NDTV ( Narayan Dutt Tiwari's Vulgarity)

India is truly making its presence felt on the global scene, be it in industrialisation, development, education, sports and now SEX. If the US had a Bill Clinton, Italy had a Silvio Berlusconi, India's answer is Narayan Dutt Tiwari, an 85 year-old funster whose escapades have made headlines and rung the deathknell for his political career too. Wonder what he could have done at this age with 3 young girls! Well, the videos/picturs aired by the Telugu channel ABN shows an old man ( who looks like NDT) lying as if in a daze and the girls 'working' on him.

This indiscretion has cost him his gubernatorial post and seals the end of a long political career as the Chief Minister of 2 states--Uttar Pradesh & Uttaranchal. a Central Minister who handled External Affairs & Finance, the President of the All-India Youth Congress (when he was younger) and finally as Governor of AP. While being President of the Youth Congress, he is said to have had an affair with Ujwala Sharma and sired a son, who 29 years later rose like a phoenix and sought a paternity test.Quite bizarre! After his wife's demise in the early nineties, NDT must certainly have felt lonely in the sprawling Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad.

A staunch follower of Indira Gandhi & Sanjay Gandhi, opposition leaders ridiculed him during the Emergency days with this poem:

" Na nar hoon, na naari hoon

Indira ki pujari hoon

Sanjay ka sawaari hoon

Main Narayan Dutt Tiwari hoon'

How wrong the opposition leaders were! NDT has certainly proved that he is a 'nar' at this ripe age and done India proud in the global 'political sleaze' scene.

The Week that was....

Global warming was the theme and how to combat it was the aim, as political leaders from 192 countries gathered at Copenhagen, Denmark. Discussions were more heated than the global atmosphere itself and the talks were on the verge of breakdown. The poorer countries felt that the developed ones were giving them a raw deal and insisted that any agreement reached should be in line with the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. The main concepts of the Kyoto Protocol were:

• Commitment to reduce greenhouse gases
• Implementation of the same by way of policies & measures
• Accounting, inspecting & review of the progress made
• Setting up of a Compliance Committee
• Minimising the impact on developingcoutries by setting up an Adaptation Fund fpr climate change.

It was the last item which was a major sore point at Copenhagen. The African nations mainly, felt that the developed countries' commitments on financial incentives for controlling emissions were rather sketchy. African countries were pushing for a less than 1.5 degrees rise in global temperature while the final draft pegged this at 2 degrees. Countries like Brazil, India, China & South Africa found themselves neither here nor there and had to ultimately concede ground to the developed countries headed by the USA.Amounts promised to developing countries range between US $ 30 billion & US $ 100 billion in the 2012-2020 period.

COMMENTS: More responsibility on developing countries with the developed ones sidestepping issues neatly. On the verge of total failure, what transpired in the sidelines is not clear, whether it was arm-twisting by the US or a sense of burn-out by the BASIC countries--the final outcome was that the developing countries again bore the brunt. Ultimatey, as it played out, greenbacks were deemed more important than a green world.

While Copenhagen was grappling with the politics of global warming, the same message of conserving the world and its environs was spread across the globe by James Cameron through his much-awaited film, Avatar. Written, directed and produced by James Cameron, the film said to cost half-a-billion dollars opened to packed houses all over. A 3-D science fiction film, its technology is stated to be way ahead of its time. A planet called Pandora has humanoid inhabitants called NaVi who are tall and blue-skinned. The most striking feature is that they live in total harmony with the natural world around them. The language of the NaVi has been created by the Director for this film. Jake Sully, the protagonist visits Pandora on a mission and when humans with their greed for the natural wealth of Pandora attack it, Jake sides with the natives.

COMMENTS: A film which will do much more for enlightening the world on conserving natural resources than all the political big-wigs could do at Copenhagen. As for the language of the NaVi, the way many of our actors and actresses speak English, Hindi, etc, it is indecipherable any way.

