To the man who is to cricket commentary, what Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is to batting - Happy Birthday Harsha!
May God bless you with many more years of success, joy, and every happiness in the world - touchwood, and amen!
I can still recall, as a schoolkid growing up in the early 90s, I remember listening to Harsha's commentary for the first time on radio when India were Down Under in 1992. We didn't have a cable connection (don't remember if those matches were even telecast, except an hour-long highlights capsule of the day's play on good ol' DD)...it was at that time, that I got acquainted with this comfortable, easy on the ears, joy to hear, witty as well as knowledgeable voice that presented the game in a very simple yet insightful, and a very matter-of-fact yet thorough analysis of the game.
I remember listening to his commentary and enjoying it as much as the matches. A lot of credit for changing the quality of cricket broadcast in India goes to guys like (and primarily) Harsha. I don't recall paying half as much attention to the banal commentaries in the pre-Harsha era. Mr. Bhogle, it's you who made me sit up and enjoy listening to, observing, and studying the goings-on, the after-effects and the possible effects of anything happening in a cricket field than just a mechanical account of who bowled to him, and what happened after that delivery.
One instance specifically comes to mind:
Once, Sachin once got out to a lollypop offspinner (I guess it was MichaelVaughan) in '02.
Harsha wonderfully quipped something to the following effect:
"Oh what a shame. It was reminiscent of a soldier who survived the war when all the bullets were flying by his nose and then got run over by a bicycle in his native town."
Enjoy some more of his gems here!
His commentary was and continues to be a lesson in keeping things simple, enjoying the game, channelising the knowledge, passion and love for the game in the best way possible, and also being neutral and objective while doing so.
In fact, he is one of the select few commentators who are part of the most famous, most liked, most awaited, most elite and most sought-after commentators. Not to forget, that he is unarguably, THE most revered, level-headed, and enjoyable commentator in the world, atleast definitely in the list of commentators who have never represented their country.
Besides, it also doesn't hurt that the guy has an extremely pleasing and amiable persona, that totally complement his affable and down-to-earth nature, witticisms and earthy sense of humor, and last but not the least, his wonderful, endearing smile, and toothy grin.
More power to you, Harsha! Hope you continue enthralling all of us, and have a joyous, healthy, fun-filled long life ahead!! Sincere wish - Many many happy returns of the day once again...From just one of the millions of HB fans!
Monday, July 19, 2010
'Acting' against terror
Alrighty, it's that time of the year again. Every year, we 'celebrate'/'observe' days (holidays) such as Gandhi Jayanti, where most (if not all) of us do not know what/why we are doing anything - forgetting the whys behind the whats. Another regular in this list of largely ceremonial tokenisms is the Indo-Pak dialogue process.
Now, I am not at all advocating that we should never talk to Pakistan or that these efforts should not be made. However, as the wise would advise, only those who have the ability to appreciate any quality can do so. There is no point in advertising the virtues of a comb to a bald man.
If Pakistan is consistently being intransigent, unreasonable, and has already made up its mind about its agenda, there is hardly any merit in exhorting it to re-think over the facts.
The ugly spat that erupted between the foreign ministers of both countries, was far too sour and too apparent, is a case in point. Had the Pakistanis been serious about taking action on anything, they would have done so, and atleast been appreciative of the Indian statesmanship and patience, despite India handing over voluminous, incriminating evidences, dossiers, transcripts, voice samples, and confessional statements of terrorists and masterminds.
What I don't understand, though, is how and why people are dubbing St. Qureshi as the peace deal-breaker, the villain-in-chief!! C'mon guys..where was the deal in the first place? When were you ever, in your heart of hearts assured of their genuine intent in taking action against the perpetrators of 26/11 (been almost 20 months since then)??
All along, Pakistan and St. Qureshi - being the gentleman that he is, have just stayed true to their words....India wanted them to act against terror. So yes, that's precisely what they have been doing all along - ACTING (pretending to show as if they are doing something) against terror!
How dumb do you think people are, Mr. Qureshi? Do you think we cannot spot your bluff? Do you think the constant charade of we-need-more-evidence holds any water? Sure, it took you to tell us that courts are independent bodies and need their own time. Thanks ever so much.
But pray, tell me, how can we not see how you do not take cognizance of the substantial evidence that India provides?
This, when you allege of an Indian hand in Balochistan, without ANY evidence at all? Tails I win, heads you lose, eh?!
How dare you take up our domestic problems (in J&K) as your concern? Was I just born? For, how come I totally missed seeing your world-care nature and attitude all this while?
How dare you equate a top diplomat from our country (Home Secy no less) with the rogue, demented fanatic and terrorist being sheltered in your country? Even the most uncouth of ministers would never take their imagination against a sovereign country's diplomat to such deplorable lows. Try labeling likewise against the lowest US official, Mr. Qureshi and try getting the time of your life!
