Why India played badly in World Cup? Part 2

Here are more theories on why Indian cricket team made an early exit from World Cup.

(A)

(B)

2 people responsible for India's WC exit are:

Indira Gandhi (for creating Bangladesh)

Hanuman ( for not Destroying Sri lanka fully)

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People have been coming up with a lot of jokes at the expense of the Indian cricket team. I laugh at them too because they are simply jokes. Its not funny at all however, when fans vent out their anger on the cricketers' families and homes. Tom Alter in his interview given to Express Newsline says that he is waiting for just one cricket star to apologize. But why?

Don't we all go through some periods in our careers when we aren't able to deliver? How many politicians have ever expressed regret for not having kept their promises? Movies of big stars turn out to be terrible and they never say sorry to the public!

Its not remorse but improvement that one should demand.

Shekhar Gupta has expressed my sentiments (in his article Mourning? Or Just Kidding) when he says "we should not behave as if this is the end of Indian cricket".

Dreamland express

I caught a ride on the Dreamland Express last night

I was sailing on an ocean of blue

And right there by my side, much to my surprise, was you

I said, come over here baby, let me look in your eyes

Let me see the very heart of you

And I couldn't believe it, to conceive that my dream would come true

Cause you said, hey there sweet daddy, everything is alright

For miles there's not a telephone line

There's not a soul to disturb us dont be nervous

Just come and be mine

You said, let me be the end of your rainbow

Let me be the stars up above

Let me be the one that you long for darling

Let me be the one that you love, oh, oh

Let me be the one that you love

And now it's four in the mornin', Honey I can't sleep

I can't seem to get you out of my mind

I keep tossin' and turnin', yearnin' for the sun to shine

I'd like to send you a ticket on the Dreamland Express

And take you far away with me

I've got a vision of heaven and you livin' there with me

Let me be the end of your rainbow

Let me be the stars up above

Let me be the one that you dream of baby

Let me be the one that you love, oh, oh

Let me be the one that you love

These are the lyrics of the song "Dreamland express" by John Denver. A friend of mine sent me its audio file a couple of years. The moment I heard it I fell in love... with the song. And its been my favourite since then. I specially love the parts that I have highlighted in red. :D

Bus kya?

Sometimes its really difficult getting a bus from NCL to my home. Normally 4-5 buses come one after the other. Wrong timing can result in a waiting period of half an hour easily. Like it happened today. On such occasions I end up humming songs with the theme of intezaar and yaad running through them. Check these out:

Inteha ho gayi intezaar ki

Aayi na kuch khabar mere yaar ki

Hai humein yeh yakin

Bewafa woh nahi

Phir wajah kya hui

Intezaar ki...

Yaad kiya dil ne kahan ho tum

Jhoomti bahaar hai kahan ho tum

Pyar se pukaar lo jahan ho tum...

Yaad aa rahi hai

Teri yaad aa rahi hai

Yaad aane se tere jaane se

Jaan jaa rahi hai...

Jab geet baharon ne gaaye

Tum yaad aaye

Jab mehke shaamon ke saaye

Tum yaad aaye...

Tumhe yaad karte karte

Jaayegi umr saari

Tum le gaye ho apne

Sang neend bhi hamari...

Thankfully the last one finally succeeded in getting me a bus this evening. :)

Beautiful dialogue

I am writing here this amazing dialogue, from the movie End of the Spear, that I found on someone's blog

Nate Saint: Do you know how far away the sun is?

Young Steve Saint: 93 million miles.

Nate Saint: Do you know that that’s just a fraction of how much I love you?

Why India played badly in World Cup?

When it comes to cricket and especially the World Cup matches I become very superstitous. If I feel that when I sit in a particular position and our team is batting well then I'd not budge from my place until the end. Or if I find that in a series that I am not following on tv we are winning then I continue not watching the games in the hope that our winning streak doesn't end.

This time I tried all kinds of combinations but nothing to seemed to favour India in the World Cup. And here is my theory.

In a recently released film Hatrick one of the story tracks is of a young couple. The heroine Rimi Sen turns into a huge Dhoni fan. Irritated by her craziness Kunal Kapoor, who plays her husband, curses the Indian team... wanting India to lose every match and Dhoni to get out at zero every time.

And that practically has been happening.

