Cricket: VVS Laxman Announces His Retirement!

He has been fondly called Very Very Special by cricket lovers and experts in India. Indeed, he has given Very Very Special moments to Indian cricket over the sixteen years of his superb innings. He could be called the crisis manager for Team India always rescuing the team from tight situations and with Rahul Dravid virtually forming the disaster management cell—saving hopeless matches and winning matches from hopeless situations. They excelled both in home and away conditions.

Vangipurapu Venkata Sai (VVS) Laxman announced his retirement from international cricket this afternoon at a press conference in his home city of Hyderabad. His retirement was expected ever since his listless performance in India’s disastrous tours of Australia-2011-12 and before that the tour of England-2011. Particularly when Rahul Dravid decided to call it a day Laxman’s retirement seemed imminent. But the legendary player kept on perhaps for the last memorable innings of his life during the packed domestic season-2012-13.

VVS Laxman stuck to his practice and training schedules at home despite not playing any international match since January, 2012. And, in fact, he was selected for the India-New Zealand cricket series starting on coming 23^rdAugust with the first Test to be played in Laxman’s home ground in Hyderabad. His fans were geared up to see him maybe in one last home appearance. But today, the Very Very Special cricketer shocked everyone by announcing his retirement with immediate effect.

Reports and speculation suggest that the Indian cricket selectors told him specifically to play his last two Tests against New Zealand and then retire. The great cricketer known for his slick and elegant leg cuts perhaps could not handle this cruel googly. He has always been the perfect gentleman in the gentleman’s game of cricket and never had any problem or dispute with anyone in his career spanning 16 years. The only time he expressed his disappointment was when he was not selected for the World Cup-2003 despite the fact that Laxman was playing the limited over games with much more dexterity during those years only. Now, true to his nature, Laxman candidly informed the media that he wanted to make way for younger players to be groomed in this long domestic season, and no hint whatsoever about possible pressure or compulsions.

In a career marked with highs and lows Laxman played exceptionally well against Australia scoring six of his seventeen hundreds in Test Cricket. His majestic innings of 281 in the Kolkata Test in 2001 against Australia remains a landmark even now. After being forced to follow on India went on to win that Test thanks to the VVS man who crafted an incredible partnership with Rahul Dravid. He had been a dedicated player in the truest form of the game—Test cricket, and maybe that is why could not adjust adequately to the shorter forms to excel. Thanks to his class he started as an icon in the shortest form called the Indian Premiere League that unfolded in 2007, but in its fifth version this year there were no buyers for him.

Fans and cricket lovers are going to miss him sorely. The Big Four of Indian batting is now reduced to just one with Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman gone and only Sachin Tendulkar sticking on. But hopefully the void will be filled with exciting young players like Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina and a few other promising batsmen.

Assam Violence: And Then Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore…India!

Some fundamentalists are playing a sinister game of communal politics taking advantage of the Assam violence that erupted in July, 2012. These forces are spreading rumors through mobile short text or multimedia messages and are trying to create panic—place by place and community by community.

First point to note is that Assam has had no history of communalism ever as we have said earlier too. What happened there was due to increasing economic pressures created by continuing illegal immigration over the decades and the erupting ethnic violence involved poor people of various communities who just want to survive. These threatened people cannot afford to indulge in religious luxuries or wars.

The Assam violence had its first case of blatant misuse in Mumbai in the afternoon of August 11, 2012. People of a community of Mumbai had a demonstration to protest against the ‘killings’ of their people in Assam which was untrue conceptually, because the ethnic violence was not a ‘killing’ spree, it was a terrible and almost inevitable human tragedy. Anyway, the protest march was planned peacefully and in a democracy it had to be permitted. But some evil forces penetrated the march and created mayhem in the most prominent locality of the city. Nobody expected such a chaotic situation from a peaceful demonstration and it took the police and the media who were the main targets by total surprise. For one hour the unbelievable rioting, burning, loot and anarchy prevailed leading to deaths to two people and injuries to many including policemen and journalists and media vans. The fundamentalist forces had their first strike. 

One led to the other. After the Mumbai violence many people admitted receiving inflammatory and instigating messages regarding the planned protest. The messages then spread to Pune and the students of the North East region where Assam is situated were reportedly harassed and threatened. Then the evil designs invaded Bangalore—the IT hub of India. North Eastern students started fleeing their hostels in panic and in thousands taking the next available trains or flights.

The fundamentalist forces are trying to create a communal divide all over India by targeting the North Eastern students in the garb of ‘revenge’. The government of India and the concerned states have been taking steps to reassure the safety of all people from Assam and the North East living anywhere in India. But the rumor mongers and the divisive forces must be stopped before they target new areas. All of the evil forces must be punished immediately and involved politicians in this sinister game must be identified.

Stop the Assam Tragedy NOW to SAVE India tomorrow.

Indian Independence Day-2012!

Citizens of India are celebrating the 66^th Independence Day today. The Independence Day’s features are: hoisting of the Tricolor, respect to the nation, patriotic fervor, the spirit of togetherness and unity, a sense of duty and taking of pledges for noble causes and deeds.

Happy Independence Day to All of You! 

Freedom in the Mind.....

Faith in the Words.........

Pride in our Souls.........

Let's salute the Nation!