The Bharatiya Janata Party went in for a major revamp. Nitin Gadkari took over a party President from Rajnath Singh. L.K.Advani resigned as leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, his place being taken by Sushma Swaraj. Advani, it is stated will head the BJP parliamentary party.It was a real paradox that Advani who joined the RSS way back in 1942 and was the biggest propounder of 'Hindutva' finally had to bow down to the RSS diktat. Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS Chief had clearly mentioned that new blood was called for. Adavni, was perhaps the man most touted to be the Prime Minster but who could never reach that coveted position. He will be remembered for his numerous 'Rath yatras' and his fanning of the Hindutva flames through the Ram Janmabhoomi issue which culminated in the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Nitin Gadkari, a relative lightweight from Mharashtra would possibly have never got this opportunity had Pramod Mahajan been around.

COMMENTS: Majority of the educated Hindu populace did not agree with Advani's ideology that a Ram Temple should be built on the site where the Babri Masjid was, as it was supposedly the birthplace of Ram. They felt that there were more pressing national issues and building of a temple was not demed very important. However, in a teenie-weenie corner of their hearts, these very people at times felt, if as a Hindu I cannot build a temple for my deity in India (where Hindus are a majority), can I do it in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia?. Secularism is fine but curbing the majority in the name of secularism, was what Advani termed 'pseudo secularism'.

Talking about religion, can cricket be left out? It is said in India cricket is a religion and Tendulkar is God. In the 1st ODI at Rajkot, India after scoring 414 was scared stiff as Sri Lanka chased and chased and finally fell short by a mere 3 runs. If Sehwag blazed away for his 146, Dilshan's reply was a brilliant 160, which in the end was just not enough. MSD must have heaved a huge sigh of relief as his bowlers bowled like billionaires and the fielders couldn't even catch the common cold. If India were lucky to get away in the 1st ODI, they were not so lucky in the second one at Nagpur, despite a 300 plus score. Dhoni's century was in vain as Dilshan dished out 123 and Angelo Mathews held his nerve in the end as Sri Lanka triumphed by 3 wickets.

COMMENTS: As if to add insult to ijury, MSD was suspended for 2 ODIs due to India' s slow over rate at Nagpur. With so much time being taken for overs, one would think great attention was being paid to thoughful bowling strategies and precise fielding positions. Neither was happening and to top it all slow over rates? Any remedies?

Guess who bowled the best googly ? Do not think of any leg-spinner for it was Ajmal Kasab, the captured terrorist from 26/11. After admitting to his guilt as early as in July and having been identified by scores of witnesses, suddenly he bowled his googly---it was not me but my lookalike.I have never handled an AK-47. Mumbai police had picked me up even before 26/11 and are trying to frame me.

COMMENTS: What audacity ! What on earth are we doing in the name of ' righteousness', 'judicial processes' and the necessity to project ourselves internationally as great upholder of human rights? We are already spending a fortune on the maintenance of this proven terrorist. Should he not be publicly hanged or shot? What are we treying to achieve by prolonging the trial? Even the 'so-called' upholder of democracy and human rights, the United States of America did not spend too much time on the trial of Saddam Hussein after his capture and hanged him.Why does India dilly-dally so much? Any answer guys ?

The week that was..........."T" week

The week that went by certainly can be christened 'The T week'.
Yes, newspapers,television news, blogs and SMS centred around the T words, the most important and dangerous among which was TELENGANA. The fast unto death by K.Chandrashekar Rao, the TRS leader followed by the knee-jerk reaction of the Central Government in announcing a separate state of Telengana to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh has plunged the entire state into a major political crisis manifested by unruly mob behaviour. Losses to public property and loss of business amount to crores of rupees so far and the agitations are intensifying.
What is Telengana? One needs to go back to history. The erstwhile Nizam ruled state of Hyderabad comprising the present districts of Khammam, Warangal, Adilabad, Medak, Nizamabad,Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar, Rangareddy & Nalgonda apart from Hyderabad were never ever under British rule. This region is called Telengana.After India's independence from the British, the Nizam of Hyderabad reluctantly agreed to cede his territory to the Indian Union following Operation Polo in 1948. Another fast unto death, by Potti Sreeramulu resulted in the state of Andhra being carved out of the Madras Presidency on 1st October, 1953 comprising the coastal Andhra region and Rayalaseemawith Kurnool as its capital. On 1st November 1956, Telengana merged with Andhra and the state of Andhra Pradesh came into being with Hyderabad as its capital.
Now 53 years later, due to the blinkered approach of the Central Government which panicked when Chandrashekhar Rao went on a fast unto death and decided to give statehood to Telengana, Andhra Pradesh is up in flames protesting this decision.MLAs and MPs cutting across party lines have resigned and the Congress Government in the state is in danger of falling what with many misters tendering their resignations in protest.
The Centre has painted itself into a corner. Was it an Intelligence failure that led the Centre to think that Chandrashekhar Rao's fast if allowed to continue longer could create major law and order problems in the state? Now the Centre's foolish and rash decision to confer statehood on Telengana has let to a larger law and order problem in the state, so m uch so that the Centre is now trying to find some escape route out of the mess it has landed itself in.The Pandora's box being opened, the opportunist Mayawati immediately demanded formtion of 3 new states out of Uttar Pradesh viz. Bundelkhand, Pashimanchal & Poorvanchal. Can Gorkhaland, Cooch Behar, etc be far behind. Only another T i.e TIME will tell how the events play out.

