statue of first CM of Andhra Pradesh stands in Esplanade, Chennai

Ozymandias is a sonnet written by the  PB Shelly and published in 1818 ~ its  central theme is the inevitable decline of all leaders and of the empires they build with the lasting power of art, the only thing that has any permanence.

An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. Understand that the original purpose was to provide clear field of fire for the fortress guns.  Esplanades became popular in Victorian times when it was fashionable to visit seaside resorts. Not sure whether the area in Parrys [Chennai] called ‘Esplanade’ was meant to be one in those days.  The East India company settlement expanded from Fort St. George to black towns and they used buildings in blacktown to provide cover for their troops.  It was on the Esplanade that the High Court was raised (1889-92), and on the site of the cemetery was built the buildings of Law College, which were opened in 1899.

Moving away from history, we have so many statues in Chennai – I have posted on some of them – including the many dotting the Marina beach – most of which were installed during World Tamil Conference in 1969.  If you have worked in Parrys / Esplanade area, you perhaps would have got down at Fort station, taken the Foot over bridge or crossed the road – going past this statue which none care to look at these days… it is visible from the EMU too … The other day a couple of men were sleeping at its footsteps – oblivious to its history or the fame of the man, in whose honour it was installed there. Perhaps he has lost more significance since the birth of Telengana and bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in to T & Seemandhara.

The man is ‘Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu’ (1872-1957)  - Freedom Fighter known as Andhra Kesari (Lion of Andhra) and the first Chief Minister of the Andhra state.  Prakasam parents were Subbamma and Gopala krishnaya, belonging to Niyogi Telugu Brahmin family; he was born  in Vinodarayuni Palem (or Vinoda Rayudu Palem) off Ongole.  He was taken to Rajahmundry by his teacher and reportedly failed in  matriculation examination, eventually rose to become a lawyer. He was elected as Municipal Chairman of Rajahmundry in 1904 when he was 31 years old. This election was a tough one at that point in time. During one of his professional visits to Madras on a court case, a barrister was impressed with his legal acumen and suggested that he become a barrister. He wanted to go England to pursue studies but it was considered a sacrilege to cross the seas during those days and Prakasam reportedly promised his mother that he would abstain from eating non-vegetarian food, smoking and drinking.

He reached England in 1904. In England, he joined the India Society and worked for the election of Dadabhai Naoroji to the House of Commons. After completing the barrister course with a certificate of honour in London, Prakasam relocated to Madras high court dealing in Civil and Criminal cases.  It is stated that he defended one of the accused in Ash murder case. Prakasam also edited Law times, a legal magazine. The same year he presided over Bipin Chandra Pal’s lecture at Madras when others were afraid to come forward, given that the government of the day considered Pal’s speeches to border on sedition.  He rose to leadership in Congress party and chose to give up his lucrative practice.   His magazine  Swarajya was published simultaneously in English, Telugu and Tamil.  He also ran a national school and a Khadi production centre. He was elected the general secretary of the Congress Party in December 1921 at the Ahmedabad session.

When the Simon Commission visited India, the congress party decided to boycott it with the slogan "Simon, go back". There were a host of reasons for this boycott, the most important being that the commission did not have a single Indian in its ranks. The commission was greeted with demonstration of black flags wherever it went. When the commission visited Madras on 3 February 1928, the police did not allow protests in some sensitive areas of Madras. Nevertheless, the crowd grew large and restive near the Madras High Court at Parry's Corner and the police resorted to firing with a view to control it.  An youth named Parthasarathi was shot dead and Police warned others of dire consequences.  Wikipedia reports that  Prakasam grew enraged and tore open his shirt, baring his chest and daring the police to shoot at him which earned him the epithet "Andhra Kesari" (Lion of Andhra).

Prakasam also resigned as a legislator and was at the forefront in breaking the tax law at Madras. Meantime, he had to suspend the publication of Swarajya due to the high deposit demanded by the government.  In 1937 when Congress contested the provincial elections and achieved majority in Madras province,  he was in the run for the CM’s post but made way for Rajaji;  Prakasam became the revenue minister – his major contribution was the founding and chairing of the Zamindari Enquiry Committee which looked at the structural distortions in agriculture perpetrated due to the Zamindari system followed by the British Government. He was arrested for participating in the Quit India movement of 1942. In 1946, after the Congress' victory in elections in Madras Presidency,  Prakasam became the Chief Minister – the Govt. lasted for only 11 months.  In 1948 when Hyderabad was torn, he visited and held talks with Razakars. 

In 1952, he formed the Hyderabad State Praja Party (Hyderabad State People’s party); in the same year in Dec 1952, Potti Sriramulu died fasting for the cause of a separate state for the Telugu-speaking people. On 1 October 1953, the state of Andhra was created and Prakasam was unanimous choice for Chief minister for the new state. Though popular, the Govt fell after a year. Mid-term elections were held in 1955 by which time Prakasam had more or less retired from active politics. Reportedly he died in 1957 as a poor man after holding high posts.  There are many institutions in Andhra named after him.  The autobiography of Prakasham was titled "Naa Jeevitha Yathra"(My life's Journey)…… not sure whether Andhra Kesari lived in Broadway – but by some accounts he led the agitation against Simon Commission and took up on Police at Esplanade, where his statue stands now. May be next time you cross this place, you might recall the history behind the statue.  In May 2000, a life-size bronze statue of Tanguturi Prakasam, was unveiled in the Parliament House by the President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan today.

