Thought for the Day - Don't be Easily Satisfied

I did like the ad campaign for one of the colas 'Yeh dil maange more' for various reasons. Not so much that aspect of greed or of indulging oneself mindlessly through the 'maange more' slogan but more in terms of not being satisfied easily. The difference between the two can be clearly seen when we apply it to ourselves as opposed to what the world is giving us.

Pic courtesy: Satish Nargundkar

When we apply it to ourselves, we can see how easily we are satisfied. How easily we give up.

But when we realise that there's always more to be achieved, more to be squeezed out of ourselves, we face the fact that there is much to do within. That beyond every limit we push there is more to achieve. And that is when'..dil maange more' makes sense. Push further, achieve newer limits and don't ever stop thinking you've done enough. It's never enough when you are growing. In a career, a game, anywhere.

On the other hand, a 'dil maange more' where you are simply blaming the world or expecting all else to do things for you while you only keep asking for more is plain stupidity. Its like us wanting to get rid of corruption or the other things we want to go away in our life by blaming all else. To get those results, there is work to do. There is a stand to take. There is a steadfastness in face of opposition. There is ownership.  At least in the mind.

And then, we get to that state of having the right to ask for more. Because you worked for it. Because you owned it. Now you deserve it.

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10 things for a Medium Pacer to Keeep in Mind before a match

These are ten things that a medium pacer can hold in his head before a game.

1. Visualise: 
Before the game visualise yourself bowling in a good rhythm. Videos, pictures help.

2. Understand the conditions:
Take a ball or two to understand the conditions - climate, pitch behavior and bowl accordingly.

3. Work up a rhythm first:
Work on getting into a rhythm when you start bowling. Start at perhaps 80% of your fullest and focus on keeping the ball there in the right places.

4. Bowl up:
Pitch it up (does not mean overpitch) so the batsman is caught in an unsure place with his footwork. Needs controlled pitching of the ball in the right areas and not mindless overpitching which can backfire badly.

5. Make the batsman play:
The more you make the batsmen play the more the chances of getting him out. But here, don't bowl so much on the stumps directly which makes batsmen defend solidly as bowling a slightly on and outside the offstump line where the batsman is in two minds - whether to play or not. Make hi play in that uncertain area.

6. Line is mandatory:
Keep the line constant on and outside the off stump. Keep it tight.

7. Stay in control:
Always seek to stay in control - your body, your mind, your rhythm - even if it requires you to cut your pace. I have found that my best performances have come when I was in full control of the run up, action, and knew exactly where I was pitching the ball. Visualise it and implement it.

8. Keep some reserve in the tank:
Save your fullest bursts for periods when you can really go for the kill. Mostly keep some reserve and bowl within yourself, so you have both control and the gas to bowl longer.

9. Work up to peak gradually:
Work up to your peak speed and rhythm gradually.

10. Know exactly where you want to pitch the ball:
You must know exactly where you are pitching the ball. Focus on that spot and keep it there. It requires concentration, control and focus. This will fetch you more wickets than simply coming in and bowling fast or bowling without thinking.

Strategies for helpful and unhelpful wickets:
If the wicket is helpful do not get carried away and bowl short which is totally ineffective but rather, bowl a fuller length that makes the batsman play. When the pitch is doing something the batsmen must be put in unsure frame of mind and the best way is to bowl up and make him play so the ball can do something.

On unhelpful wickets, bowl up. Keep a steady line. Keep it tight. Think the batsman out by understanding his mind, his anxiety. All batsmen are susceptible to the fear of getting out early, to pressure on their mind, to tactics that distract, to lapses in concentration. It is for the team to work on these areas and put more pressure on the batsmen. But the basic idea is to build pressure by good, tight bowling and not wayward stuff.

Keep at it all through. Push for two wickets if you get one. Five if you get three. Seven if you get five. You may not get this opportunity so grab it now.