A more entertaining 'T" was T-20 cricket.The two-match series between India and Sri Lanka ended in atie with both the teams winning a match apiece. If Sri Lanka massacred India by 29 runs at Nagpur, India trounced the Lankans by 6 wickets at Mohali.Batsmen from both sides dominated the matches--if it was Sangakkara both at Nagpur & Mohali, it was Sehwag and birthday boy Yuvraj all the way at Mohali. Towering sixes, blistering fours and sharp running between the wickets were the order of the day in both matches.At Mohali, India created a world record in international T20 by chasing down the highest target--206 runs. Bowlers from both sides sufferedand all but cried out inconsolably. Fielders from both sides provoded comic relief, spilling the easiest of catches and muffing the simplest of runouts. M.S.Dhoni said that there was something 'funny and fishy' happening, maybe it was the lights, the crowd or the weather--- or did he send out a hidden message that possibly some sort of 'match-fixing' was suspected ? Your guess is as good as mine!

The third 'T' of the week was a shocker. Tiger Woods appeared to link everything to an 18-hole golfcourse. The number of women who claimed to have had affairs with him rose steadily to reach 11. Not sure how many more women will come out openly to destroy the camouflage of Tiger. A break from golf was necessary to save his marriage thought Tiger as he went deep into the woods in hiding.Some say he is headed for some obscure island near Sweden with his wife Elin Nordegren, the gorgeous blonde former Swedish model. Why do sportsmen stray ? Well, they have the opportunities as women throw themselves at them. The loneliness on tours away from families and friends and the constant pressure of peak performance (what with millions of dollars in endorsements riding on them) and above all the pumping adrenalin and burst of testosterone do need some channelising. Can Tiger be forgiven is a call only Elin can take, but remember tiger is a carnivore and cannot stay away from flesh.

A minor 'T' was the 'Tremors' in Maharashtra including parts of Mumbai. Fortunately no loss of life or damage to property was reported. The major good news was that there was no activity from the dreaded "T" namely Terrorists. Pray that it remains that way all through the remaining fragments of 2009 and all through 2010.
Amen.

T20 Champions League-- A Damp Squib

Half Empty stadiums !
Poor television viewership !
TV advertisers crying 'foul' and seeking return of money.
Finally, soul-less performance from the IPL teams !
THIS SUMS UP THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED AIRTEL T20 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, notwithstanding what Lalit Modi would say.
Will there be a next edition of the Champions League at all or will it fade away like the World XI vs Champion Test team, a series which was played only once and could never draw in the crowds. Do many people even vaguely recall it?
The performance of the 3 IPL teams was pathetic to say the least and horrifying as far as the franchisees were concerned. Astute businessmen, they all are and they must be wondering whether buying famous cricketers at exorbitant prices alone could create a winning team.Remember they were looking at winning US$ 3.5 million and the disastrous performance would have definitely hurt them.
Stars alone do not make a team.The 'zing thing' called team-spirit or morale, which develops by playing together for a considerable length of time was conspicuously absent.Most of the players had assignments in different corners of the globe and had got together with their IPL teams only a few days earlier. Over-dependence on the foreign players was also evident.
The IPL teams had no motivation to win, except for the prize money. These were teams of 'mercenary cricketers' who had go together for the lucre and no other motivation but lucre again.
See the teams which did well--- New South Wales Blues, Trinidad & Tobago, Victoria Bushrangers, etc. These were not rag-tag outfits but State or Country teams which played for the State or National pride. That could be the BIGGEST motivator as Leander Paes would vouch for---remember how pumped up and charged he used to be when playing Davis Cup for India. Also note that these teams did not have 'imported players'. They were home-grown players. Alas, the standard of the Indian players were clearly exposed.

