Capt. Shaji Kumar

Salman gets bail is such a big news that all the channels are vying with each other…we wil 5 medals in CWG is stale and not worth covering. In a way it is right, what is CWG after all…it is just a celebration that we were “ruled” by the British at one time, so we celebrate slavery…and of course that is really not worth writing home about, but then does that make Salman a “Hero”…he was indeed accorded an “Hero’s” welcome after returning home having spent two restless nights in Jail. Pak cricketers have now been chosen as Brand Ambassadors, what with all other forms of endorsements not really coming their way…and certainly no inclusion in IPL…sour grapes really…the timing of the outbursts of professed patriotism can maybe a way to get recognised…as does Rahul with his new found “spiritualism” with endless visits to the Temples…Rahul Gandhi does not want to be equated with animals…but aren’t we all even though we differentiate outselves by wearing clothes, which by the way the Telugu Actress decided to shed in protest to the casting couch, and of course CBSE will always help you if you have the right friends by leaking the “exam” papers. And if that is not the cause for worry, the yearning to flee your own Country has received a setback by the US deciding to impose restriction on how many can bolt…

I wonder what would have been the status if Aryabhatt had not invented “0”…probably scams would have stopped at 9…a single digit scam is so much easier to fathom than one with the “crazy” zeroes. I almost always lose count…but then my economics and mathematics  was always a weak point. My heart cries out to the section of students who somehow manage to cram and scrape through the Board Exams and celebrate the end of the dreaded draconian “board examination”. And when you get dragged into giving a re-test all over again it surely is a testing time. Some may even have disposed of their books, celebrating “good riddance” and frolicking around. Throw the “unwanted” as far as possible. How are they going to survive this ultimate “test” of not only their feeble knowledge, but also of their resolve and effort to take up the cudgels once more.

We have changed so many things, adapting and making them more relevant keeping with the times, but somehow in India we have kept the knowledge tightly closeted in the garb of “annual” examinations. The experiment with Continuous Evaluation was too radical for acceptance? Why should we not emphasise on learning and understanding; what we learn in context of our everyday life. Many School & College “dropouts” who went on to establish Large Corporations have proved their point time and again. I have always been abhorrent of this methodology of imparting knowledge. There are more than one thing which I understand better now when experienced practicing, which got lost in my attempt to cram the answer just for reproduction on the exam paper!!! Reproducing Pascal’s Law as his narrative definition was more important than trying to understand what Pascal actually meant. As an opportunity, this surely is a huge one for Modi. Imagine the “grateful” potential voters who like a mango tree would mature to bear fruits by the time he is fighting for this third term in Office (given the statistical percentages of India’s Youth brigade), to take the bull of examination by its horn and break the Education System…making it more potent and viable. It would be killing two birds with one stone, the perpetrators of this Examination Paper Leak Industry would be crushed once and for all, and also the youth who have to take on the World in the near future, would turn out to be more “knowledgeable”, it is just a mann ki baat…

Everyone is talking about how Dinesh Karthik stole the thunder and left the Bangladesh Team exasperated by thwarting their quest to “win” a tournament. I must say that every Sportsman has a flashy day if he/she is playing and given an opportunity. I don’t follow Cricket so ardently now after the match-fixing scam, not knowing whether what I am watching is just wasting my time watching what has already been “fixed”. Dhoni is and has proven himself time and again that he is a “super cool” finisher, whereas Dinesh fails to match up by any yardstick. There have been more than one instance (the matches that I have watched) in the past when this Karthik fellow did have the opportunity but squandered it away by not grabbing it. Yes, I strongly believe that he is no match to MSD and it would not be correct to compare him. A great player exemplifies himself by taking the bull by its horn especially in pressure situations and MSD has done it on numerous occasions. Dinesh is just an ordinary cricketer who had a good day.

