Predictability.

I just read an article in today's Literary Review supplement of Hindu and liked as it ended - I seem to like lines especially at the end of articles

Anyone who is bold enough to finish this book should be conversant with the art of speed-reading – dropping lines, chunks of text, even whole chapters – because when you turn round the corner of a plot twist you’ll be met with yet another long street of predictable narration.

I had mentioned about my 'fast reading'. I dont remember leaving out whole chapters, but the point is plot-based novels like Hardy Boys or Sidney Sheldon can be read fast because there is no great loss in missing out words. Of course, if we take books like 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco or 'The Joke' by Milan Kundera, we HAVE to read it slowly to have full 'impact' of the words and feel of the writer.

Great, good-enough, all-in-all...

India has won over a 'depleted' Australia in a cricket match at Delhi. Eulogies on Dhoni, that had started from previous match, will continue. He might be a great 'captain' but I still havent got the feeling that he is a good wicket-keeper, in the first place. Kumar Sangakkara did talk about 'dilution' or lowering of standards in wicket-keeping. In India, I think we have not seen a good wicket-keeper since Kiran More and maybe as the Cricinfo talk suggested, role of wicket-keepers has reduced or changed. The critical point is that people or cricket boards had started feeling that it is not good enough to be a wicket keeper alone, probably because of Gilchrist's success. Then it later changed to 'good enough' wicket keeper and more importantly, 'all-in-all' wicket keeper (batsman who can keep wickets). I am not sure about other teams, but India started this '$crewed up' theory first of 'good enough' wicket-keeper. Sanjay Manjrekar doubled up as a wicket-keeper for some matches. Rahul Dravid could have his place in the team only if he could keep wickets. I dont think Dravid did a 'sacrifice' by keeping wickets. If he didnt agree, he would probably have to sit out. 'Wicket-keeper' changed to 'wicket-keeper batsman' and now to 'batsman wicket-keeper'.

On the other extreme, we have companies or people who want to be 'all-in-all', not thinking if they are competent enough. Music directors started singing long back, actors started producing long back, actors started directing long back. I remember Kamalhassan repeated the quote, maybe a decade back, in an interview published in Hindu, 'Specialization is for insects'. Even in Cricinfo round table discussion, it was agreed that Sobers was the best. The problem is that only few or handful of people are good enough to be 'all-in-all'. Sobers could get into a team by virtue of his batting ALONE or by his virtue of bowling ALONE. As Michael Holding said, there is no point in fiddling around with people who could do a little bit or this and little bit of that. Ian Chappell slammed the theory of someone who could get 20 runs, bowl 7 overs and save 5 runs on field :))

This is not a scenario in cricket alone. There is a slow change in mindset of people (rather 'market') that 'high quality' will be costly and therefore 'good enough' is good enough. I remember reading in HBR some years back about US companies vying for China's good-enough market. My brother-in-law who was working in Cummins, also agreed with this article because he thought Cummins was doing exactly this to get into markets like Africa or Asia. 'High quality' products cost a lot, but if sales volume is high with 'good enough' (ie cheaper) products although with lower margins, it can more than compensate. We dont have to even go abroad for such examples, when we have ample things closer home. I think Tamil Nadu was always leading in such ideas or philosophy and no better example than Saravana Stores. Some, especially the rich or wanna-be rich, would not associate Saravana Stores with 'high quality', but there is no doubt that their turnover will be the highest in Tamil Nadu. It is good-enough if we are good-enough ;)

Sreesanth goes on and on...

I had mentioned about aggression, in particular antics of Sreesanth in the name of aggression and he just cant stop dancing. To quote,

According to KCA, Sreesanth was appointed as the captain of the Ranji team on October 10 with the intentions to bring him back into the national team. But since 12th when the camp began in Talisherry, Sreesanth has not attended the camp for a single day.

I am not sure what was the brain spark that first made him a captain, which reminded me of old quote. There is an 'opinion' in cricket that fast bowlers should not be made captain and when Pakistan had Wasim Akram as captain and Waqar Younis as vice captain, I think Boycott said - having a pace bowler as captain is stupid and having a pace bowler as vice-captain is downright bizarre. In case of Sreesanth, sponsors seem to play a big role in ensuring that he is still 'in play'. Ian Chappell had mentioned quite sometime back that he is on his way to asylum if he continuted his antics. Unfortunately nobody listened to him. Indiscipline is Siamese twin to Sreesanth :(

Planets on earth.

