Of Tendulkar, Manchester United and destiny...

The Guardian's Mike Selvey calls it Karma. I choose to call it destiny. India's 6-wicket win over England in Chennai was inevitable, or to simply put it - was meant to be. At this juncture, let me also bring in the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea in May 2008. Just as John Terry was destined to miss his chance from the spot, another United great, who embodies everything the club stands for, Ryan Giggs, was meant to score the winner. Bring that scenario into what happened on Monday, the 15th of December where it was Sachin Tendulkar, whom the British junta refer to as the "Mumbai Man", who took his team past the line in chasing 387. Perhaps those two examples put sport into perspective.

People may ask me why I choose to relate these two events, of different sport - simply because they stand for something significant. Manchester United, simply had to win the Champions League after having to put up with a disaster of their own, the one in Munich in 1958, where the club lost 8 players and 3 members of the staff. If that was tragedy enough, Mumbai and indeed, India had to bear something worse. Incommensurable in numbers, it was a blatant disregard for humanity, life and pretty much the law of the land when terrorists held the city on gunpoint. And where does the ten percent of the healing touch come from ? I guess, sport. It was a telling moment when Sir Bobby Charlton, a survivor of the Munich crash walked up on behalf of Manchester United, to collect the medal at Moscow as it was when Sachin Tendulkar, scored perhaps his most significant hundred and that leap of joy - did mean something for someone from the city, sitting through the chills of London.

Of course, as much as we continue to romanticize the Tendulkar innings, three others were played in the background while the soundtrack hit the higher notes. Virender Sehwag who, in consensus, gave India the chance to make their own destiny and shape up a special end to the contest. At his usual, cold-blooded and no-nonsense best, Sehwag is quite literally the best batsman in the world. And, on Sunday - that was the case. He nullified two of England's potential fifth-day threats with absolute disregard for them and that played out perfectly, come Monday. If not for Sehwag, as Dhoni rightly pointed out, India would have been defending the game, something they've not known to be successful at. So, to bring in Manchester United again, this was something like the header Ronaldo scored to put them ahead in Moscow. An important moment, a massive platform as indeed a curtain-raiser for something special at the finale. Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh, recent graduates into Test cricket played two knocks which, given the occasion might just slip into the background, but were no less invaluable than the ones played by Tendulkar and Sehwag. In context, they played their part too.

Tendulkar's innings on Day 5 was special in many regards. Andrew Flintoff was steaming in with the intensity last seen in the Ashes 2005 and Tendulkar's initial moments were indeed human, with barely any feet movement and some loose plays and misses. But once the square drive came out of the Tendulkar shot factory and not to forget that intentional upper-cut off Anderson, everything suddenly seemed so normal. Indeed, the ghosts of the venue - almost 10 years ago would have popped up in his mind during the course of the innings, but he seemed determined to bury to tag of "the best hundred ever seen in a losing cause for India" and write a new chapter into his love-affair with the MAC Stadium in Chennai. There was a method to his batting, a hunger which has been in question time and again, and a determination to see the team through, if only losing to Pakistan by 12 runs in 1999 was reminder enough. And what a moment it was, when of all the shots in his repertoire, Tendulkar brought out the paddle, or as the Poms call it the "nurdle" to settle the issue - for him, Mumbai and India. A moment to savour. That's when my mind pops back to Moscow, when Ryan Giggs, of all the people, in his 759th game for Manchester United, in the tightest of situations had the nerves to put it past the diving Petr Cech. That was the goal, like Tendulkar's boundary, that mattered in the end.

And, for someone who passionately supports Manchester United week in and week out and occasionally chooses to back India in cricket, the very thought of destiny being a factor was to an extent scary. Chelsea did not deserve to lose the game at Moscow, nor did England in Chennai. But thats when there's a 12th man in destiny. To put it simply, I quote our great manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, as he so rightly and effectively stated after the Moscow triumph, "We had a cause which was very important. People with causes are difficult to battle against and I think fate was playing its part." Ferguson said. Fate and Tendulkar played their part in Chennai too.

Barack and I

It was about 4 am here in London, 11 pm EST in the East Coast in the United States of America and dawn in the Orient. The moment overshadowed every emotion in the world, as CNN's Wolf Blitzer confirmed the obvious by announcing Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. I was down to tears as the traditional Blue West Coast, drove the Illinois Senator to the White House. It was a moment to savour for me personally as I had been following each and every stump of the Obama campaign for a little over 21 months. Staying up late nights, wasn't so much a problem, but a matter of privilege - right through the Democratic Caucuses through to Super Tuesday to the DNC to the Presidential Campaign and of course, last but not the least - the Election Night.

