Look for angles

I have been enjoying watching US Open Tennis on the TV screen these days. Being the month of Ramadan, one can afford to watch late night matches.

Of late I am wondering where the genuine serve and volleyers have gone. They have become as rare as the Lion tailed monkey in Silent Valley, an endangered species.

Heavier balls, taller and stronger players, the switch to bigger composite racquets, luxilon strings, coaching academies churning out baseliners, profligacy of hard courts, the power centre shifting to Europe, and nearly two decades of top players who were baseliners like Borg, Wilander, Lendl, Courier, Agassi, ................. even Sampras, Federer and Nadal - all had a tremendous impact on the youngsters.

To really think of a last great serve and volleyer, one has to go back about couple of decades to John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker. The only serve and volleyer in the mens section today is Taylor Dent and there is none in the distaff side.

Despite all the brilliance of Roger Federer, one would wish he would come to the net more often. He has amazing touch, has a superb volleying techiniques and more importantly he has the best footwork - a much under rated aspect of his game. This would also be his key to correct his bad record against Nadal, for man to man Nadal is stronger from the baseline. Why RF doesnt adopt to serve and volley against Nadal is still a mystery.

Though these days the ground strokes can be an aggressive weapon, there is no greater thrill than when a serve and volleyer charges up the net and tries and puts pressure on the baseliner. Anticipating a pass, intercepting with an acute angle volley is an amazing scene. Attack vs Defence - the contrast, that is what makes the game so absorbing to watch. The acceleration toward the net, the cool angles that are created on the volleys, the fast pace and athleticism, and most of all the simple idea of cause and effect, risk and reward: oh! how I miss them all. I am convinced that serve and volley is still a viable strategy, even in the age of the ground-stroke missile and the dipping return. One just have to take the best young prospects and teach them that mindset from the beginning.

Who can forget the amazing racquet control of McEnroe at the net, or a Stefan Edberg gliding up with pinpoing volleys or Boris Becker diving around in the fore court. Amongst the modern day players, I have seen Roger Federer display unbelievable touch in the net - he is as comfortable picking up a half volley from the boot laces or volleying solidly on either side as he is on hitting his booming ground strokes. And he has one of the best serves in the Game. I can't see Nadal, Murray, Djokovic, Del Potro, Davidenko or any other top 10 venturing beyond the service return line other than to shake hands.

The Volley enables the player to use the angles very very effectively. If you have a doubt, just watch a good doubles match. When I started playing Carrom Board, I was taught to use the angles and I have found it to be the best advice I ever had. In fact I had carried forward that advice to my life as well - I am always aggressive, looking for the angles that will baffle others.

A thought provoking Article

I am not one for giving links to other articles unless they are really worth reading. A maverick myself, I love others of the same genre. Swaminathan Ankleshwara Aiyar, who has a weekly column in Times of India is known for his out of the box thinking. I have found many of his articles food for thought. This one, the link to which is given below on the future of Cars is worth reading. Though the concept of hybrid cars and electric cars is old hat, the narration is quite novel as it has an Indian angle to it. Should interest marketing students of mine.

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Swaminomics/entry/tata-motors-think-electric-for

Guruve Namaha

Na Guror adhikam adhikam tatvam, na Guror adhikam tapah
Tatva-gyanat-param nasti tasmai Sree Guruve Namaha

There is no higher truth than the Guru, no higher penance than (service to) the Guru, and there is nothing higher than Realisation of the Knowledge of the truth imparted by the Guru. My salutations to such a Gurudev, who is himself that very timeless truth (and who has taken up a form to bless his disciples like us with real knowledge).

A silent prayer to all my Teachers, both formal and informal, who have contributed to me becoming what I am today.

Today is 5th September, birthday of Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, celebrated as 'Teachers Day' in India.

The Disastrous Disaster Management in India

The unfortunate helicopter crash that killed the Andhra Chief Minister, Y S Rajasekhar Reddy has brought to focus again our inadequacies as a nation to do mount an effective SAR (Search and Rescue) operation. It is ridiculous that it took us 24 hours to reach the accident spot.

India, of late, never tired of shouting from the roof top htat is a super power in information technology, nuclear sciences and space. But when it came to locating a crashed chopper, we failed to levarage this.

It is not about SAR alone. As a Country, we pay scant attention to Disaster Management -both prevention and post disaster activities.

I was in Guruvayoor temple a while back. The temple is overcrowded at any point of time with millions of devotees thronging its sannidhi. At best a harrowing experience, some ingenious guy has found a way to put crude barricades to manage the serpentine queue using steel pipes. The confined barricaded queue goes on and on, zig zaging the East Nada with absolutely no way a person can get out once he enters the barricade, whether he be sick or holding a kid, he/she is forced to stand in the queue for anything between 4-6 hours with no exit. Ditto in Tirumala and many other temples.

