Our media praising tendulkar sky high Put the things in right perspective

Tendulkar's 50 centuries in 175 tests at an average of 56 is a fantastic achievement by all standards but is not something exceptional. You can do it by closing your eyes to the things happening around. kallis when sked to comment was very much right in saying" it's a fantastic achievment, as there were many by other players too." How one can be obscure to the achievement of Kallis 38 centuries in 143 tests at an average of 58. Sangakara 25 centuries in 90 odd tests at the same average or for that matter even Ponting who after having performed very poorly in last two years has equally glorious record of 39 centuries in 150 tests and last our own Viru who not only has scored runs and centuries but dominated the bowling which no other batsman could do.

Today bowlers and captains all around the world work our plans for Viru and not Tendulkar and it is the true measure of the greatness of the batsman.

Nothing wrong if we are generous in showering praise on our own players but it looks a bit cheap if we are short of words for others with equally illustrious careers. It reminds me of Dronacharya's love for Arjun which prevented him from accepting the skills of Karna and Eklavya.

The fine art of giving

No words are enough to describe the rare act of Philanthropy of Wipro chairman Azim Prem who will give about Rs 8846 crore from his personal wealth to improve school education. This act is unique in the sense that most of the times our captains of industry donate money to Western universities or for raising such Public schools and Universities which are either money spinners or remain the preserve of elite class only.



But, here I will like to remind that while Mr. Azim Prem Ji has donated part of his huge wealth for this noble cause there have been such instances when people not only donated all their assets but all devoted their whole life for the cause of education and one such personality was Swami Shardhanand of Arya Samaj, an advocate by profession, who in the year 1901 sold off all his assets running in to lacs at that time to set up Gurukul Kangri Haridwa. This University was visited by Mahatma Gandhi also in the year-1915 and Mahatma had only adulations for the holistic approach to system of education followed there.But this is in no way to belittle the heroics of Azim Premji. May more and more emulate him.

DO WE SUFFER FROM PERVERSE PROPENSITIES

News of Cricket match fixing grabs the head lines of our nes papers even though these are not related to us, but when our wrestler Sushil Kumar won gold in the world wrestling championship (first to do in in last 63 years after our independence) the news is buried in the corner of the middle page.



Media's simple answer is we publish what our readers like to read. How come media has formed the opinion that we are more inclined to read what is negative than what is positive

OUR MARCH FROM SOCIALISM TO CAPITALISM

Look at the paradox, while a worker earning Rs 3000 PM in the unorganised sector is required to pay 12% Service tax on his mobile usage our super rich class earning more than rs 10 lacs per year is being proposed tax relief in the new Income Tax code. With mobile base in india already over 500 million it is very much evident that even those who are below the poverty line use mobiles to meet their basic requirement of communication and when we subject mobile Sims and chargers to service tax we are indirectly taxing the people below the poverty line. In the face of this only 3% of our population pays income tax and the percentage of those whose taxable income is above rs 10 lacs is not even0.01%. This gives an idea about the priorities of our UPA Govt and there can not be a better example of our steady march from socialism to capitalism which is creating awesome inequality fraught with dangerous implications.



The directive principles were incorporated in our constitution to promote welfare of the common man. An attempt to create a truly welfare state was with the idea that in a country like India concentration of wealth must be done away and the proper distribution on an equitable basis should be effected in order to bridge the gap between rich and the poor. The very purpose was to benefit the weaker and poorer sections to a greater extent than the rich persons. But today 63 years hence what the present government under Manmohan Singh is doing is antithesis of our directive Principals. How strange it looks that the govt. which swears by constitution and Nehru’s socialism has not though of withdrawing tax on mobile charges but instead has proposed reduction in income tax for those who earn 10 lacs or more.



Pranab mukherjee will go down in the history as a Finance Minister who worked for the cravings of super rich class ignoring the needs of poor. let us accept that Naxal movement has its roots in burgeoning inequality and bad governance and unfortunately UPA's record has fueled both.



A careful examination of our ancient system tells that our basic philosophy was that for the good of the greater number interests of individuals or smaller groups should be subordinated.and sacrifice by the more resourceful in the interest of the less priveledged was deeply embodied in and framed tee foundation of dharma.



viduraniti says



sacrifice the interest of the individual for the sake of the family

sacrificwe the interest of the family for the sake of the village

saxcrifice the interest of the village for the sake of the country.

