Young India upset world champions Aussies

By John Cheeran
It is just not that the Young India won at Melbourne today but the Twenty20 World Champions defeated Fifty50 world champions Australia in a convincing fashion - by five wickets.
This is a remarkable win when you consider that India has beaten Australia in Australia in a Fifty50 international contest,
only twice in recent times.
During the 2003-2004 trip under Sourav Ganguly, India won only once against Australia in the triangular series. Let’s hope that Mahendra Singh Dhoni can build on the win at MCG and push the World Cup finalists to the brink in the coming days.
Low scoring matches in one-day internationals are rarer but they become quite often, engrossing affairs. So was the clash at MCG.
India and its bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad can afford a smile of satisfaction after young pacers S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma exploited the weather conditions in a sensible manner.
The early blows delivered by Sreesanth and Ishant rattled the cocky Aussies after Ricky Ponting elected to bat.
If not for Michael Hussey’s grit and gumption, World Champions would have struggled to go past 100.
India did well to reach the target of 160 runs without much flutter though they lost five wickets. Sachin Tendukar’s experience of having seen and played through such variegated playing conditions all over the world shone through as he tamed Brett Lee, Bracken and Johnson.
Rohit Sharma, another Mumbai boy, would have learnt from the Tendulkar tackled the attack. For Rohit, the learning curve continues Down Under.
But for Yuvraj Singh’s wretched form with the bat, things are slowly falling in place for the Young India.

Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games: A Review

By John Cheeran
Finally I finished it - reading Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games.
Sacred Games’ volume kept me away from it for more than a year but with nothing better to do during these days I raced through with delight and towards the end with disappointment.
Vikram Chandra does not need any certificate from me for his ability as a writer. He writes well and the world has recognized his talent.
Sacred Games, however, does not go beyond being a page-turner. And even in that sense, Chandra lets the reader down after promising much in the early stages of the novel.
Chandra has spent considerable energy in building Ganesh Gaitonde’s character but it all comes to naught when he tackled the mystery surrounding his suicide.
Only a naïve reader would be convinced by Chandra’s reasoning that Gaitonde shot himself when provoked by a pimp that his great turn on Zoya Mirza was faking it all.
Where else have you read a crime lord committing suicide when questioned about his virility?
Chandra should have tried harder to work his plot better.
So is the mystery regarding Sidharth Shukla, the guru, who had a master plan to remake the universe but Chandra makes him vanish without enough explanations.
It is quite evident that Chandra started playing the Games without having much of a clue about the all-important end game.
Chandra, however, has a wonderful eye for detail and a dazzling sense of humour. He has managed to place the Sacred Games in the heart of contemporary India, and more specific, Mumbai.
Some of his lines have stayed with me. Let me quote him.
“I could put two bullets in every limb, one in her belly, one in her chut, one in that unreachable heart.” That is Gaitonde on Mirza.
Have some more. “When she smiled your heart slammed into your spine and staggered your back like a bullet.”
“Typing in ‘lauda’, I found a site for an airline named exactly that, and a site about some racing car driver.”
Chandra, I must say, had ambitions to match the scale and intensity of what Don Delillo achieved in his Underworld, but has fallen by quite a long distance.
In recent times there has been a spate of books on Mumbai. Sukutu Mehta’s Mumbai: the Maximum City and Gregory Robertson’s Shantaram were remarkable in their distinct ways. Maximum City was great journalism and Shantaram won praise for its fictionalized account of lives in peril.
Alas, Chandra has frittered away his opportunity to write that Great Indian Novel.
Better luck next time.

Peter Lalor, The Australian, and We The Indians!

