Defeated India

Over the last 40 hours, when the news channels are as hit as they can be my heart is full of sorrow, eyes wet and mind full of rage. I, like many fellow Indians, am in the same state of mind as the protagonist of the recent movie The Wednesday. I mean, a handful of terrorists could literally take a country of over a billion people hostage. Yes, it is an attack on Mumbai, on India, on Indian pride, on Indian intelligence, on Indian military, on each Indian. And the terrorists could not be more successful. We are a defeated nation.

The external affairs minister of India Mr. Pranab Mukharjee again warns Pakistan against letting its territory used for terrorist activities. Hello Mr. Mukherjee, YOU ARE the one letting your territory used for terrorist activities. Gone are the days when Pakistan was the only major source of terrorists. Have you forgotten the evidences of terrorist training camps in the forests of Kerala, Karnataka and elsewhere in India? Yes, all planning, training and execution is happening in India and done by INDIANS. Funding may be from outside. And this is no secret to anybody. You do not need an intelligence force or a high level inquiry to know this. Ask a street kid and he will tell you the fact.

In India, there is no preventive detention law, and prosecutions can take years. The Wall Street Journal blames our politicians for this.

And rightly so. Now the pathetic situation of training and equipments of our elite forces like NSG and ATS is an open secret. Whose responsibility is it to make sure that our forces are well trained and equipped? Who will provide required money and international collaborations to do so? Any answers Mr. Singh, Mr. Mukharjee, Mr. Patil or Mrs.Gandhi?? The poor brave soldiers are just giving their lives for us. The poor public is giving their lives.
On the other hand, half of the cops are busy planning the security of our politicians. Mayawati's security apparatus has 350 cops, 34 vehicles.

Nothing is happening which could give us hope of a better future. Worse is a realistic possibility. I have no faith left on political leadership in India.

Good Bye JUMBO…Cricket Will Be Poorer Without You.

It has been quite some time since I last scribbled here. And I thought I would pay my tributes to my all time sports icon Anil Kumble aka JUMBO.

Kumble has been my favorite Indian cricketer since about 10 years, so I can say that I belong to his longest serving fan-club. 

I know that India is full of cricket pundits, and many of them may not agree when I say that Kumble has won more matches (particularly the Test matches) for India than ANY other player EVER. That is why I think he is the GREATEST Indian cricketer ever.
A few points about his personal life I copied from Wikipedia:

Anil Kumble was born in Bangalore.

His family, of Kannadiga origin, takes its name from Kumble village situated in the Kasaragod district of Kerala, close to the Karnataka border: his paternal great grandfather hailed from this village while his maternal family hails from Karnataka.

He is married to Chethana Ramatheertha. Anil has 3 children - daughter Aaruni (from Chethana's previous marriage), son Mayas and the youngest Svasti (daughter).

Kumble began playing cricket on streets of Bangalore and joined a club called Young Cricketers when he was 13 years old. Kumble did his primary schooling at Holy Saint English School and his high schooling at National High School, Basavanagudi. He got his Pre-University College education from National College, Basavanagudi. Kumble graduated from Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering in 1991-92. Anil's studious dispensation is not without a basis in fact. Prior to his selection for the England tour, he did exceedingly well in his academics passing mechanical engineering with distinction in the top of his class.

He has a nickname Jumbo not only because his deliveries, for a spinner, are "as fast as a Jumbo jet", but also because his feet are quite big or Jumbo as observed by his team-mates.

It is rare to find a sportsperson who is so good in studies, that too the person of the sporting excellence of Kumble.

For a person who gave up fast bowling because of a jerky action, it is amazing to be so successful as a spinner. Since he did not have the turn of Shane Warne or Murali, I think he had the best mind of a bowler to outthink the batsmen.

On top of that, his discipline as a player was second to none. I have never heard of any penalty or disciplinary action against him ever. He has been a 100% team player. Never cared more about personal milestones over the team cause. While all the players say so about themselves, we all know that many of them actually do the reverse.

Dear Jumbo, wish you all the best for your future. And now that you will have some free time, I hope to meet you someday in Bangalore. 