Trusting a Bookie

It is a gimmick on the part of London based bookie Mazhar Mazeed. I don't buy this argument. After all why a Bookie should be trusted at the first place. Latest trend for the fame hungry people is to make news, means and reasons do not matter. Why did our media and cricket fraternity rush to buy his story?

Careful study shows that in the recently concluded last test match between Pak and England ,centuries by Trot and Broad was the only difference between the two sides.otherwise England was also in deep trouble at 103 for 7 and Amir had england on back foot.
If at all pak lost the test it was because of the failure of batsmen in both the innings so how one can suspect bowlers for match fixing. Not only this Amir had all top batsman in England and Australian sides in trouble in this English summer with his fierce bowling. Time and again people are talking of sydney test in which pak failed to achieve the target of 171 in fourth inings but we forget that many sides have lost in similiar situations in the past. And if Pak players were really up to this then why they did not allow austalia to repeat it this time.pak was struggling at 76 for 7 in the forth innings of second test. They could have thrown the last three wickets to deny pak a victory after 13 defeats.

It is all rubbish. Amir and asif bowled their hearts out and they form the most lethal combination in cricket bowling today.

Pak administration will do well not to trust distrusting bookies.

PARADOXICAL

While a worker earning Rs 3000 PM in the unorganised sector is required to pay 12% Service tax on his mobile recharge( today it has become a need for him. helps him to get a daily job at a good rate) our super rich class earning more than rs 10 lacs per year is being given income tax relief.

Our march from socialism to capitalism which is creating awesome inequality is fraught with danger implications. Pranab mukherjee will go down in the history as a Finance Minister who worked for the cravings of super rich class ignoring the needs of poor. Naxal movement has its roots in burgeoning inequality and bad governance and unfortunately UPA's record has fueled both.

Media needs to introspect

Most newspapers have carried the news of Rahul Mahajan’s second time divorce in the front page.

Why the matters should related with the lives of nonentities like Rahul Mahajan whose only qualification is that he happens to be the son of Late Promod Mahajan be so prominently covered?



Our country is besieged with so many other important and pressing issues affecting the common man which merit attention of the government and need to be raked up by media to its conclusive end. For example so many railway accidents have taken place in last six months. Every time an accident takes place, for one or two days reasons will be discussed but then we forget until some new accident takes place to remind us of the preventive measures like “Anti collision device’ developed by one of the General Managers of the Indian railways but is not being implemented because of the indecision at the top. This is one example. Media needs to make a shift. Regarding Mahajans, what it should have highlighted it didn’t and chose to remain silent. For example it was worth knowing how Pramod Mahajan who started his career as RSS Prachark and had no gainful employment could amass wealth to the tune of Rs 2000 crores. And now it is highlighting what his spoilt son is doing with his ill-gotten wealth. Not long ago many reputed newspapers would not carry news items related with the personal lives. Print media is not right in presupposing that average reader is interested in knowing about the personal lives of even those who deserve to be left alone.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND MALE COACHES

It is wrong to think that our female players are holy cows. Lust, greed, craving for glamour is as much a weakness of females as of the males. After all both are human beings. Ours is open society, at least in Metros. Where females are not comfortable they bulldoze the males and when their hidden aspirations can be realized only by seeking favors they oblige also. But, to raise hue and cry after having been benefited is all nonsensical. What is really required that they raise the issue when they smell obsequious behavior of officials or coaches and if one has chosen to fawn then she should not project herself as a victim afterwards.

Let us accept that those who have talent are emerging at the top without the support of coaches. Sania and Sena and Kim( Boxing world Champion) are recent examples.

The wrist is history- Muttiah Muralidharan

All have craving to be associated with landmarks. I don’t think any other player would have opted to quit the game when he knew it well that he was good enough for another 100-200 wickets which is best evidenced by his haul of 8 wickets in the last appearance against the best batting line up in the world. That is Muttiah Murlidharn-he wanted the proverbial Moon not to be further beyond the reach of future generation.

Is it not the Violation of ‘Right to life?’-PM persisting with Mamta

More than 250 persons have died in rail accidents and our Prime Minister Manhohan Singh is still persisting with Mamta despite having known it well that to her state politics is more important than the ministerial duties and that also of an important portfolio like railways which is directly connected with the common man. Is it not the violation of much talked ‘Right to life?’



Will our Supreme Court entertain a Public Interest Litigation? Or do we need to write to International Human Writes Commission.

