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All hopes of India featuring in the business end of the ICC Men’s World Twenty20 here in the UAE went kaput after the first champion of the tournament in 2007, played poor cricket and was shown its place by Pakistan on October 24 and by New Zealand on October 31. On November 8, India completed the formality of finishing its Super 12 game against Namibia and prepared for its departure for home from Dubai. It would have been wishful thinking to have expected Afghanistan to outwit New Zealand and thereby for India to improve its standing in the point table. India, which surprised the cricket world by winning the first World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007 and then lost in the final of the 2014 competition, were not up to the mark in the UAE. Loss of the toss, dew fall in the second session and absence of a long gap between the IPL and the World Twenty20 have been trotted out as the reasons for India’s average performance, but the fact is that India was thoroughly outwitted by Pakistan and New Zealand on the cricketing count. Virat Kohli’s team may not have won the Trophy in the Arabian Gulf, but the BCCI will rake in a sum of near about Rs 500 crore from the three white ball and two Test series against New Zealand
It was an occult October for superstar Rajinikant. He was chosen for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for outstanding contribution to Indian cinema: stellar recognition for the bus conductor from Bengaluru who made it big in films. Driven by his passion and undiluted dedication, he is still in the superstar bracket at 70, paid Rs 100 crore per film, with a phenomenal fan following. This year’s Diwali release, the much touted and promoted Annathe, by Sun Films whipped up a crescendo of expectation. Rajini viewed his magnum opus with family on October 28. If one were to believe in déjà vu, his falling ill hours later with a carotid stenosis, hospitalisation and angioplasty set tongues wagging. Did Annathe disappoint? We cannot guess what his reaction was. But the film with all the marketing blitz, opened to tepid response — with a diehard fan mourning, “What a fall Thalaiva.” The film received negative reviews from critics and audiences but reportedly performed well at the box office. Legendary Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman said: “The best way to guarantee a loss is to quit.” Rajini, you have achieved far more than many privileged stars; wish you had ridden into the sunset, stylishly with a white Stetson on like the Marlboro Man. Films and casinos are alike; quit when you are up.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister visiting rain-affected areas of Chennai after an extreme rainfall event last Sunday was not mere tokenism. He spent hours together over three days surveying areas under water, overseeing the distribution of relief and attending endless meetings on monsoon preparedness while fulfilling duties associated with normal CEOs of States. If there was a message in Stalin’s sustained supervision of relief measures it may have had to do with what happened to Chennai in 2015 when its wettest ever time came about in 36-hours with a perfect storm dumping 50 cms of water. The average of 20 cms that the city received overnight in 2021 was not as phenomenal but it caused nearly as much damage. What had made 2015 rain so catastrophic was the uncontrolled release of over 100,000 cusecs of water from a city reservoir in Chembarambakkam, flooding the Adyar river and causing immense loss of life and property. This had come about because desperate water managers had not been able to get through to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who was not 100% well at the time and was prone to sleeping it off in her Poes Garden residence. Stalin, a fit 67-year-old with a healthy lifestyle, would like to show that his antenna is up and is always available for duty.
Poll reverses in Himachal Pradesh where the BJP lost one Lok Sabha and three Assembly seats in by-elections was one reason that may have well forced the Modi government to rein in galloping fuel prices. However, a closer look at the Mandi Lok Sabha by-elections may reveal that the winner — Pratibha Virbhadra Singh — was not such a popular candidate. Apparently, no one in the Congress was keen that she should win as she is known to be quite an inaccessible person. Widow of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh seems to have won the seat through a series of happy coincidences. Her victory margin — 7,490 votes — against BJP candidate Brigadier (Retd) Khushal Thakur is actually less than the 12,626 NOTA votes polled. Which means there were not many who overwhelmingly voted in her favour. But then it is being said that even the BJP cadre was also not happy with the ticket going to Brig Thakur, a Kargil war hero. That means dislike for official candidates seems to have plagued both the parties and reflected in high NOTA. As for the Congress winning in three Assembly seats in the state it is being said the BJP did not take the challenge seriously. Officially, of course, chief minister Jairam Thakur acknowledged that high fuel prices may have made voters angry.
