MxMIndia

Tag: India

  • Love for the land should be much more than just standing ramrod straight when the national anthem plays. Loosen up people, says Prathap Suthan

    Prathap Suthan: 8 fun ideas for Republic Day without being unpatriotic [Recall]

     

    This was first carried on MxMIndia in January 2012. Save the Kolaveri context, all of it is still relevant and we felt it was worth carrying given that it’s Republic Day on Sunday.

     

     

    By Prathap Suthan

     

     

    I better walk the tight rope here. Caught as we are between two completely disconnected groups of Indians.

     

    One is a grizzled leadership that’s way too hemmed in, frugal, and touchy about the tricolour and its marching bells and regimented whistles.

     

    And the second is a younger generation who are anything but bothered with the antediluvian huff we make about pride and other mushy matters of the soul.

     

    Come to think of it, in these days of viral Kolaveri, the Republic Day and its patriotism shouldn’t continue to be seen as the preserve of those sitting behind bulletproof glass.

     

    Our Republic Day shouldn’t lie trapped in strict Government imagery. We must ease up on the straitjacket we have strapped ourselves in. Our nation is free. Not bound.

     

    It must be the day ofIndia. Celebrated with more freedom and fun. It must be more popular and populist. The democracy should celebrate it. Less stiffness, and more abandon.

     

    Love for the land should be much more than just standing ramrod straight when the national anthem plays. Loosen up people. We cannot be snoozing all day on the 26th.

     

    So what can we do to inject fun into this grave day? Please add your own versions.

     

    Though please don’t skid over the edge, and start redefining bikinis. Some amount of restraint is good. Atleast in public.

     

    1. Instead of curling into your couch to watch the parade on TV, get your society to hire a big screen. Watch the parade like an IPL final. Get some hot samosas and jalebis. Give flags to all the kids, and watch the soldiers pound the Rajpath. I can guarantee monster goosebumps.

     

    2. Ride a horse. Get off your cars and bikes, and live true horsepower. Get on the back of an old unemployed filly and relive a bit of royalty on hooves. I am sure you won’t be able to gallop. But I am pretty sure that fine equine discretion will lead you to the difference between a canter and a trot. Pay the local ghodawalla some attention. I am sure he will smile a wider smile.

     

    3. Invent a patriotic dish. Give it the finest name possible. Buy from theRepublicofChicken. Or do something that needs a handful of saffron. Ouch. Don’t do the tricolour rigmarole pudding. It’s too cliched. Make the Dal of Thunder, The Saffron Inquisition, or the Great Onion of Panipat.

     

    4. Step out of home, and go and meet your neighbourhood fauji. Remember them. Those gallant valiant men with moustaches curled. Also do shake hands with the neighbourhood cops. They might expect a rolled up currency note. Instead, wish them a great day.

     

    5. Fight for the flag-raising event. Let a younger member raise the flag. Why do we depend on brash old men? The nation belongs to the little ones. Instill nationalism early in their lives. They will never forget. They will be grateful. Jai Hind!

     

    6. Add a flourish of Indianess to the Armani ensemble you wear everyday. Applies to both originals and fakes. Or offset the affected kurta you will stuff yourself into on Republic Day. Basically, try a new thing, and wear a Gandhi cap. You could wear it on your monkey cap if you are a devout Bangla. But there’s something earthy that happens when you switch to khadi. Gurkha cap also doesn’t work for me.

     

    7. I think we should make an effort to commercialize the day. Why waste a full day sitting at home? Imagine the plight of the millions people who eke out their living on a daily basis. For them, it’s a forced holiday. Maybe we should take the lead and get the great T-shirt sale going. Or we should begin a series of Republic Day picnics; initiate a nationwide drive to buy a compulsory flag for all homes, or do something else that will go to annually fund war widows or something as noble.

     

    8. How come there’s no tradition connected to this day? Barring that really long speech the society elder will deliver. In which he will talk more about himself, his childhood, how Nehru almost shook his hand, and how he braved British boots. Maybe we should all speak in Hindi that day. Maybe we should only eat Indian food. Maybe we should have a fireworks show where the whole city is invited. Or maybe we will have a citizen’s parade in the city stadium.

     

    Whatever we choose to do, we must celebrate in our own way. We must take the celebration to the people. We must make it more meaningful and involving. Otherwise this country’s pride will get locked up inside octogenarian ministries. And we will all have breakfast at 3 pm.

     

    Prathap Suthan is the Chief Creative Officer at iYogi.

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers.

