1. Football, the Favourite.
The first match between India and the US of the under 17 FIFA World Cup will get going, this evening, at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in New Delhi. Over the past weeks, the enthusiasm towards the game has reached great levels and the popularity has no age bar. Just goes to show that in this country every game is popular, it just requires the right approach to attract popular support.
There was a general feeling that the Indians responded favourably only to cricket. Hockey, the once favoured game, does not figure anywhere on the adulation scale which is a sad story and I must say, unwittingly scripted by us because we didn't foresee the changes that were coming in and we didn't insist on our format, which was beautifully artistic!
I'd seen the sad transformation while at the NDA. The game that I was witness to in my first term, during Spring '73 was artistic where players flicked, tackled and played wrist shots sending the ball to their intended positions in a seemingly easy manner and the ball remained within the field for almost the entire duration of the game. The sticks never went up beyond the knees and yet the shots had sufficient force that could hurt anyone that came its way. By Autumn '75, during my final term, the texture of the game had changed with the sticks straying up beyond the knees quite often with the ball going out of the field every now and then. It seemed to be a modified form of cricket with hockey sticks!
May the game of Football prosper, attract more youngsters so that we have an international team that can compete with the best in the business within a span of a couple of years!
2. Simultaneous Polls.
The announcement by the Election Commission that it would be ready to conduct the general elections along with with the Assembly elections come Sep '18, if delivered, would become the biggest electoral reform in years. However, the entire spectrum of political parties needs to come to a unanimous decision for it to be implemented. The system of simultaneous polls was upset in '67 when a few state governments fell out of power due to a variety of reasons and elections had to be held to install their alternatives.
It would definitely bring about two things:-
(a) The country's propensity to be on election mode, all through, will become a thing of the past.
(b) Governance, consequently, will attain focus!
3. Getting to Know the Right Information.
I've been grappling with my erratic cellphone for quite a while. Actually, between Lekha and Achu, my nephew, a new instrument was bought in June but has not been commissioned till date thanks to procrastination on my part. All it requires is a micro sim card against the existing one(I want it to be converted to 4G from the 2G that I have at the present). This will enhance the speed and efficiency.
I need to identify the company's store in the near vicinity where I could get the needful done. It has been lethargy, instead! Must get it done before my trip, abroad, next week.
Tailpiece.
Today was the first remembrance day of the 91 year old Haridasa Menon, of our neighbourhood, as per the Malayalam calendar. He'd passed into the mist of time 13 days after my mom, last year!
The first match between India and the US of the under 17 FIFA World Cup will get going, this evening, at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in New Delhi. Over the past weeks, the enthusiasm towards the game has reached great levels and the popularity has no age bar. Just goes to show that in this country every game is popular, it just requires the right approach to attract popular support.
There was a general feeling that the Indians responded favourably only to cricket. Hockey, the once favoured game, does not figure anywhere on the adulation scale which is a sad story and I must say, unwittingly scripted by us because we didn't foresee the changes that were coming in and we didn't insist on our format, which was beautifully artistic!
I'd seen the sad transformation while at the NDA. The game that I was witness to in my first term, during Spring '73 was artistic where players flicked, tackled and played wrist shots sending the ball to their intended positions in a seemingly easy manner and the ball remained within the field for almost the entire duration of the game. The sticks never went up beyond the knees and yet the shots had sufficient force that could hurt anyone that came its way. By Autumn '75, during my final term, the texture of the game had changed with the sticks straying up beyond the knees quite often with the ball going out of the field every now and then. It seemed to be a modified form of cricket with hockey sticks!
May the game of Football prosper, attract more youngsters so that we have an international team that can compete with the best in the business within a span of a couple of years!
2. Simultaneous Polls.
The announcement by the Election Commission that it would be ready to conduct the general elections along with with the Assembly elections come Sep '18, if delivered, would become the biggest electoral reform in years. However, the entire spectrum of political parties needs to come to a unanimous decision for it to be implemented. The system of simultaneous polls was upset in '67 when a few state governments fell out of power due to a variety of reasons and elections had to be held to install their alternatives.
It would definitely bring about two things:-
(a) The country's propensity to be on election mode, all through, will become a thing of the past.
(b) Governance, consequently, will attain focus!
3. Getting to Know the Right Information.
I've been grappling with my erratic cellphone for quite a while. Actually, between Lekha and Achu, my nephew, a new instrument was bought in June but has not been commissioned till date thanks to procrastination on my part. All it requires is a micro sim card against the existing one(I want it to be converted to 4G from the 2G that I have at the present). This will enhance the speed and efficiency.
I need to identify the company's store in the near vicinity where I could get the needful done. It has been lethargy, instead! Must get it done before my trip, abroad, next week.
Tailpiece.
Today was the first remembrance day of the 91 year old Haridasa Menon, of our neighbourhood, as per the Malayalam calendar. He'd passed into the mist of time 13 days after my mom, last year!
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