Who is Best, MSD or DADA ?

Being the captain of a cricket team is not a ceremonial job, it’s a challenging role that only a few can perform. Many, some of them the best cricketers we've seen, have failed to cope with the burden of captaincy despite having ruled over the sport with their unmatched cricketing skills. What's even more difficult is to pick the right candidate for leadership.

When it comes to Indian team, being a cricket captain is the highest pedestal which every player aim for. The honour comes with 24/7 analysis and being the target of an excess of emotions ranging from one extreme to another. India's cricketing history has been shaped by its captains, as much as the great batsmen and bowlers of this nation. In last 82 years, India has witnessed 31 skippers in Tests and 22 in ODIs. These captains have moulded the Indian cricket team in many different ways.

Vijay Hazare supervised India's first ever win in 1952, MAK Pataudi was famous for injecting India with that fighting spirit, leading his team to its first overseas Test and series win in 1968. Kapil Dev lifted the World Cup for India in 1983. Sunil Gavaskar led the team which won World Championship in 1985. Mohammad Azharuddin became India's most successful ODI skipper during 90’s. Sourav Ganguly led a rejuvenation Indian team which battered by match-fixing scandals, making them a force to reckon with globally. And MS Dhoni reached extraordinary success levels, before plunging into equally mysterious depths.

To begin, one of the major points of argument when everyone begin to compare Dhoni and Ganguly as captains has to be the time period & team strength. It is a well-known fact that Ganguly never had the same quality of team Dhoni has. Ganguly’s legacy will largely remain reinstalling people’s faith back in the game, post the match fixing disaster, and laying the foundations a dominant and aggressive Indian team which had the zeal to win, both in India and abroad. However, everyone fails to recognize the existence of John Wright. He was also involved in the process of rebuilding the team with Ganguly.

Ganguly positioned the Indian Team as an aggressive unit, for the first time in history people felt that Indian Team can give fight even in the difficult and unfavourable condition. Be it the Great Eden Garden victory against Australia, the Natwest series against England, India almost ruining Steven Waugh’s farewell in Australia and the 2003 World Cup. Ganguly’s team gave us some memorable moments. 

Ganguly took important decision during his tenure like asking Dravid to keep behind the wickets, forcing Srinath out of retirement, asking VVS to bat at 3 at Eden Garden Test against Australia, shaping Sehwag and Yuvraj are the absolutely brilliant work of his clever mind and no gamble or luck involved.  

Whereas, in global events, Dhoni’s record is stupendous, winning both the major ODI tournaments, which are 2011 World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. In addition, Dhoni also won the T20 World Cup in 2007, a format which Ganguly missed during his international career.

Dhoni showed discipline, guts, winning strategy and his innovative skills to the team, he is the benchmark for the next generation captains. He took a brave decision of dropping key players like Sehwag, Gambhir, Harbhajan, Yuvraj and Zaheer when they are not playing well. An interesting side to this is the differentiation between bad and consistently bad performances. Our huge population has significant fan followings of each of these key players. As soon as one of them is dropped, we hear anti-Dhoni statements from all the sides and criticisms on social networks. The moment Dhoni scores less in 2-3 matches, the demands for him to step down reach the skylines. Also it is most important to understand the difference between an opener and a middle order batsmen. I wonder how one can justify the constant place of Dhoni in the rankings if his form was so bad for long time.

To a certain extent, the style of Dhoni’s captaincy combined with a good team and made sure that India did not depend on one or two game-changing decisions for victory. He took a responsible in developing Yuvraj as the all-rounder, developing Jadeja & Ashwin skills that are now showing results.

The record speaks for itself. The Two World Cups, two IPL trophies, Champions League, so many series wins, consistent ranking in the two main forms of the game, constant selection as captain of World XI, consistent ranking as top 10 batsmen in ICC Player Rankings; these are only some of the large number of statistics Dhoni has in his favour. Whereas, Ganguly’s team failed in the final against the best team in the world, Dhoni’s men conquered that final obstacle at home, winning the World Cup after 28 years.

The results speak for themselves. India emerged as a stronger side under Ganguly away from home in Tests. Having a poor record away from the turning tracks at home, Ganguly’s Team India fought to change the popular perception. Whereas this is the biggest spot in Dhoni’s otherwise glowing captaincy record. 16 Test losses, 10 of them on a trot, have done great damage to his Test credentials overseas.