People of Chennai had that horrible déjà vu of 2015 when incessant rains lashed the city, inundating many parts of the city thereby bringing the city to a grinding halt. This city which saw power cuts and some lives being lost has been witnessing water logging disasters very often. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, clad in heavy rain gear, was everywhere, wading through knee deep swirls, inspecting the flood havoc and supervising relief. Compelling optics no doubt. But, why should Chennai face this disaster almost every monsoon? The answer lies in the short term, populist vision of the two parties — DMK and AIADMK — who would rather respond to calamity than engineer prevention. And Stalin is the author of that catchy election slogan Varumun kappom (let’s prevent, before it hits). Countries like Switzerland, New Zealand and Norway have perfected water management and rainwater harvesting. Israel is the world leader in water recycling; treats 80% of sewage to produce 500 billion litres of water per annum for irrigation and public works. Why, even neighbouring Karnataka has the world’s largest rainwater harvesting project, covering over 23,000 school rooftops to harvest rainwater and prevent inundation. Surely TN can engineer a permanent solution for flooding in monsoon, and water scarcity in summer.
India’s sports capital Bhubaneswar is all ready to welcome 16 countries for the 2021 Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup to be played between November 24 and December 5 at its world class Kalinga Stadium. India is the defending champion, having won the Junior World Cup title in 2016 at Lucknow. It is learnt that in view of Covid-19 precautions there will be no spectators, but the matches will be telecast live. Sports promotion seems to be on the radar of every chief minister in the country. Uttar Pradesh was keen to host FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup for the second time but backed out as the upcoming Assembly elections are a top priority. For Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who has been betting big on sports this was a god-sent opportunity and he quickly moved to host the event. Till the Indian hockey team won the bronze at Tokyo Olympics not many people knew that it was Patnaik who was supporting the hockey players to the hilt for so many years now. In fact, the Parliamentary Committee has recommended other states to emulate the Odisha model for sports development through public sector and private sector participation. No one understands better than Patnaik. He has done this successfully, roping in participative contributions from PSUs and Private Sector enterprises to support sports.
Clearly, the star of the one-day BJP national executive was Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai who got the opportunity to second the political resolution; UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was the mover of the resolution. Annamalai was not only handpicked for the task but Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself chose to introduce the 37-year-old former Karnataka cadre IPS officer to the audience. This after BJP President JP Nadda had already finished doing the honours. Speaking about Annamalai, Modi was quoted as saying that as an officer he had a bright future in his profession; in politics he could have also chosen regional parties like AIADMK or the DMK, but he zeroed in on the BJP for probity and clean politics. BJP leaders felt the way PM showered encomiums on Annamalai, it certainly seemed he was the chosen one. Under Annamalai’s stewardship since July this year, the state BJP has been making rapid strides. The BJP made gains in panchayat elections in nine districts in northern Tamil Nadu. Modi focused on looking at the silver lining – without making any reference to Himachal reverses. Annamalai’s success in a hostile environment like TN was worth showcasing to the party cadre. The spotlight was also on the decisive win in Telangana; and vote accretion in Badvel (SC) in AP, and in Ellenabad in Haryana amid farm law protests.
In Karnataka, the loss of Hangal Assembly seat to the Congress in the by-election should actually be seen as something that is of BJP’s own making. Here the party seems to be caught in a web of misery because of its principles. Refusing to cash in on sympathy factor and deciding against fielding close family members of deceased candidates, the BJP needlessly lost a seat to the Congress. It seems the party decided against fielding either daughter-in-law or son of the late six- term MLA CM Udasi whose death necessitated the by-election. Karnataka State BJP committee too had rooted for his son Shivkumar Udasi, a Lok Sabha MP from Haveri. Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai too wanted someone from the family. “If someone from the family had contested, BJP would have secured the seat by 20,000 votes,” admitted a BJP source. Chief Minister Bommai who camped for 10 days in Hangal to secure the seat was quite disappointed. The seat was narrowly lost. Close to his backyard, the loss of Lingayat-dominated seat seemed like a slap on his face. Of course, the only people who were happy were supporters of former Chief Minister BS Yedyurappa. They saw this as a good time to push for rehabilitation of his son BY Vijayendra by linking Hangal loss to unhappiness of Lingayats.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.