India too much obsessed with 26/11 incident

26/11 incident is not the only issue which India needs to take up with Pakistan. Let us accept that now it is a dead issue. Neither Pakistan will accept the active involvement of its nationals not India will accept that attack of such a gigantic scale by a few Nationals of other country can not be accomplished with out the active support of its own nationals. Last how does it affect Pakistan even if we are able to prove that Pak national’s involvement was there? Country is not always responsible for the activities of its nationals.



It is worth taking up more important issues during such meetings and one such issue is the worsening plight of minorities especially Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan. Let Pakistan understand that it is incumbent upon it to provide equal rights to minorities as per the international covenant on minority’s protection.

Guilty is Indian Govt.and not Anderson or Mohindra in Bhopal Gas Tragedy

It is the Indian state which is the main culprit in the union Carbide Bhopal Gas tragedy.



Every one is well aware, seventies was the period of license Raj and license to Union carbide for manufacturing pesticides in the city area was granted by the Dept. of Industries Govt of India who used to study the Project and its implications in detail before granting License.

Again such a project could see the light of the day only with the finance provided by the govt. institutions.



Therefore main guilty is Govt. of India and not Andeson or non executive chairman Keshav Mohindra.



Govt. by indulging in legalities avoided paying adequate compensation to the victims in time. If Govt. could spend Rs 60000 per annum on schemes like Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and job guarantee schemes in which accepted pilferage is 50% then why Rs 5000 crores was not made available to victims which would have provided enough succor to the sufferers. Even now howls and clamour are for compensation and not for punishment to guilty.

When the main opposition party is in disarray

When the main opposition party is in disarray as is the condition in our country at present, the ruling party naturally becomes complacent and takes advantage also. Knowing it well that Congress is firmly on the saddle against weak and scattered opposition; PM has turned his face though he is convinced about Raja’s neck deep involvement in telecom scandal which deprived country of thousands crores of revenue. Likewise he is not acting against Mamta who is brazenly callous with highly irresponsible attitude and reckless approach to his Ministry which is closely linked with the common man.



Worst part is that there is no silver lining as for as country’s main opposition party BJP is concerned.

Politicians in Jharkhand out to prove -democracy is not always the best type of government.

Political leadership in Jharkhand is out to prove that democracy is not always the best type of government. Winston Churchill had said that democracy is the worst type of government except the all others that have been tried. It is time to try some other model in Jharkhand so that politicians over there learn a lesson and start realizing that democracy puts some responsibilities also on the elected representatives and they can not take the things for guaranteed and keep on playing dirty games at the expense of public.

India lacks big event temperament-Exit from T-20 World Cup

It is not short pitch balls alone but it is the lack of strong temperament in crunch hours and in big and competitive events which is the short coming of Indian cricket side. I am sure if there is a world cup in test matches our position will be no different from that in T-20 or ODI. Our unduly great obsession with individual records and habit of giving great importance to the individual stats has landed us in this state where we are no better than minnows in all ICC titles. How will you otherwise explain conduct of our cricket god Tendulkar who made himself available for Bangle Desh tour and 35 days long highly strenuous IPL but withdrew from hardly 10 days longT-20 world cup. Answer is -after playing international cricket for 22 years-Tendulkar knows where he would confront friendly bowling attack that will boost his personal aggregates and where his nerves will be put to rest. Is it not strange that the man whom we bracket with Bradman has not given India even a single ICC title in 22 years? Lesson lies in not attaching great importance to individual records.

IPL CONTROVERSY -STARTLING REVELEATIONS

It was really shocking to learn that while common man pays service tax even for his land line telephone connection BCCI which earns in billions and whose each member leads a princely life is exempt from income tax. Similarly state governments must answer why IPL tickets are exempt from entertainment tax while poor man’s entertainment- theatre movies continue to draw hefty entertainment tax. Needless to say IPL matches are genrally watched on the stadium generally by the elite class only.

IPL CONTROVERSY -STARTLING REVELEATIONS

It was really shocking to learn that while common man pays service tax even for his land line telephone connection BCCI which earns in billions and whose each member leads a princely life is exempt from income tax. Similarly state governments must answer why IPL tickets are exempt from entertainment tax while poor man’s entertainment- theatre movies continue to draw hefty entertainment tax. Needless to say IPL matches are genrally watched on the stadium generally by the elite class only.