I am not sure of the relation between Hindu religion and astrology and for one who is at best an 'agnostic' if not an 'atheist', I do not share the same faith in astrology like my mother. My mother did not force any of her beliefs on me since I neither discouraged hers nor propagate my beliefs within my house. Of course, she would be glad if I were to be a 'law abiding' Hindu. Since my marriage is getting postponed (or am I 'destined' to be single?), she has been advised by 'others' and saying that I should visit 'navagriha temples', all of which are in TN. I initially booked train tickets as usual impulsively on Oct 8, but we couldnt reach the railway station despite starting 2 hrs 30 minutes before the scheduled departure. Bangalore traffic is the most chaotic that I have seen and to add fuel to fire, there was a cricket match. We reached station 5 minutes after train had left and since my mother would perceive 'cancelled trip' as ill-omen, I immediately booked the same trips on Oct 11. It turned out to be a wise decision, because if we had gone earlier the trip would have been chaotic as we had no plans - not even a good map to have a sense of distance between temples. I could chart out a decent plan second time around and more importantly 'execute' it to perfection.

I have decent 'knowledge' on astrology and as per my knowledge, it was a futile attempt by our forefathers to 'predict' future. Belief on 'super natural' or 'extra terrestrial' took the form of astrology or that 'planets' movement decide our destiny. There are of course people who try to 'intellectually' prove or disprove. I dont waste time on such silly things. Basically the underlying philosophy is that life of each person (or living being?) on earth can be put as a big equation with lots of variables. If we know the value of variables, we can say XYZ will have flu at the age of 9, will work in domain of arts, marry at the age of 27, have n children etc. I had already blogged about 'generalizers'. So astrology is on this basis of 'generalization' that there IS A 'GENERIC' EQUATION in which position of 'planets' are the variables. If the value of variables are known, then equation of life can be used to 'predict'.

I am very much FOR 'generalization' as a set of common characteristics of people. Some level of predictability in how people react to some things is infact very good, what Krugman refers to science fiction where 'social scientist's are able to predict what and how people react to an 'event'. Humans whether based on geography or language do tend to share a lot and behavior is definitely one of them. It is indeed natural to 'expect' similarity among people who share same 'native'. What surprises me is when I see people with absolutely no 'corelation', think on similar lines. I had blogged on how I had thought on same lines as Ian Chappell, especially on 'sense of fairplay'. I can agree if astrology is used to denote/describe traits of a 'class of individuals' at a high level. I dont have any issues with say 'Linda Goodman book on Sun Signs' talking about how people born in certain months behave or perceive things around them but I am absolutely have nothing FOR 'future prediction' of one specific individual using 'planets' as basis to the point of saying 'XYZ will have chicken pox at the age of 4, relocate at the age of 17, study till age of 25, have four cars, 3 houses etc'. I am only amazed to see TV programmes running regularly 'feeding on such beliefs' :(

Blast from the past (series on Tamil Cinema in Hindu) -.may be updated

Motor Sundaram Pillai 1966 - 10 Jul 2009

Playwright and screenwriter Liam O’Brien wrote a hit play, ‘The Remarkable Mr. Penny Packer’, based on the incident, and it was expectedly made into a movie with noted Hollywood star Clifton Webb in the lead.

Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum 1965 - 31 Jul 2011

Krishnan-Panju had many hits in many languages, including Hindi, to their credit. Both of them began in a modest manner in Coimbatore, with Krishnan working as a laboratorian and Panju (Panchapakesan) as an assistant director and script assistant. Panju had also worked with Ellis R. Dungan as one of his assistants. He was also a talented film editor and edited all his films and signed his name as ‘Panjabi!'

Iravum Pagalum 1965 - 20 Mar 2009

Joseph Thaliath Junior, son of a high ranking Travancore judicial officer, relocated to Madras to make movies. He worked as assistant director under veterans such as S. Soundararajan (Tamil Nadu Talkies) before he joined hands with noted art director, filmmaker and studio owner F. Nagoor to promote a production company called Citadel Films. But why Citadel? His favourite novel was A. J. Cronin’s classic “The Citadel” which he wanted to film in Tamil

Bommai (1964) - 30 Oct 2011

Hitchcock has been a source of inspiration to many filmmakers in several parts of the world, including India. Influenced by his style of filmmaking and onscreen narration, S. Balachandar, the multifaceted Tamil filmmaker, adapted Sabotage in Tamil, suitably changing the storyline for the local market

Chitrangi (1964) - 16 Jul 2010

AVM. Rajan and Pushpalatha met during the AVM production, Nanum Oru Penn, fell in love and got married. They appeared in many movies together and one of them was Chitrangi. However, they were not as successful as they were expected to be

Pattanathil Bhootham 1964 - 17 Jul 2009

The Brass Bottle fared well in India, including Madras. ‘Javert’ Seetharaman, a lawyer-turned-film person, was an expert in adapting foreign novels and movies to the Tamil screen. Not surprisingly, he rewrote The Brass Bottle in Tamil as Pattanathil Bhootham and played the role of the ‘bhootham’ himself!

