To 'Netaji'...With Love

Dear Mr. Netaji,

First of all I feel very disgusted for having sitting down to write this letter to you, because had you been working to the best of your ability I would have never decided to write this in the first place. So more than anything else, and more than the shabby critical eye opener this letter really is, it is a token of ignominy and chagrin for you and your political class.

When will you people learn to run the country with clean hands and head. The country today is replete with cases of corruption around almost every government deal. The top political brass is hardly bothered to address the needs and problems of the common man. Instead, they are busy draining the exchequer and in process robbing the poor Indian middle class. We pay taxes to the government to make sure that the public amenities are made available. We don't owe you that money.On the contrary you owe us services in return for the taxes we pay you. We don't pay the taxes so that you can meticulously and deceitfully appropriate huge amounts of it to yourself and hide it under your desi facade.

I also wonder how big your bellies are ??? You people are even better than pigs.For pigs have that unsocial habit of going on an eating-spree in public, but you and all other netas are pretty good at concealing your greed and appetite for money.You and your accomplices execute "the fraud" with such precision that it goes unnoticed; only to become public after all the money has been chewed and digested. And then what happens is usual chores- you convene a meeting of the top group of ministers and finally instruct the CBI to cursorily probe the matter. Days and months pass-by, and the already over-burdened and over-worried people forget the case and move on.Finally, you are free on a parole and all set to bring into effect the next scam-in-progress.So apart from running the nation - and that we know very well how you do - you also take up this arduous task of denuding the public of their hard-earned money in the name of national progress.

Sometimes I really wonder - as a responsible citizen that I am - which one of you is the best pick for leading a country of more than 100 billion people. For it needs some brainstorming to run a country like ours where people rely so much upon good governance for their welfare. After all its not a joke to shape the destiny, or on that part play with the destiny, of several billion people.Each one of you in some way or the other is worse than everyone else. Some of you are illiterate goons bequeathing political power as a heir of the family legacy.Some others are educated but make the best use of their knowledge only to indulge in scams and political heists.And just a handful of you are sincere leaders, really wanting to clean your house, but are incapable and ineffective because of lack of support from their fellow counterparts.

So all in all, its a situation of total disaster wreaking pandemonium all across the system.

The result - an inescapable political imbroglio.The repercussions - ineffective governance and a corruption prone economy.

So Mr. Netaji please learn to take the onus of governing this country seriously, if not for the people who elect you to power, then at least for your own self, because you are as much a part of this country as every other Indian is.

Yours sincerely,

Ek Aam Aadmi

Pseudonym : h!v

Cricketonomics

Cricketonomics : And it's the love for 'money'

Cricket is not just a sport in India.It's much more than that.It's a religion and fast-track to both power and pelf.Cricketers are demigods and have a significant appeal to the 'junta'.The Sachin's, the Dhoni's and the relatively young and vibrant Kohli's have all made hefty fortune - Thanks to Cricket!!!
The Indian public is innocent and follow these public heroes with such devotion that is unmatched and could be compared, at best, only to the public fan-following some of the great footballers receive in Europe or in the soccer crazy South American nations.
Cricketers, it's a common belief, are the best salesman and can sell anything.They, with their glamorous quotient, can slowly tease the public to buy a product which otherwise, at best, would have looked better behind the glasses at a retail outlet.
I still remember an 'Action' commercial featuring Sachin enchanting 'Jute mein hai light'. The commercial not only did wonders for the product but also made the advertisement and the chant very popular, to say the least.To say that it was the product's quality and utility alone and not Sachin's charisma that made the product do exceedingly well in the market would be an understatement. The batting genius currently has more than 16 brands in his kitty including some big names like 'Canon', 'Future Group', 'Toshiba' to list a few.

 Not only Sachin, all popular cricketers have , at some point of time, had a host of brands in their bag and  struck lucrative deals.
Virat Kohli, the latest sensation, for example, has signed quite a few brands to his name in a very short span of time.'Fastrack', 'Flying Machine', 'Toyota' have all trusted Virat and are banking on him and his fan appeal for years to come. 
Ironically, our cricketers are much more than just a salesman. Salesmen just sell a few products. Our cricketers sell ideas as well, and in some cases even spawn ideas.Remember Sachin, Zaheer and others featuring in an NECC campaign advertisement encouraging people to include eggs as permanent constituent of their daily meals.Again how can we forget the little genius,Sachin Tendulkar, being the Brand ambassador of the 2012 Government Census.

Owing to the great impact these demigods have on the Indian 'junta', they are commercially big properties for the brands they endorse.The amount of money they charge for endorsement is mammoth.Deals in crores lasting a span of few years are a run-of-the mill.
Though with brand values above $15 million in 2012 (Courtesy:Forbes) Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni lead the pack, the rest are not far behind. Players like Gautam Gambhir, Virendar Sehwag are also making money considerably.
As if this wasn't big enough a platform for printing notes, came the IPL. And came along with it a host of sponsors running after the cricketing fraternity for contracts, more contracts and more...Courtesy: BCCI & IPL mastrmind, Lalit Modi
Lalit Modi himself struck gold and later passed the control of the gold mine on to the BCCI before renouncing as chief of the IPL board.
Off late, 'Cricket' has been one of the most lucrative businesses in the country to say the least.
But if such commercialization of the game and the cricketers good or bad for the future of the game is yet to witness.
I wish cricket to prosper even further in the country; or else the only thing, perhaps, that binds the diverse people of this diverse country into oneness, with a thin thread, would be lost and so with it the dream of a united 'One India'.

  Pseudonym : h!v