Mr Modi, going by the looks of it, the IPL may also lose its sheen in a couple of seasons.You need to do a rethink. Too much of cricket is not only tiring for the players but the viewers are are also clearly fatigued. Hope some sense will prevail on the administrators 'post the Champions League debacle'.

Is India the No.1 ODI team?

Rankings be damned! India's performance against Pakistan at Centurion yesterday was cetainly not befitting the No.1 team. Yes, Pakistan did bat beautifully with Shoaib Malik & Mohammed Yousuf and India was without Yuvraj, Zaheer & Sehwag, but did Indiareally play like a champion side?

The answer is an emphatic NO. The bowling was pedestrian with Harbhajan & Ishant bowling like novices yesterday. On the batting, though Tendulkar failed, Dravid anchored the innings well and Gambhir & Raina really threatened to blast their way to victory. However they fell short.

What could be the single big reason for the fiasco? Answer is M.S.Dhoni.

• As a captain, he seemed to lack imagination.When Shoaib & Yousuf were peppering the offside with their shots, the field settings left much to be desired.Remember this was after Ashish Nehra had bowled well in his early spell and put Pakistan on the backfoot.
• The reason why Raina was not used a bowling option, especially after his recent bowling success in Sri Lanka is a question only Dhoni can answer.
• When Yusuf Pathan came in to bat at the fall of the fifth wicket, Dhoni should have realised that there was not much batting after that.So what was the point in delaying the Batting Team's Powerplay option? After a Yusuf had been in for a couple of overs, Batting Powerplay should have been resorted to. This would not only have helped Yusuf play more freely and get some big hits in, it would have also brought the required rate down and put Pakistan under some pressure.Ultimately Yusuf Pathan was caught by substitue Misbah-ul-Haq in the Slips, a position which might not have been manned in a powerplay.
• Finally, Dhoni the batsman failed. Let's face the fact--Dhoni's big-hitting and swing matches with whirlwind knocks are things of the past.Nowadays he bats doggedly taking ones and twos to such an extent that the big-hitting is left for too late and costing many matches. Dhoni should resort to batting down the order after all the specialist batsmen. We would like to see the Dhoni of old, a batsman who could tear bowling attacks to shreds. These days he seems to push & prod only.Is it the pressure of capatincy?

Pakistan with 2 wins is almost assured of a semi-final berth. India will need to win both against Australia and the West Indies to harbor any thoughts of a semi-final berth. Easier said than done.Unless Dhoni realises from his mistakes here and the team lifts itself , am afraid India will have to look at earlier flights back home from South Africa.

Action at the IPL Auction -- 2009

The IPL 2009 season kicked off with the much awaited auction at Goa where Bollywood beauties rubbed shoulders (not literally though) with hard-nosed businessmen.Though there plastic smiles for the flashbulbs, the bidding in some cases was really close.Unlike in the first edition, this time all the teams were not too liberal with their purse-strings and seemed to have come to the auction with clearly though out strategies. The 5 most costliest players were:

• Kevin Pietersen : US$ 1,550,000 -- Bangalore Royal Challengers
• Andrew Flintoff : US $1,550,000 -- Chennai Superkings
• Jean Paul Duminy : US$ 950,000 --Mumbai Indians
• Tyron Henderson : US $ 650,000 -- Rajasthan Royals
• Mashrafe Mortaza : US $ 600,000 -- Kolkata Knightriders

Absolutely no flaw in Vijay Mallya's strategy to get Pietersen at whatever be the price. Bangalore Royal Challengers desperately needed a big-hitter who can turn matches around on his own. The side which was widely regarded last season as a team fit for Test cricket but not for T20. With batsmen like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Shivnarine Chanderpaul & Wasim Jaffer, it indeed looked a Test side. Pietrersen's inclusion gives the team undoubted strike power PLUS he is a great crowd-puller PLUS he can take over the captaincy as is expected, given Dravid's below-par performance at the helm.The ostensible reason which could be cited is Dravid's possible 'leave of absence' to be by the side of his wife welcoming their second child. With US $ 1.55 million being his price, Pietersen surely will be one of the 4 foreign players who will be in the Royal Challengers' playing eleven in all matches, unless he has national duties or is hit by injuries (God forbid).