By John Cheeran
The Australian newspaper’s cricket writer Peter Lalor has provoked a debate on the unfair reportage by the Indian media during the just finished Test series against Australia Down Under.
Lalor makes two big points in his column. One is about umpiring and other is on crowd behaviour.
Lalor excoriates Indian media for their hypocrisy.
He refers to when the West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor did not give Indian fast bowler S Sreesanth out during the first Test at Lord’s when England required only one wicket to win the match. Many felt that Sreesanth was out LBW on that occasion but Indian media did not discuss that decision but were happy with the draw.
So, Lalor asks, why make such a fuss when the same Bucknor makes more mistakes, now against India in Australia?
Well, Lalor, everyone has a right to be stupid, but one should not abuse that right.
When Bucknor did not give Sreesanth out, it was not Indian media’s business to protest that decision, England has its cricket writers. The BCCI with its money power did not muzzle out the English media.
And, Lalor, being cognoscenti, should have known that Indian media and team management were not protesting decisions against a No.11 batsman.
A decision going against No.11 batsman has only that importance, even considering the match situation at Lord’s.
England was pressing for a win, and visibility was poor etc.
England did not win the Lord’s Test against India not because Bucknor’s stupidity but their bowlers’ incompetence.
And in Australia Anil Kumble’ s boys had to contend with Bucknor giving not out to a seasoned all rounder such as Andrew Symonds. And other stupid decisions that resulted in the dismissals of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
Lalor must be really a patriot to compare Sreesanth decision to the horrendous blunders Bucknor committed in the second Test at Sydney.
And to consider that Symonds had the cheek to declare that he knew he was out when Bucknor refused to give him out! And Lalor has no problems with a player who betrays the spirit of the sport.
Indians and their media have every right to be incensed. Their incandescent rage, in fact, played a major role in India winning the third Test at Perth.
And Perth victory nailed Lalor’s argument. India showed that they can trump Australia given fair umpiring.
Lalor should remember that in the series he was referring to, England never came close to winning the remaining two Tests, that too on their home turf. In fact Rahul Dravid’s India won the second Test and almost won the third Test.
Now for the monkey chant against Symonds.
Lalor should know that in some regions, Indians build temples for their monkeys. Lord Hanuman and his great leap across to Sri Lanka are great feats in Indian folklore.
And remember this. Who’s whining? Aussies. Those who employed under arm bowling against Kiwis, and the masters of sledging.
And Lalor should know this-- Indian cricket fans come from a social spectrum, unimaginable for an average Aussie. You will find beggars, sadhus, corporate honchos, teens, veterans, fishmongers, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, poets, perverts and drunkards at the Indian stands.
All of them may not react like what you may prefer to call in a ‘civil’ manner.
We lynch our neighbours when a riot suits us.
Aussies should be grateful for what they get while they come playing. Including Symonds, that is.

Brisbane rain may wash away India's sins

By John Cheeran
India escaped from Brisbane with two points in a game in which they deserved none. Australia, thanks to Brett Lee’s brilliant bowling clearly had the edge, but rain during the Aussie innings came to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s rescue.
It was a young, experimental batting line up from India at Gabba. None can quarrel with the team management for giving Manoj Tiwari and Rohit Sharma their chances. Rohit did play some colourful strokes, but the youngster needs to think beyond Twenty20s.
So should Dhoni. Where are the runs, Indian captain?
It is quite right thing to talk about 2011 World Cup, but let’s concentrate on the task at hand -- that is, winning the tri-series against Aussies and Sri Lanka.
I’m sure as the days go by, India’s one-day team, with a large dose of youngsters, will find its moorings and keep the series alive.
In fact, in the absence of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, Dhoni has a great opportunity now in Australia to make amends for the collective crime of Indian team during the World Cup in the West Indies.
Can there be a better chance to tell the world that Indians are a combative side in the pulsating arena of one-day cricket when you have enemies such as world champions Australia and runners up Sri Lanka?
May be, the rain at Gabba might have washed away the Indian cricketers’ sins and purified their mind and body for the battles ahead.

Meaning and meltdown in Melbourne

By John Cheeran
Only a fool will read too much into the nine-wicket drubbing India received at the hands of Australia in the Twenty20 match in Melbourne.
But on the other hand, this loss was no ordinary defeat. If you haven’t forgotten, Indians are the World Champions of Twenty20.
So Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his stunt boys should have performed better than a bunch of clowns. They should have come up with something better than the 74 they posted.
And more vexing is the fact that Robin Uthappas, Gautam Gambhirs, Rohit Sharmas and Dinesh Karthicks could not stretch the Indian innings to 20 overs.
Captain Dhoni has improved only in his captaincy as he rightly blamed the batsmen and their irresponsible ways for the defeat.
What did Dhoni himself do?
On the current form, he should be nowhere near the Indian dressing room.
And in the end, a few of us were left wondering why Sachin Tendulkar did not make his much-awaited debut in the Twenty20s at Melbourne.