Whitewashes in England and Australia in 2011-2012, followed by winless tours of South Africa and New Zealand in 2013-14, and an embarrassing collapse in England after taking the lead at Lord’s in 2014, followed by the winless tour of Australia has absolutely crushed fans’ confidence in his leadership in Tests overseas.

Despite an overwhelmingly poor record in Tests, Dhoni’s team has fared quite well in ODIs overseas. It goes on to show how a change in format does wonders for Dhoni. While Ganguly’s team was competitive across formats overseas, it’s only ODIs where Dhoni’s leadership has stood good results away from home, as is evident from India’s 2013 Champions Trophy victory in England, the same venue where India lost 0-4 in 2011 and 1-3 in 2014 in Tests.

Despite the popular opinion which once prevailed that MS Dhoni is a ‘lucky’ captain, the only ‘luck’ that works in cricket is at the toss of a coin. The rest is a result of how a player performs on the field.

As a skipper, Dhoni’s record is better than Ganguly as a batsman. However, Dhoni’s record is skewed when it comes to home and away performances. In India, he averages 51.75, but the number drops to 32.46 away from home. Ganguly averages 43.41 outside India, while his home record as a Test batsman is abysmal, with an average of 29.93. Dhoni trumps Ganguly as an ODI batsman too, having earned the title of the best finisher of his era. While Ganguly formed the greatest opening partnership with Sachin, his statistics fall well short of Dhoni's feats as an ODI batsman.

On the other hand, under Dhoni’s leadership, Chennai Super Kings/Indian team has been the most successful team. His innovative captaincy, maintaining a sense of calmness, order around the team and personal performances as captain has turned the tide for the national and CSK team many a times. Ganguly on the other hand would lead in terms of player management, ability to take on oppositions both on and off the field, and ability to win test matches abroad.

Under Ganguly, the bigwigs – Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag, Kumble and himself – being the permanent fixtures, granted a more settled look to the Test side. However, Dhoni has led India through troubled times. After the disastrous tours of England and Australia, senior players have moved out and he has been leading the side through some tough times. But if one looks at him as compared to captains like Kapil or Ganguly, he tends to go on the defensive a lot more than them. But he is not risk-averse and has taken some difficult decisions throughout his tenure.

The rational side would like to go with Dhoni, and the emotional side with Ganguly. But given the way we approach Cricket, I would go ahead with Dhoni. For showing all of us that we can beat Australia on their soil, we can lift ICC trophies, we can chase consequently massive scores (350+) against best bowling teams, and more importantly even losing with a fight & discipline.

Happy New Year: Crass, Idiotic and Senseless

Understanding that Happy New Year movie grossed around 1.75 billion rupees in its first weekend worldwide, the second highest opening for a Bollywood cinemas which perked up my interest. After all, I wondered, what would it take for a film to become one of the highest grossing Bollywood films of all times, that too directed by the great useless director Farah Khan!

With enormous curiosity and an absolutely open mind (I didn't take risk of spending dollars in theater in Australia), I downloaded this movie, armed with a bucket of popcorn and Pepsi.

The first introduction sequence reminded me of typical Farah Khan and family co talent and senseless south Indian films (Kannada & Telugu films) which are omnipresent on movie channels these days.

The mindless dialogues and a desperate attempt to comedy already began to irritate my thoughtful taste. I concluded long before the film ended, that Happy New Year is stupid, idiotic and senseless film. I couldn't believe that actors like Shahrukh Khan, Boman Irani will act like a crap and irritates with their senseless acting and comedy. And yes, important character in this movie that is sri sri sri Abhishek Bachchan, we all had a doubt but at last he proved that he is one brainless & untalented surviving only on the name of Amitab Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. Also I am surprised to see the amount of money which Red Chillies Entertainment Productions had made by putting out a product that is way lower than substandard.

But, what does this say about the audience?

In just few minutes I made my conclusion and realized that I was trying to put the wrong lid on the bottle. The film was just perfect in its place. I was the wrong audience for it. The film is for Shahrukh Khan and Farah Khan fans; they want to see him doing stupid comedies, taking revenge on villain, beat up the bad men, romance the heroine, sounding his vibrant voice unnecessarily and have emotional encounters with other character actors.

 According to me Happy New Year is Shahrukh Khan and Shahrukh Khan is Happy New Year.