Puthiya Paravai 1964 - 26 Jun 2009

This Hitchcockian suspense thriller was made in Bengali, also a hit, Sheshankaa, featuring Uttam Kumar, Sharmila Tagore and Sabitha Chowdhary. The Bengali screen story by Rajkumar Mitra was acquired by Sivaji Films to be made in Tamil in color as its first in-house production — Puthiya Paravai

Navaratri 1964 - 7 Sep 2007

BBC News mentioned Navaratri as one of Sivaji Ganesan’s best films in its tribute to the actor, on his death in 2001

Arivaali 1963 - 18 Sep 2009

ATK, a person blessed with a delightful sense of humour, had then narrated not only his filmmaking experiences but also showed him a copy of the agreement with MGR in Tamil, which was almost hundred per cent foolproof, advantage MGR. It had words like `vaarthaigalaiyo. kaatchigalaiyo maatravo, kezhattavo, neekkavo, kokkavo MGRukku sagala urimaigalum undu...' No other Indian cinema personality had such a cast iron strong agreement in his favour

Indira En Selvam 1962 - 13 Nov 2011

That was the period when M. R. Radha virtually ruled over Tamil cinema and appeared in every other film; here too he was his debonair villainous self

Avana Ivan 1962 - 18 Sep 2011

He also introduced interesting publicity materials. One was a larger-than-life cut-out of the hero which was erected in the Mount Road area opposite a popular non-vegetarian restaurant. There was also a cut-out of the dark glasses the hero wears; on one lens was written ‘Avanaa', and on the other ‘Ivan'! These attracted enormous attention, building up pre-release publicity

Annai 1962 - 16 Jan 2009

For some reasons including Bhanumathi's remuneration, she opted out and Nirupa Roy, the eternal `mother' of Hindi cinema was brought in. Nirupa Roy was no Bhanumathi and her performance fell far short of what Bhanumathi could have done. Indeed in a chat with this writer, Bhanumathi told him with a mischievous glint in her eye that her friends in Bombay renamed the film `Dalda'! Balraj Sahni who played Ranga Rao's role strongly suggested to AVM to cast Bhanumathi in the Hindi version too.

Kavalai Illadha Manithan 1960 - 6 Nov 2011

One of his praiseworthy movies was Kavalai Illaadha Manithan in which his friend with whom he shared many interests, J. P. Chandrababu played the lead as a man without worries in life and who never bothered about the morrow. He believed in the philosophy of the famed British poet, Lord Byron, ‘Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter. Sermons and soda water the day after!'

Paarthibhan Kanavu 1960 - 29 May 2009

‘Kalki’ (R. Krishnamurthi) was indeed the founding father of the genre of historical fiction in Tamil literature. He created many immortal classics such as “Sivakamiyin Sabatham”, “Ponniyin Selvan” and “Alai Osai”. Another was “Paarthibhan Kanavu”, a historical novel built around the Pallava-Chola dynasties. He wrote it even as he was working for Ananda Vikatan, but began serialising it only when he established his own weekly Kalki in 1941 in association with his friend T. Sadasivam.

Vijayapuri Veeran 1960 - 24 Apr 2009

The Citadel Film boss Joseph Thaliath Junior who blazed a new trail in Tamil cinema during the 1950s and 1960s proved that it was possible to make commercially viable films casting new faces. This film was a shining example of his bold attitude

President Panchatcharam (1959) - 2 October 2011

Nikolai Gogol, one of the icons of Russian Literature, is known for his short stories and the play, ‘Inspector-General' (also known as ‘Government Inspector'). Wanting to write a play, he sought the help of Pushkin, another icon, who told him about his personal experience when he was mistaken for a government officer on a visit to a small town. Based on this premise, Gogol wrote the play, in which a person visiting a village is taken to be the Inspector-General who was expected to investigate the fraudulent affairs of the village chief

