Cricketing Thoughts

The ICC has been deliberating Rule Changes once again and decided to continue with the Toss. They also, in principle, agreed to take more 'stringent action' against Personal abuse and Ball Tampering.

The latter is a joke, as this is being left to the discretion of the Match Referee, and we know the track record and bias of most Match Referees. If they had only shown some spine and taken stringent action in the past against perpetual offenders like Australians, we would not be in such a sorry state of situation now.

There is a palpable disinclination to stamp out on bad behavior. Tennis faced this situation 25 years ago, took proactive steps and we haven't heard of boorish McEnroe/Nastase type behavior since, except for an odd crackpot like Kyrgios. But then he has not been allowed to get away with his tantrums. Players know that if they cross the line, they will have to face severe consequences. And Tennis players are much higher paid than Cricketers.

ICC has not shown the will to clamp down on sledging and bad behavior. Both don't have a place in ANY modern sport.

The solution is simple. Switch on Stump Microphones. Make it available to Match Referee all the time. If a player so much as says one bad word or directs a conversation against the batsmen, throw the book, ban him and his Captain for One Year, impose a stiff fine on the Board, and individual players that should not be less than 6 months earnings for them. And then see the results.

Regarding the Toss, I might have another option. Taking the Toss away and giving the option to the visitor is a no brainer. Instead, why not have two slips in a bowl, one written 'Batting', other 'Fielding' and the Visiting Captain given the option to choose one. This gives both the teams a fair 50-50 option, unlike the toss, where the winning captain further has an option to choose batting or fielding.

The ICC has still not found a way to sort out the 'No Ball' situation. No Balls are rarely called, and unless a wicket falls, no balls are not checked for at all. This is ridiculous. I had given a solution to this in an earlier post. You can read it here

We are still no where close to making the shortened versions more of a battle between bat and ball.

The absurd leg side wide has to go. We have a ridiculous situation where the ball is just a mm outside leg stump and is called a wide. The bowlers should get a bit more leeway. Similarly, the offside wide line has to be brought closer to the stumps.

We are still seeing bats becoming lighter and stronger, while the ball has remained the same. Added to this the boundaries have become smaller and smaller. We are killing the finger spinners. In the recently concluded IPL, not a single finger spinner could succeed, not even left arm finger spinners. All the successful spinners were wrist spinners. Even those finger spinners who played were more keen on pushing the ball through than resorting to flight and dip. Once boundaries go back to 80 yards, they stand a better chance of succeeding and displaying their wares.

Another option could be to restrict the number of batsmen who can bat in a T 20. If a bowler can be restricted to bowl only 4 overs, why should the batting team be allowed to have all the 11 batsmen bat. It should be limited to 7, with Teams getting all out if they lose 6 wickets. This shall force the batsmen to take less risks, and would also give an opportunity for the bowler to be more attacking.

Any takers?

Social Upliftment Policies and how horribly they go wrong - An Anecdote from 1989 - Part 2

The story continues.......( Read the First Part here )

 

I finished my work by 3.30 pm, had a late lunch. Despite the assurances from the family, I had no hope of Natarajan turning up at my Hotel. Since Palani Temple was only 20 kms away, I decided to drive down in the evening.

 

Just as I was leaving the Hotel, Natarajan turned up and his appearance belied all my expectations. I was expecting a tired, weather beaten guy in old clothes, based on my impression about his house. But Natarajan turned out to be spotlessly dressed, ironed shirt and pant, looking very fresh, with a sandalwood tilak on his forehead, a honest face with an innocent smile and exuded confidence. He was just about my age. I took an instant liking for him.

 

I was in a bit of dilemma. I had come to Udumalpet with the express purpose of meeting him, but in my heart was sad the opportunity to have a darshan of Lord Murugan of Palani was slipping by.

 

Natarajan took the decision out of my hands and calmly said "Come Sir, let us go to Palani and talk on the way. I could also do with a bit of divine intervention".

 

We drove to Palani, and while I suggested the Winch to go up, he insisted we walk up the flight of 700 odd steps, claiming it was a good experience and one should not take the easier way of reaching the God. He wanted to do it the hard way. I could sense a very intelligent and sharp mind beside me.

 

Then he told his story.............................................

 

Obviously he had an extremely tough childhood, and had to struggle for even buying books. He braved all of it and finished his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, the first to pass out from his Cheri. Add to that he got a Supervisors job in the Public Sector Undertaking Bharath Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) in Trichy at a princely salary of Rs. 1,700. Please remember that as a  MBA (and MBAs were rare those days), working in HPCL as Sales Officer, my salary was just around Rs 3,000.

 

His life was happy. His uncle had promised to marry his daughter to Natarajan, which is a local custom, and she was his childhood sweetheart.