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Lessons to learn from Bal Thackeray

Lessons that one can learn and imbibe from the late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

• That it is never about your size, but about your courage and your conviction, even in taking on the biggest institutions.  Fight tooth and nail for your convictions and the world notices and gives you the power.
• That if you say what you feel and express yourselves without holding back, the world listens to every word and takes it seriously. Say it as it is, loud and clear, and the world listens.
• That you can live life exactly on your terms and never on someone else's. When you have the power you make the rules - even for the King.
• That you can live to please yourself and no one else. You maintain no false images and no one asks any questions.
• That the power of aggression can make the entire system think twice - for a lifetime - and the most powerful to seek your help. You have the power and the whole world comes to you.
• That your name and reputation itself can be far more effective than any law and order system of the government and that alone can stop and contain much mischief making.Your reputation if big enough can itself be a deterrent.
• That when you give your people a sense of security, pride, well being and belonging, you gain so much of their love and support that is difficult to erode in a lifetime. You can give a new identity to your people and they will always be grateful to you for that.
• That you can still be as powerful or even more by yourself, than what the support of a high post, a system or an institution can give you, if your people love you. You do not need the support of an institution or the system if you have the love of your people.
• That people watch their words and actions if you defend what is important to you fiercely. You shut up much useless talk if you are clear about what is important to you.

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Book Launch - The Hussaini Alam House by Huma Kidwai

I had been meaning to blog about this book launch for more reasons than one. Raja had told me in advance that his classmate from Osmania University Engineering College in the late seventies, Huma Kidwai had written a book and there was a launch. He sent me the details by mail and I made up my mind to attend for several reasons. One, the timing was perfect, at 530 in the evening. Second, Huma becomes my senior from Osmania Engineering too and we Osmanians always support one another. Third, it was at La Makaan which is always a pleasure to visit. Fourth, Vinod was also attending so we could crack some stupid jokes about everyone and laugh. And perhaps, the fifth reason was that Elahe, someone whom I always had a great affection for, for being the warm, open and loving person she continues to be for over three decades that I have known her, was also reading from the book. So it was then that I landed up, alone, having invited Ramaraju also to join - knowing that Ram was a huge La Makaan fan himself.

I walked in to meet a few regulars and friends, and listened to Prof. Sachidanand Mohanty speak about the book. Now Hussaini Alam also has a bit of history from my early school days because our classmate Ashok had a house in this Hussaini Alam. I have no clue where it is and how it looks, this Hussaini Alam, and I have now made up my mind to go and see this place soon. Maybe with Huma's help!

Anyway there were readings from the book from a pretty young lady whose name I did not catch, Elahe and Prof. Mohanty. Huma Kidwai the author chose not to read (something that even i refrained from early on but now I am convinced that the author must read - there's something else when the author reads however badly!) There was a signing and I got myself a copy signed for both me and Raja by  Huma. I ate some delicious samosas that Ram insisted on buying, drank some wonderful chai and ate an Osmania biscuit or two and headed off home. I did get to briefly meet Elahe on her way out which was a bonus. All's well and that ends well and I hope Huma's book does extremely well. The readings sounded very promising and it has the old world Hyderabadi charm to it - something I am totally hooked upon right now. I will shortly review the book.

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Borat - Movie Review

Watched Sacha Baron's 'Borat'. The real name of the movie actually is rather long - "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan". The movie revolves around Borat Sagdiyev, who is a television presenter in Kazakhstan. He has been sent to the USA to interact with Americans and make a documentary for the Kazakh Ministry of Information. He travels with Azamat, the producer and his pet chicken. Clearly there is a big cultural gap between the Borat and the Americans.