Thanga Pathumai (1959) - 4 Jun 2010
Maragatham (1959) - 30 Apr 2010
Thaai Magalukku Kattiya Thaali 1959 - 13 Nov 2009
Vanjikottai Vaaliban 1958 - 27 Mar 2011
Sabhash Meena 1958 - 3 Apr 2009
Vanangamudi 1957 - 7 Aug 2011
Thangamalai Rahasiyam 1957 - 22 May 2011
Chakravarthi Thirumagal 1957 - 10 Apr 2011
Sadaram 1956 - 12 Jun 2009
Rangoon Radha 1956 - 12 Sep 2008
Chinnadurai 1955 - 23 Oct 2011
Menaka 1955 - 4 Sep 2011
Pennarasi 1955 - 3 Jul 2011
Kanavaney Kankanda Deivam (1955) - 1 Jan 2010
Chella Pillai 1955 - 25 Sep 2009
Malaikallan 1954 - 20 Mar 2011
Kalyanam Panniyum Bramhachari 1954 - 20 Mar 2011
Viduthalai 1954 - 10 Oct 2010
Thookku Thookki 1954 - 19 Sep 2010
Sorgavaasal 1954 - 18 Dec 2009
Thuli Visham 1954 - 18 Dec 2009
Rattha Kanneer 1954 - 31 Jul 2009
Rajee En Kanmani 1954 - 24 Jul 2009
Manohara 1954 - 6 Mar 2009
Andha Naal 1954 - 12 Dec 2008
Kalvanin Kadhali 1954 - 21 Nov 2008
Goondukili 1954 - 10 Oct 2008
Madana Mohini (1953) - 12 Mar 2010
Thirumbi Paar 1953 - 13 Mar 2009
Devadas 1953 - 13 Feb 2009
En Veedu 1953 - 23 Jan 2009
Panakkari 1953 - 26 Dec 2006
Parasakthi 1952 - 24 Apr 2011
Kanchana 1952 - 20 Aug 2010
Rani (1952) - 21 May 2010
Andhaman Kaithi 1952 - 15 May 2009
Kalyani 1952 - 27 Feb 2009
En Thangai 1952 - 28 Nov 2008
Thaai Ullam 1952 - 25 Apr 2008
Singari 1951 - 21 Aug 2011
Vanasundari 1951 - 10 Jul 2011
Mohanasundaram 1951 - 12 Jun 2011
Lavanya 1951 - 6 Feb 2011
Devamanohari 1951 - 2 Jan 2011
Ore Iravu (1951) - 24 Oct 2010
Devaki 1951 - 6 Feb 2009
Sudharshan 1951 - 30 Jan 2009
Rajambal 1951 - 2 Jan 2009
Niraparadhi 1951 - 14 Nov 2008
Sarvadhikari 1951 - 24 Oct 2008
Manamagal 1951 - 15 Aug 2008
Kaithi 1951 - 8 Aug 2008
Marmayogi 1951 - 14 Mar 2008
Maruthanaatu Ilavarasi 1950 - 9 Jan 2011
Ithaya Geetham (1950) - 16 Apr 2010
Raja Vikrama (1950) - 16 Apr 2010
Paarijaatham (1950) - 9 Apr 2010
Vijayakumari 1950 - 5 Nov 2009
Maaman Magal 1950 - 28 Aug 2009
Krishna Vijayam 1950 - 21 Aug 2009
Digambara Saamiyar 1950 - 31 Oct 2008
Ponmudi 1950 - 3 Oct 2008
Ezhai Padum Paadu 1950 - 2 Nov 2007
Manthrikumari (1950) - 28 Sep 2007
Sowdhamini 1949 - 17 Apr 2011
Ratnakumar 1949 - 26 Feb 2010
Geetha Gandhi 1949 - 7 Aug 2009
Kanniyin Kaadhali 1949 - 9 Jan 2009
Pavalakodi 1949 - 7 Nov 2008
Apoorva Sahodarargal 1949 - 27 Jun 2008
Mangayarkarasi 1949 - 4 Apr 2008
Nallathambi 1949 - 14 Dec 2007
Velaikari 1949 - 7 Dec 2007
En Kanavar 1948 - 17 Jul 2011
Pizhaikkum Vazhi 1948 - 19 Jun 2011
Madanamala 1948 - 6 Mar 2011
Chandralekha 1948 - 3 Oct 2010
Bhaktha Jana 1948 - 29 Aug 2010
Samsara Nowka 1948 - 23 Apr 2010
Abhimanyu 1948 - 2 Oct 2009
Adithan Kanavu 1948 - 22 May 2009
Vedhala Ulagam 1948 - 19 Dec 2008
Chakradhari 1948 - 5 Dec 2008
Gnanasoundari 1948 - 29 Aug 2008
Idhu Nijama 1948 - 4 Jul 2008
Raja Mukthi 1948 - 18 Apr 2008
Krishna Bhakthi 1948 - 15 Feb 2008
Mohini 1948 - 19 Oct 2007
Navajeevanam 1947 - 5 Jun 2011
Kannika 1947 - 13 Mar 2011
Deiva Neethi 1947 - 12 Dec 2010
Kanjan 1947 - 21 Nov 2010
Rama Rajyam 1947 - 4 Dec 2009
Rajakumari 1947 - 5 Sep 2008
Miss Malini 1947 - 25 Jul 2008
Vichitra Vanitha 1947 - 20 Jun 2008
Paithiakaaran 1947 - 13 Jun 2008
Katakam 1947 - 16 May 2008
Aayiram Thalaivaangi Apoorva Chintamani 1947 - 29 Feb 2008
Naam Iruvar 1947 - 30 Nov 2007
Udayanan Vasavadatta 1946 - 28 Nov 2010
Vidyapathi 1946 - 14 Nov 2010
Chitra 1946 - 2 Jul 2010
Valmiki 1946 - 25 Dec 2009
Sri Murugan 1946 - 1 May 2009
Saalivaahanan 1945 - 26 Jun 2011
Maanasamrakshanam (1945) - 7 Nov 2010
En Magan (1945) - 11 Jun 2010
Burmah Rani 1945 - 5 Jun 2009
Kannamma En Kaathali 1945 - 9 May 2008
Meera 1945 - 28 Mar 2008
Sri Valli -- 1945 - 28 Dec 2007
Mahamaya 1944 - 5 Sep 2010
Jagathalaprathapan 1944 - 13 Aug 2010
Harishchandra 1944 - 3 Jul 2009
Haridas 1944 - 11 Jul 2008
Dasi Aparanji (1944) - 19 Sep 2008
Mangamma Sapatham 1944 - 23 Nov 2007
Harishchandra 1944 - 16 Nov 2007
Dasi Penn (Jyothimalar) 1943 - 20 Feb 2011
Kubera Kuchela 1943 - 11 Sep 2009
Sivakavi 1943 - 26 Sep 2008
Prabhavati 1942 - 11 Dec 2011

