luck also plays an important role right from the TOSS .Cricket is very simple when we see it but very complex both in theory and practice .

Dhoni is no more Stony FACED.. the leader smiles( A RARE THING) and he deserves every praise who vaulted himself from Village CRICKET to Global  Cricket ..A genius is always a genius..

Dhoni is  a super hero in the making and he could be a role model for the youngster not only for his cricket but for his very positive attitude He does not get swayed by emotionalism or of euphoria and adulation..” To super-heroes these are impulses emerging out of a single energy.. the same energy that pulses inside of them. they know that energy is absolute yet filtered through the experience ,memory and context of a single point of view. With this awareness super-heroes can experience deeply the same emotions as someone else, but REACT WITH WISDOM,SOBRIETY AND CREATIVITY”( from the latest book by Deepak Copra and his son Gotham )…And thereby hangs a “tale..” And Dhoni is surely reaching that level remaining firmly on the ground…

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING LINES :

CRICKET

There is a long pitch

Weather –beaten

Between crease and crease

The instinct to kill

And

The instinct to survive

Meeting point is the same

Traps many, if slips limited

Playing God

Till

The game is over

Dhoni has won the game

And we are thankful to him

And to the young team

A tremendous relief

And a tremendous belief……. ……. 

Varma

         Thank you cricket Thank you Dhoni , thank you TEAM INDIA

 Al the best for the NEXT from all of us Indians

Indian” GOLD”EN marriages

Just as dowry is a social evil display of GOLD in large quantities in marriages is a terrible social evil .The bride of today has to carry kilos of gold to prove her value. What a tragedy? Rich people who can afford to indulge in the vulgar luxury on the occasion of the marriages of their siblings set a very bad example to all their poor cousins. It has turned out that a large number of families save throughout their lives to accumulate gold and money to marry off their daughters.In this sense the girls have started feeling that they are a liability to their parents. 

In Kerala ...  

THE TWO BUSINESSES that thrive wherever they are started( in villages , small towns or big cities) are Jewelers and Textiles. Advertisements of branded gold and jewelry are really influencing the rich and  the poor alike . These ads are endorsed by very popular film personalities and they influence the people.Even invitation cards are very luxurious there are cards the price of which ranges from 100 to 10000 rupee .there are event management companies to provide all things for the marriage and they can easily tempt people by various things.

However marriages are done here and divorces are also done here and both seem to be the two sides of the same coin with thin space in between. Love and hatred also are the two sides of the same coin . Suicides and murders in this connection are many.

In a cricket match or in any games it is tossed once at the start but in marriage it is tossed up almost every moment 

.Head or Tail ..and the sustenance of a relationship has become a gamble .. it has become anybody’s guess..There is gold in marriages but there is no GOLD standards in relationships

The divorces that happen among celebrities also being celebrated by the media and they also become role models for ordinary mortals.

Respect the institution of marriage and strengthen the relationships by spending less on it ..

Indian MARRIAGES

MAN and WOMAN

     (wo-man)

He and and She

Hands of a Clock

Tethered with a "gossamer"

to 

The spindle called "marriage"

Move  perilously

With  mutual Trust 

Over the traps 

of 

TIME and SPACE

                ...varma

Marriages are said to be decided in heaven . But life has to be lived here in the world. Man and woman enter a contract to remain together for “LIFE “or to be more practical “as long as possible”. The family courts and all the Indian judiciary are flooded with probable, improbable ,possible ,impossible, unbelievable CASES FOR DIVORCE.This is perhaps the only area in Indian society which is not based on caste,creed, religion or status in society. 

The reasons range from money to gold to extra-marital relationships to assault to every conceivable reasons .Sanctity of marriage gets a beating for the slightest reason .Man -woman relationship has undergone a drastic change for the worse. The old concept of GANDHARVA MARRIAGE has reappeared in the form of LIVE –IN relationship .But the  latest judicial observation which says that if a man and woman live together and enters into sexual contact it is tantamount to marriage. This ruling has far reaching consequences which could change the legal aspects of man-woman relationships. But the more important emotional aspects( often much scarred) remain .