If Mallya's purchase is understandable, totally inexplicable is why N.Srinivasan and his Chennai Superkings spent US $ 1.55 million on all-rounder, Andrew Flintoff. He is a class act, no questions about it and any team would like to have him. The Superkings however have a problem of plenty. Remember only 4 foreigners can be in the playing eleven for any match ! The Chennai team has Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey,Stephen Fleming, two class all-rounders who did well last season-- Albie Morkel & Jacob Oram apart from the bowlers Makhaya Ntini, Muthiah Muralitharan, Thilan Thushara and now we have Mr.Flintoff. How will they fit Flintoff into the playing eleven in every match is the question.Given his high cost, he will be expected to play as much as possible and that will be the test for Dhoni and his wise men--who will sit out?

Jean-Paul Duminy is certainly in rip-roaring form as the series in Australia showed and his fielding is a huge bonus. However, one swallow does not a summer make and by and large he is an unknown commodity and his inexperience of Indian conditions will go against him. Appears Tendulkar plumped for him and Nita Ambani obliged leaving even Duminy shocked at his own value of US $ 950,000.We have to wait and watch to see if Tendulkar's hunch turns out to be right or not.

The magician Shane Warne, who moulded Rajasthan Royals into such a fine unit that they went all the way to be champions in 2008, has pulled out a new trick from his bag.Little known South African all-rounder, Tyron Henderson. At 34 years he is neither a promising youngster nor a internationally acclaimed star. A bowling all-rounder, he has shown with the bat for Middlesex and a few T20 sides in South Africa.No great performance at the international level. Will Warne's Midas Touch work on Henderson? Shane Watson too was not a great performer at the international level, but what a season he had for Rajathan Royals in 2008, both with the bat and the ball! Henderson is expected to fit into Watson's shoes given the fact that Watson may miss a greater part of IPL 2009 (if not totally) due to injury.

The biggest, biggest surprise of all--Mashrafe Mortaza snapped up by the Knightriders for a whopping US $ 600,000 which left everyone gasping.No doubt, Mortaza has improved by leaps and bounds and is a much more complete bowler now.He also takes his batting quite seriously. But is he worth the high price? Possibly something more than cricket--Sharukh Khan's shrewd business-sense maybe.With a Bangladeshi in their ranks, the Knightriders brand could catch up big time in neighbouring Bangladesh. If and when IPL goes international, possibly next season, the Knightriders could play matches in Dhaka or Chittagong in front of huge crowds apart from the selling the team souvenirs and other branded stuff.

Exciting days ahead in April and May! Recession be damned!

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

If the General Elections don't get you, IPL Must.

TEN TOXIC TRAITS

Books, articles, websites, blogs on self-development or how to become better individuals, managers, familymen, etc are a dime -a -dozen.In short these inputs are all aimed at 'How can one become successful be it in the office , within the family or in life as a whole.

Here we take a look from the other side.

Ten Toxic Traits or attitudes/behaviour which will give you guaranteed failure. While others churn out recipes for success,here is a recipe which is 'toxic' and hence should not be eaten or followed.

1. BE NEGATIVE/ EXPECT TO FAIL
2. HAVE NO GOALS OR OBJECTIVES
3. LISTEN TO EVERYONE
4. ALWAYS CRITICIZE/BLAME
5. NEVER TAKE INITIATIVE
6. BE ECONOMICAL WITH THE TRUTH
7. ALWAYS ASK ' WHY SHOULD I?"
8. AVOID CHANGE/ MAINTAIN STATUS QUO
9. ALWAYS LOOK FOR A SHORT TERM FIX
10. AVOID POSITIVE PEOPLE

End of an era?