The movie had no real script apparently and many characters that appear in the movie are not actors but real life people. Anyway Borat and Azamat go to New York first where Borat discovers Pamela Anderson while watching Baywatch on television and falls in love with her. He also hears of his wife's death via telegram, that she was attacked by a bear in a  forest near their home, and feels that he can now take Pamela as his new wife. He convinces Azamat to shift the shooting to California. Azamat does not understand why but they finally start their journey in a second had ice cream truck. Along the way Borat meets many Americans - the young, the gays, the religious, the etiquette coaches, a prostitute, radio stations and so on. Until one day he has a naked fight with Azamat whom he catches masturbating over a Baywatch picture. A disgruntled Azamat disappears with Borat's passport and money etc. Borat meanwhile discovers that Pamela Anderson may not be a virgin while travelling with a bunch of college going boys and is totally distressed. Anyway he does meet her at a book signing and tries to kidnap her to make her his wife. He is caught and sent back. Before all this however he meets Azamat again. Borat goes back to Kazakhstan with a new bride despite not getting Pamela Anderson - he takes home the prostitute he meets on the way.

Borat apparently got good reviews and nominations. It was not very funny for me. Passable.

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The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli

This is a slim Bantam classic and a must read for anyone who is into power and politics. Machiavelli wrote down this practical treatise on 'seizing and holding power' in 1512 as an offering to Lorenzo de Medici, the reigning King. Incidentally the same Medici kings threw Machiavelli in jail and tortured him, before he was set free, upon being exonerated of the crimes he was accused of.

I found it difficult to read it initially as Machiavelli describes the happenings in his time and uses them as examples - something which confused me- and it took me almost two or three weeks to figure out how to read it. Cut to the parts where he is giving the advise to the Prince and you get the gist without complex names and situations in the sixteenth century.

Bantam Books, Rs. 199, 166 p

Machiavelli is disturbing. He challenges all that is good and honest and says that to hold on to power one needs to be practical and not idealistic. It is so and one can understand that few want power and even fewer can hold on to power one way or another. To retain it one must be ready to fight, ready to deceive, ready to be ruthless - in order to achieve the end - of ruling a happy and satisfied people. It does take a while to let it all sink in but one knows that for the greater good (or for the greater perceived good which is more important) the one in power must hold on to it, use it and be ready to fight for it and retain it. I totally think it is practical (and not devious as the name evokes) and agree with all that he says. Machiavelli has been synonymous with all that is deceitful but it is not so - he really brings forth a view that rulers and diplomats must know.  

Some stuff that interested me.

"One may note that men must be either pampered or annihilated. They avenge light offenses; they cannot avenge severe ones; hence the harm that one does to a man must be such as to obviate any fear of revenge."

"Dominions thus acquired have been accustomed either to live under a prince or to be free; and they are acquired either by fortune or ability."

"That states accustomed to the family of the ruler are easily kept than new ones, because it is sufficient if the prince does not abandon the methods of his ancestors and proves adaptable when unforeseen events occur."

"He who causes another to become powerful ruins himself, for he brings such power into being, either by design or by force, and both of these elements are suspect to the one whom he made powerful."

"All principalities have been ruled in two different ways: either by a single prince aided by servants functioning as ministers and governing by his favor and concession; or by a prince with barons holding title not by his grace but by right of inheritance."

"To keep a state used to live in freedom there are three ways - destroy it, live in it or let it continue to live under its own laws taking tribute from it.  The surest procedure is to either destroy them or to live in them."

"Men always walk in paths beaten by others or act by imitation. A prudent man must tread the path of great men and imitate those who have excelled so that even if his ability does not match theirs, at least he will achieve some semblance of it."

"Those who become princes by virtue of their abilities acquire dominion with difficulty but maintain it with ease."

"People are by nature changeable. It is easy to persuade them about some particular matter, but it is hard to hold them to that persuasion. Hence it is necessary to provide that when they no longer believe, they can be forced to believe."

"The wise prince must provide in such a way that in whatever circumstances, the citizens will always be in need of him and of his government."

"Men are always opposed to ventures in which they foresee difficulties."

"It is the nature of men to feel as much bound by the favors they do as by those they receive."