What drew me closer to Barack Obama was his larger-than-life, transformational image, yet a down-to-earth, humble and gracious self. Change and Hope were two words in the Oxford Dictionary which Americans had heard before, perhaps in 1992 - when Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush, but were never more relevant than in today's context. America never needed Change more desperately than today, after eight years of failed economic policies and strategic blunders. And, America had to choose. Vote for a man who offered Hope, Change and belief in the average American's ability to change the country or a Vietnam War veteran promised nothing but an extension of the Bush policies for four more years of the same. And, they chose in large numbers, unprecedented in the history of the elections in the United States. To imagine a Black President in the White House was a quite long shot, given the history of slavery, exclusion and racism in the country - but America knew and realized what was at stake. And as decisive as the verdict was, it showed how America had come out of its own cocoon and voted Barack Obama as the President of its country.

Someone asked me the other day about what I thought of Barack Obama's chances in the elections. I was quietly confident about victory, but more importantly alluded to the manner in which that victory would come. A movement was on its way. A social movement that transcended race, religion, gender, economic class and redefined the way Americans saw politics as. A movement that was so rooted to common Americans i.e. the very grassroots that built the nation. And indeed, Change was on its way. Having virtually followed the campaign on the web and Obama's campaign website regularly, it wasn't surprising that this movement-turned-political campaign could attract large crowds. Passionate chants of "Yes, We Can" from the crowds demonstrated how America gave its voluntary consent to be a part of this historic movement. A movement that redefined imagination and defied conventional politics.

Barack Obama, in my view, always looked Presidential. That image of a man poised, calm under the usual barrage of personal attacks from his Republican opponents, the stoic leadership he displayed through the economic crisis and the warmth he drew from the American public indeed defied imagination. Remember the "ENOUGH" he said, as he delivered his acceptance speech during the DNC in Denver ? Watching the event back home in India, it sent a chill down my spine. That was the moment I thought Barack Obama came alive, not that he was under the carpet till then. That was President Obama for me. And then, right through the three debates when he addressed every issue with clarity and confidence and won every argument against John McCain.

Barack Obama's campaign was one, where strategy prevailed over tactics - and looks to have settled that debate, at least for now. A campaign that had the best blend of the traditional and the modern and used it more than effectively to send the message across. Be it the Obama Facebook Application or the Obama '08 offices in every lane of America - they both worked with one cause - to elect their candidate as the President. The internet, in the past campaigns was just nothing but a fund-raising medium. Never before did the world see the internet playing its role in community organization and perhaps, with the medium - came the voters - the youth. Text messages, Youtube Videos, and constant e-mail reminders to Donate to the campaign (sadly, I couldn't as the Campaign Finance Committee suggests that only American citizens can donate to the campaign) and updates from David Plouffe and David Axelrod, the architects of the Obama victory gave this campaign a surreal experience. The real, eventually turned virtual and vice-versa. Some initiatives like the GOTV - Get out to Vote and exploiting the internet's untapped potential - was a hallmark of this campaign.

As I heard President-elect Obama's speech last night, like many others in the Park in Chicago, I was moved to tears. As I wiped them off, a certain realization that it has all ended, ended in joy and victory. No more will I wake up the nights to be a part of this movement, no more will I skip dinner to watch an Obama rally at Manassas, Virginia and no more will I try to convince my Republican friends about who's the best man for the job. They have the answer, and so do I.

Racism of a regional kind...

Okay. Picture this. Being called a "Bloody Indian" in a supermarket by a British guy and being called a "Bloody South Indian" by one of your own mates. If you ask me what sounds better ? I'd take the British bugger for the Indian mate. Simple. He's at least being sensible there and called me by my nationality than the friend because she's labelled me as someone from a place, she particularly doesn't like much or doesn't know about. As unfortunate as it may seem, this pretty much sums up my three weeks in London so far. As much as the racial taunt from the British guy doesn't disturb me much, as almost inevitably one expects it to be spat out, the Indian girl's jibes were a rude shock.

The question I intend to ask here is - Does India only belong to the North ? If it dows, I am sorry. I refuse to call myself Indian. Yes, I am a vegetarian. So what ? Is it worth being looked down upon ? I am a South Indian. Is that worth being looked down upon ? Maybe it is. Some of us ridicule each other on the basis of our regional identities and I am quite okay with that for now. A couple of weeks since that jibe, its hard to forget how it is to feel a "bloody South Indian" !

Go Go Ganguly !

Okay. Bengal these days, just needs an issue to simmer. A day after the Singur issue was supposedly "resolved" through compromise, another issue involving a citizen of that state has emerged. Sourav Ganguly's imminent axing from the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy has taken everyone by storm. Not really. Facts are simple. Like his previous ejection from the Indian set up, when the Greg Chappell episode brewed up, it was on merit (or the lack of it in this case) and of course non-performance.