What I liked about Sania Mirza

The best thing about Sania Mirza is that even after becoming a celebrity she married the boy of her own religion

and did not give a go bye to the family values like most of our new breed of Hindu female celebrities who prefer to fall in to the lap of Muslim boys. In majority of such cases they don’t mind giving up their own religion to embrace Islam A few were speculating that Sania’d marry Mahesh Bhupati but I knew that it was the last thing any Muslim girl could do. When I say this, it is not being communal or narrow minded. Religion gives us identity and influences our upbringing and other facets of personality. One should marry in ones own religion. Every one should respect his religion. Don’t we read many in the past preferred to sacrifice their lives rather than to embrace other religion.

Why this ado about Right to education?

Schools are closed from 9th April to 18th April.-it is niether scoarching heat of summer or the bone chilling cold.

Crux of the matter is talk education, breathe education, collect cess in the name of education, make big plans, appoint teachers, bulid buildings but don't allow schools to function.

Positive thinking

Some time back when I visited Raja Mahala Vihara, a monastery in the outskirts of Colombo at Kolonava I got an opportunity to speak to the Head Monk, Ven K Dhammika Thero. When I saw him at first I was awed and felt nervous but soon his pleasing demeanour helped me relax and I asked him a question that was bothering me for quite sometime: What is the reason for the mounting stress world wide?
His initial response was a wide smile, he then paused and said, “I believe you would have participated or at least seen people play musical chairs. In the initial stage of the game all the participants move leisurely because the chairs are many but as the game progresses and the number of chairs reduce, participants start moving briskly to occupy one of the left over chairs and after some time when only two or three chairs are left, those contending for the remaining chairs even go to the extent of pushing or pulling his/her fellow participants.”
“Some thing similar is happening in our lives too. Awareness has increased people’s aspirations. Resources are available but people are driven by greed and ego, those who already possess everything are always craving for more and more and this has made the race of life tough. Therefore, life has become like a game of musical chairs where participants have to run to be in contention and this is leading to stress,” he added.
When I asked for a possible solution to cut this alarming level of stress, his prompt answer was “Those who already have should withdraw from the race. For example, if you have a house to live in why should you crave for a second one, especially when you know there are many who don’t have one and you don’t really need that second house. Ego based desire, which is only motivated by selfish fulfilment is the root cause for the growing stress levels. Therefore, if we want to reduce stress levels then the solution lies in giving up the greed to acquire more and more. Why should one acquire, own and cling to something which we really don’t need or does not provide us any comfort, but only enhances our possessions and ego. This means giving up the lesser for the greater. Buddha said wealth is not bad but clinging and craving for more and more is bad.”
What he said appears to be absolutely true. As we grow old we realise that the possessions we acquired over and above our needs, become a source of trouble rather than comfort.

FOUR WONDERFUL WORDS- a source of eternal happiness

This will also pass" these four words are the source of eternal peace and happiness. When extraordinary success puts you on the top of the world, remember these words
because all wordly joys and exuberance are short lived like a dew drop on the grass. Similarly in the moments of despair when every thing looks gloomy remember these words. It will give you hope and will have a soothing effect.Every night is followed by the day. Aftter all hope is the elxir of life.

FOUR WONDERFUL WORDS- a souce of eternal happiness

This will also pass" these four words are the source of eternal peace and happiness. When extraordinary success puts you on the top of the world, remember these words
because all wordly joys and exuberance are short lived like a dew drop on the grass. Similarly in the moments of despair when every thing looks gloomy remember these words. It will give you hope and will have a soothing effect.Every night is followed by the day. Aftter all hope is the elxir of life.

Something to remember on Woman'd Day

Our government will do well to remember on this day that those employed in government jobs are not the only working women. 200 millions working in unorganised dector are also working women.They also deliver child and need to give time to children.

Living in hope

It’s better to keep the masses hopeful rather than fill them with despair.


In the last two years ever since the prices of essential commodities, especially of food grains, started their upward march, not a week passes without our prime minister or the finance minister telling the beleaguered common man that “prices will come down in a month.” But, we only see them spiral upward. Then why should our worthy PM or FM keep on making this statement at regular intervals? Do they want to fool people?

I presume it is not their intention. Are they wrong in their assessment? I don’t think they are so naïve either. Then why should they do it? The simple answer lies in their being equipped with the worldly wisdom that it is always better to keep the masses hopeful rather than fill them with despair. Afterall hope is the elixir of life!