It is a very sensitive ruling and what the readers of this feel about is anybody’s ’guess. Who is saved here and who is caught here the legal web? It all depends on the situation in which the individuals find themselves. It will be interesting to see arguments in for and against both the accused and the victim. However it is a very BOLD ruling .

Will there be some welcome changes in relationships? a million dollar question ,indeed..Will there be a scope for more responsible relationship between man and woman..?

Monsoon mayhem - The Hindu

Monsoon mayhem - The Hindu

INDIAN   POLI-TRICKS

POLITICS has been there since man began his journey  on the earth. It has passed through various mutations and still continues to change , as it should ,at a furious pace. Indian politics is part of the global politics as “ the world ‘ has become FLAT according to Friedman. But , as we all know, part is never the whole or the whole is never the part .Suspicion between the parties and nations is perhaps the main thing that drives the international and national politics. Perhaps the main food for the sustenance of politics is SUSPICION. The paradox is that suspicion is a precedent to growth .Political leaders ,most of them ,are people who have a knack of getting over obstacles or rather wriggling out of difficult situations. They manage things not in the corporate style but in a style that cannot be defined easily. Just take any minister of any party ,they survive most of the  controversies as time passes .New issues make old issues obsolete and goes behind the curtain. Take ,for example , Laloo,  Nithish, Narendra Modi ( highly controversial)for obvious reasons have their own brand of politics which sometimes descend to POLI-TRICKS. All parties play caste based politics and it seems that such things have been accepted as normal. This has to change perhaps the new generation politicians may be able to contribute something towards changing the style of functioning.

 Dynasty syndrome continues to flourish and rather shamelessly. After the long  Independence struggle led by the great MAHATMA GANDHI we are still in a long phase of In-Dependent struggle with Gandhis’ both in the ruling and opposition .But India goes forward strongly despite a wide spectrum of corruption at various levels. Lack of leaders with integrity is making things worse and everybody seems to be playing POLI-TRIKCS rather than politics which should graduate itself to STATESMANSHIP. BJP ( their leaders think they are the next to occupy the Parliament as the rulers of INDIA ) .There is nothing wrong in the ambitions of various political parties. The leadership issue is still in a fluid state in all parties. The people of INDIA still have no idea as to who is going to lead the country after the next elections. In the global scenario which is in a highly fluid state,  we have a great part  to play and we should not get away from this responsibility at any cost by involving ourselves in petty politics.BJP preferred NA MO over Mr. Advani ,(the doyen of BJP) as the active leader of the party. Many may dislike Modi for reasons known or unknown but he is  to prove at the national politics which is a different ball game. it is said that NA MO has been advised to skip sensitive Hindutva issues It is time that Indian politics turn sincerely towards youngsters who ca n perform well .

There are many of them. In the corporate field it is happened and is still happening .The old concept of an elderly gentleman becoming the CEO of a company ( big ,medium or small) has changed and there are hundreds of youngsters 28+30+and forty plus who are CEOs’ of companies which are running well. In the field of films also the doyens have given way to youngsters who are doing well. In the recent reshuffling Mr.Ola , who is aged 85 has been made the minister of Labour (AGE BRINGS IN EXPERIENCE,IT IS TRUE). There is nothing wrong with it but.. It is true that there are many starting points between birth and death .But INDIA has thousands of youngsters who need to be given chances. In the field of sports and games also the old is giving way to the young  THOUGH there is an element of GREED has set in .

We lack real ROLE MODELS and many of the heroes of now unfortunately  find themselves having feet of clay. Senior political figures should enter passionately into the mentoring process so that youngsters can sharpen their skills and direct their tremendous energy in the proper way. There was a news item which says that Mr. Rahul Gandhi considers Union Defence Ministry A.K Antony , perhaps the most seasoned and clean person in the Indian political arena, as his political GURU. This should signify the willingness of young political leaders to learn more about politics and statesmanship through which they should rise above petty politics .They should rise above petty consideration and work together . INDIAN POLITICS has accepted COALITION model and this needs a lot of patience ,tolerance ,hard work ,commitment and love for the nation and its people .India has tremendous young energy and it should be channelized well for a great future. 

