Money! Money! Money! It’s Not Cricket, But Hockey!

The Indian Hockey Team won the inaugural Asian Hockey Championship held in China beating arch rivals Pakistan. And the championship for money started anew.

The Hockey players came home triumphant, but they thought celebrations were not up to the mark—that is say—to the level of cricket triumphs! They were felicitated in a ministerial level function, but mayhem followed. They were given cash incentives of 25,000 rupees each (just above 500 dollars) which the players indignantly rejected. The Indian Hockey federation haplessly cited ‘no money’ as the reason and sent an S0S to the Indian sports minister. Immediately in the afternoon yesterday the minister hiked the amount to 150,000 rupees each along with 2.5 million rupees offered by a state government.

The hockey players were righteously angry. Recently, the world cup cricket winning Indian players were given 20 million rupees each along with many add-on thrown in by many connected with the game. At least give us something that can compare a little with the cricket money, they seemed to say. For a cricket match the cricketers get 200,000 rupees each while the hockey ones get a pathetic 1800 rupees per match! It was after all a question of adding one or two more zeros! While Team India actually makes zeros galore in some series performance or the other the money inflow hardly ebbs. And more importantly, the money-spinning T20 game always lurks around the corner to add the much desired zeros!

One star player of the hockey championship, Yuvraj Valmiki, lives in 16 by 16 slum hutment with no electricity in uptown Mumbai. Now things are rolling for Yuvraj (getting closer to the cricket Yuvraj?) with city corporations, local and regional politicians and many other organizations fully mobilized to help him out.

The Maharashtra government too yesterday announced a cash prize of 1 million rupees to the hockey pauper.

Yes, the sports inequalities in India are just like the income assets and wealth inequalities. But, you must thank only cricket powered by the richest cricket board of the world. The game of cricket sets the precedents to be demanded asked for and desired by the other sports fraternities. If cricketers were not given monumental incentives would the hockey players have succeeded in getting whatever they have got now?

It’s a question of money which is a follower of cricket which is again a follower of money! Don’t be funny and complain! The Championship of Money is only likely to hot up!

Terror Hits National Capital Now!

This morning around 10am a high intensity bomb blast  rocked High Court premises in New Delhi. The blast took place at the peak hours when lawyers and clients throng the gates. So far nine deaths have been confirmed with more than fifty injured. Some sources indicate more than 10 dead and around 45 grievously injured. Casualties are feared to go up.

After Mumbai serial blasts of July 13, 2011 terrorists now have targeted the national capital. As usual there was no intelligence inputs which looks ominous. Besides, there had been another blast, though minor, at the same place in Delhi on May 25, 2011. As if first they experimented the possibility and today carried out the actual plan. Much more experiments and plans could be in the terror pipelines. Our intelligence network must gear up for the challenge. This is not undermine the tremendous progress our intelligence has made to bust terror modules all over India since 2008. Never give the upper hand to the cowards excelling always in killing innocent defenseless people. 

We condemn the terrorist attack, we condemn terror. We must make those cowards to pay the price for their crimes against humanity. Pray for a terror free India.

Cricket: The 'Donkey' Identity!

"Donkey...Donkey...!...

...Lift your ears,
And blow your horn
To wake up the world
This sleepy morn!"

 Why should former England cricket team skipper Nasser Hussain call some members of Team India donkeys? If Team India has already conceded a total defeat margin of 5-0 and is in the process of making it 10-0 with the five match ODI series starting today, Nasser should have been the happiest cricketer on earth, considering the fact that he himself suffered many ignominies at the hands of India in the past! Well, nobody calls someone a donkey out of happiness or sheer pleasure. If somebody should have called Team India 'donkeys', it should have been the Indian public. One former Indian cricketer nearly did it! He said that Team India did not play or field so badly  to be called donkeys! Meaning if Team India goes on to concede 10-0 total defeat margin then they can be rightfully called donkeys! Right?

It's a horrendous comment, you see, from the point of view of the affected animal. Donkey is a legitimate species of mammals and should not be abused. This applies to all species of animals like dogs cats or pigs and in anger you should never abuse them against humans.

The Donkey Identity has yielded tremendous benefits too for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Team India. The BCCI has been engaged in verbal duel with the Indian Sports Minister who vows to make the 'arrogant' board accountable and answerable under Right to Information Act. Now BCCI can temporarily escape and indulge diligently in a 'national' cause. It's a godsend opportunity for the devastated Team India to run away from the present and take pride in not being donkeys. You see, the 'nationalist' spirit comes overwhelmingly handy in India to encounter or counter many unpleasant situations!

Donkey....Donkey...!...!