It's us, who need to understand that we should talk only when, with, and if, those at the helm of affairs in both nations are genuinely interested.
Unless that happens, we can keep having discussions about our pain points, keep submitting dossier after dossier of incriminating evidence, and keep getting asked for more from our end. My problem is not in being positive, being patient, having perseverance, having faith, and continuing talks. What I have a problem with, is in seeing all our sincere efforts, diligent diplomatic parleys being mocked at, and seen as being done by us as if we are no good to be able to have/exercise any other option.
Let our qualities not be construed as our weakness. Let our statesmanship not be seen as our sterility.
It's also important to not kid ourselves here - we are dealing with a country that is beset with problems of its own, governed by predominantly fundamentalist people, marshaled and controlled by its ever-powerful Army, and always feeding on a hate/kill India/Indians propaganda, espoused and patronised by the country's powers-that-be. After all, if it's in their interest to see Indo-Pak rivalry and jostling going on and on, why and how on earth can any kind of peace talks succeed?!
Till we get any better people, state machinery and mindsets to deal with, we'd have to continue dealing with the Qureshi's of the world. Rest assured, they will continue to ACT against terror.
Hope I am wrong - but I will be extremely surprised, if they ever happen to feel satisfied with the plethora of files containing evidences submitted from India.
Now, I am not at all advocating that we should never talk to Pakistan or that these efforts should not be made. However, as the wise would advise, only those who have the ability to appreciate any quality can do so. There is no point in advertising the virtues of a comb to a bald man.
If Pakistan is consistently being intransigent, unreasonable, and has already made up its mind about its agenda, there is hardly any merit in exhorting it to re-think over the facts.
The ugly spat that erupted between the foreign ministers of both countries, was far too sour and too apparent, is a case in point. Had the Pakistanis been serious about taking action on anything, they would have done so, and atleast been appreciative of the Indian statesmanship and patience, despite India handing over voluminous, incriminating evidences, dossiers, transcripts, voice samples, and confessional statements of terrorists and masterminds.
What I don't understand, though, is how and why people are dubbing St. Qureshi as the peace deal-breaker, the villain-in-chief!! C'mon guys..where was the deal in the first place? When were you ever, in your heart of hearts assured of their genuine intent in taking action against the perpetrators of 26/11 (been almost 20 months since then)??
All along, Pakistan and St. Qureshi - being the gentleman that he is, have just stayed true to their words....India wanted them to act against terror. So yes, that's precisely what they have been doing all along - ACTING (pretending to show as if they are doing something) against terror!
How dumb do you think people are, Mr. Qureshi? Do you think we cannot spot your bluff? Do you think the constant charade of we-need-more-evidence holds any water? Sure, it took you to tell us that courts are independent bodies and need their own time. Thanks ever so much.
But pray, tell me, how can we not see how you do not take cognizance of the substantial evidence that India provides?
This, when you allege of an Indian hand in Balochistan, without ANY evidence at all? Tails I win, heads you lose, eh?!
How dare you take up our domestic problems (in J&K) as your concern? Was I just born? For, how come I totally missed seeing your world-care nature and attitude all this while?
How dare you equate a top diplomat from our country (Home Secy no less) with the rogue, demented fanatic and terrorist being sheltered in your country? Even the most uncouth of ministers would never take their imagination against a sovereign country's diplomat to such deplorable lows. Try labeling likewise against the lowest US official, Mr. Qureshi and try getting the time of your life!
It's us, who need to understand that we should talk only when, with, and if,
Unless that happens, we can keep having discussions about our pain points, keep submitting dossier after dossier of incriminating evidence, and keep getting asked for more from our end. My problem is not in being positive, being patient, having perseverance, having faith, and continuing talks. What I have a problem with, is in seeing all our sincere efforts, diligent diplomatic parleys being mocked at, and seen as being done by us as if we are no good to be able to have/exercise any other option.
Let our qualities not be construed as our weakness. Let our statesmanship not be seen as our sterility.
It's also important to not kid ourselves here - we are dealing with a country that is beset with problems of its own, governed by predominantly fundamentalist people, marshaled and controlled by its ever-powerful Army, and always feeding on a hate/kill India/Indians propaganda, espoused and patronised by the country's powers-that-be. After all, if it's in their interest to see Indo-Pak rivalry and jostling going on and on, why and how on earth can any kind of peace talks succeed?!
Till we get any better people, state machinery and mindsets to deal with, we'd have to continue dealing with the Qureshi's of the world. Rest assured, they will continue to ACT against terror.
Hope I am wrong - but I will be extremely surprised, if they ever happen to feel satisfied with the plethora of files containing evidences submitted from India.
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