Adios legend!

                          Adios Legend!  

                                                                                                                    -Tejas Ekawade

The article was originally published here.

It was the first cricket match I was witnessing in the stadium. It was Sachin’s farewell test and I had a pass for the third day of the match, but the duration of the game turned out to be even less than that of T20 match. The game started at 9.30 with West Indies batting at 43/3 and by 12.15 India had won the match by an innings and 126 runs, but this match was a memorable experience.

 Three things made this match a remarkable event.

      1)    The Indian bowling performance.

      2)    The electrifying atmosphere at Wankhede stadium(that’s what the commentators say, don’t they?).

     3)     The farewell speech of master blaster.(Most important of all three things mentioned.)

The stadium was almost full today with 70-75% occupancy. Looking at West Indies' poor form in the series, everyone was pretty sure that the result of the match would be known by the evening. 

When players arrived on the pitch ,the whole stadium cheered for the players. Being Sachin’s last match it was obvious that the fans would demand that he be given the ball, but these demands came too soon. Just after one over people started chants such as ‘WE WANT SACHIN’ ,’Bowling kar Tendulkar’. 

Every time Sachin would be seen on the big screen, the noise would rise to a whole different level. It was a diverse crowd; people of all age groups were present to witness this historic match. 

When Sachin was finally given the ball, the whole crowd was on its feet and erupted into a loud thunder.

The best part of the two and half hours was listening to his speech. Here was a man who had played cricket for the last 24 years, broken almost all the possible records but the best thing was his ‘down to earth’ and humble attitude. 

"Sachin, Sachin" will reverberate in my ears till I stop breathing

Many people used to say that Sachin plays only for money and would criticize him for no possible reason, but they would never understand that cricket was his life. It was his dedication and determination that made him so successful in his field. His journey in the last 24 years has been an inspiration for millions and now it has come to an end. Now the media won’t be able to flash breaking news that a new record has been broken by Sachin Tendulkar.

He will be missed by billions of his fans but he would definitely be missed by his worst critics as well.

   

                                       #ThankYouSachin

Sachin Sachin chants at Wankhede.

                                                                                                           

                                                                        

Water logging and Mumbai, a better love story than Twilight

    Monsoon’s back with a bang in Mumbai. 98 mm rainfall recorded within 12 hours on Sunday. This rainfall, however, wasn’t pleasant for people who were travelling from Kurla and other low lying areas in Mumbai, including me.

    Heavy rainfall with inferior quality roads resulted in a big traffic jam. We could cover only 1 km in half an hour. Our car was half immersed in the water. The water was so filthy and it seemed one would be infected merely by stepping onto the water. Year after year, it’s the same story. This incident raised many questions in my mind. Why can’t the water logging be avoided? Who build such roads? what do engineers plan? Why preventive measures are not being taken? If I ask these questions to any person in Mumbai, his answer would be ignorant and irresponsible BMC.

water logging at kurla 

   BMC, the municipal corporation of Mumbai is responsible for many activities like street-lighting, crematoriums, drainage and sewage system. It is the biggest municipal corporation in India and has bigger budget then some of the Indian states. BMC is mostly in news due to wrong reasons.

   Few weeks back, BMC had banned the use of mannequins in shops. The reason it gave was that it influences young minds in the wrong direction. It led to many discussions on TV news channels. BMC, however, stood firm and the decision was not revoked. This topic was of least importance to the public and many a times no one even glances at the mannequins (even bikini clad mannequins).

 The main topic of ‘how water logging can be avoided’ was completely diverted. Why are such important topics not being discussed which has direct connection with the common public?

The answer is simple –‘CORRUPTION’.

     The municipality consists of corporators who are elected once every five years. The municipality awards the road maintenance contracts to some private companies. It’s the responsibility of corporators to check if the work is being done properly. All the local issues are to be actually sorted by corporators. It is observed many times that the same corporators, who the people have elected, are involved in many wrong-doings to benefit themselves.

     What can be the solution to the above mentioned problems? BMC should be made more accountable and there should be direct involvement of people in local activities. The media should also play an important role in highlighting these issues. If people get together, these problems can be defeated.
  It’s high time that the corporators, MLA’s, MP’s understand that they are our servants and we are their masters. 

The article was orginally published here on 11th June 2013.

The Importance of ‘Good Politics’

Reading this title will make you think that the title itself is a paradox. How can politics in any sort be good? 

Corruption is at all-time high, new scams and scandals are getting exposed every day. We all know that these things are all related to politics in some way or the other. In India , corruption and politics go hand in hand. One third of the MLA’s and MP’s are facing criminal charges. But has anyone given a thought how India would be if the politics were to become corruption free, which in turn would lead to a corruption free governance?

     I have read somewhere that the biggest problem of this nation is not corruption and politicians who have vested interests, but it is the attitude of the youth who blame these people ,but when it comes to voting they say “WE HATE POLITICS”. Democratic nation without politics is not just done. For we the  youth , it is cool to talk about football, movies , newly released mobiles in the market but when it comes to politics , the administration  we have a tendency of getting bored very quickly and someone blurts out “change the topic”. What will be the future of this nation if we have such a laid back attitude towards the running of our country?

     India being a democratic nation, we choose our representative every five years. Now people are bound to say if every candidate is corrupt ,whom are we going to vote and why should we vote? Raising questions is the essence of democracy but we have to find a solution and of the solution is the right to reject. Very few people know that there exists something called as ‘Right to Reject’. Election day is a public holiday and still the turnout is as low as 40-50%. The reason behind this is that the educated class turn a blind eye to the polls and plan a nice holiday tour. I believe these people have no right to complain about the growing problems of India.

    Many people are trying to bring about a change in the country but they will have to face a major hurdle as all the evil forces will try to curb them but it is our responsibility to support them. Good Governance will lead to better law and order and we will be a step closer to achieving the dream of ‘DEVELOPED INDIA’.

The article was originally published here on 03/28/2013
                                                                               -TEJAS S. EKAWADE