Emily Dickinson wrote in a poem that “Hope is the thing with feathers/ That perches in the soul/ And sings the tune without the words/ And never stops/at all...” Napoleon had once remarked that even if you had lost everything but not the hope, you could change defeat into a victory.

I read a small story about a Brahmin who was falsely implicated by his foes and was awarded capital punishment. He was not the one to lose hope even in worst situations. On the appointed day when capital punishment was to be executed he was asked about his last wish.

He looked towards the king and said, “I wish I could teach his excellency’s horse to fly before leaving this world.”It did the trick. The king, keen to see his horse acquiring an unheard of skill, gave the Brahmin a year’s reprieve.
Relieved when he reached his home and narrated the story to his wife, the wife had mixed feelings, “My dear, I am very happy that you got the reprieve but worried how you’d accomplish what seems to be impossible.” Amused, the Brahmin replied “You are right my sweet heart, but anything which generates hope for the future should be done. One year is a long period. Many things can happen. King can change. He can die and even, who knows the horse may start flying.”

All I know from my experience of last six decades is that prices would never fall, but still if statements like the PM’s generates hope in the people there is nothing wrong. Afterall good leaders are those who keep people hopeful!

750 days leave to women employees for child care in Haryana

With this 750 days dole by Haryana Govt., a woman employee will be attending office on average for hardly 100 days in a year in 20 years service span when we take their other leaves and holidays in to consideration. In other words, teachers will teach only for 100 days in a year as majority of the female employees are teachers. No body should grudge if our government continues to be generous to govt. employees especially women but let the govt. put a condition that this facility is possible only if they send their children to the govt. schools so that this realization comes to them that what this feast of generosity mean to millions of poor who send their children to the govt. schools. At least our politicians who frame these rules seem to be not giving a thought to the flip side of such acts.



Last I want to remind Mr. Hooda that if there are 80000 female govt. employees in the state then there are another 5 lac female employees in the unorganized also and they have also children. This also answers why every day unemployed teachers are seen agitating on roads and why all recruitments see money bags exchanging hands. Last, creating this type of culture in the society where handful get money without actually working eventually leads to social unrest as can see in many parts of the country. People are becoming alive to this burgeoning inequality with awareness, access and aspirations. Prosperity that leads to inequality is fraught with dangerous implications.

Solution lies in changing our antique like laws (Ref- Release of 98 years old jail inmate )

I read with utmost dismay that the release of 98 years old convict from jail even after having completed his jail term long back became possible only when The Tribune highlighted the issue and a NGO and one noble soul Mr. S.P. Singh worked for his release. It is very clear that if no body is there to take up such cases, the convict even after completing his jail term will continue to languish. I think the solution lies in changing these antique like laws so that there is an automatic release after one has completed the term.

Vedic revelation

Pointing out to the lofty and sublime character of Vedic teachings in his book Ved Bhashya, Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati says that Vedas are not scripted by men but are the words of God.
After the creation of this universe God revealed the four Vedas Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva to four Rishis (sages) Agni, Vayu, Aditya and Angiras respectively.
That four Vedas are the creation of God is supported by the hymn in Rig Veda X48.4 and X48.5. In this hymn God says “I. O men lived before the whole universe came in to existence. I am the Lord of all. I am the source and giver of all wealth. Let all human being look up to me alone as children do to their parents. I am the revealer of Vedas which declare my true nature. It is through the Vedas I advance the knowledge of every thing for your happiness.”
Vedas are called Shrutis; that which is heard implying again that the rishis did not create Vedas out of their minds. The Rishis to whom Vedas were revealed were pious, highly realised and enlightened who had direct intuitive perception of God. To say that what is contained in Vedas were the spiritual discoveries of their divine thoughts will not be wrong.
The four Vedas are repository of knowledge having germs of all sciences in eleven hundred and eighty recensions contained in these and are absolutely free of error.
Nature and properties of matter and the soul are propounded in just accordance with what they really are. Only Divine creation could meet such lofty character. Vedas are eternal and do not owe their authority to any one.
Dwelling on why God revealed Vedas, Dayanand Saraswati says infinitely merciful God is like unto parents. As the parents are kind to their children and wish their welfare, so is supreme power. Out of kindness to all men He revealed Vedas by whose study men are freed from ignorance and error.