With a meager average of 16 and 29 against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively, Ganguly's case at the hands of the selectors became weaker. Not to forget, Dilip Vengsarkar, the Chairman of Selectors' made a statement of intent (not what Mark Hughes said about Manchester City and its takeover) when he announced that some of the one-day starlets were ready for Test cricket. But, I shudder to ask myself this question over and over again. Why don't Indian cricketers know by themselves that their time's up ? I mean this is just not restricted to Ganguly for that matter, Rahul Dravid had an opportunity to let himself go, when he  denounced his Indian captaincy in England last year. Why ? Why do our players want to be perennially playing cricket ? Why don't they realize that enough is enough ? Or is it just the I-am-not-retiring-Kick-me-out-if-you-want phenomenon ?

For all that I am sitting and writing here about Ganguly, I think he's given Indian cricket fans everything to cheer about. His batsmanship is something anyone would pay to watch, but when the bat and the pad doesn't come close enough, is there a message ? When the bat just does enough to knick a delivery you would leave otherwise, is there a message ? Perhaps there is. That was the message Niranjan Shah read out today.

What this in effect does, is puts the other veterans into the observation center. Sachin Tendulkar's regular presence in the sick-bay is doing no good to the Indian team, nor is it doing anything to himself. For that matter, whenever he is struggling for form, he tries to conjure up an injury just to shy away from the action - this again is not undermining his contribution to Indian cricket, whatever it has been - but just an attempt to bring it out. Why is Tendulkar not under the microscope ? Why should he be exempted from examination or scrutiny ? He shouldn't. But thats the case with darlings of the establishment. They're often admonished of all sins, granted all immunity from observation, there is ! Why ? If Indian cricket needed a recent example, Michael Vaughan's one is there for everyone to see. His statement of "If I am not scoring runs for the team, I have no business to stay in there", tells something, doesn't it ? The gap between the bat and the pad which Dale Steyn exploited. The same shots that he played early on, which a free-flowing Vaughan otherwise resisted from chasing, led to events after the third Test there. Thats the model we need to follow.

Thats England, the same old argument, and this is Indian cricket. But if Indian cricket needs to evolve from its own rotten cocoon, it better take some hard decisions. Else, lets say doomsday approaches soon !

N-Deal ? Whats that ?

Despite the brouhaha surrounding the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Agreement in India, it was strange that none of the American media even gave the slightest coverage to this so-called deal. As I conducted a random audit of the websites of some of the leading American newspapers and news channels, there was no mention of this agreement, prominent or otherwise. The Republican National Convention had just come to a conclusion with John McCain accepting the Presidential candidacy of that party and indeed events like Asif Ali Zardari's election as the new Pakistani President got a higher coverage along with the Russia-Georgia situation. (Top 3 news in CNN, New York Times and the Washington Post) What is this deal we are talking about ? Except for the Indian media which was chestbeating and cheerleading itself into a belief that India is in the "N-Club" as a newspaper headline went, or for that matter CNN-IBN rode the jingoistic Olympic wave by calling it "Nuclear Gold of India". What are we talking about ? India's history, as far as I can remember, has been rewritten at least three or four times since August 8th. Be it Abhinav Bindra's Gold, or the highest medal tally (a shameful one at that) and Vijender Singh (this comes up to three) and the fourth one, the NSG Waiver ! Actually, in the US, no one really cares !

The Politics of Football Takeovers !

Sheiking the World, it was - or for that matter an Operation Desert Storm II now resulting in a full-fledged World War and the battlefield ? The Barclays Premier League. The erstwhile English Premier League has always been one of the most lucrative destinations to invest if you find yourself in the Fortune Richest Man in the World list. But, unfortunately, the trend of takeovers is spilling beyond limits and money - the good, the bad and the ugly is taking the sheen off those wonderful goals we are used to seeing. Dr. Suleiman Al-Fahim's coup of Manchester City or "the other Manchester club" smells of absolute arrogance - both in terms of display of wealth and ambitions (and I am not talking here as a Manchester United fan).

When Roman Abramovich bought over Chelsea in 2003, the seeds of takeovers were sown. Malcolm Glazer followed suit by buying out Manchester United and likewise, the two Americans came together to buy out Liverpool. Then a rank outsider, the former Thai PM, indicted on corruption charges in his own country, Thaksin Shinawatra grabbed the limelight for his purchase of Manchester City. After failing to manage the club by setting unachievable targets, Shinawatra fizzled out and sold it to the ADUG. He tried everything he could, including hire the services of Sven-Goran Erikkson, who plotted City's resurgence from being a club which languished down there to bring them mid-table. But for someone in dreamland, that wasn't good enough. At least, City played football then - knocking over their across the road rivals Manchester United twice (home and away) in the League. Then came the transition, with Erikkson's fate hanging around the Eastlands and finally the boot on the backside to descent into chaos, well and truly. 