We lost badly to both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Noone considers the win against Bermuda a victory. Dhoni too hasn't been any good.

So instead of going after the cricketers' families we should chase Kunal Kapoor for acting (!!) so well that his prayers in the movie got answered in reality. Hehehe

Nice quotes!

Found these quotes in a forward sent by a friend. Liked them so much that I am putting them here.

Never walk on the travelled path, because it only leads you to where others have been.
-Graham Bell

Time is very slow for those who wait
Very fast for those who are scared
Very long for those who lament
Very short for those who celeberate
But, for those who love, time is eternity
-William Shakespeare

(I must be definitely among the scared ones because my constant grudge these days is that time is flying. :p)

Many people lose the small joys in the hope of big happiness.
-Pearl S. Buck

Life can be understood only looking behind, but can be lived only looking ahead.
-Soren Kierkegaard

Why repeat the old errors if there are so many new errors to commit.
-Burtrend Russel

There are people who speak to us and we do not listen to them
There are people who hurt us and they do not leave a scar
And there are people who simply appear in our lives and mark us forever
-Cecilia Meireles

Love is the best music in the score of life. Without it one would be out of tune in this emmense choir of humanity.
-Roque Schnieder

Love me when I least deserve it, because it is then when I need it the most.
-Chinese proverb

Poem-revisited and revised

For my 50th blog I had written one poem (see portion below the line) as an ode to friendship. In view of some comments I've rewritten it and hopefully its a better attempt. :-)

I was strolling alone down a road
When someone came and started walking with me
Turning the long distance into a beautiful journey

I was sitting quietly by myself
When someone came and sat next to me
Not anymore I found spending time a difficulty

I was feeling sad one day
When someone came and gave me what I most needed
A big bear hug and a warm smile along with it

I was on seventh heaven another time
When someone came and listened to my secret
Promising forever in the heart to keep it

"Who is this I always find beside me?" I asked Him
Came back the answer "A True Friend"

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This is my 50th post on my blog!!! So I decided to make it special by penning a few lines for all those special people in my life.... my friends. :)

Here goes:

I was quiet and I was shy
My friends came along and asked me why
They made me talk and heard what I had to say
Where would I have been without them today?

I was sitting all alone amidst strangers
My friends came along and everything became familiar
They made me laugh and teased me
Where would I have been without their company?

I was over the moon with exultation
My friends came along and joined in the jubilation
They thumped my back and celeberated my triumph
Where would I have been without their enthusiasm?

I was walking down a road heavy burdened
My friends came along and my troubles lessened
They gave me strength and gave me comfort
Nowhere would I be without their support

Long lost memories

Long lost memories of a bygone day
Don't you come haunting me, don't you come this way
Long lost memories of an erstwhile night
Don't you come haunting me when befalls the twilight

Long lost memories of many hours spent
Don't you come haunting me, coz' then I may repent
Long lost memories of those moments when we were alone
Don't you come haunting me, when I am on my own

Long lost memories of those silent exchanges
Don't you come haunting me, reminding me the hold of those quiet gazes
Long lost memories of those special words once said
Don't you come haunting me, don't make me wish they'd remained unsaid

Long lost memories of the dreams envisioned
Don't you come haunting me, and professing they were simply illusions
Long lost memories of a joyous heart
Don't you coming haunting me, now that its torn apart

Long lost memories of when I could make a claim
Don't you come haunting me, forever my soul to maim
Long lost memories of the one who deserted
Don't you come haunting me, you too leave me just as he departed

Drug captives

On Sunday 280 youngsters at a rave party organized at Sinhagad were arrested by the Pune police for when caught taking drugs. The drugs seized (as reported in TOI, 5th March) from the spot were phenylfine hydrochloride, marijuana and charas. Those arrested include students, IT professionals and air hostesses. Some of them claim that they had gone to the party because of their love for trance music which was to be played there. These are also the people who are pleading innocence on the pretext that they didn't know who was organizing the party. Why should they have gone there then?

It is shocking to find parents not believing their children having done anything wrong inspite of all the evidence proving otherwise. TOI states that friends and family were found sending to those held inside the court. The seriousness of the incident hasn't even dawned on some of the captives who started singing, clapping and dancing once the judge left. What is still worse is seeing the young populace of Pune defending the offenders. On NDTV the reporters went around asking people what they thought of the incident. One boy who looked like he was still in college said that everyone does drugs at this age and so it is alright!! Then while a girl acknowledged that such parties are held in Pune, another one openly confessed to have consumed drugs!!