All said and done, the “action” that Cricket Australia has decided to take against Steve Smith & David Warner (their career is almost sealed as the Cricket would have moved on in one years time) should be a lesson for us; for whom such a drastic action would most certainly be unthinkable. Imagine if Virat is at any point of time is found to be guilty of any such misadventure, would he be banned for this long…or would we have banned the God of Cricket, even though his name did figure in one of the incidents where it was later clarified that he was merely cleaning the seam and not tampering the ball…we just would not have the balls to do it…the personalities over-shadow the game here in India. Both Steve and Warner are the backbone of the present Australian Team, but what the hell…sportsmanship to the fore. The way to go…

Rahul Gandhi desperately wants to be the PM and he is leaving no stone unturned in trying to achieve this quest, like a adamant child who is creating a ruckus for a toy…Mamta Banerjee is in Delhi to forge an alliance which is supposedly to be bereft of the Congress, intended to keep BJP & Congress out of power and maybe make her the contender for the coveted chair. The only agenda that these politicians have today is to “play politics”. And, if they somehow succeed in their agenda, then what? Infighting for the seat of the Prime Minister. It is absolutely ridiculous. Everyone wants to fight for the trophy-the power to the PM’s Chair. But does anyone deserve it. Are we the voters – the choosers or the beggars. At the mercy of how the politicians try to carve a niche for themselves. I am sure no one has the good of the Country in their hearts. It is all vendetta and pride and AMBITION.

The Government is never held accountable in the true sense for its “performance”. The Ruling Party can levy “extra” cess and additional taxes at will, but the expenditure book of Accounts is never shared. For instance an education cess has been levied for a long time and all the “tax payers” have been religiously paying it (no choice), but whether the money has been put to its end use. The other day the Punjab Finance Minister, proposed the implementation of a monthly tax of ₹200. Where does this “crowd Funding” go? If any Venture Capital Fund invests in a business, they keep a close watch in ensuring that the money they have lent is put to the right use and in turn the VC also has a clear, well defined “exit” strategy/plan. In the case of the state it is always a one way ticket. A tax is mooted and the two tier House of Representatives approve it and the Funding begins. Where is the end use accountability? Five years get over and each one of them is out on the streets garnering “votes” to continue their “good work”. In fact the manifesto should have the balance sheets and the Profit & Loss Account. How much money was collected in the name of Development and what has come out of it. I wonder why as in the case of Businesses, should we not have the Balance Sheets and Annual Returns filed and uploaded on Registrar of Government for all to see. Why is the Government not asked to prepare a Profit & Loss Account? Budget is just a one way communication on which the opposition will make some noise or even create a ruckus and not participate in the discussion by boycotting parliament and the Incumbent Government will somehow pass the Budget and implement. It does not matter what the citizen wants, it is what the politicians want and the rising decibels is becoming quite deafening and incomprehensible…

Why did the Communism lose its relevance in India? It is rather pitiable to see how Karat & Yechury are trying to “flap and struggle” so as to keep themselves afloat and be of some relevance. Is anyone hearing? Karat want to hang on and tug on to the dhoti tail of Congress. Where does that leave their so called “communist ideology”. If only the Left had learned to move with the times and emulated what China or Russia did. Modernise the theory of Karl Marx & Lenin. When I visit Kerala, I see how the left is still trying to wage a losing battle. What is the meaning of “Inquilab”, I simply have no idea. Will it lay food on the table. If only the leadership of the Left had modernised their ideology to stay relevant. Like so many objective things like the Cassette Player, VCR, even CD’s/DVD’d the ideologies of the Left have been left rotting and their proponents have not bothered to refurbish it. Till competition started breathing down the back of the Indian Industry, we had to contend with Different Marks of the yesteryear “Ambassador” where the only significant change used to be the Mark I or Mark 2 etc with everything else remaining the same. Ambassador was finally laid to rest a couple of years back. I am sure there must me more to it that what I can in my own feeble mind see…

I WONDER…

Jayalalitha died may her soul RIP, V. K. Sasikala is in Jail, albeit for a short duration, her Husband Natarajan has recently died…I wonder what will happen to the billions that the trio had amassed over the period when they had the wherewithal to make it so happen. All this after their now seemingly futile attempt to appease the Gods in Guruvayoor, Tirupati etc etc. What of the millions that were “donated”, alas seems to have been all in vain!!! Does God ever listen to the cries of the people…or is it like Nietzsche professed that God is Dead…I didn’t say it, Nietzsche did so blame him. And if that were true, then why didn’t someone warn these poor fellas. They could surely have saved a substantial part of their fortune which is now depleted from their stock. Whoever it might be who would use it eventually…I wonder.

I wonder, how all of a sudden the Political parties have started becoming so vociferous just about everything. As soon as the dates for the exams draw near, you start looking for the books to start preparing. Where did they vanish for the last three years? Merry making in the true Roman spirit…all this seems so very disgustingly hypocritical. But then that is the way we are made, enjoy it nevertheless because of the inevitability…