Most of the Naattukottai Chettiars were wealthy, but did not know English. They found these handbills a novelty and encouraged Lena Chettiar

Thamizh Ariyum Perumal 1942 - 8 May 2011
Chogamelar 1942 - 26 Dec 2010
Manonmani 1942 - 19 Dec 2010
Bhaktha Naradar 1942 - 30 Jul 2010
Naveena Vikramadityan (1942) - 9 Jul 2010
Prithvirajan (1942) - 28 May 2010
Kannagi 1942 - 19 Jun 2009
En Manaivi 1942 - 18 Jul 2008
Nandanar 1942 - 30 May 2008
Vana Mohini 1941 - 29 May 2011
Ali Babavum Naarpathu Thirudargalum 1941 - 1 May 2011
Sathi Murali 1941 - 6 Aug 2010
Aryamala (1941) - 23 Jul 2010
Savithiri 1941 - 5 Mar 2010
Venugaanam 1941 - 12 Feb 2010
Sakunthalai 1941 - 29 Jan 2010
Bhaktha Gowri 1941 - 22 Jan 2010
Rishyashringar 1941 - 27 Nov 2009
Katcha Devayani 1941 - 10 Jul 2009
Sabapathy 1941 - 23 May 2008
Ashok Kumar 1941 - 25 Jan 2008
Gumasthavin Penn 1941 - 16 Oct 2009
Madanakamarajan 1941 - 9 Oct 2009
Bhaktha Chetha (1940) - 26 June 2010
Bhooloka Rambai (1940) - 7 May 2010
Chandragupta Chanakya 1940 - 8 May 2009
Vaayaadi 1940 - 22 Aug 2008
Utthama Puthran 1940 - 2 May 2008
Manimekalai 1940 - 7 Mar 2008
Kalamegham (1940) - 21 Sep 2007
Prahalada (1939) - 14 Aug 2011
Mathru Bhoomi (1939) - 14 May 2010
Vimochanam (1939) - 26 Mar 2010
Shantha Sakkubai 1939 - 19 Mar 2010
Thiruneelakantar 1939 - 4 Sep 2009
Adrishtam 1939 - 1 Aug 2008
Rambayin Kaathal 1939 - 11 Apr 2008
Thyaga Bhoomi 1939 - 21 Mar 2008
Desa Munnetram (1938) - 18 Dec 2011