LET THERE BE MEANINGFUL POLITICS RATHER THAN POLI-TRICKS

The great Indian Cocktail

VIJAY MALLYA ,the King of GOOD TIMES is in SOUP for reasons best known to him The beautiful flying KINGFISHER of KINGFISHER AIRLINES has been bottled and the bottleneck may not give way for the airline to fly freely in the skies in the near future. He is really  a flamboyant person and a glob trotter. One cannot doubt his ability or vision .I fact he has both but what went wrong ?  But , beautiful and very colourful KINGFISHER on the millions of BEER bottles fly around the world giving joy and happiness to millions of people. Our small state KERALA also contributes much to the energy of the Kingfisher that fly all over the state..Mallya has a faithful following for his KINGFISHER BEER  all over the country and globally. KINGFISHER is dead ,long live KINGFISHER(remember the ENGLISH SAYING “THE KING IS DEAD ,LONG LIVE THE KING”). All big banks are after the ELUSIVE KINGFISHER to reclaim their money ( nearly 7500 crores) which they had given as loan to the airlines .Finally the money may end up in the balance sheet of BANKS as NPA(non-performing ..assets). But can one blame Mallya alone for this debacle, one is not sure ? No one can predict anything . There are a few more metallic BIRDS which fly in our skies but all of them are sick with a  terrible disease called CASHCRUNCH for which treatment is very costly even for a billionaire like Vijay. He may bounce back again because he has a knack of making comebacks from dire situations. Captain Gopinath( who has vision but lacks ,perhaps business sense! ) ,who was the pioneer in low cost airlines in INDIA sold it to Mallya and started a air CARGO company but , according to the latest reports his company is in trouble .what really ails these airline companies is still a million dollar question.

The latest entry of AIR ASIA the Malaysian and Indian collaborative venture headed by the great Sri. Ratan Tata ,who is really passionate about airline industry and his entry into this suffering sector might make a positive impact in this industry .In fact he was denied an opportunity to start one airline due to complete lack of cooperation from the Government at that time .he refused to succumb to pressures because he and the TATA group has excellent values to be preserved at any cost.

 Indian CORPORATE world has many billionaires and the world press , the Indian press and electronic media  are never tired of giving out their names in their regular bulletins as if the news about the billionaires in THIRD WORLD countries will bring CHEER to the faces of crores of HAVE-NOT’S wallowing in poverty and suffering. The list gets longer every quarter and the INDIAN NEWSPAPERS and magazines spend reams of paper writing on them as if their WEALTH BULLETTIN will bring happiness health to the hapless millions .The media counts the money these people make as they count the RUNS in  an important CRICKET match in which INDIA plays PAKISTAN .

But our media , fortunately ,had an occasion in the last few days to write about a real legend ,SACHIN TENDULKAR and they made a real count of the RUNS SACHIN had made to create a never –to –be –broken record of 100 for 100 .This figure is means something great to all INDIANS and all of us feel proud to be here see the great man achieving a feat for which we have been anxiously waiting for. He is a role model for all youngsters to excel in what they do and the impact that his record has made is million times more than the WEALTH BULLETTIN of AMBANIS’ ,MITTALS’ JINDALS’ or any corporate honchos ,for that matter. Sachin has an impeccable personal and professional life and is an embodiment of  confidence and integrity and he could be called a real KING who is never intoxicated by his great records and success. The whole nation celebrates his success and the people of INDIA can be really inspired by people like him. He has been through the  THICK AND THIN of CRICKET but remain level headed in GOOD TIMES AND BAD TIMES.

Greed is everywhere :in politics( huge money, sports( especially cricket),films, and very frequently stock market ( where none knows who gained and who lost ).Gambling and betting on anything and everything is the order of the day. Now there is  every possibility of betting on examinations, birth of a child, marriage and divorce ,and almost activities between birth and death ..including the both of the latter. But INDIA has an inherent strength and tolerance with which it she will be back to the future.