Footballingwise, City might be in safe hands - no doubt. Mark Hughes' donkey years of experience with Blackburn and his playing days under Sir Alex might just help City get somewhere, end up with a silverware or two. But, where City are taking the wrong path forward is with an ludicrous aim to setup a footballing empire or two - dethrone the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool et al. Where are the credentials, I ask humbly ? A team that has at best been a yo-yo, holidaying in the Championships while enjoying its extended honeymoon in the Premier League so far, they last won the First Division in 1968, 40 years ago, their last FA Cup win in 1969, and their latest silverware being the 2002 Championships, which assured them a place in England's elite. How can one persuade someone to join a club whose Trophy Cabinet lacks everything a modern footballer aspires for ? At least a European Cup, if not anything else. Having said that, does history matter for a modern footballer ? Or is it just the lure of the dirty money. Robinho, with a wink and a smirk, City's last but not the least acquisition even goes as far as calling City "the biggest club in Manchester". Call that for loyalty or foolhardiness !

Until Abramovich stepped in, Chelsea's league record was abysmal. They last won the league sometime in the 50s and after initial glitches and managerial changes, managed to break that trend with Jose Mourinho around. And that team was not worth millions of pounds. They had the right men, doing the job for Big Roman, even with those boring 1-0 wins we all remember them for. But, keeping with a daringly different school of thought Dr. Al-Fahim comes in with, he needs to see the Blue Galaticos for himself, if not anything to constantly reassure and massage his ego with a thought that - "Hey, I have the best players in the world here". This is what Abramovich did, tried to do and unfortunately not even his $23billion-worth assets could not stop John Terry bottle the Champions League in Moscow. Chelsea's case is a constant reminder if not anything else, that money almost does not necessarily guarantee success. It is a grim reminder for the Al-Fahims and now Anil Ambani that money with all its power can give you something, but not buy you trophies.

Next up, what do these potential takeovers mean for British football ? Well, with the Al-Fahims and the Ambanis entering the fray, the traditional Academy system of spotting and scouting talent might just be thrown into obscurity - thanks to the enormous emphasis on foreign talent and the power to buy anyone they wished at the cost of that young 16-year-old from a nearby street who might be forced into playing in a league, which might just be less challenging. The ready availability of the so-called 'stars' might just transform the Premier League in terms of eyeballs, but when it comes to that chain of talent production, the oil might just be drying and the machines rusting. As it is, the rate of Academy players making the cut in terms of playing quality first-team football is dwindling and more often than not, they're farmed out on loan deals or a part of big deals like the one involving Dimitar Berbatov for Manchester United with Fraizer Campbell heading the other way. If Al-Fahim's riches can be invested into a world-class academy, on the lines of Ajax or closer home, West Ham/Arsenal/Manchester United, it can spearhead a revolution in terms of other teams following that model and in turn produce quality talent. That should be the ADUGs priority, apart from luring the best talent in the world with eye-popping deals. 

As said before, England's football scene is turning into the fight of the mighty, with political layers written all over them. What was seen as naked Russian invasion in 2003, was battled by two American ownerships of two big English clubs. Then, came the diminutive Thai - with an escape route to resurrect his public image, both in Thailand and internationally. Now, as England welcomes its new guest, Dr. Suleiman Al-Fahim, he represents the might of the Gulf, long admired by people internationally and despite constant speculation about his rivals in Dubai, the Makhdoum family coming into the scene, it is Abu Dhabi that has stolen the limelight for now. Last night, Anil Ambani made it to the top news in most British sport websites, as he prepares to make Newcastle his own and dig the club out of its long-drawn crisis, with an audacious promise of reinstating Kevin Keegan as its manager, for the 1234567890th time. Who's next ? or Next is what ? Any guesses?  I wont be surprised if a businessman from Beijing/Shanghai or for that matter Ghangzhou makes the next move as he attempts to put China beyond everyone's reach.

When Monica Bedi made Breaking News !

Picture this : On Friday night, India's civilian nuclear agreement with the United States (aka Indo-US Nuclear Deal) is on tenterhooks, with the Nuclear Suppliers Group not willing to budge down on the demand for an unconditional and clean waiver, Bihar with everything to fight for, is being thrown into the depths of inaccessibility, and the Governor of West Bengal trying all he can to solve the growing impasse over the Singur Nano plant. Unfortunately, as someone who was a part of the media till not so long ago, I had to put up with this "Breaking News or News Flash" on CNN-IBN - Monica Bedi voted out of Bigg Boss, against a furious/angry red background right in the bottom of my TV screen. Take that for national/public interest. Take that for news values. Take that for priorities. 


And I am not even talking Hindi news channels, for we know what they do, how they do and why they do the sort of "journalism" they do. But to even think of a serious English news channel, which imaged itself with "Whatever it Takes" to drop down to such levels of oversimplification or a much harsher version of dumbing down was both unfortunate and deplorable on the part of the channel.