My Opinion

This time again there were chants at Lords, the Mecca of cricket, however they were different .It was “Mithali…Mithali…Mithali” all the way.

Mithali Raj, the captain of Indian women’s cricket team lead from the front throughout the world cup,being the highest rungetter.Her captaincy was spot on,making the right bowling changes bringing on Jhulan Goswami when Taylor and Sciver were stitching a threatening partnership for England in the finals.She did show leadership of backing her players when they were out of form unlike some other captain’s in recent times.

Yes India did lose,and it was heartbreaking,but Mithali Raj’s Team had done their job. They have changed the course of Women’s cricket in India.Women’s cricket will never be the same again.

Mithali Raj,the Arjuna Ranatunga,of Indian cricket may not play in another world cup but she has definitely rewritten history.

I think women’s IPL would add a great proposition to take women’s cricket forward.

And yes the chants like “Mithali…Mithali…Mithali” will grow in the days to come.

Sunday, 16 July 2017

Women Empowerment: Myth vs Reality

सत्यम् ब्रूयात् प्रियम् ब्रूयात् न ब्रूयात् सत्यमप्रियम् |

प्रियम् नानृतं ब्रूयात् एष धर्मः सनातनः ||

satyam bruyat priyam bruyat na bruyat satyam apriyam

priyam ca nanrutam bruyat esha dharmah sanatanah

Speak truth in such a way that it should be pleasing to others. Never speak truth, which is unpleasant to others. Never speak untruth, which might be pleasant. This is the path of eternal morality, sanatana dharma.

Real empowerment happens only by two ways

1.Devotion

2.Sense of Service

It is a well considered myth that only working women are more empowered than housewife’s.

A women who takes care of her husband and children with devotion are really more empowered to make correct decisions than a women who may be a chairperson of any organization but works without any devotion.

Real power does not come through authority,it comes through service.

Empowerment as per Hindu religious texts is not gained by holding any authorized position,it happens by sense of service that one offers.

In ancient India, even now in some places,it is the man who occupies the head of the family position and the women is used to listening to him,this has often been misconstructed as slavery by the western historians who did come to India.Even in this so called bondage of the wife,it was received by her with an unsaid , untold joy and love,though the so called intellectuals of today have called it patriarchical, antiwomen and antisocial.

India has never been antiwomen since ancient ages.

It always respected women.Mathrudevobhava - Treat your mother as god.This has been well reflected in the religious preaching’s of great saints like Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramhamsa and Sankaracharya. Though the western culture taught otherwise.

“Women need to be treated as children and protected” – this is what the Manusmriti, an ancient Hindu text states.

Today this is often misrepresented as lack of freedom,bondage,slavery by the so called intellectual,modern,westernized,liberal women activists.

P.S.- I am not a Hindu extremist.

Sunday, 11 June 2017

Is Artificial Intelligence going to make humans redundant?

“Don’t let the noise knock you off course.Don’t get caught up in the trivial aspects of life.Don’t listen to trolls and don’t become one.Measure impact in humanity not in the likes,but the lives you touch and people you serve”-Tim Cook to MIT graduates.

There is a growing thought that AI is going to do things much better, much quicker and more efficient than human beings. This they say would make humans redundant and automation would lead to job losses.

I believe we are losing the big picture and getting lost in the noise or herd mentality. Let’s not worry about job losses, let’s use technology (AI) for solving problems that humans have been unsuccessfully trying to solve.

Remedy for cancer, alzheimer’s, how to eliminate poverty, skill-mapping (skills that would be relevant and useful in 2040).

How to use technology to solve problems facing agriculture,how to prevent farmer suicides,irrigation vows,crop pattern and weather forecasting.

Cost effective solutions to portable water, purify saline water and make clean drinking water available to all. Automation for housing vows.Is 3D printing the answer?

Solving day to day problems like traffic vows, parking issues, and maybe even obesity.