 The new young leader has taken over a state which is potentially rich but in reality poor and GOD alone knows what is in store for him. He was forced to break his promise of a clean government by appointing a person as Minister who has serious criminal background. His family is also well connected to the AMBANI group and politics and industry always has an unholy alliance in INDIAN democratic system the consequences of which is never known to the public .It is mostly very subtle and get exposed and explodes with huge mushroom of fire and smoke only to disappear in the near future in the very next more or less powerful explosion and  fire. We have a tremendous action packed drama everyday in all parts of the country and the actors hold their SCRIPT close to their chest and we , the spectators, are condemned to sit or stand and watch it helplessly. but our NATION has tremendous inherent strength to bear all these assaults and move forward .But it is very interesting to look at this drama where one can see HEROES, HEROINES ,VILLAINS,EUNECHS IN ALL FIELDS and it is quite intoxicating to see all good and bad ELEMENTS mixing together seamlessly like a COCKTAIL ( have your own meaning ,please).All scenes enacted in all the fields contribute towards the making of our country ‘s future WHICH IS NOT AT ALL THAT DARK . The present GENERATION has more awareness and they are quite capable of appreciating the COCKTAIL while remaining sensible.( the word COCKTAIL HAS NO LITERAL MEANING HERE , ONLY FIGURATIVE OR SYMBOLIC).According to the first non-white editor of INDEPENDENT the national newspaper of BRITAIN Mr. AMOL RAJAN ( who is an avid cricket fan ) who took charge recently “INDIA WILL RULE THE WORLKD IN THE NEXT 100 YEARS. A very encouraging observation, indeed. Another very successful INDIAN about whom we can be proud of his tremendous achievement in journalism in a foreign country..Britain..

Mr Narayanamoorty has come back to INFOSYS and finds himself in the midst of problems .The once much celebrated company has been pushed back into third or fourth position . It is quite unfortunate that this great company is in crisis. When Mr. N.M was there in the first phase as FOUNDER of INFOSYS he could take the company to very great heights and it held on its own for a long time and created a niche for itself.But after his departure things started changing and slowly started climbing down from the peak of fame and performance.Mr. NM has come back and he never would have thought that he would have to come back in such a situation. But his responsibilities are great now and it is not easy to make a turnaround in an entirely new context where the IT business strategies have changed a lot. The past successes,as the saying goes,need not be a guarantee for the future . Of course uncertainty about the future may be an advantage also. He has brought in his SON ( who is ,of course well educated  ) into the new game to be played . As in POLITICS AND FILMS one finds a streak of a dynasty in  the making.He is also trying hard to bring many of his former colleagues into INFOSYS and time alone can show what is in store for INFOSYS. A  culture was created and it got diluted and again a new acceptable culture has to be created which suits the modern scenario.let s hope Mr. NM has some magic up his sleeve to put INFOSYS back ,perhaps with more strength and vibrancy.

It is a great irony that when Mr.NM came back his former protege Mr. Phaneesh Moorthy was shown the door from iGATE which was literally was built up from scratch by him.He even acquired PATNI COMPUTERS where Mr. NM started his career. Phaneesh Moorthy seems to have a tragic flaw in his character and got trapped in that again .It is really a wonder how such people act thoughtlessly to fall from grace .A really efficient person who can turn brick into gold proved to be really made of the lowest category of metal.He is said to be a simple man but with a great fire to win all the time .There are many lessons to be learnt from his life and career and those lessons will definitely help many to rethink about their style of life which many be similar to this.in  some ways.Sexual harassment in the workplace has serious consequences and all should be made aware of this.Man is said to be polygamous in nature but there is a society which does not accept that for obvious reasons which are very practical and good.He was said to be a good leader but with a feet of clay .  

India lacks proper leadership in every conceivable field fro Politics ,education, sports,science ,sports etc.There are potential leaders but whee are they .Let us go a little deeper into the aspect of leadership in this context .This is a subject which is being studied in all corners of the Earth and nobody has so far said any final  word on LEADERSHIP as a concept . Of course there have been great leaders in all parts of the world but not many in the world. All the frustrating things that we see around is the result of lack of leadership in its true sense .

