Justice had been delayed for far too long. But it could not be denied forever. And so, the greatest limited overs batsman the world has seen is now the holder of the highest individual score in that format. It had always seemed unfair that this record should have remained anyone's but his. At the post match presentation ceremony, he said, "Batting for 50 overs was a test of my fitness. It would be good to bat for another 50 overs some other time and see if I can last that long." Wow! The 36 year old boy wants to go on forever! Is it hard to see the reason for his phenomenal success? It is the hunger and the passion that he retains even after having spent more than two decades in the grind of international cricket. Money must have stopped being a motivating factor long back, if it ever was one. His wife has said that the day he stops enjoying his game, he'll call it a day. Enjoy! That is the key word. He himself has often said that the sound of bat hitting ball is enough motivation for him. That is the extent to which he loves the game.
And there's a lesson to be had in this for each one of us. Let our passions dictate the course of our lives. Why are we alive? So that we can continue living? Why do we exist? So that we can continue existing? Is that why we slog ourselves to death at work? To what end? Whenever I speak to friends, they are just awaiting the arrival of the weekend, so that they can 'enjoy' themselves away from the drudgery of their work. Did anyone ever hear Sachin saying that he 'enjoyed' his break away from the game? For that matter, can we ever imagine Sachin doing anything else but play cricket? What would have been his fate had his father pushed him to become a singer, as imagined by Rancho in 3 Idiots? So, all you poets masquerading as consultants, all you authors disguised as bankers, all you actors hiding behind the facade of being accountants, give the real 'you' a chance to live. You owe that to Sachin and his maiden limited overs double century.
P.S. There are a fair number of curmudgeons in India who still believe that Sachin plays for 'himself' and not for the 'team'. And each time the legend scripts yet another batting odyssey, these curmudgeons, blinded by the prism of their own bias, say that its just another innings by him for the sake of 'his records'. What would such people be saying after he became the first man ever to score a double hundred in a one day international? Curmudgeons that they are, they'll probably say, 'Oh, just another record for him'. Blast them!
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
The pursuit of basics
It was not so long ago in 2008 that real estate developers were hard pressed to sell their overpriced property. A long overdue semblance of a correction followed in 2009. Not even a year has passed since then and we are already witnessing the return of the crazy price levels that were prevalent in 2007. The sharp rise in stock markets seems to be the culprit, with gains from stocks being invested in property.
Take the case of Ghatkopar West in suburban Mumbai. In 2008, the Kalpataru group was finding it difficult to sell flats at its under construction 'Aura' project @ Rs. 6,800 per sq ft. That too, when possession was to be given in less than a year. Now, barely a year later, comes the Wadhwa group which launched 'The Address' at the steep rate of Rs. 9,000 per sq. ft., with possession in 'three and a half' years. Wow! The projects are barely 100 metres apart on the same side of LBS Marg. A 2BHK flat at 'Aura' cost around Rs 75-80 lakh last year. A 2.5BHK flat at 'The Address' costs twice that now. The stock market rally and the rescheduling of their own massive bank debt has made the developers forget one small component of the market, the end user. Its another matter that these flats might get lapped up by cash rich investors eager to park their stock gains. For an end user like me, I would never like to spend Rs. 1.5 crore to buy such a hopelessly overpriced piece of property, with possession almost 4 years down the line.
Why is it that this industry is allowed to get away with super-supernormal profits? How would you like if tomorrow HUL were to sell a bar of 'Hamam' at Rs. 50? Alright, there is a lot of difference between the two industries, real estate and FMCG. Developers always complain about 'high land cost' when asked about runaway property prices. The complaint is valid, but only to an extent. How come prices tanked upto 35-40% last year for the same overpriced properties on the same 'high cost' land, when faced with a demand slump? How many end users can actually afford to buy a Rs. 1.5 crore flat in Ghatkopar? Not many.
The signals are very clear. The middle class has no place in the real estate scheme of things. On a separate note, it is such capitalistic excesses that have given rise to the regressive philosophies of communism. When a basic commodity like housing is priced out of the reach of almost the entire population, barring a very small elite minority, it is bound to give rise to strife in the long run across all levels, be it political, social, family or individual. One of the first dreams of young men in India is to buy a house so that they can have a roof above their heads - so that they can marry, so that they can have kids, who in turn will worry about buying a roof for their own heads, when their time comes. With entire lifespans spent chasing the fulfillment of basic requirements like housing, is it a surprise that no significant progress, whether scientific, technological or artistic is achieved by the majority of Indians living in India?
Take the case of Ghatkopar West in suburban Mumbai. In 2008, the Kalpataru group was finding it difficult to sell flats at its under construction 'Aura' project @ Rs. 6,800 per sq ft. That too, when possession was to be given in less than a year. Now, barely a year later, comes the Wadhwa group which launched 'The Address' at the steep rate of Rs. 9,000 per sq. ft., with possession in 'three and a half' years. Wow! The projects are barely 100 metres apart on the same side of LBS Marg. A 2BHK flat at 'Aura' cost around Rs 75-80 lakh last year. A 2.5BHK flat at 'The Address' costs twice that now. The stock market rally and the rescheduling of their own massive bank debt has made the developers forget one small component of the market, the end user. Its another matter that these flats might get lapped up by cash rich investors eager to park their stock gains. For an end user like me, I would never like to spend Rs. 1.5 crore to buy such a hopelessly overpriced piece of property, with possession almost 4 years down the line.
Why is it that this industry is allowed to get away with super-supernormal profits? How would you like if tomorrow HUL were to sell a bar of 'Hamam' at Rs. 50? Alright, there is a lot of difference between the two industries, real estate and FMCG. Developers always complain about 'high land cost' when asked about runaway property prices. The complaint is valid, but only to an extent. How come prices tanked upto 35-40% last year for the same overpriced properties on the same 'high cost' land, when faced with a demand slump? How many end users can actually afford to buy a Rs. 1.5 crore flat in Ghatkopar? Not many.
The signals are very clear. The middle class has no place in the real estate scheme of things. On a separate note, it is such capitalistic excesses that have given rise to the regressive philosophies of communism. When a basic commodity like housing is priced out of the reach of almost the entire population, barring a very small elite minority, it is bound to give rise to strife in the long run across all levels, be it political, social, family or individual. One of the first dreams of young men in India is to buy a house so that they can have a roof above their heads - so that they can marry, so that they can have kids, who in turn will worry about buying a roof for their own heads, when their time comes. With entire lifespans spent chasing the fulfillment of basic requirements like housing, is it a surprise that no significant progress, whether scientific, technological or artistic is achieved by the majority of Indians living in India?
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