Let’s not get lost in the noise that how many jobs are going to get lost by automation or technology.
Let’s not worry about how technology will make humans redundant
Let’s not worry about news channels and the media speaking of job losses, they speak stupidity, but then that's their job.

Let’s use it to create useful solutions where humans have not found a solution yet.

Friday, 2 June 2017

Anil Kumble - The Legend

619 Test wickets, 337 ODI wickets, 57 Twenty20 wickets

"That is the way I get most of my wickets. Yeah, it was very special to get there."-Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble was one of the most underrated cricketers of the country during his playing days.When in the team,he was never given his due,compared to a Sachin or a Saurav,especially seeing that he is the highest wicket taker in Indian Test history by a long margin,much more than a Kapil Dev, or a Bishen Singh Bedi. His exploits are no less than that of a maestro Sachin Tendulkar.

Also cricket never got Anil Kumble as the captain of Indian Team,which I believe he richly deserved and would have done a lot of good for Indian Cricket.

So when he was appointed the Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team I thought maybe ,the cricketer has finally got his due,but alas not everything is as green as it appears.

Everything seemed alright,be it his insistence on YOGA sessions or him advocating John Wright’s philosophy of taking the backseat,everything seemed to be falling in the right place for Indian Cricket.

They say performance is the criteria ,for selection,I do not know what criteria did Anil Kumble have to show either in his playing days (when he was frequently criticized by the media for not being a big turner of the ball. He did respond saying “My job is to take wickets not turn the ball.”) or during his brief but effective coaching stint.

Whether it is his squabbles with Virat Kolhi or the BCCI,we have again lost the services of a valuable human being and a patriotic team player.

Friday, 26 May 2017

Mumbai Meri Jaan – Always lending a helping hand.

All they know is that you are trying to get to the city of gold and that is enough. Come on board, they say.We will adjust.-Suketu Mehta

Mumbai is correctly described as a city of dreams and a city that never sleeps.Mumbai’s vast expansiveness, the magnanimity and generosity with which it accepts all caste ,creed,religion,region rich,poor,educated ,illiterate is simple astounding.Nowhere in the world would so many people with such diversity and cultural differences coexist and live together in harmony. Mumbai embraces people wholeheartedly who are ready to work hard and honest to their consciousness.

Mumbai exemplary behavior is best symbolized by its suburban local trains.It runs at the same pace,it runs at the same times, it is crowded as ever yet a person wanting to reach a destination is lend a helping hand,even if it is an overcrowded 6:00 pm local from Dadar to Kalyan.

It makes space for each one even when there is absolutely no space.It accepts all irrespective of he being an Obama’s son,or a small roadside vada pav vendor.It treats everyone with respect whether he is from Harvard or from a local Kendriya Vidyalaya.It distinguishes no one whether he is a Malayali,Punjabi,a Christian or a Sikh.

It accommodates people from all walks of life housewife’s, senior citizens, working professionals,business tycoons, politicians,cricketers,filmmakers and journalists.

It is the single most unifying factor maybe even bigger then cricket.

Sunday, 7 May 2017

Hellish World

Those that have an attitude of service towards others are the beauty of society. - Mata Amritanandamayi Devi

Everyone here comes and recites ”Amma Amma Amma”
Some glossy,some through heartfelt devotion.

Though each one here claims to be a devotee.

Many smile, some from within,many a plastic
Some cry instantaneously in her arms,relieving their burden.

Though each one here claims to be a devotee.

Few sensible,innumerable fools
Some with deep pain,some artificial
some fake tears, all find a way in.

Though each one here claims to be a devotee.

Some come in search of happiness,some to bury their sorrow.

Few are compassionate here,many egoistic.

Though each one here claims to be a devotee.

Some praise,some hurl abuses,some shed tears,some smile
Many are selfless,few selfish.
Though the mantra here seems to be DONATIONS, DONATIONS and more DONATIONS.

Though each one here claims to be a devotee.

She consoles each one,
whether rich or poor,
knowledgable or ignorant,
whether selfish or selfless
with same ounce of love and compassion.

For her,each one is her devotee ,her child.