Sage who dispelled ignorance

“Dispel ignorance and spread knowledge.” That was the call given by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, a sage, social reformer, thinker and erudite scholar of Vedas.
Swami Dayanand, whose birth anniversary falls today, had launched a relentless crusade against against beliefs which were opposed to Vedic teachings and were primarily responsible for India’s decantation. This created many enemies, and repeated attacks were done on his life .
It was the fifth time when he was poisoned. Though, Dayanand had come to realise that his end was near, he was at peace with himself and did not betray any feeling of anguish or agony.
He did not anoint any successor because he did not want that any sect started in his name and people start worshipping him. A true yogi, he had the power to time his death. On Diwali day, he gave up his mortal body.
His devotees assembled at different places.
Knowing that the Maharishi’s mission was to remove ignorance, superstitious beliefs and other social evils, a decision was taken to establish schools in all parts of the country to impart education by upholding the values and teachings of the Vedas.
While Lala Lajpat Rai, Lala Hans Raj and Guru Datt Vidyarthi planted the seeds of Dayanand Anglo Vedic( DAV) institutions, others like Swami Shardhand initiated work for setting up of Gurukuls and Arya schools, both for girls and boys.
Today, there are about 2000 DAV and Arya institutions in the country where millions of boys and girls are taking education with a tinge of Vedic values. This is a true tribute to this selfless Sanyasi about whom Rishi Aurbindo had said, “I see many great men sitting on various mountains of the Himalyas, but the mountain on which Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati is sitting is the highest.”
A befitting tribute to a man who led the Indian renaissance!

Anil Kumble heads the pack of best Ten in last fifty years of Indian Cricket

I have been following Indian cricket since 1960. Without any prejudice I feel that the 10 best Indian cricketers of last 50 years are (1) Anil Kumble with 600 wickets- he has given more victories to India than any other player (2) Kapil Dev, his +5000 runs and 434 wickets are enough to support it but to me he is a batting all-rounder whose potential as a batsman was not used fully. His capability as a fast bowler gave confidence to Indian selectors for the first time that pacers could also contribute in the Indian playing elevens. (3) Sunil Gavaskar, the first Indian opener to face fast bowlers confidently and it gave a new image to the Indian side and instilled confidence in other Indian batsmen who followed him. (4) Sachin Tendulkar elegant, graceful who could continue for 20 long years as India's best batsman, ofcourse more venerated in India than abroad (5) Virender Sehbagh -only batsman who created scare in the minds of bowlers all over the globe and was looked with awe everywhere, super batsman when in elements (6) B.S. Chandershekhar he bowled many decisive spells to give India victories against invincible opponents like Illingworth's England(7) Vishwanath /Laxman-both are equally good (8) B.S. Bedi the first spinner to command respect every where (9) Rahul Dravid -with his batting he gave India more victories or saved more tests then any other batsman(10) M.S. Dhoni-a stumper, who is very consistent bat also always rises to the occasion.



But the only players who probably can walk in to all time best worlds eleven are Gavaskar or Tendulkar.

Government on a holiday

Mr. Badal's fondness for declaring holidays on the silliest of the excuse is very old. He is in the look out for such occasions rather than the ways to improve the health of the state's economy. But, what really hurts that he has no heart to visualize the discomforts and problems his this passion brings to the common man. We all know that nothing moves without the permissions from the govt. departments. Just imagine the plight of the people who in this bone chilling winter start from their places like Ferojpur, Amritsar and Bhatind in the morning so that they reach the concerned dept at chandigarh on time to be informed after reaching that holiday was declared. Plight of education in govt. schools hardly needs to be penned and the solution lies in making schools functional as Manpreet Badal said but our CM doesn't want to pay any heed. What is the use of that hospital where doctor is not available and what is the point in appointing doctors when they will not be allowed to work by creating holiday culture. Govt. is simply incresing expenditure at the expense of tax payers who are now fed up. Take the case of last seven days-Satuday, Sunday and monday were holidays, Tuesday working and again Wednesday holiday. Just imagine the plight of the patient who is taking treatment in the govt. hospital or goes to health centre for the delivery of child.



What is most shocking that ruling partner BJP rushes to make protest if any of their powers are curtailed but are silent on all matters directly related with governance. When it comes to governance we never expected Akalis to perform but it is the BJP which has disappointed the people.



Five days week is ok but let us allow the offices and the institutions to work for five days by not allowing closures on working days. What is most shocking that at least 10 times in a year offices are closed for half day to enable the employees to attend religious rallies?