 

He, of course belonged to the Scheduled Caste Category. Two years ago, in 1987, a forward caste Gounder  Landlord (Gounders of Pollachi are Agriculturalists and Feudal Landlords, and very clannish) from Pollachi approached him and asked him to apply for the Dealership of HPCL in Oonjavalampatti to the Oil Selection Board.

 

Natarajan was reluctant. His life was smooth. He had a nice job, with iron clad job security. His fiancé was waiting. He was adored by his people for being a success. He had just cleared all his family loans and could think of doing something for his family.

 

The then HPCL Sales Officer, an old man nearing Retirement Age, who was close to the Gounder promised all help and convinced him to apply, assuring all help. Natarajan pleaded that he had no financial background, and as he understood, operating the Dealership involved raising funds to the tune of Rs 2 lakhs apart from identifying a suitable land. But all his objections were brushed aside, and he was literally forced to send the application. In due course, he got the Dealership.

 

The Gounder had a land of his relative beside the highway which he finalized for him, and the Sales Officer took him to the local Bank, who had enough funds to fund him under the Social Objective Category Funding allotment. In any case, getting a Oil Dealership was considered to be a Gold Mine.

 

A pre-condition of getting the Dealership was that he had to resign his Public Sector Job, which he did. He took all the approvals for developing the Site, and HPCL installed the Dispensing unit with a 16 KL underground storage tank. Natarajan was sent for a perfunctory two-day Dealer Training program, which hardly prepared him to manage the outlet.

 

With the Bank arranged facility of Rs 1.5 lakhs, he took his first load of 12 KL, and started selling. The dealer is entitled for only Dealer commission those days. The price of Diesel was Rs 3.25, while his Commission was just around 2.5% amounting to Rs 0.08. He had to deposit the balance in the Bank so that the Bank can give him a DD for the next load of 12,000 litres.

 

He sold 2000 litres on Day 1. The Collection was Rs 6,750.  From this, he was entitled only for Rs 150 as Commission. He was supposed to deposit Rs 6,600 back in the Bank. This was, if the Sales held, he would have made around Rs 4,500 per month as Dealer Commission, which should cover his Rent for the land, Bank Charges, Loan Repayment, Salary for Staff, Electricity Charges etc. At best he would have been left with about Rs 1000 at the end of the month for himself. Even that was a stretch.

 

NO ONE TAUGHT HIM THIS.

 

Or rather, if they told him this at the Dealer Training Program, they didn't stress much on its importance. Neither did the Sales Officer, who was supposed to be his mentor. His objective was to commission the Retail Outlet and then make a visit once a month or so, have a cup of coffee, chit chat and leave.

 

The first days collection was around 6,750, as I said before. His family members all came to see him at the Retail outlet. His father, a poor cobbler, had not even seen a Rs 100 note in his life. He was earning Rs 5-7 per day. His mother had unlimited needs. All his relatives were poor.

 

First his father had a look at the cash counter and his eyes opened wide at seeing all the money. He helped himself to Rs 100. Then his mother took Rs 200. Like that everyone took various denominations.

 

This continued for a few weeks. Natarajan didn't realize that his Capital was being taken away. And suddenly Natarajan found that he was short of the amount needed to order 12,000 litres of Diesel and the outlet had to be closed for want of stock.

 

The Sales Officer came down, scolded him, spoke to the Bank and arranged additional funds. The Gounder knew this would happen, and was waiting in the wings like a scavenger, ready to scoop. He had all the money and he knew the business. The Outlet was situated in the Gounder dominated area, where they were very powerful and aggressive. He started putting additional pressure on Natarajan for the rent of the land and asked him to return the money he had loaned to cover pre-operative expenses. In the meanwhile the leakage continued, as the demands from family members increased. The Sales Officer or the Regional Manager failed to identify the root cause.

 

Natarajan slipped further and further into a debt trap. The Gounder started threatening him and demanded he enter into an agreement with him for selling the Dealership (which was illegal) to Gounder in return for waiving the meager amount of money he had spent as pre-operative expense and rental arrears.

 

Sales Officer refused to interfere and left Natarajan high and dry. He also started threatening him of him losing the dealership, if he doesn't reopen the outlet.

 

The Bank was worried and sent notices after notices.

 

His family turned hostile. His Uncle closed the door on him.

 

The final straw was when his Uncle decided to marry his fiancé to another person.

 

Natarajan lost everything - A good job, his fiancé, his standing in the society, was in a debt trap and was totally broken.

 

He went into hiding and had no clue as to how to solve the situation.

 

We reached the Top of Palani Hills.

 

And prayed hard, for even I didn't have a clue as to how to solve this mess. Neither did he.