Rahul Gandhi meets Madam Poverty

By John Cheeran
It indeed was a historic moment the other day at Amethi.
Much like Siddhartha, and quite strikingly that is, another Rahul was looking for meanings.
The Prince of India, and son of Amethi, left his New Delhi abode and went into the wilderness in search of what I’m being told, the meaning of poverty.
It is a pity that after 37 or so years of living as an Indian, Rahul Gandhi, had to visit a hut in Amethi to know all about poverty.
And this is after his grandma abolished the said phenomenon with the magic words of “Garibi Hatao” in 1970s.
Reports in the Indian media say that Rahul Gandhi asked a Dalit girl named Sunita the meaning of being poor during a fly-by-night revival of the political behemoth, the Congress Party.
Let me a quote from a newspaper report.
” Sunita’s reply that poverty to her meant spending the day working to ensure that there was diner at night moved the youth leader. He visited her kitchen and insisted that he would share their dinner. He sat on the floor of the kitchen and shared the meal the family had prepared for themselves.”
It is important to note that if all goes well, at a certain point in time, Rahul Gandhi is bound to shoulder the burden of ruling the nation. He is already representing Amethi constituency in the Parliament.
So whatever the Prince of India does, it matters.
But it should be better Rahul gets his enlightenment from the managers of his party rather than indulging in such gimmicks. Does Rahul admit that he became an MP without knowing anything about the living conditions of his voters in Amethi?
If Rahul was willing to see, he could have met Madam Poverty and her brood in New Delhi itself.
There is more to India than 10, Janpath, Mr Gandhi.

National Herald: End of An Era

By John Cheeran
National Herald, the newspaper conceived by Jawaharlal Nehru, is preparing to put together its last edition.
And, I’m sure, none in New Delhi will miss the parting of this herald. Not even its employees.
No journalist in Delhi will feel the absence of this one-time legendary newspaper, for it had ceased to have any presence even in the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, from where it used to bring out the inky editions.
For seven years I trudged down the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg never once I bothered to step in that office, even when I wandering without a job.
Now that I’m reading AFP wire copy saying that Herald is ceasing publication, it amazes me that I have never seen a copy of this paper, which played critical role in the Indian Independence struggle.
Well, I have walked past history, without allowing, not even a particle of dust from that history to settle on my shoulders.
In the twenty first century, Soniaji’s Congress does not need National Herald, though it has continued till its last breath as the official newspaper of the party.
Today, Congress and Sonia have better mouthpieces than National Herald. So amidst dwindling revenue and falling circulation, the Congress chief’s decision to perform last rites to the newspaper seems a sensible decision.It is interesting to note the current editor-in-chief T.V. Venkitachalam.
“We do not follow the latest fashion and Bollywood trends. In all these years, the paper has adhered to the values Nehru espoused – objectivity and the tradition of independence. There has never been any interference from the Congress. But we never bothered too much about the business aspect of paper,” he said.

Harbhajan, Symonds, Darwin and Lord Hanuman!

By John Cheeran
Now the Australians are fuming, including Ricky Ponting, and all other media pundits.
The point is that there was not enough evidence against Indian off spinner Harbhajan Singh as having abused Andrew Symonds racially.
It has been alleged that Harbhajan called Symonds monkey during the Sydney Test.
There is truth in the argument that the Indian cricket board’s financial clout and the BCCI’s threat to pull out the side from the forthcoming one-day triangular series in Australia played a major role in arriving at the Harbhajan verdict.
Aussies are enraged because an Indian could get away with his sharp tongue. It is also true that during Australia’s last tour to India, the local crowd abused Symonds by calling him a monkey.
According to Charles Darwin, a monkey, may be not an Australian one, is our granddad. So why is Symonds taking offence? And if at all Symonds felt offended, instead of acting a saint, he should have retaliated calling Harbhajan a double monkey.
Had he done that he could have avoided all these posturing from guys ranging from Mike Proctor to Sunil Gavaskar to Sharad Pawar.
To think of it, the Australians, the masters of the art of sledging, are taking shield behind umpires and match referee is absurd at best.
The infamous conversation that Glenn McGrath had with the West Indian batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, referring to Brian Lara is sufficient what sorts of gentlemen are the Aussies.
Certainly, Harbhajan erred in calling Symonds a monkey. Monkeys are more civilised than Aussies.
And it saddens me a lot that none of the characters who had a role to influence the outcome of the Harbhajan trial and ban, including that great Sachin Tendulkar had the nous to tell the Kiwi arbiter Hansen that in Indian civilization monkeys are venerated with specific reference to Lord Hanuman.
May be some Aussies should build a shrine for an anonymous monkey call that happened in Sydney, in Sydney.
May be Shantaram Gregory Robertson could explain it further to the Aussies.