Point is that if they are really so devout why can't they take leave and why are only govt. employees perceived to be religious. Are ninety percent others in the unorganized sector bereft of religious feelings. This is the most important issue which BJP should take up otherwise they are out from Panjab for ever as they are from the centre..



I request Tribune to continue to highlighting this issue till our law makers in Punjab come to realize people's concern. If media wants it can really force law makers

Why delay in controlling the price of Sugar ?

The way things have gone give the impression that the Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was sitting on the control panel. When pressure became unbearable he took the steps and prices came down by 20% i.e. rs 10 per Kg. not something small for an Indian household. He could have taken the step of importing raw sugar much earlier. Why were the prices allowed to spiral from Rs 16 per Kg to Rs 50 per kg in a span of three months? When we all know Sharad Pawar’s stake in Maharashtra sugar lobby is very high, fingers of suspicion automatically rise.

Mr. Gavaskar, We too have little islands in India

Last month while pronouncing his judgment on the CEAT player of the week, Indian’s legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar stirred the hornet’s nest with his remarks that Mahela Jayawardene is a world class batsman who gets little credit because he comes from the little island of Sri Lanka. If he had been an Australian or English batsman then he’d have been talked about as being another Bradman.

Gavaskar while sympathizing with Mahela conveniently forgot that it was happening in his own country too. The burning example is Rahul Dravid who completed 11000 runs in 135 tests while Tendulkar took 139 tests. Both have same test averages. Dravid has won countless tests for India with his innings which can’t be said about Tendulkar. But despite this Dravid’s place in the team comes for debate while Tendulkar is a super star and icon. Dravid despite having performed well with bat in Sri Lanka and the Champions trophy was not considered for a series against Australia on the pretext of his advancing age though he is younger to Tendulkar. When we talk about the best cricketer country has produced I think no body has better credentials than Kumble who with his 600 wickets has won more tests for India than any other player, but his name rarely figures.
Likewise no body other than Sehwag deserves to be rated as the super batting Star because of his his super heroics with bat.

Question is -are we fair and pragmatic while evaluating our own icons? Most of the times our experts go overboard and are seen swaying with media hype. We conveniently ignore Ponting who is running neck to neck with Tendulkar with better average and strike rate not to forget he achieved this while shouldering the additional burden of captaincy. We have the gumption of bracketing Tendulkar with Bradman whose test average of 99.9 is almost double that of Tendulkar. Look at our audaciousness we ignore greats like Sir Garfield Sobers who scored 8300 runs in 93 test matches at an average of 58.5, when minnows like Bangle Desh and Zimbabwe were not around. One should not forget that Sobers always batted lower in the batting order and it makes a big difference when it comes to accumulating runs. Top four batsmen are always at advantage. Those who have seen Sobers batting will vouch that when it comes to grace, courage, elegance, style and above all the ability to stand in crises very few could match him. I still remember his last appearance in Mumbai’s Bra brome stadium in 1967 series. Great and enigmatic Chandra had run through the top batting order and the Indian fans had started sniffing their first win against mighty West Indies but the way he hit out the spinners and took West Indies to victory spoke of his capabilities. This is the hall mark of the genius and this factor is much above the aggregate of runs or wickets. How Kapil with 434 in 131 tests could be rated higher of Sir Richard Hadlee with 432 in 86 tests.

It is important that logic and pragmatism and not the emotions cloud our judgment when we evaluate our icons. I liked the way Border evaluated Tendulkar-“We had Viv Richards and Greg Cheppel, then we had Tendulkar and Lara and now we have Ponting. Selecting one will mean being unfair to others.”

Mr. Gavaskar, Origin has little significance if it is a special talent. Sobers, Viv Richards, Akram, Imran Murli, Hadlee, Malcom Marshal and even you are admired, respected and awed universally though none is from from Australia and England. Likewise, players like Adam Gilchrist, Ponting, Macgrath and shane warne are revered universally because of their special talent and not owing to their Australian origin.

Spiraling Stress pushing kids to depression

It hardly needs to be stressed that those kids who miss the parenting by their mothers miss something which has no substitute. This has to be understood by the parents. Cars, bigger flats all can be purchased later in the life but not the time mother should have spent with her child. Today when majority of jobs are in private sector who like our Govt. can’t be generous to the females, an idea can be examined to have half day job with 50% salary with two shift working.

This will increase employment also. Not all women at all the times work for money.