 

P.S: I talked to the Bank to restructure the loan. But had to tackle the issue of the Gounder's threat of physical harm to Natarajan if he entered the premises. I tried negotiating with the Gounder through my other Dealers. But no go. My Superiors washed their hands off, saying it is my head ache, for they did not have any solutions. Natarjan met me many times after that hanging on to his slim hope. I was young, and tried my best, but was against too many obstacles. His trips to my house became less and less, then stopped completely. The Outlet remained closed. Every time I drove by it, there was a pang in my heart. A sense of helplessness and failure. It is almost 3 decades since this happened. Recently when I enquired about that Outlet, I was told it doesn't exist anymore. A tear came down my eyes. A tear for the simple, nice guy. A tear for a guy who didn't deserve what he got.  

 

 

Social Upliftment Policies and how horribly they go wrong - An Anecdote from 1989 - Part 1

This is something I wanted to write for a long time, but just never did, though I have recounted this many a time in my life.

 

The year was 1989. I had just started my career as a Hindustan Petroleum Sales Officer in charge of Coimbatore Sales Area, in charge of Petrol Stations, Kerosene and LPG Dealers and supporting more than 100 Direct Customers. I was just 25 and took over the area which has always seen 50 plus guys as Sales officer for a long time.

 

I had 36 Petrol Stations under me with Coimbatore as base and branching to Udumalpet in one direction and Avanashipalayam in another direction, also covering the high selling Tirupur Belt. A key objective given to me was to ensure two Petrol Stations closed for financial reasons be reopened - Naga Auto Service, Chinnayampalayam and Shivalya Enterprises, Oonjavalampatti. Both were allocated to Socially backward people, as per the then Government Policy. The selection was done by Oil Selection Board, a body comprising of Senior Professionals from IOC, HPC and BPC, and the Petroleum Ministry.

 

Both these Petrol Pumps were commissioned in mid 1980's and by 1989 were non-operative. Regional Office of HPCL considered it a top priority that no Sales Outlets were kept closed. It was sacrilege.

 

Naga Auto Service, Chinnayampalayam issue was different and couldn't be solved easily as the Dealer was supposed to resign his Government job on getting the Dealership which he promised, but didn't do.

 

I turned my attention to Shivalaya Enterprises, situated in the outskirts of Pollachi town, on the road to Udumalaipet. My data and enquiries revealed that the dealer Natarajan was a young guy, educated and has run into financial problems. He hailed from Udumalpet. I proceeded to Udumalpet, and asked my elderly dealer there to get Natarajan to meet me. He was patient but adamant that he wont take the initiative. I was surprised, as the Dealer was a Sathwik by nature. I told him to send one of his staff to Natarajan's house with a message to see me. The staff was aghast at the suggestion. I couldn't understand what was going on. After much cajoling they told me that Natarajan belongs to a very low caste, and neither the dealer or his staff would even dream of going to his 'cheri' (slum). This was one of my first exposure to casteism as an adult.

 

I told them to send a staff with me to near  Natarajan's cheri, and then he can go off. They couldn't believe that me, a Brahmin, would visit that place!!. But HP Sales Officers wish cannot be brushed away, as for a dealer, we were everything. Reluctantly they asked the youngest of their staff, a boy of 15, to take me to the outskirts of the cheri. It was raining. The boy took me to within 500 mts of the cheri, and ran away. I ploughed my way through puddles, pigs, open drainage to a small hut. Word spread that HP Officer has come for Natarajan, and the people were plain hostile. The hut was small, and there was a small cobblers kiosk outside, as depicted in the picture, but much smaller. An old man, bent due to hours of sitting in the kiosk, with worry written large on his face, stood up with reverence and started crying "Sir, don't do anything to my son. He is innocent". His wife and daughter joined him and were in tears. It took me a while to comfort them  with the news that I was there to help Natarajan, and have not come to harm him. Once they were assured, they became extremely hospitable. They were very very very poor. By magic a chair came from nowhere, and a 'colour' was ordered for me - the highest honour they give to a VIP. They hesitantly asked whether I minded drinking colour if it was offered to me. When I nodded in affirmation, they were astonished, for they never thought a Brahmin would accept food from their house. Casteism at its worst. They were treated as outcastes.

 

The people of the Cheri surrounded me, and I was a bit embarrassed. I enquired them about Natarajan, and was told that he was in hiding from debtors, as he owed more than Rs  4 Lakhs, a fortune those days. They assured that he will meet me in the Hotel I was staying in Udumalpet that evening.

 

I took leave of those nice people, who were wearing torn and soiled clothes, poverty written all over and wondered why, after so many years of independence, these people had to live a life that was not fit even for animals. They had no water, electricity, steady income. And it also set me thinking "How did the Oil Selection Board" ever give the Dealership to a person from such background and expect him to successfully run the business?

 

The story continues in Part 2.................................

