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Jungle bungle
India has the world's fourth largest Army and Air Force. Our special forces are among the best in the world. The question then is, why does an ageing dacoit, possibly on the verge of senility, continue to wander freely and abduct and kill whosoever he likes? Why indeed should Veerappan have the last laugh every time he confronts the Government, whether with his abductions or with smuggling?
Here is some food for thought: Ways which the Government could consider to lure him into the national mainstream. First, it could drop all charges against the notorious bandicoot, and offer him unconditional amnesty. To make a living, the brigand can, instead of killing people, train the Special Task Force with a special UGC deemed degree on how to nab dangerous poachers. Needless to say, the Government must patent his moustache before any other film director uses it.
While a lifesize sculpture of Veerappan might be erected near SM Krishna's residence, just to remind him that he has no reason to sleep fitfully, the Government could also consider appointing him Karnataka's Forest Minister. And, just in case all these blandishments fail to impress the bandit, the Government could consider proposing to him to shift his base to POK, or perhaps better still, Pakistan! He would get more media coverage, which he certainly will not rue.
If none of the above suggestions work, the State Government of Karnataka could try the following ways to trap the thug. It could consider transporting some wild, man-eating leopards of Uttaranchal into Chengadi forest. Or better still, declare Veerappan an ally of Osama bin Laden and let the American troops do the rest with their daisy-cutters.
Of course, such a move might backfire and perhaps even lure bin Laden to the Mysore forests. The possibility, then, of the two men spending the rest of their lives exchanging tips on how they fooled entire armies of two nations, could easily make an international best-seller. Here I must add one positive outcome of such an exercise - it would save our security force's precious time and money.
One more plausible way of dealing with Veerappan could be to send a larger army than the current Special Task Force. For this, one could request Mayawati personally to go after the poacher with her entire Cabinet into the jungles of Karnataka. To make this formidable force even more lethal, one could think of arming them with mikes and chairs from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. In which case, of course, the entire opposition from the northern State too could join in the adventure.
However, till date the simplest and the most effective solutions I have come across came to me from two little children. While one was in favour of nuking the forests, the other was even smarter! He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and asked: "This Veerappan is a poacher right?" I agreed, nodding my head quite faster than the speed of light. "Then why don't we just put Maneka Gandhi on his case and let her do the rest?" asked the young one.
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Veerappan |
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Not fast, not furious
The third Test between India and the West Indies and the first of the one-dayers have exposed the weakness of the Indian bowling attack. If Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh get slaughtered on turning tracks in India-that too, by what has been a listless batting attack till only recently-then the Indian team needs to rethink its bowling options. What we need is, simply, a tearaway fast bowler.
The sight of a Shoaib Akhtar running in fast and bowling at over 150 kmph can get the adrenaline flowing. Not since the days of Jeff Thompson has a bowler generated so much excitement. Sadly, India continues to look for a single fast bowler while its neighbour seems to have made it a habit of producing dozens by the year. From Imran Khan to Wasim Akram, from Waqar Younis to Abdul Razzak and Mohammad Sami, the list seems endless. The Indian public-with their hopes pinned on the Harbhajans and the Kumbles to bowl the opposition out-is still denied the sight of a tearaway fast bowler getting the batsmen to hop around.
This is perhaps the main reason the team fails to win abroad. While our batsmen have faced the music on South African and Australian pitches, our bowlers have constantly been found lacking in firepower to get an opposition out twice. While one can go on about Zahir Khan not swinging the ball, Ashish Nehra being wayward and bowling no balls and Ajit Agarkar going for 20 per over, the need of the hour is to find out why we cannot produce genuine pace bowlers.
The main reason is, of course, genetic. Our nation does not have the tough rugged Pathans and Afridis of Pakistan. While men from Punjab like Harvinder Singh may have the heart of a lion, their physique remains disappointing.