Bharath Gopi: Abhinayathinte Kodiyirangi

By John Cheeran
Abhinayathinte kodiyirangi.
When I think about Bharath Gopi (V. Gopinathan Nair) that scene from Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Kodiyettam sticks out.
Gopi and KPAC Lalitha walks down the road on a monsoon-drenched day with puddles all around. A car goes through splashing dirt onto Gopi’s shirt and mundu.
Had I been in Sankaran Kutty’s (Gopi’s character) shoes, I would have cursed the driver of the car, and if possible, would have broken the glass pane at the back of the car.
But we have Gopi exclaiming in wonder “What a speed.”
Those frames capture Gopi’s quintessence as an actor.
Gopi’s hallmark was that he donned ordinary roles without heroism but gave them an extraordinary touch of realism.
In other words, Gopi was closer to you and me in flesh and bone. We are ordinary men and women, mere straws in the wind. Gopi too was one among us, but he showed us that despite his lean frame, and balding scalp, he could be accepted as the symbol of manhood.
Gopi was fortunate, and fortune favours the brave, to have got such roles as he done in Yavanika, Rachana, Ormakayi and Swayamvaram.
And what a polished performance he has given as the Shakespeare Krishnapilla in Bharathan’s Kattathe Kilikoodu.
It has to be noted that Gopi enjoyed success as an actor, director, producer and writer.
Not many know that he had authored the book “Abhinyam – Anubhavam” which won the award for the best book by the Central Government.
Gopi directed four films Njattadi, Yamanam, Utsavapittennu and Ente Hridyathinte Udama.
Gopi was born in 1937 in Chirayankizhu. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1991. Gopi was noted for his involvement in theatre group “Arangu” along with Kavalam Narayanapaniker before he entered the world of films.
Twenty years ago Gopi had suffered hemorrhage and that had curtailed his movements and involvement in films. Still he had won his many skirmishes to come back to act and react.
Gopi was renowned for his tough approach to life in general and it was not altogether surprising that he had drifted apart from Adoor Gopalakrishnan, the director who gave him opportunities during his formative years in movies.
Throughout the day, I was waiting for Adoor's tributes to this iconic actor.
But unfortunately such grace was missing.

Bharath Gopi, 71, Passes Away

By John Cheeran
Celebrated Indian actor Bharath Gopi passed away today, Tuesday, in Thiruvananthapuram. He was 71.
He was ailing and had undergone an angioplasty at the KIMS Hospital.
Gopi won the Bharath award, the highest honour for an Indian movie actor, for his role as Sankaran Kutty in Kodiyettam in 1975.
His other remarkable roles were in Yavanika, Swayamvaram, Kallan Pavithran, Palangal, Ormakayi, Marmaram, Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback, Patheyam, Kattethe Kilikoodu, Aadaminte Variyellu, Panchavadi Palam, Sandhya Mayangum Neram, Appunni and Rachana.
Gopi directed four films -- Njattadi, Yamanam, Utsavapittennu and Ente Hridyathinte Udama.
Gopi was born in 1937 in Chirayankizhu. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1991. Gopi was noted for his involvement in theatre group “Arangu” along with Kavalam Narayanapaniker before he entered the world of films.
Twenty years ago (in 1986) Gopi had suffered hemorrhage and that had curtailed his movements and involvement in films.
Still he had won his many skirmishes to come back to act and react.

Gilchrist: there's more to life than cricket

By John Cheeran
In the beginning was Adam. And Gilchrist knew how to end it all.
I consider myself an expert in quitting and still I have to salute the Aussie’s courage and timing to go.
Gilchrist was the most exciting cricketer of the modern times, and in that he has even surpassed the Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar. In being an exciting player that is.
There was none to match him for the boldness of his strokes, may be Sanath Jayasuriya coming quite close to him. But Gilchrist had an unrelenting double role to perform, that of a wicketkeeper’s.
Keeping wickets in cricket is something similar to editing and much as they take sub editors for granted, keepers are taken for granted. To be lauded, to be acknowledged you have to do something more.
In fact in cricket it is simpler than journalism. In its equality, cricket offers everyone a chance to bat. And it is this chance that Gilchrist grabbed with both hands, and sometimes with the aid of squash ball, to clobber the bowlers.
Gilchrist’s biggest contribution as a wicketkeeper-batsman is not that during the Adelaide Test he established the world record for the most number of dismissals by a keeper in Tests.
I salute Gilchrist’s courage to tell himself that there is more to life than cricket. And it is no wonder that quite often he walked, when he believed he is out, without waiting for the umpire’s finger to go up.Definitely, cricket will miss Gilchrist.

