Posts from — November 2006

One of the three majestic white tigers, at the famous Singapore Zoo, wades through the pool to cool off on a warm and humid day.

It was the feeling of awe that I experienced when I saw these tigers at the Singapore Zoo when I was in Singapore last week on a vacation. Being a model of the “open zoo” concept, one can see these majestic animals move around in large “natural” areas… as opposed to seeing weakened animals lie listlessly in cramped cages in older zoos like the one in Mumbai.

But I’ve been reading news that there are plans afoot to convert Mumbai Zoo into an open zoo based on the Singapore model. Now that’s an idea whose time has come!

B Manoj Kumar and Mohammed Shaibaaz Tumbi, two 13-year old school-boys from Hyderabad, have managed to eclipse a record set by Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli in February 1988. They scored a world-record partnership of 721 runs off 40 overs to break the 664-run partnership record set by Tendulkar and Kambli. But then, you know that already! The news has been all over the media. These two (obviously quite talented) schoolboys are being heralded as the next Tendulkars and Kamblis. Too premature, I say!

Of course there is no doubt that 721 runs in 40 overs in a competitive match is no mean feat. But one must consider the fact that the other team was all-out for a mere 21 runs. That gives us a measure of the other team’s ability (or the lack of it, at least!)

By the way, one interesting point to note here is the way the two mammoth partnerships were achieved.

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Saina Nehwal, the rising teen badminton prospect from India, narrowly missed out on a junior World championship title this week. But her loss in the final should not detract from her awesome form and talent… and of course, the tremendous potential she possesses to be the next world-beater in badminton. With a coach like the quietly efficient Pullela Gopichand at hand, Saina has good things going for her. She needs all the encouragement in the form of top-notch training and consistent sponsorship.

But at the same time, the greatest dis-service that can be done to her is to inordinately hype her up to a point where she ends up becoming a poster girl for badminton rather than a true blue badminton champion. And it’s alarming to note that the media that was oblivious to her junior world championship campaign, suddenly jumped in on her entry into the finals and painted her as the star that she is yet to become. Of course, Saina needs all the publicity as that gets the whole country behind her, in spirit as well as in terms of sponsorships, etc. Because when that happens, she can concentrate purely on her game without worrying about the fringe details that may distract her. But can we please have some sense of responsibility from the media? Can we expect that we won’t be subjected to stories and pictures in the media (print, broadcast and online) that concentrate on the newest pair of ear-rings she sports or the cheekiest lines on the t-shirts she wears!

I voice this fear based on the obvious example of Sania Mirza, who undoubtedly is the best tennis talent we have produced since Hesh and Lee, and yet has hardly done justice to her talent. For all the talent she showed in her first year in international tennis, all she’s managed in the second is a great put-on American accent and an attitude worthy of a Bollywood starlet! It would be a shame to see Saina go down the same route.

So just let’s leave Saina Nehwal alone and let her concentrate on what she does best - play good badminton and win matches consistently!

Did Damien Martyn push/shove BCCI president Sharad Pawar? Is the Indian media (and subsequently politicians, ex-cricketers and the public) justified in raising hue and cry over the incident? Does this require a formal probe by Cricket Australia so that the “guilty” can be “brought to justice” or even an apology?

Of course not!!

What Damien Martyn did was just a reaction of a jubilant player eager to lay his hands on a trophy that had eluded his team up until that moment. He simply seemed to usher Sharad Pawar to one side so he could join his teammates in holding the Champions Trophy aloft. There was nothing insulting in that gesture or at least there was nothing in the pictures that made me project nefarious intentions onto Martyn’s actions. So the media hue and cry is nothing but a tactic to fill up airtime. As far as the politicians are concerned, I don’t blame them for using this “incident” to display their nationalistic fervour. But I am surprised and concerned that players including the normally reticent Tendulkar have chosen to comment on this as though the Australian team has committed a grave crime! It just goes to fortify the thought that there is a definite Asian-nonAsian divide emerging in world cricket. And that’s really unfortunate!

Having said that, I must confess that Ricky Ponting’s gesture, asking Pawar to hand over the trophy, was quite rude and cannot be put down to enthusiasm or over-exuberance of victory. Of course, I don’t demand a probe or an apology for it. I reckon it’s a cultural thing and no amount of disciplining and/or apologies is gonna change it in a hurry! The only thing worth doing is to dish it out to the Aussies in the same coin… on the field!!

Fresh margherita pizza from the wood-fired ovens at Vista, the 24-hour café at Taj Land’s End, Mumbai. It was the part of a scrumptious brunch buffet I enjoyed there, with a couple of dear friends, last Sunday. The Sunday Brunch buffet at Vista comes highly recommended… if one discounts the desserts. I think the best buffet desserts are available at any of the restaurants in at Marriott, Mumbai.