There was a time, the heady days of 2006 and 2007 when Roger Federer had only to enter a tournament to emerge victorious. His opponents took for granted that they had to try for the runner-up position.Federer was the master of all he surveyed.A classical right-hander with a single-handed backhand, he never grunted or snorted while executing his shots.His smooth and silky groundstrokes and the almost impossible angles he created were a treat to watch both for the connoiseur as well as to the uninitiated.He was grace personified on court and his slim build belied the power he could impart to his strokes and serves.

So what, if one of the Slams, the French Open eluded him and continues to elude him till today? Clay was never his favourite surface and on all other surfaces--grass, hardcourts,indoor or outdoor, Roger was The Master.In Wimbledon, which was almost like his fiefdom, it appeared as if he would never ever be beaten.

All was well in Federer's world till an 18 year-old upstart answering to the name of Rafael Nadal burst on to the international tennis circuit in 2005 and knocked out Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the French Open.No big deal was the refrain, Federer was never really comfortable on clay. The upstart went on to win the French Open in 2005 and repeated it year after year in 2006,2007 and 2008.In all these 3 years Federer lost to Nadal in the finals of the French Open and what was amazing was the big gulf in standards on clay between the two, with Nadal proving more and more superior.In the 2008 final, Federer , wonder of wonders lost one set 0-6.

Nadal's rise certainly seemed to affect Federer. In an exhibtion match in Spain in 2007 slated as the 'Battle of Surfaces',Nadal beat Federer again.The peculiarity in this match was that the court was half-clay and half-grass.

Still, the diehard Federer fans and Federer himself believed that on the Wimbledon grass, he was simply peerless.Not for long, his nemesis Rafael Nadal caught up, and how? In the 2006 final he lost to Federer in 4 sets.In 2007, Federer won again but in a hard-fought 5 set battle.Come 2008, and there was a new Wimbledon champion in Rafael Nadal.In what was arguably the greatest Wimbledon final ever and certainly the longest, Nadal won in five sets, the final set margin being 9-7. The myth of Federer's invincibility on grass was broken and it appeared that Federer's confidence also took a huge dent.

Not that Federer's performance on the courts dipped,No, he seemed to develop an inner fear of Nadal.The very presence of Nadal on the other side of the net was enough to defeat Federer, people started whispering.With Nadal not in the way, Federer cruised to the 2008 US Open title defeating Andy Murray in the final.

A new year--2009--The first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, at the end of which Federer was totally shattered. Another five set final with Nadal and a loss yet again--5-7, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 2-6.

Another epic final where both the palyers matched each other stroke for stroke.Federer displayed his mastery in the first four sets which were split. The strokes from Federer were spectacular moving Nadal from one end of the court to another. Wonder of wonders, Nadal had so mucg power in his legs that he ran all over the court and knocked back everything which Federer hurled at him.When I saw the huge, powerful figure of Nadal hitting back almost everything from any corner of the court with awesome power, the only name I could think of was The Great Retriever.

Federer's spirit appeared broken in the fifth set, almost as if he had resigned to the fact that his best shots could not get the better of Nadal.He appeared to cringe before the towering presence of Nadal.Error after error followed from Federer's racket and soon it was all over--Nadal was the new Australian champion proving that he could beat Federer be it on clay, grass or hardcourt.

At the prize distribution, Federer burst into tears and it was a sad sight to see a man who had ruled the tennis world for years go to pieces before millions of television viewers round the world and spectators in the stadium.

It appears Federer has now developed a fear of Nadal,maybe we can call it Nadalophobia.There is nothing wrong with Federer's game.It is just that his mental strength is gone.His confidence while facing Nadal is virtually non-existent. Can Federer come back and regain his Number 1 ranking? Can he beat Nadal ever again? The heart says 'Perhaps', but the mind firmaly says 'No'.What Federer needs now is someone more than a coach, a mentor or a psychiatrist.Wonders never cease. If Federer wills and he picks a team which can work on strengthening his mind and help rebuild his confidence, who knows there may be another twist in the Federer-Nadal rivalry, which has bettered the ones between Borg-Connors, Borg-McEnroe or Sampras-Agassi.

