Oh, IPL fever again!

Many urban Indians feel proud when they see even moderate success in an undertaking that's a mimicry of a concept/event from western countries. And if it's a massive success (measured by popularity/monetary terms, of course), they go crazy; and the people who supposedly invented(!) it in India(!!), are demi-gods. I'm talking about the IPL auctions in particular, and the IPL event in general.

This whole IPL s*** is about business/entertainment than cricket. Let's be candid - has IPL ever been about cricket/cricketers? In spite of all the hoopla about being a platform for budding cricketers, this event has always been a platform for some people to gamble, and for some others to profit like owners of casinos. (I know you can quote instances i.e. names of young players, where it's been a revealing, but I'm coming to that shortly.)

Right from the beginning, the owners of IPL have gambled with the players. Most often, people weren't given a second chance; because, the whole model of this event doesn't allow you to do so. It's quick fix, buddy! Quick money, quick satisfaction!  Of-course, they need winners, so it's their preference. I certainly agree. But why make it look like a platform for spotting talent?

Coming to that "spotting talent" part. Let me ask you one thing. Do you think I'm a good writer? (Or instead of me, think of any one of your favorite bloggers; do you think he/she is a good writer?) If you think I am (or your favorite blogger is), I pity you and let's stop it here. Enjoy your life. If you think I'm not (or your favorite blogger is not), can you tell me why? It could be due to one of these two reasons:

1). I haven't blogged much, so I can't be judged.

2). Even if I have blogged much, I can't be called a good writer because blogging alone doesn't make me that.

You get it? Blogging is a showcase. It's just where you share something quickly. (We're not even discussing facebook and twitter). But being a good writer means a totally different thing. Am I digressing?

Ok, this "talent spotting", you can't really spot talent in an event that's primarily a "quick fix". T20 is an event where the player need not be on the ground for even an hour but can still make an impact, appear on the top of next day's Sports page and be forgotten in the day after that. Easy? I'm not saying so. Difficult? Neither. (considering we're talking about real "talent").

All I say is this - understand that events like IPL are entertainment for you and money for some one else.  Just like movies, T.V. serials, and other forms of entertainment. Don't delude yourself that it's the pinnacle of sporting in India, and that it takes our country to the big league of sports.  Bull s***!

Chennai Book Fair 2011 - Preview

Chennai Book Fair 2011 has started today. Unlike previous years, I went right away with my dad to checkout the books.


Chief guests who declared it open were Jegathratchagan, Justice Lakshmanan and Nalli Kuppuswamy Chettiar. I didn't listen to speeches, save Jegathratchagan's. My legs were really tired after some scouting, so I took a chair in the audience and happened to hear Jegathratchagan's speech.  Though not exceptional, he was far better than many others who take it rea.....l slow and bore the audience. 


This year, the fair is relatively bigger. Around 640 publishers/sellers have put up shop. In many stalls, the books were still being stacked as I was going around. Also, the variety seems to be good. Among them, categories of IT, literature (mainly Tamil and English), fiction(both local and international), education, business, kids studies, social studies and religion have got a fair share of representation.


Today there were not many food/snack stalls. Also, the variety of the eatables is not as good as that of the books. One glaring drawback, I could say so, is the lack of proper arrangements. The ground even near the chief guests diaz really soggy, and there were not any index/markers to guide us to the stalls of our choice. I'm not sure if it's because this is the first day. But still, I couldn't believe the kind of lackadaisical attitude followed overall by the organizers even with dignitaries visiting in the evening.


Overall, if your goal is only the books and not the general entertainment of visiting the fair with family, friends et al, I think you'll be in for a treat.


IT guys: Checkout the post on my professional blog about the IT section of Book Fair. I've elaborated a bit on the kind of books and also listed the names of some surprise (atleast to me!) titles found.