It's all over in Adelaide-- Unless India...

By John Cheeran
After Australia’s resolute reply to India’s first innings total of 526, the Test series should go in favour of Ricky Ponting’s men.
An Indian victory is unlikely with final day’s play remaining and with Anil Kumble’s side enjoying only an eight run lead with nine wickets in hand. Anything done in haste will rebound on the visitors.
Yes, it is quite possible that India can collapse tomorrow and set up an Australian victory. After all it will not alter the course of the Test series.
Of course India has had its gains from the series. A redeeming win at Perth and Virender Sehwag’s return to form. Pretty impressive efforts from seniors including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly.
And it is quite alarming that the young Turks such as MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh have come a cropper.
It remains to be seen how far India will progress in the triangular one-day series pitted against world champions and Sri Lankans.
Another kind of test awaits the Indians.

Tail wags to strengthen India in Adelaide

By John Cheeran
Help has come from unexpected quarters for India to go past the critical figure of 500 to put Australia under pressure in Adelaide.
It was not just Sachin Tendulkar’s 153 (off 205 balls) that gave flesh and bone to India’s first innings. On Thursday, India had missed big knocks from Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.
But today India’s spin doctors –skipper Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh – did a wonderful hit and run job over Ricky Ponting’ s men.
Kumble and Harbhajan (63) put together 107 runs for the eighth wicket and Indian tail tickled the Kangaroos. Harbhajan’s pluck, whether bowling, batting or sledging, is legendary and it again came to the fore in Adelaide.
And skipper Kumble led from the front while cracking a pugnacious half-century (87) to take his side to 526 in the first innings.
These two spinners might have realized the importance of scoring pretty big in the first innings here, as they themselves are supposed to play big hands on the last two days on a spinner friendly track.
With rookie but canny pacer Ishant Sharma too joining in the twilight party at the batting crease, Indian innings has swelled to the size of Ponting’s ego.
Quite big that is.

Help Wasim Jaffer

By John Cheeran
I’m sure every Indian cricket fan’s heart bleeds for Wasim Jaffer. The off-colour Indian opener is out of the XI for the Adelaide Test and that has been one of the decisions that the team management has got it right.
But the point is that how Jaffer has got it all wrong in six Test innings during India’s 2007-08 Australian tour?
Jaffer is not a dour opener, he has got some brilliant strokes on either side of the wicket. Jaffer loves to play his strokes though one-dayers are not his chosen field.
Only a few weeks ago he cracked a double century against Pakistan. Jaffer is not wont to run away from foreign tracks as he has got some solid runs in the West Indies and South Africa.
Now why this sudden affliction?
Rahul Dravid has been in all sorts of pressures in recent times—quitting captaincy and the tensions and contradictions in the Indian dressing room but what about Jaffer, the straight as an arrow Mumbaikar who generally stays away from the hunt for bigger games?
Well, Yuvraj Singh too has learnt a few lessons on how hard life can be, compared to cricket.
But Jaffer, never a flashy player on and off the field, is a trier. Not a foolhardy customer such as Virender Sehwag or Yuvraj. And that makes Jaffer’s struggles all the more harrowing.
Jaffer’s failure at the top has cost India the Australian series. The lack of solidity at top has taken the balance and rhythm out of the Indian batting lineup. And Australian bowlers have exploited such opportunities to the hilt.
I’m not a technical expert capable of advising Jaffer how to correct his stance, footwork and his grip. There are Sunil Gavaskars and Ravi Shastris of the world for such tasks.
But I’m naturally worried.
I have been fortunate to watch a young Jaffer in 1997 when the only time the Ranji Trophy final was played during the night at Gwalior and talk centered on how a boy from challenging economic background is knocking on the doors of the ultimate treasure in Indian life—on the doors of the Indian cricket team. Jaffer played some sublime shots on that night in Gwalior and those have not receded from the mind.
There are quite a few batsmen from the Bombay School of Batting who have failed to do justice to their potential including Sanjay Manjrekar and Vinod Kambli.
Help Wasim Jaffer.