Where have all the leaders gone ? “

This is the title of the autobiography of IACOCCA ,the former PRESIDENT  of FORD MOTOR COMPANY, where he created MUSTANG and the CHRYSLER corporation ,which he famously saved from ruin . The title speaks a lot about the present state of affairs in the world of business , politics, religion ,education and also in every conceivable field of human activity. We see many people ( both men and women ) shooting up to some high covetable position from nowhere and look at him or her in admiration but within a short time ( before we know what happened ) they fall down from heights in ignominy proving that they had only feet of CLAY.  (Of course some of them survive the heat of leadership and is showing signs of real leadership qualities suitable for the future- we will discuss about them later in this article )  The result is that the world which could boast of GREAT LEADERS like Gandhi, Martin Luther ,Churchill, JRD Tata ,Kennedy , Abdul Kalam  to name a few , lacks  living leaders who could inspire and become role models for the future generations ( GEN : X  , Y  and  Z ).   There is a lack of trust but all is not lost for the present generation has the ability to produce leaders who can influence in  a sustained manner in the midst of supersonic speed with which the world gallops forth.

Leadership is ,to a great extent  a matter of attitude. There is “leadership’ quality in everybody but the quality of that may vary fro person to person. John Adar ( Said to be the world’s first professor of LEADESHIP studies has authored many books on the subjects.)has said that ‘leadership capability can be developed by anybody with dose of” careful thought , and practice” and of course adding to it some ability to take risks with a willingness to correct.

In the recent times , the world has seen many people with tremendous leadership qualities in different countries but they have to stand the TEST OF TIME to sustain their image . But , for the present discussion on this subject of leadership let us mention the name of STEVE JOBS ,who in many ways proved to be a leaders in his own right and is sometimes called as the BEST CEO of the 20^th century and also the first decade of the 21^st century. In the book” I , STEVE ( Steve Jobs in his own words ) “ there is a reference to his Curriculum Vitae which gives an insight  into what could be some of the main ingredients of leadership.

JOB’S CURRICULAM VITAE :Objective: I am looking for a fixing upper with a solid foundation. Am willing to tear down walls, build bridges and light fires . I have great experience , lots of energy a bit of that VISION THING and am not afraid to start from the beginning. SKILLS: that “ VISION THING”, public speaking ,motivating teams and helping to create really amazing products.

Job’s idea of leadership is very clear and it has tremendous optimism and this is driven by a sort of aggressiveness and a clear sense of direction . Vision becomes the leading light and all other things follow .This came a person who was called the best CEO of the century considering his strength of vision, proactive nature built into his character , risk taking ability, the skills to motivate people towards great things ,tremendous communication skills with which he could convince people, great revolutionary ideas and what not !! He could build tams which could work with high energy and focus despite many odds under which many would have buckled. He knew the“ was  “   “ ..is..  “ , and  the “ would be “ of things .

“Knowing how things work gives the leader more real power and ability than all the degrees or titles the world can offer” John Adler  ( Jobs was a university ‘drop out ‘!! The magic of leadership depends on mainly four areas : PURPOSE , PEOPLE,PROCESSAND ULTIMATE GOAL,AND PERFORMANCE. All these should work in harmony and it is like a SYMPHONY of which the CONDUCTOR is the LEADER.

Each of the words given in capital letters can be discussed in depth but it does not fall in the purview of this article. All these traits do not exist in watertight compartments . They compliment each other and is driven forward in harmony and power only when they are fired by the most important thing in leadership “ PASSION” . To a question < what makes a leader successful “. Charles Handy – the management GURU –in an interview to BBC replied : PASSION - . According to him leaders should have faith in what they do.Passion without a sense of direction , personal integrity, ethical standards will make leaders morally corrupt .All leaders should have a moral COMPASS within which should guide them in the proper direction . When an analysis is made of the above traits , it is very clear that – it is a rare combination and comparatively difficult to achieve without working upon it with great motivation and passion.