Unfinished Work

I am a die hard Modi supporter and vehemently anti-Congress. I hold Congress and the Nehru Dynasty to be the prime reason India languished with respect to development for 60 years. They never gave us a chance to realize our potential. My School/College days was one of scarcity, and one had to fight for even basic things. In 1980s, you have to book for a scooter and wait for 5-10 years, in 1990s you have to book for a LPG Connection and forget about it, as you would never be allotted one. Ditto for Telephone Connection or Electricity Connection. The trains had primitive facilities, and if you wanted to be an entrepreneur ( I became one in 1994 ) you have to know somebody in the Bank to get  your loan application in. I had to pay a real interest of close to 22% to for my term loan in 1994.

 

Vajpayee's tenure as PM towards the turn of the century was a welcome change. However, Vajpayee was not a game changer PM. He was as much a creation of the Delhi Clique as any other PM was. His loss in 2004, handing over a country on the rise to the nincompoop Manmohan Singh, remote controlled by Sonia Gandhi, was the worst thing that could have happened to India, barring the disastrous tenure of V P Singh in late 1980s.

 

When Modi was elected in 2014, amidst the backdrop of massive corruption by Sonia and Co, blatant minority appeasement by UPA, people like me made a silent thanksgiving prayer to the Gods. At long last, we have someone from outside Delhi, a hard core Hindu icon, and a person who has demonstrated his capability in Gujarat, as our PM.

 

Four years into his rule, I have to admit I have mixed feelings. True, he is way better than any other pretender to the throne. But that is not enough. As a devout Hindu, who cares for the preservation of Hindu Culture, there is a tinge of disappointment.

 

The successes are many. Demonetization, GST, Ujwala, Jan Dhan, Swach Bharath, Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme, Power Situation, Electrification, Infrastructure push, Udaan Scheme, Performance of Railways, Inflation Control, GDP Growth..............

 

However, one has to admit we have seen many areas where performance is less than satisfactory. Let me list out a few,

 

Smart Cities- This was a scheme which raised lot of expectation. People are fed up with creaking infrastructure in cities, coupled with their filthiness and local level corruption.  Despite launching the scheme with much fan fare, not much progress is to be seen. True, the State Governments have to take the initiative. But with BJP ruling nearly 20 out of 30 States, this is no excuse.

 

Conviction of the Corrupt - Having come on an anti corruption platform, there was a crying need for a Ministry handling this on a priority. Someone like Subramanyam Swamy heading this would have sent a strong message. Lot of blame for Modi Governments lack lustre performance on this front has to do with Arun Jaitley, who has sat on files for 4 years. But this should have been visible to Modi, and he should have taken steps to replace AJ long ago. Filing a case against Chidambaram or Sashi Tharoor in the 5th year is insufficient. What about Sonia and her family, especially Robert Vadra? 2G Scam? Coal Scam? Why is a convicted criminal like Lalu allowed to fake diseases and run his politics from premium hospitals? Cannot blame people if they think Modi is not serious about convicting the corrupt. Maybe he is reserving it to time it just before election in 2019, but people are not swayed by what happens in the final year.

 

Disinvestment - Despite lot of noises on Air India Disinvestment, nothing much has happened on the ground.

 

Development of Model Villages by MPs- This scheme is a disaster. This was a chance for BJP MPs to show they are doers. Funds were available. Is it asking for too much of our MPs to adopt two villages every year? It is a crying shame.

 

Education - Education sector in India needs not incremental changes, but a total reconstruction. Our kids are still being taught rubbish history, and the methodology is akin to that of Fort Model T. This ministry has been handled by incompetent idiots, when the crying need was for this to be entrusted to a doer, like Piyush Goyal or Gadkari. Admittedly, Modi is handicapped by lack of talent amongst his MPs. What prevented Modi from giving this Ministry to Yogi Adityanath during the first 3 years?

 

Short changing Hindus - Hindus has had a rough time under Congress regime, which is blatantly anti hindu. In a Hindu majority country, Hindus feel sidelined, and see the minority Christians and Muslims get special privileges, be it running educational institutions or religious places. One expected this to change under Modi. But it has been a big let down. RTE should have been scrapped or extended to cover all educational institutions. Temples should have been freed from Government control and given back to devotees. The Minorities should have been brought under government control. The message should have been loud and clear. This is a Hindu Majority country. We respect other religions, but understand Hindus get the first right on everything. If a BJP Government under Modi wont take care of Hindu interests, pray who will?

 

Finally, Pakistan - We started well but drifted during the last two years. We should have put economic sanctions, stopped Sushma Swaraj's medical matha rubbish of giving visas, scrapped MFN status, and in short told Pakistan to go fly a kite. We lack the guts to do that, and they will continue to hurt us.

 

Maybe Modi wants to tackle the shortcomings in the Second Term. One has to wait and see. But I just have a feeling, he had his chance, but blew it.

 

I have no doubt he will win another term in 2019, but will he return stronger? That is the million dollar question.