Tendulkar on the rampage in Adelaide: And I cower!

By John Cheeran
Now that Sachin Tendulkar has hammered his 39th century at Adelaide my worry, along with thousands of other Indian cricket fans, is that whether India will lose this Test.
This is despite Anil Kumble winning the toss and batting first on a track that should favour spinners in the end game.
I remember what happened at Sydney -- India lost -- when Tendulkar murdered the Australian bowlers.
Tendulkar again was simply awesome on Thursday at Adelaide. He remains unbeaten on 124 at stumps on the first day with India posting 309.
There were many, including me, who had doubted whether an aging Tendulkar had lost that fizz in his Pepsi. Sydney indicated that he has not. And now Adelaide confirms it that Tendulkar has overcome nagging self-doubts to accumulate more and more runs. Whether India thrives in that progress is what remains to be seen in the coming four days.
But for India has done well mainly thanks to Tendulkar’s rollicking innings. More runs are to flow from the Master’s blade and let’s hope it will help the team at its hour of distress.

Irfan Pathan: Sacrifical lamb or genuine all rounder?

By John Cheeran
The value of an all rounder has come home to the Indian dressing room in the figure of Irfan Pathan.
Former Indian national team coach Greg Chappell was abused particularly for destroying Pathan as a bowler by encouraging him to become a batsman. Now what has Anil Kumble done at Adelaide?
Wasim Jaffer’s repeated failures made him a no-no for the Adelaide XI. Yuvraj had managed to fritter away his advantages in the first two Tests itself. Rahul Dravid was finally given his preferred No.3 slot at Perth after the wars of attrition at Melbourne and Sydney. And Dravid played a match-winning knock at Perth as No.3
Now to push Dravid again into opener’s slot would be patently foolish for a captain to do. Despite Virender Sehwag’s trudge back into form, he needs company at the top.
So who would be the sacrificial lamb? Pathan, who else?
I haven’t forgotten Sourav Ganguly’s statement after making his first Test double century against a feckless Pakistan bowling that coming lower down the order has denied him the opportunity to score centuries compared to others in the Indian side.
May be Ganguly should have walked up to Kumble and pleaded to spare Pathan and sent him to open the innings.
But, again, we are unlucky.

Tough weather for journalists in Kerala

By John Cheeran
Journalists in Kerala face a tougher time than the much romanticized farmers and their suicides.
Salaries are low and journalism has been just that – a respectable profession.
Deepika, Kerala’s oldest living newspaper, has sacked a string of journalists without giving them the stipulated one-month notice.
Deepika has witnessed managerial earthquakes in the last two years thanks to dreaded financial bottom lines and the latest axe wielding can be again attributed to that.
It only goes to show how precarious an existence, journalists in Kerala lead, despite the state’s upsurge in newspaper circulation and readership.
Someone should intervene.

Vaikom Muhammad Bashir: Story and Life

By John Cheeran
Here is a bit of mathematics. What’s one plus one?
It is a much bigger one.
Vaikom Muhammad Bashir, whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year, challenged conventions and lived manfully.
Bashir, the celebrated novelist and short story writer, was a rare original in Malayalam literature. Bashir upended the upper caste dominance in Malayalam literature with his life and writings, both bore the mark of an inimitable style.
Bashir did not learn Sanskrit to be writer. Bashir did not have to write an autobiography, for whatever he wrote there was his own lifeblood in it.
His novel Balyakala Sakhi and short story Janmadinam are still read by the new generations and top the best sellers’ list.
And who can forget Bashirian characters such as Anavary Raman Nair, Ponkurishu Thoma, Ettukali Mammooju, Sainaba and Mandan Muthappa?
Bashir made us laugh. Bashir made us cry.
Bashir wrote without cover-ups. Bashir wrote with rare candour and he described his mad days as “pure and beautiful madness.”
Away from Kerala, in exile, I read the complete works of Bashir last year. There was much great stuff by Bashir. May be the tallest Malayalam writer so far. But there were great amounts of trash too, but those were rather insignificant when compared with the classics he gave us. Though the Scottish scholar E.M. Asher translated Bashir’s works into English, to feel Bashir’s bone and enjoy the flavour of his prose, you have to read it in Malayalam. I consider myself lucky to have learnt Malayalam.
Regrettably, there was a concerted effort by a section of Muslim community to appropriate Bashir, in his twilight, as a Muslim writer and mouthpiece. It is a tribute to Bashir’s genius that the Beppur Sultan managed to outlast their siege.
Equally important is to remember Guptan Nair’s and Raghunathan Nair’s ‘Mula’ criticism against this writer who quarreled with grammar and conventions.
Anal Haq, Anal Haq!