Everyday I get this impression that people are no longer bothered by the repercussions of their actions. When driving a car some are always in a hurry to overtake. When crossing the road they do exactly the opposite and literally walk in slow motion without looking to their left or right. Instead of wearing a helmet for protection they'd rather protest against it. Instead of enjoying holi the way it should with colours they prefer to go and get drunk and drugged.

This incident reminded me of a scene from the film Page 3 where a group of cops and journalists bust a similar party amidst a huge cry of complaints from kids who intoxicated are merrily revelling. It was such a different world from what I see every day. The Pune arrests have only confirmed its existence.

In a country where so many die of hunger it is sad to find those blessed with wealth wasting money on something which is only going to harm them. I pray that a few of these guys and girls if not all have a conscience pricking them to learn from this experience... to help keep drugs away from them forever.

I hate sad endings

Looks like Garfield too hates sad endings like me... but of a different kind. :))))

Angst against NCL

Yesterday I saw a skit which was performed during a cultural programme held at NCL. The skit was titled Munnabhai Chale NCL. On the lines of the Sanjay Dutt film Lage Raho Munnabhai, our Munnabhai decides to learn about the goings on at NCL in order to impress his sweetheart RJ Jhanvi. In doing so he along with Circuit unearths all that is wrong in NCL: the lax security at the gate of the scientific institution, the smelly bathrooms with water leaking like a shower, the unhappiness of a scientist at finding his junior winning the coveted Bhatnagar Award, the easy going attitude of the Safety Committee who are satisfied as long the experiments are being carried out while wearing lab coats and goggles, the frustation of a student on not being able to get his PhD degree even after putting many years of hard work, the disgruntled researcher at not being able to acquire the much needed chemicals for his work or getting them but not in enough quantities and finally his annoyance at the variety of applications forms to be filled and him being sent back and forth between the stores department and purchase section.

During my nearly three year experience at NCL I have found reasons different from the ones mentioned in the play for venting fire. The terrible food at the canteen has always been a cause of complaint. Then the poor accomodation facilities that are provided to the students. Even here its the PhD students who somehow manage to get a room in the hostel while the Project Assistants (PAs) are left to fend for themselves. They have to stay as Paying Guests (PGs) which is very expensive and considering the meagre salaries that we get its very hard to manage. For some life is still harder because they also have to take care of their families back home.

When a national level scientific institute is in such an appalling state what must be the condition of the not so well known organizations? How do you make students stay in India? Why should they not choose to go abroad? Almost all of my friends who are employed in India but not pursuing science earn within a month what we would be able to save in a year if we didn't spend one rupee of our salaries. And we at NCL work as hard as any of them.

Its very easy for scientists with their good pay packets to say that doing research is its own reward. Let them stay in a two room flat shared by six others for which a deposit of 40,000 rupees has to be paid even before you've started getting your first pay check of 8000 (which used to be 5000 for PAs until a year ago and even less before that). For some students even getting that amount is a long time away when there is no position available in the group they join and so for many months and on occasions even for a year have to go without any income as they are simply Guest Workers doing research out of their own will. Let the scientists also work 24x7 on industrial projects that don't even allow you to publish papers and which you can't include in your PhD thesis. Let them work in an uninviting lab with broken chairs and tables which can't be replaced with new ones because of the Director's orders not making it possible to do so until renovation begins. Let them eat the drab lunch at the canteen everyday. Let them after a day's hard work return to a room where you have to sleep on the floor and truly live out of a suitcase. Not only the PGs but those staying in the New Hostel face the last problem because there are no cupboards in any of the rooms!!

And lets see after facing all of this and much more how happy they feel every Monday morning about entering the gates of NCL.

What makes any field attractive is the satisfaction and money that it fetches. And currently doing science in India is not providing either of that.