After movies began to talk Tamil in 1931 with Kalidas , some socially-conscious filmmakers began to make movies, highlighting the Freedom Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and others. One of them was K. Subramanyam, who made films such as Bhaktha Chetha and Thyaga Bhoomi . One such film highlighting the issue of untouchability was Desa Munnetram

Maya Mayavan (1938) - 27 Nov 2011

Maya Mayavan was produced by the south Indian movie mogul, T. R. Sundaram, under his banner, Modern Theatres, in Salem, and advertised as “Unnatha Thamizh Stunt Padam!” (a top-class Tamil stunt film!)

Seemanthani 1938 - 9 Oct 2011
Daksha Yagnam 1938 - 25 Sep 2011
Yayathi 1938 - 19 Feb 2010
Anadhai Penn 1938 - 29 Oct 2009
Miss Kamala 1938 - 27 Mar 2009
Seva Sadanam 1938 - 1 Feb 2008
Tukaram 1938 - 11 Jan 2008
Nandakumar 1938 - 12 Oct 2007
Padma Jyothi 1937 - 4 Dec 2011

In the credits, when the name of the heroine, Padma, appeared, Sundaram had a cartoon of a woman's face moving, showing the varied emotions of the character — a path-breaking feature at a time when animation was virtually unknown to South Indian Cinema

Sethu Bandhanam 1937 - 26 Sep 2010
Balayogini 1937 - 10 Apr 2009
Nava Yuvan 1937 - 6 Jun 2008
Chintamani 1937 - 21 Dec 2007
Ambikapathi 1937 - 26 Oct 2007
Leelavathi Sulochana 1936 - 20 Nov 2011

Pammal Sambandam Mudaliar, one of the two founding fathers of the Renaissance of Tamil theatre (the other being Sankaradas Swamigal), created new trends towards the late19th Century. A lawyer and judge by profession, he promoted the famous Suguna Vilas Sabha while he was still a student of the Presidency College, Madras. Along with his friends such as V. V. Srinivasa Iyengar, the legendary lawyer, Mudaliar created theatre history with his varied plays. Some of them were inspired by William Shakespeare and Moliere

Mohini Rukmangadha (1936) - 11 Sep 2011
Chandrahasan (1936) - 28 Aug 2011
Bhaktha Kuchela (1936) - 8 Jan 2010
Iru Sahodarargal 1936 - 14 Aug 2009
Pattinathaar 1936 - 17 Oct 2008
Satyaseelan 1936 - 22 Feb 2008
Naveena Sadaram (1935) - 2 Apr 2010
Nandanar -- 1935 - 8 Feb 2008
Menaka 1935 - 4 Jan 2008
Draupadi Vastrapaharanam 1934 - 24 Jul 2011
Sangeetha Lava Kusa 1934 - 20 Nov 2009
Pavalakodi 1934 - 20 Feb 2009
Bhama Vijayam 1934 - 18 Jan 2008
Seetha Kalyanam 1933 - 5 Oct 2007

Ig nobel or Nobel for Obama?

Many awards have a 'spoof' in parallel or just before. I feel that it puts things in a perspective that awards per se dont matter and stupidity of the non-existent 'halo's around the award recipients . It is not surprising that just before Nobel prize announcments started, we had Ig Nobel awards for stupid science. Actually I was curious about Ig Nobel for Veterinary medicine given to two who made the

discovery that giving cows names such as Daisy increases their milk yield.

Well, I was told that my parents named my elder sister as Bhooma to have a male child and I was born :o

Nobel for literature and peace are expected to be controversial because it is based on 'perceptions' or 'importance' of the people of some region. It is tough to expect Literature award to be given to one who writes in Tulu or Sindhi. Nobel Peace Prize is related to 'statesmanship' or 'work's which affect/effect a large (atleast numerically) audience and recipients maybe remembered by people of that region for centuries if not more, even without the prize. Immediate example that comes to my mind (rather any Indian) would be Mother Teresa. Names like Mikhail Gorbachev or Desmond Tutu seem to reaffirm the same. I got my first jolt when I read that Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, along with Le Duc Tho. In current scenario, it is like giving Nobel Peace Prize to Mahinda Rajapaksa :o Helping in post war rehabilitation is like applying medicine after giving umpteen lashes with a whip. Yes, Nobel Peace Prize can only be given to a pacifist, rather people who THINK, START AND END with compromise and not really a 'rebel' like say Che Guevara or Prabhakaran.