Ibsen, K P Kumaran and Akashagopuram

By John Cheeran
If you decide to read one book this year, let it be Henrik Ibsen’s Master Builder. I read this brilliant, psychological thriller of a play recently.
The Norwegian playwright Ibsen wrote Master Builder in his twilight. The play deals with the battles the Master has to fight with different demons in his mind.
The Master’s stubborn approach to issues --- for example he is not ready to pave the way for the young generation – forms the core of the play. This reluctance to accept young talent one can see in today’s Indian cricket, where seniors had ganged up against the young Turks. Well, not just in cricket. But the refusal to give way to the young is so prevalent in all spheres of our life.
I suggest the Board of Control for Indian Cricket, instead of running after cheap shrinks such as Sandy Gordon and thinking hats, give copies of Ibsen’s Master Builder to all its chosen players at the international level.
Ibsen also comes into my mind for reasons other than cricket.
K.P. Kumaran is directing a movie called “Akasha Gopuram” which is based by Ibsen’s Master Builder. K.P. Kumaran is one of the finest Indian filmmaker but remains largely unsung by the usual claptrap of movie critics.
I’m sure Kumaran is capable of handling the subtleties and complexities of handling a subject such as the Master Builder.
I have only watched Kumaran’s Neram Pularumbol (At the time of the dawn, which starred Mammooty, Mohanlal) and Rugmini.
And who can forget Neram Pularumbol, for it brought out the biting beauty of Ramya Krishnan. That was Ramya’s debut movie. She never appeared more beautiful in another movie though she revealed more of herself. But Kumaran had that rare ability that helped Ramya to reveal her heart in Neram Pularumbol.
Kumaran himself in a recent interview pointed out that his best movie was Athithi (Guest) made in 1974. A political film with gravitas, Athithi did not had to compete with G Aravindan’s Utharayanam for the award sweepstakes. But Athithi is still talked about and never parts away from our consciousness.May be ‘Akashagopuram’, which stars Mohanlal will manage to please critics and commoner. I hope Kumaran’s commitment to serious filmmaking will find its deserving recognition through Akashagopuram.
After all a Master Builder deserves his deserts!

India's Dwaitham: Cricket and Beyond

By John Cheeran
There are two Indias.
Political pundits have often stressed this point, an India of the urban middle class and another of toiling masses on shop floors and farm fields. It is always a sobering thought that there is a Nigeria within India. Now another sobering thought. There are two Indian cricket teams to mirror the nation’s unique Dwaitham.
The BCCI has finally yielded itself to the idea of having separate teams for one-dayers and Tests. Well, with the move to name Mahendra Singh Dhoni the captain for the Twenty20 World Cup such intentions were clear.
Now keeping Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble from the one-day squad for the triangular series in Australia, that division is complete.
Only Sachin Tendulkar has escaped the stigma of being senile.
Well, I have been a strong believer in the Greg Chappell’s philosophy of young minds and younger feet, but the national selection committee has made its progressive cut and thrust at a wrong turn.
Form too counts in choosing an XI. To take out Dravid and VVS Laxman from the vanguard of Indian batting just when they had drilled gaping holes in the Aussie armoury of arrogance and accurate pace bowling amounts waving the white flag at our formidable rivals.
And after his repeated failures in four Test innings on the current tour what’s the point of keeping Yuvraj Singh in the squad, leave alone retaining as the vice-captain of the side.
Unflinching faith, you might say. Meanwhile MS Dhoni too had a patchy tour so far. No doubt the skirmishes against two of the finest one-day sides – Sri Lanka and Australia – will help us to find out whether all that glitters (hitters) is gold.
India’s one-day squad for the triangular against Australia and Sri Lanka:
MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, S Shreesanth, RP Singh Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Piyush Chawla and Pravin Kumar.