...damn.. Lets play now.

If it was the silly controversy and frenzy created by MNS over the release of MNIK that made me sick the last time, the last two month brouhaha over the commonwealth games is just as nauseating.

We have been literally carpet bombed with every seamy little detail; every dollar that the organisers have made; every bed, bridge & ceiling that's collapsed; every paan stain that's landed on any edifice and every animal that has strayed anywhere close to the games arenas.

The media simply adores the magnetism of a negative story for its ability to attract and hold onto eyeballs. And in the CWG they found this huge treasure trove of rather large magnets.

Unfortunately, the infatuation with publically punching, puncturing and puking on personalities to spike up TRPs has taken away the objectivity that something of this magnitude and importance requires. No one is talking about the games, the records, the positive efforts off and on the field or the infrastructure that will actually stay with us long after the games are over. I'd have loved to read trivia on the sports icons , the opening /closing ceremonies, little known details of the new stadia & the facilities, how they compare with the other parts of the world, the preparations of our icons etc. No one is talking about what india could do to utilise the massive energy and funds spent on these games in a more constructive and edifying manner... and not enough column space and TV footage is being given to all the positive things that the athletes themselves are raving about.

Over the last 1 month in particular, humongous attempts have been made by some leading news channels and dailies like the Times of india and Times Now to deliberately air, twisted and distorted facts and unfairly influence public sentiment and opinion.

This is not to deny the existence of corruption or that the games village did not have its fair share of issues or that delhi roads were not choked. But is any of that new or unheard of in India ? Yet the approach to create, push and hype up negative stories day after day, all in the name of "Breaking News" has gone far too far. Some of the stories like the one on India bribing 82 countries to win the chance to host CWG in 2003 or the one realting to "why are we being slighted by Prince Charles as he inaugurates the CWG ?" have had little relevance except to create a negative vibe.

The fine distinction between news and views is being deliberately blurred.

One is not condoning the apparent corruption, the delays or the unabashed & over enthusiastic attempts to whitewash glaring inefficiencies by Kalmadi and his clique.
But by continuously criticizing every aspect of these games the media is robbing the public of a wonderful opportunity to build up enthusiasm, whip up frenzy and get them to participate and showcase positives of such a large scale event. Given the overall high interest in India, this would have served as the perfect icing on an already attractive cake. This should also have been the time to for us as citizens to get togteher and hold our heads high, rejoice and feel the same national pride that can be both unifying and inspiring.

Instead, by dubbing it as a national shame boldly and repeatedly, and working hard to continuously uncover every little unpainted crevice, the media is doing an even bigger disservice to Brand India than Kalmadi inc. Why do we forget that at the end of it all - Delhi's world class airport, spanking metro network, fabulous flyovers and expressways, new "usable" public conveniences and the top class games stadia and facilities will all stay as deserving icons of a world class city. This is the time to unite as one and push and present the "incredible india" story to the world.

It isn't too late even now. Just as the organisers can, even the media can still redeem itself by painting a picture, the world would admire and remember.

Enough is enough. Let the games begin and for once, lets talk about the positives. Lets play a fair game. There is substantial time available for each one of us to turn public critics after the games are overa nd done with.

The end of my road romance

I've loved driving and being on road journeys - long or short, ever since i was 15. During the past 28 yrs, have burnt as much rubber on city roads as i have romanced mountain paths, verdant jungles or awesome beach stretches. Barring one major accident, about 12 years ago, this love has remained untouched and unblemished.

But the experience of the past fortnite has made me look askance at the unquestioned so far. For the first time in my life - i missed a flight due to a snarl that was oblivious to my urgency and made a 10km distance to the airport seem endless. This has happened to countless guys before and honestly, there's nothing cataclysmic about it. Except that merely 2 days later - i was stuck again. This time not on city roads but on the Mumbai - Goa highway. The fact that departing mumbai at 5.30am made little difference, with us eventually covering a princely 120 odd km in 9 hrs - made this journey the most excruciating in my entire driving life. We ended up abandoning our short getaway plan only to return back to mumbai at the same snail's pace by 9 in the night ! There seemed no obstruction, no accident, nothing untoward at all. It was just a pure and simple traffic build up that was far too humongous and huge for the narrow hiway stretch to accomodate or for the hi-way police to manage.

One has been hearing of similar horrors on Delhi and bangalore roads as well. The banality of the massive fund inflows and spends on road infrastructure seems apparent. The improvement in showcase areas and a few fantastic express-ways is in no way enough. The overall multi fold increased traffic volume needs far more prompt, aggressive and definitive action if our regression into the past century has to stop and incidents like the ones above are to be prevented.

As for me and my road romance, sometimes, hibernation is also a state of being and daydreaming about personal choppers can give one the same adrenalin rush!