I was tickled to the bone when I read 'Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize'. Two lines into the news -

Many observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.

I am not sure if I am 'shocked' but with a 'history', I am not sure why others are shocked. As George Bush's final or 2nd term as US president was coming to an end, I had the feeling that Europe especially wanted to avoid 'Republican' president in US. As much as Obama 'created history' as the 'first black' to reside in White House, it is childish, if not impossible to expect the same in an European country. I dont know why Obama went to Copenhagen to press the case for Chicago as Olympics venue. With 'Chicago rejected', I dont know if 'Nobel Peace Prize' was the compensation :o The international politics behind Obama’s Nobel Peace prize is weird, to put it mildly. There is some talk in India against Obama being given Nobel Peace Prize, when some wanted to know the reasons for Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate. I never thought Gandhi was 'good enough' for a Nobel Peace Prize, being a pacifist within a county or state can be no reason - so I felt till some years back. With a precedence like Kissinger or Obama, I cant be blamed for asking - why the heck was Gandhi not given Nobel Peace Prize? :o

'Origin' question or 'identity crisis'.

Many have said that all of us are HUMANS first and HUMANS last. Once political borders/boundaries come up, then the first level of 'classification' comes up in the form of citizenship. Taking into consideration the eventuality of nomadic culture or migration, it is hair-splitting to talk about history and geography of any individual. If we take Europe, most people would have multiple 'origins' as Eric Hobsbawm observed in his books, say 'The Age of Extremes'. Such people as he observed have an 'identity crisis' - born in Bulgaria, brought up in Austria, worked in Germany and so on.

One of the winners of Nobel Prize for Chemistry is Venkatraman Ramakrishnan. His citizenship says that he is American and I think it should be stopped at that. Hair splitting in the form of 'origin' or 'language' is not necessary. Yes, it may please some Tamils to know that a person with Tamil 'roots' has won Nobel Prize. Yes, it may please some Indians to know that a person with Indian 'origin' has won Nobel Prize. I expect media to be more pragmatic and not cater to this section of the public by playing to the gallery. When an American astronaut Kalpana Chawla died (she had become an American citizen, rather renounced her Indian citizenship much before), Tamil Nadu Government instituted the "Kalpana Chawla Award" to be given annually on Independence Day for bravery and service and I find it ludicrous. Apart from the fact that there is nothing 'brave' or 'service' about a PROFESSION, giving it to one who is NOT Indian and who definitely had nothing to do with Tamil, has simply NO BASIS. I am sure America referred by some as 'land of immigrants' with have n-stories of history and geography for every Nobel Laureate having the citizenship of US. It is childish to take pride in 'German-American' or 'Italian-American' etc.

Within India, Tamils have moved to every nook and corner. Even in this case of Venkatraman Ramakrishnan did mention, he had moved to Baroda when he was three and barring some OCCASIONAL visits may have nothing to do with Tamil or Tamil Nadu. I wont be surprised if he cant read Tamil. As of now, classification theory can stop at 'citizenship' and if some scientific or biological analysis needs to be done, then dwelving deeper into the 'origin's and 'identity' of a person may make some sense. We see that even citizenship is an issue. Quite a few Indians would have been born and lived many years in Pakistan, Bangladesh etc. My mother was a Sri Lankan citizen, my sister was born in Sri Lanka and I shudder to think of someone saying that I am a Sri Lankan-Indian :))

'Aggressive' behavior...

In recent years, there is a trend for people to be 'aggressive' or show 'aggression'. I heard my colleague saying a few years back about need to drive on Bangalore roads with aggression. It means that you have to keep driving without looking at a 'possible' vehicle which could cross your path. He reasoned that once we are sure that 'WE ARE RIGHT', why should we care about others and especially those who ERR? Yes, it may be true that I am right and other isnt, but why inflict damage on either person to just 'prove' that I am indeed right? One-up-manship is not just ridiculous but is exhausting.

Also it could digress a person towards peripheral things. In cricket, there is a thought that has come into India that aggression is the way to win because Australians are aggressive. I never liked the look of Sreesanth right from the beginning but to quote Pulp Fiction,

Just because you are a character doesn't mean you have character.