But a more convincing argument would point to what we call hero worship. The younger generation tries to emulate sports superstars. This is the reason we have so many people opting to bat, a la players like Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar. Pakistan, on the other hand, has given its generation bowlers like Imran Khan and Akram to look up to. Few want to grow up to be an Agarkar and get hit all over the park. We did have Kapil Dev, whose record of 400 wickets is no joke. But can we really call him a tearaway fast bowler? Rather, he was a quality medium pace bowler. One may not be surprised to know that, nearing the end of his career, he was only marginally ahead of smiling assassin Kumble in terms of bowling speed.
Now, when India's batting is looking formidable, the addition of a quality fast bowler can turn the team into a near-invincible unit. Only then may we say that we could give the Aussies and the Pakistanis a run for their money. Of course, our docile pitches-which, according to cricketer-turned-commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu, are as dead as the extinct dodo-are hardly something fast bowlers look forward to.
However, despite such pitches, the public has had glimpses of hope: A young Srinath bowling with fire in Australia in 1992; Agarkar getting the fastest 50 wickets in ODIs along with his ability to consistently cross 140 kmph, which his small frame appears quite incapable of doing; and, more recently, Zahir Khan uprooting the stumps of some quality batsmen, including Steve Waugh. The question is, when will these hopes turn into a Brett Lee or a Shoaib Akhtar? India's most wanted for the time being remains a broad-shouldered bowler who can cross at least the 90-mile barrier and who enjoys seeing fear in the eyes of the batsman.
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Shoaib Akhtar |
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Big game hunters
Can hockey, our national game with a long history, be restored to its pride of place in Indian hearts? With cricket as popular as ever, the chances of that happening are slim. However, recent media coverage of hockey tournaments generated tremendous viewer interest. While much of the credit goes to the vast improvement in the national team's performance, the media also deserves a small pat on the back. Not only were the Champions Trophy matches shown live on TV, newspapers and news channels also gave them ample space.
This will not only go a long way in promoting the game among today's youngsters, India vs Pakistan matches might just ensure continued interest in and enthusiastic viewership of the national game. As for the the Indian team's turnaround, their loss to Pakistan in the play-off for third and fourth place in the Champion's Trophy in no way took away the glory of playing as they did. The team was a revelation on the field. From the ageing powerhouse Dhanraj Pillay to young gun Jugraj Singh, everyone played their part. The team's confidence from the last loss was not shattered-this can be seen from the show put up in the current Asia Cup. After a 5-1 thrashing to China, they conveniently rested their key players for the Bangladesh match and then destroyed them 10-0.
Cricket does hold the top slot as far as media coverage is concerned. In fact, after a long time, even domestic cricket events have been given ample coverage. But this can be attributed to the fact India hasn't played any competitive cricket since the World Cup and the die-hard fans have been thirsting for some action. Another reason was the gallery of stars at the domestic level. The Rest of India team that took on Mumbai was one of the strongest ever fielded in recent times. Also, Mumbai led by batting master Sachin Tendulkar put up a decent fight. While spectators thronged the stadiums for the Challenger Trophy and Irani Trophy, TV ratings remained high for the live telecast of the matches and enough newsprint was devoted to the performance of the cricket stars.
However, can one say the Indian sports fan has matured and is willing to sacrifice watching cricket for other sports like hockey or soccer? The answer, sadly, is a big no. It remains to be seen whether the Indian hockey team's performance in the Asia Cup will be able to hold its own against the upcoming New Zealand cricket tour in terms of media coverage. It seems that a very big reason for the high viewership/readership of the Champions Trophy could be the absence of any major cricket matches involving India at the time. Be that as it may, it is an undeniable fact that media coverage of sporting events has improved by leaps and bounds. The coverage of East Bengal's historic win in Thailand is a case in point, as also that of Anju Bobby George's triumph.
Yet, why does media attention stick mainly to cricket, tennis and hockey? What about other games? Whatever happened to India's volley ball team which seems to be doing quite well these days? Then there is athletics. The national games hardly seem to evoke much interest in the media or public. Agreed we need more money, infrastructure and Government support to bring about a change in the fortunes of Indian sport. But we also need to show some genuine interest as sports lovers, and the media needs to do its bit by setting aside financial considerations and covering-and thereby promoting-sports in all its forms as well as upcoming sportsmen.
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Dhanraj (right) in action |
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