    Journalists’ covenants on cricket and more

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Aging batsmen, an arrogant captain making bad choices, indifferent performances, the Indian Premier League and the Board for Control of Cricket in India- all or some of these are to blame for the Indian cricket team’s unfortunate performance in Australia.

     

    Television, which was building itself up, started in a slow frenzy at the start of the weekend but it was all out there – foam, fits – by Sunday evening. Arnab Goswami of Times Now, amply helped by his alter ego Boria Majumdar inAustralia, was extremely saddened as only he can be by Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni in particular. Had Dhoni denigrated Test cricket by suggesting that he might retire from that version of the game? Was this the end of civilisation as we know it and so on? He was supported by Bishen Singh Bedi who was sputtering at the mouth with anger and by the cynical observations of another guest who got Goswami and Bedi even more enraged.

     

    Newspapers are still more circumspect but try ‘Shame Old Story’ and ‘Disgrace’ from The Times of India, ‘Perth Pangs’ and ‘India blunder, Oz plunder’ from Hindustan Times. Sunday Mid-Day tried to put a spin on it with ‘Bright Spark’, referring to bowler Umesh Yadav getting five wickets but the strap line below the headline emphasisedIndia’s batting collapse.

     

    Luckily forIndia’s beleaguered cricketers, a week is a very short time in journalism. Just before the India-Australia series started, I seem to rememberAustraliabeing hammered for losing toNew ZealandandIndiafeeling all pumped up because of its enormous talent and at-home victories. A couple of days atMelbourneand all that moaning and hype was completely reversed.

     

    My journalist friends and colleagues tell me that I should not be so hard on my fellow journalists and that it is the job of journalists to get hysterical and to have no memories at all, especially when it comes to sport. There is apparently some mysterious covenant signed by sports journalists (us general purpose journos are not privy to this procedure) by which they have to swear that they will make every effort not to remember what they had said or written the week before. Also that every loss by a sports team or person has to be portrayed as the end of the world and every victory had to be the best ever. I know this to be true from my experiences as a tennis fan (empirical evidence!).

     

    We already know that TV people have their own covenant which makes them swear to try and “save” Indiaat every opportunity and know as little as possible about any subject which gets them all excited.

     

    The cocktail of these two covenants makes for some very dramatic viewing and for those with longer attention spans, there are newspaper articles. Some sober commentators in print will try to look at the larger picture and to extrapolate future courses of action from past experiences. They may be chucked out of the Lodge for breaking the covenant unless they are long term offenders. But in these times, the hysteria will win. Except of course tillIndiawins something!

     

  • The investment will be for new infrastructure, partnerships, brand building and sustainability programmes.

    Coca-Cola to put $2 billion into India

    By A Correspondent

    Coca-Cola India has announced that Coca-Cola System will be investing US$2 billion in India in the next five years, beginning 2012. The investment is to further capture the opportunity in the Indian nonalcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverage market. India is a strategic growth country for the company ranking among its top 10 markets in volume globally and as the largest market in the Eurasia and Africa Group.

    Commenting on the development, Ahmet C Bozer, Coca-Cola’s President, Eurasia and Africa Group, said, “India is one of our most important growth markets as we work toward our 2020 Vision of doubling system revenues and servings this decade. The opportunity in the packaged beverage segment is immense, and our efforts in India are focused on being the beverage of choice all day, every day.  If we continue to do the right things each day and at all times, it would not surprise me if India becomes one of the top five markets for the Company globally by the end of this decade.”

    NARTD beverages have enormous growth potential in India.  The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners have robust plans to capture this opportunity with investments in innovation, consumer marketing and brand building, expansion of distribution and cold drink equipment placement as well as further development of manufacturing capacity to meet growing consumer demand.

    The Coca-Cola system has already invested over US$2 billion in India since it re-entered the country in 1993, and currently it directly employs more than 25,000 people. The system is estimated to have created indirect employment for more than 150,000 people in related industries through its vast procurement, supply chain and distribution system. The current investments announced by Coca-Cola will further catalyze economic growth and create new opportunities for the local community. The Coca-Cola system currently employs more than 700,000 people worldwide.

    Atul Singh, President  & CEO, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said, “This investment is a part of our long-term commitment to invest in innovation, partnerships and a portfolio of brands that will enable us to grow our business in a sustainable and responsible way. In addition to our infrastructure and capabilities, the new investment will also focus on enhancing the consumer experience, building brand loyalty and contributing to environmental sustainability and community development. Our India business has been growing at a robust rate over the last five years, and our goal is to continue this growth momentum. The country’s demographics, economic and social parameters are all huge drivers of growth and we have to ensure that we capitalize on the opportunity.”