There is no room for a screenplay writer, a story writer or a dialogue writer in the entire project. No one would care about whether Shahrukh’s dialogue made sense, as long as it was said in a characteristic Shahrukh type of way. The film plays out like a spoof from the get go, a gigantic lark where nothing is taken seriously. No one would care about the twists and turns the story would take (there is no story line, to begin with!) as long as Shahrukh was in it. And, no one would care about the authenticity of the plot because Shahrukh was the only reality!

Of course, not to forget the ever important presence of item girl “Deepika Padukone”. She don’t look like heroine, she was like full time item dancer in this film, so that Shahrukh can take a break from his fights and revenge plan to dance/romance with her.

Happy New Year is a tight slap across the faces of those Bollywood film makers who claimed that Indian audiences are mature enough to accept and adore intelligent movies with a well-thought out story line and decent dialogues. Also I am stunned, how Sir. Amitabh allowed these idiots to enter “Kaun Banega Crorepati” to promote their film. Even in that show, they were acting and performing like an immature people. Being a super star of Indian Cinemas, Shahrukh should have been thought twice before taking up this project. He has done such a great acting with a great story line in the movies like Chak de India, Swades, Baazigar but here all his achievements, creative ideas has been wiped out and shows how useless actor he is. I respect Boman Irani and his enormous acting talent, but here he failed to impress audience. Even he shouldn't have accepted this project.

  

Recently I saw some movies like Filmistaan, PK, Baby and few Tamil movies which are so adorable and had something special and new in it. These movies are so intelligent, entertaining and directors were success to reach the audience expectations. Seriously, Farah Khan and her brother Sajid Khan should stop doing crap movies and start working as assistant directors under film personalities like Farhan Akhtar, Rajkumar Hirani and few new Tamil Directors who are directing such an excellent movies these days. From last 1 year, I have seen more than 20 Tamil movies and become a big fan of that industry. 90% of movies are excellent, new directors, actors and story writers are encouraged to prove their talent. Only drawback with Tamil cinemas is looks and personality, in which they are not able to compete with Bollywood but in talent and making, they are better than Bollywood.  

So finally this Happy New Year film is a clear indication of what the audiences want. I feel I literally wasted my valuable 2 and half-hours time on “HNY”. In an era where audiences rule and filmmakers want to give them what they want, most of the money in the industry will surely go into making such films in the future.

I might be a prude, bordering on being a snob. Well, then that is who I am.

Here’s a call for attention to our minority community of avid film watchers – we need intelligent and entertaining films!

Christmas In Summer and Other Reasons Why It’s Great To Live In Australia

This morning, on my way to work, I realized once more how much I am in love with this country. Unexpectedly, the M91 to Punchbowl, was not just operating as an ordinary M91. It was a "CHRISTMAS BUS". Beautifully decorated with Christmas garlands, a Christmas tree and baubles. And although I dislike comparing, the first thing that came into my mind was: “We would never have this in India.” Isn't that sad? Just to watch people getting on the bus on every stop, smiling, laughing and wishing the bus driver a Merry Christmas made me feel incredible happy and thankful.

And then I thought about a lot of other things that make Australia worthwhile place to live. Here are just a few, but my favorite out of many reasons why Australia is the "Lucky Country"

CHRISTMAS BBQ

There is nothing better than a sunny Christmas Day and having a Veg BBQ on the beach! Bring on the vegetables, corns, paneer and mushrooms and take the Esky down to the beach for an Aussie Christmas Day with friends and family. I have to say, I am still not sure about decorating Christmas trees when there are plenty of palm trees available. The traditional fir belongs to the snow and somehow looks lost in between all those tropical palm trees. Also new for most Indians is the feeling of wearing a Santa hat combined with shorts and thongs. Amazing.

WONDERFUL WEATHER FOR AUSTRALIANS

There is a reason why most Australia’s population lives on the coast: mild weather pretty much all-year round. If anyone like surfing or going to the beach, then they can able to do it as much as they want to. Or go running. Or kayaking. Or biking. Or whatever they want, and not required to cover up as much (and as many layers) as we would need to wear in the Indian/European winter. But most of us Indians, dont love this summer due to high humid during peak afternoon till 6 pm. We sweat a lot. 

BEAUTIFUL BEACHES

Australia has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. White sand, pristine water, good surf is what you will get in a lot of places all around the country. Not surprising that Australia has claimed the “beach culture” as its own. Surf labels, sports, music and lifestyles revolve around the beaches of OZ. Even snorkeling on beaches like Shelly alongside a big city like Sydney, we can see amazing fish. Not to mention the Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem.