Municipal authorities give scant attention to Fire Safety regulations. In developed countries, and even in Kuwait, one cannot get a licence unless proper precautions including clearly lit Exit which is free of obstacles is available. But in India, no one bothers. The tragedy in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu a few years back when a school operating in thatched shed burnt with students charred to death unable to get away is still vivid in the mind.

Our emergency forces lack the equipment, training and the will power to manage any emergency including road accidents effectively. It is always the locals, good samaritans, who are seen taking leadership in the event of an accident, fire or a train mishap. But in the bargain, they unwittingly, destroy crucial evidence that can lead the investigators to the actual criminal or cause. The police and fire service take pleasure in throwing their weight around while hardly doing anything. Ditto the ability of the hospitals to handle large scale disasters. We often see critical patients lying on the floor in unhygenic conditions. And to add to the horror, it is next to impossible for the anxious relatives to get proper information for there wont be any hotlines or help desks, and even if it is there, one wont get a proper answer.

We value life cheaply. That is the root cause for this apathy. We talk about the need for disaster management for a couple of days after every disaster, and then it is back to status quo till the next disaster.

What is wrong with our schooling?

The Education Minister Kapil Sibal is in a hurry. Notwithstanding the fact that Education is a Concurrent Subject (meaning decisions can be taken only by the Centre and the States together) he has gone about tinkering with the system by abolishing the Class X exams (or making it 'optional', whatever that means) to reduce the stress of the students.

This is just treating the symptoms. Stress is an effect, the cause of which is not the Examinations.

The Japanese have mastered the art of Root Cause Analysis using many tools like the Fish Bone Diagram or by simple asking 'Why' five times. Our honourable minister has not even contemplated asking 'Why' even once.

If he cared enough to dig deep into the problem, he would have found out many things wrong with our schooling.

The syllabus is outdated. The system is extremely rigid and regimental. The teaching methodology is archaic to say the least. The student-teacher ratio is 1:50 in many of the lower classes, whereas it should be 1:15. The syllabus is too heavy at the primary schools. Added to it is the dreaded load of homework. Children hardly get time to play. They rarely indulge themselves in hobbies. It is a common thing to hear kids 6,7,8,9 to say that they are busy- with home work and exams. And I am talking about students studying in good schools. The plight of the Government Schools that take care of 70% of the students is pathetic. The infrastructure is poor, there are inadequate teachers and the system do not attract good teachers.

It is ridiculous that all the Children have to study the same syllabus of their stream, whether it be State Board or CBSE, till they complete 10th. A 15 year old is much more aware than what we were in their age. They have clear career choices. They should be encouraged to experiment at a much earlier age.

It is proved scientifically that the best time to learn languages is till one is 12. The other hard skills can be developed after that. Of late we are ignoring language and humanities. This is reflected in 99% of our students graduating without being able to read or write adequately. I teach many MBA students who have studied in English medium and are in mid 30s. Most cannot write one paragraph without a grammatical error in English. And their command over their mother tongue is still woeful. Why is it that we do not give an option for the students to study psychology, philosophy, music, arts in depth in the school. Many want to do that. It is not possible to study these subjects once they are in the College, for if they do it then, they will have to have a career in that stream, which they may not want.

My recommendation is to have common subjects till the 6th standard and give the students an option of minor subjects from 7 -10th. For eg: let us have 8 subjects of which only 5 will be evaluated. The balance optional 3 has to be done but there wont be any evaluation. But the student needs to show a certain level of proficiency in their optional subjects. This will ensure they learn this with enjoyment.

Finally, the instructor led lecture mode and learning by rote has to be scrapped from the LKG. Students should learn through experimentation. Kerala Government came up with a stunning plan to come up with a creative teaching methodology a decade back, but lack of commitment and prior preparation did not allow it to reach its logical conclusion.

We do not want our education system to churn out mediocre students who dont learn leadership, empathy, social awareness, communication skills or in general soft skills. What we want to create is a society that is vibrant with dynamic, inquisitive, decisive, knowledgable, risk taking young people who are multi faceted.

Making Class X examination alone is not the way forward.

Happy Onam

Yearning for those years of equality, integrity, honesty and prosperity............................................

Happy Onam to All of You

30 years and 30 seconds

Pablo Picasso ( 1881 -1973) was a great Painter and a Sculptor.

One day, a woman spotted him in the market and pulled out a piece of paper.


"Mr Picasso," she said excitedly, "I'm a big fan. Please, could you do a little drawing for me?"


Picasso complied and quickly etched out a piece of art for her on the paper provided.


He smiled as he handed it back to her, and said, "That will be a million dollars."


"But Mr Picasso," the flustered woman replied, "it took you only 30 seconds to do this little masterpiece."


"My good woman," Picasso laughed, "it took me 30 years to do that masterpiece in 30 seconds."