    The Coca-Cola system has a long history of partnership with non-governmental organizations in India for community development and sustainability initiatives. As a system, Coca-Cola has now achieved a net zero balance with regard to groundwater usage in India.  It is well integrated with local Indian communities and is a valued contributor to economic and social growth. The Company and its bottling partners are strong supporters of education in India through programs like the ‘Coca-Cola NDTV Support My School’ campaign, which is aimed at creating more than 100 model schools in India. The Company also supports sports programs to encourage active, healthy living such as the Coca-Cola Under-16 Cup cricket tournament, the Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy football tournament, Sprite Gully Cricket and Sprite NBA Jam.

    Worldwide, The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners are investing nearly $30 billion over the next five years to support anticipated growth across its system. These investments range from new manufacturing facilities to new distribution systems to new marketing investments in emerging economies.

  • Veteran journalist and cricketwatcher Ayaz Memon on the media coverage of the recent India-England series

    Ayaz Memon in Newswatch: A series that wasn’t

    Newswatch is a weekly series where we invite editors and veteran journalists from across the country to comment on media coverage. Last week we had Aroon Tikekar, this time, it’s Ayaz Memon:

    The English media’s coverage of the Indian cricket team’s ill-fated tour this summer went from heady expectation to surprise then astonishment followed by disappointment and finally distraught acceptance.

    By all accounts, this was a terrible tour, arguably the worst-ever in Indian cricket history. This was captured well in the mood and tenor of the media which, like the rest of the cricket world, had been taken by surprise by India’s utterly hopeless performances.

    The 4-0 whitewash in the Tests followed by a 3-0 defeat in the ODIs left the Indian team exposed to barbs and criticisms, not all unjustified. To twist a famous quote, no team had promised so much and delivered so little, which perhaps made the job of the media difficult. After all, how much can analyses vary if the team’s failures follow the same pattern every time, with only one player – the magnificent Rahul Dravid – performing in match after match?

    The build-up to the Test series had been fantastic; the best I’ve seen in three decades. In earlier years the media in England could be neglectful or patronizing, but this time the volume of space and tenor of opinion bespoke India’s status in the sport – both on and off the field.

    As the powerhouse that drives the eyeballs for cricket currently, India has acquired a curiosity, awe, envy, frustration, ire, appreciation, admiration across the globe. But interest in this tour was not only because of the financial clout India commands: this was also a marquee series, remember, because Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team was number 1 in the ICC Test rankings and only a couple of months prior had also won the 50-over World Cup.

    The charisma of Sachin Tendulkar, poised to get his 100th international century, made the series even more seductive. Tendulkar had scored his first-ever international century in England in 1990 and had since gone on to become not just one of the greatest cricketers of all time, but also the Pied Piper of modern cricket, attracting fans and media everywhere.

    Tendulkar’s teammates were stalwarts like Rahul Dravid, V V S Laxman, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni which India an all-star attraction. The fact that the first Test at Lord’s would be the 2000th in the history of the sport and the 100th between India and England added to the significance and the glamour, always good grist to the mill for the media.

    Pre-series write-ups flooded the English newspapers. Broadsheets devoted big space to the greatness and virtuosity of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman – all on their last tour of England – as well as India’s phenomenal rise in international cricket in every aspect over the past decade.

    England’s victory in the Ashes series a few months earlier had made them strong aspirants to become the number 1 Test team, and this contest promised high drama and spectacular performances galore. But this proved to be unfounded as India crumbled badly because of poor preparation, and even poorer application under pressure.

    By the middle of the tour, it was clear that there was to be no turnaround in India’s performances and the tone of the media had gone from admiration to cynicism. The world champions were looking like they had feet of clay. Tendulkar’s impending 100th century became a matter of ifs, buts and sighs. Barring Dravid’s resilience – and to an extent the hard toil of Praveen Kumar – there was little to extol in the Indian team.

    Several causes and reasons were sought to explain the utterly abject performances of this highly regarded side and inevitably the Indian Premier League, the BCCI’s greed, recalcitrance to accept the DRS etc came under sharper focus than might otherwise have happened.

    One of these debates on TV led to an altercation between former captains Ravi Shastri and Nasser Husain – with the former defending the BCCI and Husain emphatic that he had a right to criticize as a professional mediaperson — that was to resonate even across the seven seas.

    In many ways, that was also the high point of a series that wasn’t in the cricketing sense.