Its not enough complaining to oneself. We students have to raise our voices if we want our grievances to be heard and addressed. A student body such as a Research Scholars' Forum has to be formed and every person doing research be he/she a PA, JRF, SRF, RA or a Guest Worker should be its member. Monthly or bi-monthly meetings can be held say in the auditorium where students can speak up or if the need be annonimity may even be maintained. Every meeting must be attended by the Director or Deputy Director, someone high up in the Administration and the Student Academic Committee. The actions taken in answer to the questions raised should be followed up in the successive meetings. Improvements in conditions at NCL and outside must be assessed on a regular basis.

I am sure lot more can be done. If any of my fellow NCL researchers are reading this and are in agreement with my views then we could jointly do something in this regard.

Someone has to take a stand.

Why look at others everytime? Why not the one starting it all be us?

What chemists want to know?

Here are some excerpts taken from an article that appeared in the journal Nature (volume 442, pages 500-502, 3 August 2006). The article talks about what questions are yet to be answered by chemists.

• Physicists do not shy away from promoting the big questions that drive their field — how the Universe began, say, or what governs the behaviour of space, time and matter over scales from the atomic to the cosmic. Biologists, too, are happy to point to Erwin Schrödinger's question 'What is life?', which they are attempting to answer by unravelling DNA and mapping out the structures and interactions of proteins. But what of the third basic science in the curriculum? To judge from the scant attention chemistry gets in the public media, you could be forgiven for thinking that it is a discipline whose time has passed, its grand puzzles all now answered. Does chemistry have any big questions left?

• The strongly synthetic character of chemistry sets it apart from the 'discovery' sciences such as physics, biology, astronomy and the Earth sciences. "Chemistry creates its object," as the French chemist Marcelin Berthelot wrote in 1860. Many chemists still see this creativity as one of the field's strengths. "It makes chemistry able to set goals of a type most other sciences cannot hope to attain," says Ron Breslow, an organic chemist at Columbia University in New York and a past president of the ACS.
  

• The downside of this focus on making stuff is that chemists can be portrayed as inveterate tinkerers — tweaking the molecular world to satisfy their curiosity, sometimes for fun and sometimes for profit. And it makes it especially hard to see where industrial chemistry ends and academic chemistry begins, because important practical challenges provide the motivation for much academic creativity.

• No one would deny the importance of applied and industrial chemistry. But if chemistry's questions aren't so much about what we can know but about what we can do, does that make it a form of engineering — a quest for particular solutions to particular problems?

• According to inorganic chemist John Meurig Thomas of the Royal Institution in London, it is in the nature of chemistry to be a science of particulars. One can identify general principles of chemical bonding, for example, but what often matters is how these are enacted and modified in specific molecules.

• "I take the view that most of what is interesting in science is now chemistry," Whitesides says. He argues that even some of the key questions in a field as apparently remote from chemistry as astronomy, such as 'How many Earth-like planets are there?' or 'What is on Saturn's moon Titan?' are fundamentally molecular ones.

• Only chemists know how truly difficult it is to engineer atoms and molecules — something that many other scientific disciplines rely on. If room-temperature superconductors or synthetic bacteria are ever created, it will not be physicists and biologists who make them. And if chemistry is chopped up and parcelled off to other disciplines, there will be no training ground for those who achieve such mastery over matter.

  It would be wrong, moreover, to suggest that the heart of chemistry — rational synthesis — lacks intellectual appeal. Some argue that, rather than trying to understand the world, chemists are attempting to understand all possible worlds. "Chemistry has a useful aspect, but that is not the basic science," says Breslow. "The basic science is clear once we realize that the limited examples of molecules and reactions that nature has supplied are a microdrop in an enormous bucket compared with the wonderful chemical world still to be created and examined."

• "There is no Holy Grail in chemistry," Hoffmann admits happily. "Occasionally some are held up for public view," he says, but they are just "gimmicky candidates for the chalice". He adds that in a fundamentally creative field, the satisfaction comes from the chase, not the catch. "My natural philosophical disposition is not to work on big questions," says Hoffmann. "I like working on many detailed small problems in this wonderful chemical garden, while keeping my eyes open for the connections."

The six big questions of the field that some of the leading experts came up with were:

How do we design molecules with specific functions and dynamics?

What is the chemical basis of the cell?

How do we make materials needed for the future, in energy, aerospace and medicine?

What is the chemical basis of thought and memory?

How did life on earth begin, and where and how it might begin on other worlds?

How can we explore all the possible permutations of all the elements?