ChinmayC Blog

Following the national outrage over the IPL Spot Fixing Scandal and the dubious role played by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the shady unfolding we constantly wondered why nobody could control this mega-rich Board enough to cleanse the most popular game of the land. We saw aghast as the uncontrollable cricket masters arrived at compromises that suited them most. We felt despondent as most of the cricket conspirators started getting scot-free thanks to the limitations of the law of the land. We almost lost hope as SrinIndia (read BCCI Boss N Srinivasan) got ready to come back to his previously held seat of immense power. But today Bombay High Court showed the first signs that the BCCI could indeed be shackled. Sometimes in India rays of hope do really pierce the corrupt. As a part of the stupendous BCCI compromise formula the richest cricket board of the world appointed a two-member committee to probe the IPL Spot Fixing Scandal and two days back the committee, ...

A close relative who is a teacher in a high school told me recently that he gave up the responsibility of looking after the free midday meal scheme implemented in his school due to rampant corruption. He lamented that the quality provisions supplied to the school found their way to the homes and kitchens of various members of the staff almost regularly and the leftovers were left for providing meals to the students—many of whom are poor and needy. This has been the universal picture in the largest ‘dysfunctional democracy called India. Here the corrupt human hyenas are not satisfied with the leftovers, but devour away the main chunks. We have seen in this country how the fodder for animals gets siphoned off for the quick buck. The corrupt ‘human’ hyenas do not even spare the ‘human’ kids who have done them no harm at all. Right, in this great country there has never been any dearth of good and suitably targeted schemes, but at the implementation level always the hyenas muck it up in a ...

Veteran actor and the most beloved villain of Bollywood (read Hindi Cinema) passed away at 93 in a Mumbai hospital on the evening of July 12, 2013. He had not been keeping well for a long time and could not attend the National Awards Ceremony held in New Delhi on May 3, 2013. In an emotionally charged function at Pran's Residence in Mumbai on May 10, 2013 the Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewary accompanied by top officers presented the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award to the ailing legend.  The legendary actor and the classic villain of Bollywood had been cremated with full honors at Shivaji Park in Mumbai around noon yesterday. His body already in a deteriorating state could not be taken home and therefore directly transported to the crematorium in a symbolic last journey. Apart from thousands of fans cutting across the age barrier top stars of Bollywood including Amitabh Bachchan offered their tearful tributes. The national TV channels have been offering...

The Dhoni Assault! The World Champions, the Champions of Champions Trophy India have added one more tournament win to their bag of achievements by defeating Sri Lanka in the final of the West Indies Tri-Nation ODI Cricket Series on Thursday and taking home the Celkon Mobile Cup. Captain Cool MS Dhoni who with a hamstring injury keeping him out of the Series came back to play this match only and in a low-scoring thriller hit Sri Lanka’s almost unplayable bowler of the match Eranga for 16 runs needed to win in four balls of the last over of the match. With 45 not out Dhoni became the worthy player of the match while seamer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was adjudged the player of the Series. Just imagine Kumar was dropped or rested or whatever in a crucial match against Sri Lanka that put India almost out of the tournament. Anyway, the Champions came back from the brink of elimination, won two matches with bonus points and finally won the Cup. The track was a tricky and treacherous one helping both...

This is incredible cricket mixed lethally with persistent rains. After the first round in Kingston the West Indies Tri-Series ODI Cricket Celkon Mobile Cup tournament was in a most intriguing stage with all the three teams having a chance to play in the final. India yet to open their account had the hardest chance having to win both remaining matches ideally with bonus points to stay alive and sail into the finals as the venue shifted to Port of Spain where the rain became a sort of the ‘fourth umpire’. The hosts, West Indies were sitting pretty with 9 points from two wins in the first round having just to stave off big defeats if not win. Incredibly enough, India did win both matches with bonus points and ensured their place in the final yesterday crushing Sri Lanka by 81 runs in a match reduced by rains to 26 overs and the D/L method setting a target of 178 for Sri Lanka. Thanks to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s scintillating bowling (4 wickets for just 8 runs) Sri Lanka was shot out for onl...

Serial bomb blasts shattered the serene atmosphere of the Mahabodhi shrine in Bodh Gaya in the north Indian state of Bihar in the early hours today. In all there were nine blasts inside and outside of the holiest of holy Buddhist pilgrimage site that left two monks injured. Fortunately all the blasts were low intensity and could not damage the main temple. Bodh Gaya is the historic place where Lord Buddha got his enlightenment and pilgrims from across the globe visit the Mahabodhi shrine here regularly. The blasts were carried out in a well coordinated manner within half an hour between 5.50 and 6am. The Indian Home ministry had confirmed the strike as a terrorist attack, though no terrorist group has claimed responsibility so far. In the background of the large-scale ethnic classes between Rohingya Muslims and the Buddhists in Myanmar the Government of India has taken the attack in all seriousness and has issued advisory to all Indian states to ensure security for all Buddhist shrine...

Virat In Full Flow Team India kept its chances alive for a place in the final of the West Indies Tri-Nation ODI Cricket Series-2013 by crushing West Indies by 102 runs in the last league match between the two in Port of Spain , Trinidad yesterday. West Indies won the toss again and following the Kingston ‘trend’ elected to field first. But this time Team India was ready and did not bother about the ‘trend’ already demolished by Sri Lanka at their cost only the other day, though there were the usual scares and hiccups before stand-in captain Virat Kohli unleashed a breathtaking batting display. The opening duo Shikhar Dhawan (69) and Rohit Sharma (46) staged a rollicking partnership of 123 runs and after Dhawan was the first out wickets fell in regular intervals letting WI come back into the game with India at 168/4. This was a crucial juncture as India had to win the game possibly with a bonus point to stay afloat. Virat Kohli proved to be the inspiration behind a regrouped India ...

Sri Lanka on Tuesday achieved the unique feat of losing just one wicket to post a huge 300+ total while put into bat and India suffered one of its worst defeats in one-day cricket while chasing. Sri Lanka outplayed the ICC Champions Trophy-2013 winner in all departments of the game to win by whopping 161 runs in the third match of the West Indies Tri-Nation ODI Cricket Series being played in Jamaica and Trinidad. It was a rank bad day for India with nothing clicking for them including the changes done in the team. Shami Ahmed coming into the team out of nowhere and replacing Bhuvaneshwar Kumar—consistently the main strike bowler for India in recent matches—was a huge surprise as it was illogical. With captain MS Dhoni out of the Series due to injury selection of specialist opener Murali Vijay was another surprise because the hit Shikhar-Rohit opening duo could not at all be disturbed. As it turned out these changes in a crucial match like this contributed profusely for the Indian hum...

If you are following the political turmoil basically over the issue of corruption in India for the last two years rather seriously you cannot help but suffer from frequent spells of pessimism. You tend to feel that in 99.9 percent of cases corruption finally emerges victorious thanks primarily to the politics of corruption fought so shamelessly and without any sort of ideologies. So powerful are the lobbies of vested interests, so powerful are the people in power, so powerful are the chains of mutual interests and so toothless and ineffectual are the legal and judicial systems that the corrupt finally escape even after being charged or jailed or whatever. As you can righteously feel pessimistic in the recent IPL Spot Fixing Scandal after all the big stories of corruption almost every accused is currently out on bail and things do not at all augur well for justice being done in near future. The premier investigative agencies pursuing cases howsoever diligently are always targeted for a...