FERRY EXPERIENCE

For 155 years, the Ferry has been the classic Sydney adventure. Today, Ferry journeys of discovery are made by Sydney Ferry. Indeed, no trip to Sydney would be complete without clambering aboard one of the yellow ferries that ply their trade much as they have for the past century-and-a-half. More that 14 million people cross Sydney Harbor by Ferry every year, chugging out from the main hub of Circular Quay to head west up the Parramatta river, north on the legendary voyage to Manly or east to Watson Bay. It's a well-known fact that when Sydneysiders want to drink and dine in Balmain, shop in Double Bay, sightsee at Toronga Zoo or camp convict-style at Cockatoo Island, Ferry is the only way to fly. 

All up, there are 28 Sydney ferries connecting Sydneysiders with 29 Ferry wharves across 37km of Harbour. All offer spectacular views and plenty of room on deck to soak up what is arguably the cheapest, coolest and most quintessential Sydney experience of all.

PARRAMATTA MY HOME

Sydney’s greater west is the fastest growing area in all Australia. And little wonder – Parramatta is a thriving maelstrom of eat streets, art galleries, theatres and band venues, old and new bars and, increasingly, major festivals drawing huge crowds. We can see most of Indians prefer living in this suburb. I too live in this suburb.  

THE DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE

Does anybody know that there are more kangaroos than humans in Australia? Isn’t that gorgeous? There are so many cute Aussie Animals. But my favourite one is the wombat and Koala. They are damn cute and chubby. One important thing to mention that here in Australia people eat Kangaroo. So if you are not a vegetarian, then you’ll probably love a kangaroo burger.

Australia is paradise for every outdoor person. Everywhere we go there is another beautiful place to see and explore.

THONGS

Pretty much "ALL YEAR LONG". My feet are loving it. Casualness is central to Australia’s sense of national identity and the thong is a symbol of that. 

So, unless we hate sunshine, sand and lovely people, Australia is a pretty good choice for a place to live. 

Advice to a new Bride and Groom

Just like two hands are required for clapping, a marriage, too, is unlikely to succeed with the efforts of one partner alone.

To all the readers, today I would like to give some advice for newly married couples to brighten their life after marriage. ‘Getting married is not the achievement; getting along together with each other after marriage is the real achievement.’ This statement repeatedly echoes in my mind as I observe the rising divorce rate/bride suicide rate in our Indian society. Of course, this is becoming an issue in all societies around the world.

When I go to any wedding, I often have an itching desire to have a chat with the bride & groom before the marriage ceremony and would like to give them my two cents on their future journey.

On that note, if I were to have my wish for a chat with the groom before the marriage, the following are some of the issues I would address.

1. First resolve your issues before marriage:

If you have disagreements with your future wife on issues such as mode of apparel, habits, her choice of working or not working, higher education in the future, supporting her family after she gets married and such, resolve these before get married.

Please don’t marry someone with obvious differences with your lifestyle or religious preferences on the pathetic urge that ‘I will change her once I get married’. That is the cruellest thing you can do. It is nothing short of entering a blessed relationship under false premises.

Today, it is acceptable that the boy and girl talk before they get married.

So talk about these important issues in these critical meetings rather than each other’s favourite eatery, colour or dress design. Put your cards on the table and if she can accept them, go ahead. If you sense poor compatibility, back out. A few days of hurt are better than a lifetime of regrets, fights and grievances.

2. Don’t take her for granted:

You are the single most vital reason she has left her family & her friends behind to start a whole new life with you. Do hold her hand through this very trying new period regardless of whether you are in a joint or single family setting. It is not her sole responsibility to kindly hold up the sign that reads ‘compromise’. Both of you have to hold it up together, otherwise it won’t stay up for long.

She has married you, not sold herself into slavery for life.

 3. Let the newly-married mood swings go by:

Please give her a break, as she need time to settle into her new role as a wife, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, or granddaughter-in-law. You might get impatient with her sometimes, but be understanding.

You will be very comfortable in your home with people you’ve known all your life. But she needs time to adjust, especially if she has relocated to another country or city after the marriage.

