Rabindranath Tagore(Poet): Gurudev of the Nation

This is the self portrait of Gurudev Tagore.
He is the writer of our national anthem and was honoured by Nobel Prize in literature.

Rabindranath Tagore Documentary by Satyajit Ray

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (Cricketer): Captain of the Nation

Sourav Ganguly, known as Maharaja, Bengal Tiger, Dada to his fans. Why he is best captain of all time because of the following statistics --
He has the maximum no of centuries with just 77 ODI caps as a captain. He has the maximum winning percentage shared with Kapil. But we should see batting average and no of centuries and half centuries that sourav has scored.
His batting average as captain is in fact more than his personal all time ODI average
77 Match
41 Win
33 Loss
3NoResult
55.41 % success
3010 Runs (8 centuries)
44.26 average

Understanding the critically of Cricket, we can reach to a conclusion unequivocally that he is miles ahead of his colleagues and former captains of India whether it is Azahar, Rahul or anyone else.

For more info please see the following links.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourav_Ganguly
http://www.souravganguly.net/
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/28779.html
Sourav has fought his way where he is now today. He is not a prodigy like Sachin but full of class and confidence. I do not want to compare Sachin and Sourav, as both of them are exceptional cricketer and hugely contributed to Indian cricket. I can remember the days of Sachin-Sourav Opening pair. After decades we got good openers and the best pair of Indian cricket so far. It was elegant to watch, majestic in action. Saurav along with Tendulkar forms the 4th Best Opening Pair in the History of One-day cricket and was involved in a World Record Opening Partnership of 252.

What comes my mind first if I start thinking about my favorite player, Sourav Ganguly. Lot of things and memories, I am writing down top 10.

1. Natwest trophy final : 13 July, 2002
Sourav's celebration and passionate waving of his shirt after India's stupendous resurgence, brilliantly authored by Yuveraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif at Lord's. for more info see
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/2126684.stm
Sourav told before the tournament - "I am here to win games not popularity contests".
- On being criticized by the English media while touring England in July 2002.

2. Toronto 1997 : He set a new World Record for 5 consecutive Man of the Match Awards, washed out Pakistan and West Indies single handed with his bowling and batting. The make shift Indian Captain that time came out as triumphant despite having a B grade Indian team without Sachin.

3. Loosing finals of World Cup 2003 and 2000 ICC champions trophy. It was really a misfortune for India and Sourav. However Indian managed to enter into finals of different tournaments convincingly, they lost many finals during these years.
What gives you the most strength? - asked in 2003 after so many looses of the team
"A Self-belief... I’ve had my share of lows yet, after a bad day, I wake up a stronger person. At this level, a lack of self-belief will be disastrous. "

4. The concept of Team India: this concept came when Sourav was captain of India. After winning ICC champions trophy in 2002 , it was proved that the team India was feeling rejuvenated under the leadership of the Bengal Tiger.

What is your major contribution in the making of 'Team India'? - asked in 2004
Sourav: "There has been a major contribution on my behalf, especially by backing the players. Only when you give them confidence do you get the best out of them. And we can only win when you get the best out of your players. It is all correlated.I have picked boys who are talented and we are reaping the results. Everybody has become a match-winner. Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan are winning matches. Irfan Pathan and Laxmipathi Balaji have come now.."


5. Waiting Steve Waugh for Toss for misbehaving : in next match, "Then, in the 2003 series (on India's tour to Australia), Steve (Waugh) said that let's be on time for the toss now. I said: 'If you behave, I will'. - Sourav
He also told to the team mates.. "A bit of aggression is always good. I have always said that.”
After that Waugh said "He’s very competitive and knows what he wants. He has developed toughness in character and that is what is needed for Indian cricket. Ganguly has proved to be one of the best captains. He has now acquired great leadership qualities" - Steve Waugh

6. 183 in Tonton : His 183 against Sri Lanka remains the highest by an Indian in a World Cup.
May 26 1999 he was involved in the 2nd highest partnership in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Dravod vs. SL in the 99 World Cup. Rahul & Sourav became the 1st pair to put up a 300 run partnership in ODIs.


7. Banning for slow overrate or Excessive appealing :These events happened regularly in his captaincy, which undoubtedly disappointed his fans.
Sourav was always got lot of allegation for his arrogance, he is aggressive which sometimes sound arrogant to others. He told -"I know what I am. People can label me as they like but it upsets me to hear the word arrogant being used against me. I am not arrogant. Not at all. "- On being called arrogant.



8. Chappel Conflict :In the tour of Zimbabwe 2005 Sep, in which he was newly reinstated as skipper, Ganguly ground out a century. During the match he told reporters that newly-appointed coach Greg Chappell had asked him to stand down as captain - a comment which Chappell later played down. Chappell sent an email to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the conflict started between them, which cost a lot for Sourav.
"It happens... it happens when two friends fight. I was angry, especially when it came from someone whom you knew for quite some time. You say lot of things when you are angry, but they may be or may not be from the heart." – Dada on spat with Chappell and patching up if given a chance.



9. Coming back in Indian Team after More-Chappel Conspiracy: After almost an year exclusion, The Prince came back in style in International Cricket. When the biggest Sourav’s fan stopped thinking about his return and future, he kept faith on himself, kept on doing his job and proved himself. It’s a strenuous and long battle which he has own and I respect him for this. He made unbeaten half century in his return and contributed in India’s historic test win in South Africa.