If it happens, tennis fans all over the world will be ecstatic and understandably so.

Slumdogs or underdogs?

'SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE'!
Everyone's talking about it. The whole of India feels proud that A.R.Rahman has got 2 Oscar nominations for the film while Resul Pookutty has a nomination for Sound mixing. Add to it the fact that the film stars Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan,Saurabh Shukla, Frieda Pinto, Mahesh Manjrekar & Dev Patel( of Indian origin), one gets lulled into feeling that it is an Indian film.

Reality is that it is NOT an Indian film. Danny Boyle has made use of , or should I say exploited the ugly side of the city of Mumbai, put in a lot of Indian actors and a music director par excellence to perhaps, carve a niche for himself at the Oscars. India and Indians be damned!

The film does get you involved.Every Indian particularly Mumbaikars could identify with the film-- the filth and squalor of the Mumbai slums, the half-naked children,communal riots and above all Kaun Banega Crorepati or Who wants to be a Millionaire.

Some deft directorial touches are discernible. The young Jamal jumps into an open pit of a toilet and comes out fully covered with shit, runs towards his hero Amitabh Bachchan (though his face is never shown) to get an autograph. The Indians' craze for film stars being brought out by the director with a dash of humour? Another scene has the slightly older Jamal acting as a guide at the Taj Mahal and explaining to some foreign tourists that it was a big hotel that Emperor Khurram built and that Mumtaz died in a road accident. A possible dig at how foreigners are fleeced in India?

It is primarily the child stars playing the young and later teenaged Jamal, Salim and Latika who really steal the show and warm our hearts with their effortless performances.In comparison, the grown-up stars appear wooden and rather uncomfortable, perhaps wondering why had they wandered into an English film. The childeren in the film are not the archetypal, choclatey kids who mouth dialogues far beyond their ages as in Bollywood films. These chidren are street smart--they are survivors.Though they have the same likes and dislikes as children of their age, the tough environment makes them that much more self-dependent as they have to face the harsh world very early in life.

How Jamal manages to answer the different questions on the game-show and the real-life connections to the answers are well brought out.

People who watch the film will realise why Amitabh Bachchan and Sharukh Khan refused to play the role of the host in Who wants to be a Millionaire in the film which Anil Kapoor eventually did.

A 'feel-good' film in the typical Bollywood mould where true love triumphs and the underdog emerges on top. This brings us to the most important question of all--the film's title. Is it right to name the film 'Slumdog Millionaire'? Can people living in Indian slums be called slumdogs? A word which does not exist in any standard English dictionary. This has been coined by Danny Boyle to perhaps add spice to to the title. Anyway it is a poor reflection of Indian slum dwellers, why even the Indian pride. No Indian, whether he stays in a mansion, apartment or slum can be called a dog by a Westerner. Do not understand how the Indian Censor Board allowed the film to be released in India with this title. Even now it is not too late. They can still insist that the film's name be changed in India to ' Underdog Millionaire'. Will the Indian Government step in to advise the Censor Board or will all Indians be seduced by the fact that the film has bagged 10 Oscar nominations and will give a chance to an Indian , A.R.Rahman to bag a major Oscar?

Air India............tu tu main main

December 23rd, 11.40 PM:
We were on AI 442 flying from Mumbai to Singapore. Boarded well on time.Flight was to take-off at 12.10 AM . 12.30............12.45.... still no sign of movement.Boarding letter still in place. Finally, out ogf the window, I see the pilot rushing up the ladder at 12.50AM. Pretty soon, he is on the public address system apologising for the delay.Normal? Perhaps , yes, but what he added really had me in shock. The pilot made it very clear that the delay was not his fault and there had been a major mix-up in the rostering, wherein the take-off time had been stated as 12.55 AM. He promised to send a detailed note and ensure that the erring people were brought to book and reiterated that the delay was not his fault.

As the commander of the aircraft and as a senior employee of Air India, his statements were appalling.Should he not have stood up for his organisation and explained the delay as technical reasons while apologising instead of pointing fingers at others and showing himself to be not at all at fault? Needless to state, internally he should have sent a detailed report to punish those who erred. As far as Air India goes, he was a very bad ambassador.