We have a clear dearth of such leaders the world over in all fields “ where have the leasers gone “ In fact they have not gone anywhere : they are amongst in plenty but only very few emerge into the limelight . The ultimate question is whether leaders are BORN or MADE. ythis is a million dollar  question but and there are conflicting views but we can see that all explanations in this regard are contextual and never complete and , in fact, there is no ultimate answer to this question . again CHARLES HANDY ,in his inimitable style viewed this in a beautiful way” “ I don’t think you can teach the skill, or learn them from others , but often it is a matter of finding yourself in the right place …So , while these skills cannot be taught , they can be brought out under the right circumstances. I often say that life is like an apple – it falls into your hands . But it won’t fall into your hands unless you stand under the tree. You have to find the ORCHARD ,find the TREE and then something may happen.”

When the situation is found the person who has these traits or who would like make an attempt will jump into the fray and use their knowledge , experience ,courage , conviction and CREATIVITY to effect a change in the environment keeping close to his vision. CREATIVITY has a vital part in leadership which involves imagination, visualization, going the extra mile ,thinking beyond the established conventions and should be ready to face resistance and be bold to overcome it. All these needs an understanding of the problem, excellent communication skills to present the problem to the people and tremendous interpersonal skills and he should have excellent capability to trust his intuition and should be guided by insights .CREATIVE LEADERSHIP is the key and an analysis is made we can find that all great leaders had and have all these qualities and more – right from Gandhi to Abdul Kalam to JRD Tata to Ratan Tata to Amarthya Sen ( in India )  to many people in business  science , sports , culture  and in all fields of human activity .. the list is long… In fact leaders are everywhere but they are not seen or they do not know that they have these qualities of leadership.

Leaderships qualities can e developed through conscious training people with an inherent desire to become one that means he/she should have a passion to become a leader in the chosen field . Creativity forms the core of leadership along with many other qualities which have to be nurtured with care , warmth and dynamism. Davis listed the main qualities of the qualities of CREATIVE PEOPLE : THEY WILL BE : curious, energetic, experimenting ,independent, industrious, flexible, open minded ,original, playful, perceptive, persevering questioning, risk taker ,self aware ,sensitive …. Goldsmith listed the qualities of leaders of the future: Seek options, not plans, look for what is possible, must be flexible, pursue vision with intent, tireless, inventive, observant, risk takers who are ever hopeful builders, challenge assumptions and paradigms, empower the talent ,intelligence and creativity  of others. KOTTER, who has written much on the  leadership, listed five points on LEADERSHIP AND LIFELONG LEARNING : Risk taking ,Humble self reflection, solicitations of opinions , careful listening, openness to new Ideas. KOTTER’S five points have great relevance with what we discussed in connection with creativity. Since KOTTER’S list of qualities of leadership are in line with the creative qualities it is highly possible to develop these in people through a well designed CREATIVITY TRAINING and it will have a tremendous impact upon leadership development .

LEADERSHIP is nothing but effecting CHANGE and leaders always think differently and influence people to accept CHANGE and execute it effectively. Leaders are few and far between but they are there …. Let us accept that fact. All organizations should open up avenues for development of new leaders and encourage people to take up responsibilities. There are millions of MANGERS but hundreds or perhaps thousands  ( ? ) of leaders who can inspire people to DREAM , VISUALIZE AND IMPLEMENT IDEAS … ideas that can change the status quo … give freedom to others …..and they will surprise you with ideas and tenacity and the willingness to execute the ideas in a very creative way.

Managers manage within a framework , Leaders inspire people to take risks and go the extra mile ….and of course take the responsibility. Search for them ,find them, the will change the world for good .Trust the true leader , leadership is a matter of choice . You can choose…

The kind of turn of events that is happening in Indian cricket is sufficient proof of the vulgarity of the IPL show where fact and fiction cannot be separated and idols of yesterdays fall broken away from the pedestals

 The IPL imbroglio that blasted the lid of the Pandora's box of the dirty games that had been played beneath the  so called gentleman's game still burns in different corners of India . The poor  lovers of Cricket in India ,who adores its heroes looked in disbelief at the heartless greed and callous attitude of players ,cricket administrators ,film stars,industrialists  ,former cricketers ,reckless gamblers who entered through the front door and the backdoor of Indian cricket.Shame on those who drove Indian cricket into a mire .