Dear ministers, you are only our servants.

Courtesy - Deccan Chronicle - 12/09/09

Austerity is a term used when a national government reduces its spending, usually to pay back creditors. And austerity seems to be the buzz word in the Parliament of late. The UPA government’s decision to implement austerity measures, though welcome, has already created a storm in the political circles.  It all started when ministers SM Krishna and Shashi Tharoor were asked to check out of the luxury hotels they were staying at. However, this definitely was uncalled for, because as far as my knowledge is, both the ministers were living off on their own hard earned money and not the taxpayers.

The issue kicked in further when Finance minister P Chidambaram ‘requested’ his peers to travel in Economy class while flying domestic and Business while on International flights. Of course, something not easy to digest for the Baabus. Although they agreed to it, their call for 1st class on International flights is very much in the wrong direction. Sharad Pawar even went on to point out the “hazards” of flying economy was the prospect of being intruded upon by other passengers. Perhaps someone should remind dear Mr. Pawar, that he just a servant of the public and not vice versa.

Shashi Tharoor had responded to the situation, saying on Twitter:

I would be ashamed if I was spending the people’s money. But I’m not – I’m spending my own savings.

As long as the ministers pay from their own pockets for special privileges it is okay. Most of them are rich and buying an Executive class ticket as they wish won’t nuke their pockets. Like Mr. Tharoor says the ministers, who are mere representatives of the people, should be ashamed to spend the people’s money for their luxuries.

Moving on, Rahul Gandhi called for the Congress to return to power in Tamil Nadu. He was here in TN to kick of a youth recruitment drive all across the state. I really hope his dream comes true and end the dominance of self-centered regional parties. While an alliance with the DMK may be good at the moment, the Congress will definetely need to rethink about it in the future, especially if it hopes for a revival of the party, like it did in Uttar Pradesh.

A deserved victory for Bhutia and co.

Three of my most favorite football teams are Manchester United, Atletico Madrid (Spain isn’t just about Barca and Real) and the Indian National Football team. Yes, you heard it right, the very team led by a certain Baichung Bhutia and coached by an Englishman named Bob Houghton. Ask any football fan in India and 8 out of 10 will tell you who top-scored in last season’s Premier League but ask them who the current I-League champions are and they would be clueless. That is football in India for you, where most of us  consider ‘Indian football’ as a non-existant entity.

For all those who saw the nerve-wrecking final of the Nehru Cup between India and Syria, I’m sure it must have been of a one of a kind experience. It was easily by far, one of the best games of football I’ve ever witnessed. No goals in regular time and with less than 10 minutes for penalties substitute Renedy Singh converted a free kick to send the crows to ruptures. He may not be a David Beckham but on that particular day he did much more than Beckham could ever do in his career – help win a trophy for his national side. But then, just when everybody thought the game is over for the Syrians, Ali Diab brilliantly headed the ball past the Indian ‘keeper with hardly any time left for the final whistle.

Ask Roberto Baggio or David Beckham. They wouldn’t think twice telling you that a penalty shootout is the most dreaded affair for any football player. No matter how big a superstar you are, when it comes to shooting the ball from 12 yards with just one person separating glory from you, it is not about skill or talent, rather its about the nerves. Unfortunately for the West Asians, nerves deserted them, along with luck. And then there was super-man Subrata Pal. The three saves he made were nothing short of being called spectacular. The moment Pal leaped to his left to stop Belal Abduldaim, I swear the song Chak De India was playing in my head. The Syrian Coach Fajer Ibrahim commented after the match that Syria could have romped home 4-0 had they scored and the Indians did not deserved the victory. Someone should remind him life, and football are not about possiblities, rather reality. The bottom-line is that Syria lost and India won. But what an irony that in both 2007 and 2009 India won the cup after losing to Syria in the league stages but defeating them when it mattered the most in the final. Lightning does strike twice after all.

India does have a lot of talent. Guys like Chhetri, Pal and NP Pradeep certainly deserve a shot in the European leagues, at least in the smaller ones like in Belgium. It is a pity that Chettri couldn’t make the cut for a work permit with QPR. Else he would have been the second Indian after Bhutia to play in England. What India lacks the most is enough match practice. In the last couple of years apart from two Nehru Cups and the AFC Challenge Cup, the team has hardly played a game. India needs to play more friendlies against better oppositions from Asia and if possible outside. I can’t wait to see India play  the likes of Japan and South Korea in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

Much ado about nothing

Shahrukh Khan arrested and detained  for suspicious behaviour. If you assumed that I’m talking about the recent ‘detainment’ of SRK at Newark International Airport, you are wrong. The arrest I’m talking about is in fact a part of the story of an upcoming Bollywood film.  And guess what, it stars none other but the mighty Shahrukh Khan himself. A mere coincidence? You decide.

Of course, I would be exaggerating if I say the Baadshah of Bollywood planned the ‘detainment’ in advance as a publicity stunt for ‘My Name is Khan‘, his next movie which follows a Muslim’s tribulations in post 9/11 America. You don’t have to pass through the immigration checks at Newark or travel to the USA to realize the ‘torture’ faced by the actor is something every Asian, Muslims in particular have long  faced. But to make such hue and cry about it was absolute shame. Whether you like it or not, these checks have prevented possible security violations.

Shahrukh couldn’t have asked for a better promotion for the film. He was simply in the right place in the right time. He is possibly the best person to know how to handle the media in the right way to hios own advantages. Now all he has to do is to wait for the media to highlight the similarity of the film to this real-life event faced bu the star of the film himself.  He may have shed crocodile tears and threatened ‘never to set foot in the US again’. But at the end of the day he is Bollywood’s biggest star and a big percentage of his moolah comes from overseas, in particular North America. Not just that, the whole incident also would also increase awareness about him among the Americans, probably even land him a future Hollywood role.

Shahrukh should learn a lesson or two from former President APJ Abdul Kalam. He kept his mouth shut and did not want up to stir a controversy after the ‘mistreatment’ meted out to him by an American airline. Be it SRK or Kalam, they are no different from the common man. They may have done great deeds but that doesn’t mean they get special treatment wherever they go. Very few Indians are aware of the fact that even former American Vice President Al Gore was checked after he inadvertently bypassed security. Unlike SRK, he made no fuss about it and politely went through the check.