To begin with, I thought he is trying to be 'Australian', which he is not, but today I read the news about Sreesanth fined for bad behavior in a first class match :o I am reminded of the quote

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

I have often thought atleast some people in Kerala are strange if not ridiculous. I dont know if it was a 'compulsory' need to belittle Tamils or Tamil Nadu, but they seem to have a genuine need to show that there are 'superior' or better than the rest. Even in films, some of the females who have 'become stars' recently like Asin, Meera Jasmine etc or even a newcomer like Ananya (Nadodigal), tend to go over-the-top in their performances and it is comical that they used to belittle Sivaji Ganesan for 'over-acting'. I tend to view this as a need to get 'noticed' or even praised. On retirement, Michael Holding and Ian Chappell say that some greats don't want to leave the limelight or cant get off the merry-go-round. I am not sure if they think 'going over the top' is short-cut to stardom among Tamils. It is true that actors from Andhra or Karnataka or Kerala or Maharashtra or Punjab might have become 'superstars' like Kushboo or Simran to quote recent ones and 'appreciation' went to the level of building temples. I dont know whether it is cocaine or maybe it is an inherent human need to be appreciated.

Verifying initial awe

In Cricinfo's talk about best batsmen which concluded with the obvious that 'Lara is the best', John Wright made the important point

For me it's the look, you just see it and think, he's a great player.

to which Ian concurred -

As John said, you don't get a player who looks like a champion and then find out that he averages 10. It just doesnt happen

. I always found Ian Chappell talking sense, not jingoistic though I felt he had more than an axe to grind against the English but he was always fair. Especiallyon Indian players, I thought commentators, columnists were getting 'swayed' by peripheral issues and not really on what happens in the field. I always supported a 'foreign' coach because Indian coach is more likely to biased in favor of some players and could lead to lower performance on the players. To put one dialogue that I liked in the movie 'Siege' spoken by Denzel Washington

I am not questioning your patriotism. I am questioning your judgement.

Obviously I have not seen Ian Chappell play or captain the Australian team, but from whatever he spoke on cricket, it seemed fair and I felt that he was my 'spokesperson' or 'alter ego' atleast on those issues. To know more about the person, I have to know what their opinion is on 'other aspects' of life - after all, life is not just about cricket. I happen to stumble upon an old programme in ABC - Enough Rope with Andrew Denton which has a 'video snippet', transcript and entire audio. I had heard about Tampa episode, maybe in abridged form, some ship was stopped midway in seas by Australia because some illegal immigrants were aboard and maybe some of them were dying in the ship. Till those (after all they were human beings) were 'deported', ship was not allowed to move :( I was naturally wild at Australia, which by itself was 'country of white men' to begin with or to put in Ian Botham's words - land of convicts. I was very happy to see that Ian Chappell had indeed spoken against the Australian Govt in favor of immigrants and in some way, verified my initial awe in him. To quote,

You asked me before what principles I learnt from Jeanne and Martin - a pretty highly developed sense of fair play, I think is another thing that I should have said in that answer. So that really offended my sense of fair play. I thought to myself, “It doesn’t matter how you’re trying to get into Australia, these are still human beings we’re talking about here, and as human beings they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect" - and they certainly weren’t.

Frankly that is my opinion spoken through the mouth of Ian Chappell :o I wondered how people spread across the globe can have 'ad verbatim' same opinion.

Another part of the interview was equally liked and to quote -

"Just tell the truth.” I’ve found, over the years, it just simplifies your life because you get to the point, if you’re telling lies, not only do I have to remember the lie but then I’ve got to remember which lie I’ve told to which person. It just becomes really complicated. So that was one thing. My mother, I think, was responsible for not - you know, money has never been a high priority in my life.

Infact I was chosen as finalists of one Mr.Genius contest in corporate competition at Bangalore in 2003 for my written answer to the 'fill in the blanks' - Money is blank and I wrote 'Money is something but not everything.'. Of course 'finals' is always theatric and not liking to be involved in it, it is not surprised that i walked out mid-way, despite some female cries or cheers. I also came to know what others told about Chappell, for instance to quote -

I read a quote in Clive Lloyd’s book that said - “I played a lot of cricket against the Chappell brothers. It was always very hard, but it was fair.

and the fact that he was a 'well rounded' individual, which current generation of cricketers are NOT. I had the same 'opinion' on 'cricketing greats' like Bradman, whom I thought was keen only on money but expected others not to be. I believe that people cannot indulge in personal taunts during a discussion on a 'general topic'. Also I also empathised and fully agreed to the 'divided line' on work and personal life. Anyway, I liked what he had to say and felt that he was honest.

It all boils down to the phrase, sense of 'fair play' and I also found that he is also a Libran like me :) More on that some other day :)