Asked what was his reaction about the words of critics that his international career is over -
Sourav told "I didn’t pay attention… So many people were saying so many things… What mattered is what I felt about my abilities… How I looked at myself as a cricketer"

Some words from Sourav after his comeback
"If the going isn’t good, don’t wake up with your head down… Wake up thinking you’ll be successful… You won’t be if you wake up thinking ‘shit, I’m going to fail’… Believe me, one day can change your life… It’s how you approach it… Therefore, back yourself and never give up."
21st Jan, 2007 - His superb 98 off 110 balls in his come back ODI, including 11 fours and 3 sixes, in first ODI against West Indies at Nagpur, will have convinced almost everyone that ‘The Prince of Kolkata’ is back to his best. We was majestic, exquisite and now an idol for young cricketers.

10. Yet to : World Cup Success (a dream soon come to be true??)

Some Comments on Sourav:

Sourav is really the best captain India has ever had. Sunil Gavaskar

The Prince of Calcutta. Two of his special qualities are his intelligence and articulation, both of which have helped him immensely in the world of contemporary cricket. Geoffrey Boycott

Sourav is a great captain and we should be proud of such a leader. Kapil Dev

Sourav’s greatest strength is his mind. He is hardworking - not only in the nets but also mentally. He bounces back. That is his strength. Sachin Tendulkar

On the offside, first there is God, then Sourav Ganguly. Rahul Dravid

http://www.souravganguly.net/kudos.htm (for more comments)
Sourav Ganguly is not just the ‘Prince of Calcutta’ but he is also the ‘Monarch of Indian Cricket’.

Mahatma Gandhi : The Father of the Nation

Nonviolence and compromise are a great practice that Indians have shown during last thousands of years. Our culture and society, heritage and traditional education always teaches us to be more patient, to learn perseverance, to be slow and steady, and to be nonviolent. The flow of peace and nonviolence is inherent in almost every Indian.
May be its not manifested or distorted by some of us in today’s India. But I would say the world should indebted to Mahatma Gandhi for his approach to Satyagraha and manifesting the inner world of love and peace with deep respect to Humanity. To him Humanity is an Ocean. ” You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”

Personally, I was a different man before. I was bit aggressive, more careerist and demanding person with less perseverance. To me achievement was everything and success was the key to survive. In fact I did a lot with my will power and effort, so as my father. But I watched a big change in him as he has grown older; he became more peace loving and compromising person; a great man with the blessings of forgiveness’. He told me one day that nothing can be achieved my arrogance and pressure. One have to be much more patient and sacrificing to make a better home, better relation, better culture, better nation, better government, better humanity, better world. I can find some of similarities between my father’s word and Gandhi’s quote “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

Now I believe in this approach of making better surrounding and the most important thing is, I have started respecting Mahatma Gandhi after going through some of his quotes and “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” (a pseudo comedy movie on Gandhi-‘06). Practicing nonviolence is very difficult and if one can practice properly, it gives enormous pleasure to one’ soul and it may not have any short term benefit, but in long peace conquers everything. Gandhijis word in this context is “I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost of your life. I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”
The movie “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” on Gandhi’s concept is now being drafted in UN. Nobel peace committee has expressed their deep regret for not awarding Nobel Peace Prize, though he has been nominated for 5 times. I think Nobel Prize has lost its honour to be associated with this great person. But the world has realized his words after almost a century, when humanity is crying in the hand of terrorists’ and evil powers of different nations. Gandhi opposed violence saying “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” And in this nuclear age, a bomb against a nuke bomb can in fact make the World dead.
In order to form better world now it’s the time to forgive the sinner. The Bramha is present in every Human being. Let’s accept everyone by the passion of love beyond religion, nationality, practice and cast. Let’s forgive the sinner - “Hate the sin, love the sinner.” This is the best way to make one feel of his guilt and eradicate the sin from the society. Gandhi told more than this “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”

To form a better nation we all have to contribute irrespective of our scope. Only practicing nonviolence is not enough. In addition “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Gandhi told “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it”. If we are honest, focused, peace-lover and hard worker, definitely we can make a good nation.
Gandhiji’s word is “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will”.

India vs EU

I have been to India for last 3 weeks and its always a sea change for me when I visit my country from the west. I pretend to be in a different planet.

India is very different from Europe. Since I have seen some of the countries of European Union, so let’s compare India with EU.

EU

Consists of 27 independent countries
Has population of 494,070,000 (3rd4)
Size: 4,324,782 km² (7th4)
Languages: Same as number of countries

INDIA
Consists of 28 States
Population: 1,126,000,000 (2nd)
Size : 3,287,263 km² (7th)
Official languages : Hindi, English and 21 other

Based on the statistics, we can say India is much bigger in terms of population, however EU is little bigger in size. But in terms of diversity, India and EU is comparable. Both of them have age old heritage and cultural background.

But EU consists of independent states mainly on the basis of languages and cultures. There is least overlapping between them. Most of them are do not like each other and in past there were many conflicts between them. Even in last few decades Europe has given birth of many small countries (Split of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia).

Where as India is purely a secular democratic country. Hindi being the national language, we have 22 other official languages and many more sub languages. Irrespective if cultural and racial differences of different States, there is no urge to get separated. The underlying fundamental unity is flowing in Indian Culture.