"Experience shows that only princes and republics with troops of their own have accomplished great things, while mercenary forces have brought nothing but harm. No state unless it has its own arms, is secure."

"A prince must have no other objective, no other thought, nor take up any profession than that of war. He must devote himself to military exercises in time of peace even more than in time of war."

"The Prince ought to read history and reflect upon the deeds  of outstanding men, note how they conducted themselves in war, examine the causes of their victories an defeats and thereby learn to emulate the former and avoid the latter.  Above all, he ought to do as some wise men have done and take to imitating some celebrated predecessor whose deeds and actions he may keep before him."

"Every wise prince should never submit to idleness in times of peace, but rather endeavor to turn such time to advantage so as to profit from it in adversity. Thus when fortune turns against him, he will be prepared to resist it."

"A man who strives for good in all his acts is sure to come to ruin, since there are so many men who are not good. Hence it is necessary that the prince who is interested  in his survival learns to be other than good, making use of this capacity or refraining from it according to need."

"A wise pince will not object to being reputed a miser. With the passage of time he will come to seem more generous."

"Of all the things that the prince must guard against, hatred and contempt come first, and liberality leads to both. It is better to have a name for miserliness, which breeds disgrace without hatred than, in pursuing a name of liberality, to resort to rapacity, which breeds both disgrace and hatred."

"Every prince ought to wish to be considered kind rather than a cruel."

"He ought to be slow to believe what he hears and slow to act. Nor should he fear imaginary dangers, but proceed with moderation, prudence and humanity, avoiding carelessness born of overconfidence and unbearable harshness born of excessive distrust."

"Men are ungrateful, fickle, dissembling, anxious to flee danger and covetous of gain. So long as you promote their advantage they are all yours."

"A prince should make himself feared in such a way that, though he does not gain love, he escapes hatred; for being feared and not hated go readily together. Such a condition he may always attain if he will not touch the property of his citizens and subjects, nor their women."

"The prince who has little regard for their word and had the craftiness to turn men's minds have accomplished great things and in the end, have overcome those who governed their actions by their pledges."

"Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions."

"A prince cannot observe all those virtues for which men are reputed good, because it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion in order to preserve the state. He must be disposed to change according as the winds of fortune and alterations of circumstance dictate. He must stick to the good so long as he can, but, being compelled by necessity, he must be ready to take the way of the evil."

"Men judge by the eye rather than the hand, for all men can see a thing, but few come close enough to touch it."

"I approve of those who erect fortresses and of those who do not. But I condemn anyone who, putting his trust in fortresses, will think it no great matter if he is hated by the people."

"A prince gains esteem when he acts as  a true ally or a true enemy, that is, when he declares himself openly for or against one of two conflicting parties - a policy that is always better than neutrality."

"A prince should also demonstrate that he loves talent by supporting men of ability and by honoring those who excel in each craft. Moreover he ought to encourage his citizens peacably to pursue their affairs, whether in trade, in agriculture or in any other human activity so that no one will hesitate to improve his possessions for fear that they will be taken for him and no one will hesitate to open a new avenue of trade for fear of taxes. Instead the prince ought to be ready to reward those who do these things and those who seek out ways of enriching their city or state."

"Minds are of three kinds: one is capable of thinking for itself, another is able to understand the thinking of others, and a third can neither think for itself nor understand the thinking of others. The first is of the highest excellence, the second is excellent and the third is worthless."

"A prince should always seek advise but only when he, not someone else, chooses. He should discourage everyone from giving advise unless he has asked for it."

"No one should ever allow himself to fall down in the belief that someone else will lift him to his feet, because it will not happen; or if it does happen, it will not prove to be to his advantage. Such a means of defense is cowardly, in that it does not derive from one's own initiative and only those methods of defense which depend on one's own resourcefulness are good, certain and enduring."

"Since fortune changes while human beings remain constant in their methods of conduct, I conclude that men will succeed so long as method and fortune are in harmony and they will fail when they are no longer in harmony."

