Friday, February 26, 2010

229 Not Out in ODI

Have you heard of Belinda Jane Clark?
Do you know she has ODI cricket world record of 229* runs in a match (* indicates not out)?
Do you know that her record is still unbroken in ODI format for men or women, even after 12 years?
Do you know that was in Hero Honda Women's World Cup 1997/98 match?
Do you know that that match was played in Mumbai on 16th Dec 1997?
Do you know 229 not out off 155 balls was scored in the back-yard of Cricketing GOD?
Do you know that next best record of 173* (for Women in ODI) was set by Charlotte Marie Edwards on the same day at Pune in another match of same World Cup?
Do you know that she is a member of World Cup winning team twice and once ended up in runner-up team?

It is very likely that your answer to all the questions above is a big “NO”, even if you are a Cricket buff. Certainly you know who scored 200* in ODI couple of days back. There was extensive media coverage; any number of editorials in dailies, not to mention the presidential praise.

I am sure some of you are itching to contradict me and I know your line of thought – my son would be the first to contradict me and take me head on.

As a society, we are immature. We do not even give credit where it is due.

For us 200* is 1.15 billion times bigger than 229*. We are happy losers in any team sport. Never mind we have not won any World Cup in ODI format for over last 20 years despite the fact that our team has CRICKETING GOD.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Where is Unemployment?

Very often we hear about growing unemployment in India and world wide. There is only a half truth out there. Indian Government allocates several trillion rupees every year to provide employment under the scheme named after one member of the family or the other. Our politicians and babus scrupulously implement these employment schemes! American government pumps in billions of dollars every week into Pakistan all of which finds its way into the development of terrorist-industry. This terrorist industry manufactures counterfeit dollars and Indian Rupee Notes to supplement their income and augment its growing budgetary needs.

In order to supplement these governmental efforts, private sector has come up with innovative new industries to provide ample employment opportunities. For instance, in Jammu and Kashmir we have a highly organized, efficient and well established stone-pelting industry. All the registered members of this industry get daily opportunities to earn their daily bread/wages by discharging their stone-pelting responsibilities. In addition, they can take home some of their loot as bonuses.

While JK has pioneered such a lucrative and flourishing industry, how can Andhra Pradesh remain second best? Nope, it is not acceptable. It is against the dignity and self respect of Telangandhra people. Note that your tarantula is against digressing from the main topic of innovative employment into split-vs-united-politics now. They have caught on to the stone-pelting industry idea; they have worked overtime on forward and backward integration by establishing related industries. Consequently, we have several downstream and upstream industries all providing multiple employment opportunities to Telangandhras.

We have bus-burning-industry, damage-public/private-property industry, bandh-industry, rail-roko industry, garjana-industry, disrupt-academic-year industry, rasta-roko industry, chalo-assembly industry, chalo-parliament industry, immolation industry (for Telangana as well as United Andhra cause) and die-of-heart-attack-on-hearing-about-the-death-of-a-politician industry and so on. It is clear that these industries need different skill sets. All these industries promise faster development, government jobs (with inherent perks) while some guarantee instant fame-by-flame (by media coverage), martyr status and promise pension to family under martyr-pension-scheme in future. These are new and perennial industries unlike the existing industries like poll-campaign industry, (bogus)-vote-casting-industry and poll-meeting-industry etc. which are only seasonal. It is well known that Maoists have developed and established cottage industries for rail-track-blowing and train-driver-abducting and so on.

Some analysts have noted that these industries are developing so fast, that soon these industries will end up with severe shortage of people, even after opening up new vistas like: one-person multiple jobs; children and women can participate (child labor act may be repealed); no retirement age and so on.

Our FM is going to bring all these neo-employees under tax net to improve government revenues and some informants from North Block say that he will decide before the union budget whether to treat their income, for tax purposes, as salary or service.