4. Financial support:

The financial logistics is another sensitive issue after a marriage. How sensibly you handle this will affect how well you and your wife will be viewed by your family as the marriage moves along.  As a man, be strong financially and get settled before marriage but never depend on your wife earnings. If your wife is working then, let her make for herself without having any financial pressure.. 

The best thing would be to brief your girl on your financial status before you get married and discuss on money management. So make sure that she understands you well financially before she gets married.

5. Don’t try to change her:

Please remember that the word ‘adjust’ is neither synonymous nor interchangeable with the word ‘change’. Adjustment is a process of give and take.

Trying to ‘change’ each other takes the game nowhere. Honest and sincere attempts at ‘adjustment’ will create compatibility over time. Inflexible rules and harsh attempts at ‘changing’ will only raise inflexibility, dislike, and anger of each other as individuals.

6. Her place is not “under your shoe”:

Girls are no longer the pitiable, submissive, grovelling creatures they used to be. In behaving like an ogre, there are greater chances of you losing your respect and dignity, and getting the marriage contract smacked in your hand than getting the wife ‘under control’.

Please be a gentleman and seek calm, dignified resolutions that will go towards a stronger, loving bond. If the new bride is willing to go the extra mile to ensure decades of a happy marriage together, there is no reason why you shouldn't either.

Though, I have a similar desire to chat with the bride, here is an idea of the discussion I would have:

1. Try not to be too quick to judge your new family

Enter your new life and house with your senses tuned into ‘observation’ mode. When hiking up a mountain, you have to judge the stability of the ground and the rocks before you attempt to put your foot on to them to hoist yourself higher – the same goes for marriage too! Keep an open heart and mind.

2. Remember that you have married a human being who is as much of a mature individual as you are

He is not a piece of clay so please don’t enter the marriage thinking you can command him to your liking- because you can’t!  Both of you have to adjust to each other’s ways and respect each other’s requirement for space. Don’t attempt to force him to act like you want him to act. Compatibility is must and should require in the relationship

3. The girls in our society do not marry a man, they marry a clan

Even if you are not part of a joint family system, your hubby was not picked from a tree and is now yours to enjoy alone. He is a major part of his family, and you are the new addition. Extend your ‘observation’ mode to the other members of the family as well. There are many things you will like about someone, yet there will be many things you will dislike. Until, you find sociable ways to deal with unsavoury situations, it would be advisable to keep own opinions to yourself.

4. It might seem like the only thing to do at times but try not to tell on your in-laws to your husband

Being a new arrival, you are being judged as closely by others as you are judging them. Your husband has lived with his family for decades and you cannot win his heart by creating cracks, intentionally or unintentionally between family members.

If you do, it will lower your respect in his eyes and in the eyes of the others. However, if there are serious issues, look for a calm yet dignified manner of resolution such as, politely ask the contending party about the issues they have with you rather than gossiping to your hubby about them and making matters worse.

 5. You will gain more respect over time by allowing time to take its course while dealing with a lot of issues

For instance, I found this to be true in matters related to the kitchen. Every woman has her own way of running a kitchen. Let the in-laws take the lead, don’t enforce your ways. Invariably over time, they will start allowing you to take the lead too. Yes, things are bound to get out of hand sometimes because all humans are made differently.

Again, try to find a more dignified mode of resolution.

6. Yes, it is hard to not visit your parents frequently in the early days of the marriage but do try to keep your make visits limited at this time

In addition to making it harder for you to adjust into the new environment, it is also likely to give your in-laws and your husband the impression that you are unhappy in your new house.

Think about it, what man would like to feel that his new wife should like his house and family!

7. Try not to talk too much or too excessively

In other words ‘brag’, about your father’s high post, your mother’s jewellery, your bhabi’s great house or your brother’s sports bike. Even if you don’t intend to, you will be unconsciously putting down your husband and his family. So please be cautious on this.

8. Don’t get into the competition mode with the female in laws at all

You are not there to win a competition; you are there to make this new union work by winning hearts and developing a level of compatibility with your husband. Yes, some men are very difficult to live with but it will only take more effort on your part to make this wheel run smoothly.

Last but not least, please remember that men are very, very different creatures. Their minds and hearts function according to the rules of an entirely different planet!

It is your job to find out where exactly their planet is and then build a pathway for the two of you to shuttle happily between these two planets.

Your marriage is like travelling in boat that will have a stronger & happier journey with two oarsmen, not one. Also never take any harsh decision like committing suicide/killing partner. So go pick up that paddle and have a safe journey!