"It is better to be impetuous than to be cautious, for fortune is a woman and in order to be mastered she must be jogged and beaten. And it may be noted that she submits more readily to boldness than to cold calculation."

"Whoever organises a state and establishes its laws must assume that all men are wicked and will act wickedly whenever they have a chance to do so."

"The welfare of a republic or a kingdom does not lie in its having a prince who governs it prudently while he lives, but rather in having one who organises it in such a way that it may endure after his death."

And much more.

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Cricket - 10 Things a Medium Pacer Can Try on Flat Wickets

Here are 10 things a medium pacer can try on a flat wicket. For the uninitiated, a flat wicket is one where one gets no assistance at all for the wicket and the bowler has to use his imagination, intelligence, guile and skill to get batsmen out. Most medium pacers are short in this department hence the advise.

1) Stick to the basics: Bowl on one side of the wicket i.e. bowl on or outside the off stump if you have an off side field. The line is important. And since the wicket is flat, even the length is crucial. You cannot over pitch the ball or bowl short else you will be punished . (If you bowl on the middle and leg or outside the leg, unless there is a plan to bowl that way, you are dead.)

2) Keep it tight: Since the wicket is flat, the margin for error is little. So keep it tight and frustrate the batsman by not giving any runs.

3) Vary the angle of delivery: Change the angle of delivery. Bowl over or round the wickets, but stick to the line and make the batsman play. Or go wide of the crease or close to the wicket, again keeping the line constant, but changing the angle.

4) Bowl cross seam: Bowl one delivery holding the seam across as you would for a bouncer. This way you have a better chance of hitting the seam and making the ball get some extra bounce. This ball you must bowl in an area where the batsman would be surprised by the extra bounce, say a length delivery, just on the off stump, so he is forced to play the ball and not leave it - as he would a bouncer.

5) Bowl from a short run up: Cut your run up to five paces and bowl one odd ball just to surprise the batsman and catch him off guard. Kapil Dev used to do that. Especially if the ball is semi new it will deceive the batsman because he will be surprised with the change in run up, the length (which will be fuller) and the nip off the wicket. On and around the off stump will fetch maximum results - either a snick or a lbw or even a bowled if you are on off stump.

6) Bowl bang on the off stump: Focus on the off stump and try to hit it with a good length delivery. If the batsman makes an error in judgement he could leave the ball or even play the wrong line for a wicket.

7) Use cutters: Use cutters to deceive the batsman. A slow leg cutter or even a fast leg cutter can either get a batsman bowled or get a leading edge. An off cutter can get an lbw decision. Use the cutter after a couple of tight straight balls so you catch the batsman off guard.

8) Keep the ball up on the middle and off for an lbw or caught and bowled: After a few balls which are short of length (and thus keep the batsman on the backfoot), this ploy could help. Or once in a while keep the ball up, a tad slower though (use one finger to grip the seam), so that the batsman hits the ball back at you. After many tight balls he may want to go after a loose ball and may just knock it back to you or get lbw if he plays across.

9) Go wide of offstump and aim for the offstump directly: More effective if you are a left arm fast bowler bowling to a right hander but even right arm medium pacers can try it. If you have been bowling a different angle all through, just switch the angle, go wide of the crease for one ball and aim straight for the off stump. (Left hand bowlers bowling over the wicket must go around the wicket and bowl from wide of the crease into the right hander's off stump. Alternately use the cross seam for more effect because the angle will hurry and discomfit the batsman.)

10) Slant the ball across the batsman towards the first slip from a length: This is a specific variant of the 'change in angle' ball. In this, (as a right arm bowler) go close to the stumps, bowl length or just short of length but aim towards the first slip, so the ball, by nature of its angle, is leaving the batsman when it passes him. Since the angle is tight, he will normally play at it, and if it all works out, you should get an edge.

Happy bowling and hope it will fetch more wickets for you guys on flat tracks.

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