The man behind Nagarjuna Sagar, who was imprisoned several times during the freedom struggle had said ``Your country has a claim on you before you have a claim on your country because the country as a whole is in a rude deplorable state than you as individuals are in. This is a moment in our history when we should rise above out little selves and help to create the India of our dreams, where there is no exploitation of class by class, of group by group, of caste by caste, of man by man.''

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

the English view of 'doosra' - some spinners who suffered !!!

Subash Gupte, VV Kumar, BS Chandrasekhar, MV Narasimha Rao, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Narendra Hirwani, Anil Kumble, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla ……….all leg spinners – who played for India.  Their stock delivery is ‘googly’ a delivery which turns the wrong way but bowled with the same action by the rightarm leg spinner.  The stock delivery of the rare left arm unorthodox spinner is known as ‘Chinaman’; …..   it is ‘doosra’ which is doing rounds ! .

~ the man who had 16 wickets on his debut at Chepauk - photo credit :  Cricinfo.com

In Hindi and Urdu, doosra means "second" or "other" ~ in a simpler comparison - doosra is the off-spinner's version of the googly. Britons are good speakers …. England’s off-spinner James Tredwell is yet to strike it big - but  reserved his most lethal delivery in a media session raising suspicions on the doosra, a delivery pioneered by Paki Saqlain Mushtaq. Now every offie worth his name from the legendary - Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravichandran Ashwin, mystery Ajanta Mendis,Shane Shillingford and  sizzling Sunil Narine, Saeed Ajmal - have it in their arsenal and have their own variety. People have been asking how can a finger spinner impart so much spin and pace to a delivery?

Tredwell’s theory is that it helps to have a little kink, sarcastic referenced to 15 degrees .. a la Muralitharan.  To him  - a close look at the shoulder and elbow at the point of delivery  - with the ICC changing the laws allowing bowlers to straighten their elbow up to 15% in 2004, helped most bowlers flexing their arms to a degree which wasn't visible to the naked eye. Legendary Australian spinners Ashley Mallet and Shane Warne too have voiced their opinion on the legality of the delivery.  Tredwell says that spinner should take wicket with his stock delivery.  He is quoted as saying that he lost the wrist position  and could not manage pace with the carrom ball. 

There have been many victims and the latest to join them is Shane Shillingford who has confirmed that he will no longer bowl the doosra. Therefore, his doosra will remain an illegal delivery and he cannot bowl it in international cricket. West Indies’ Shane Shillingford has been allowed by the ICC to resume bowling in international after undergoing remedial work but the off-spinner has been barred from bowling his ‘doosra’ delivery. Remember that Shillingford was reported at the end of second day’s play in the Mumbai Test against India in November and was tested on November 29 last year at the UWA.

All his delivery types were assessed as illegal and he was suspended from bowling in international cricket, and subsequently underwent remedial work to modify his action. ICC has said that Shillingford’s off-break and arm balls were re-tested at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Perth on March 4 and the elbow extension measured for each of his deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions. “Shillingford has confirmed that he will no longer bowl the doosra. Therefore, his doosra will remain an illegal delivery and he cannot bowl it in international cricket,” an ICC release said. Shillingford’s bowling action will continue to be scrutinised by match officials to ensure it remains legal, according to ICC.

A variety of bowlers have made considerable use of the doosra in international cricket. Other Pakistanis who use it include Shoaib Malik and Saeed Ajmal. Users from other nations include Sri Lankans Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, Indian Harbhajan Singh and South African Johan Botha.

The naming of the delivery is attributed to Moin Khan, the former Pakistani wicketkeeper, who would call on Mushtaq to bowl the "doosra" (the other one) from behind the stumps. The bowler delivers the ball with the same finger action as a normal off break but cocks the wrist so that the back of the hand faces the batsman. This gives the ball spin in the opposite direction to that for an off break, causing it to spin from the leg side to the off side to a right-handed batsman. Saqlain Mushtaq was successful but some others were reviewed and questioned on the legitimacy of their doosras – they include : Muttiah Muralitharan, Harbhajan Singh, Shoaib Malik, Saeed Ajmal and Johan Botha.

Among them Murali was subjected to most scrutiny and humility …. He underwent biomechanical tests at the University of Western Australia  which revealed that  he was straightening his arm by angles of up to 10 degrees prior to delivering doosras, well outside the International Cricket Council acceptable guideline of 5 degrees for spin bowlers. In November 2004, the International Cricket Council conducted more research into illegal bowling actions and found that many great bowlers like Glenn Mcgrath, Jason Gillespie, Shaun Pollock, whose actions were considered legitimate were actually transgressing the rules. A rule change was proposed and accepted at a meeting of ICC chief executives in early 2005, stating that any bowler may straighten their arm up to 15° (which was earlier 9° forspinner and 12° for seamer) and Muralitharan's doosra became a legal delivery. In February 2006, in an attempt to silence the Australian crowds and their 'no ball' chants, Muralitharan took another test at the University of Western Australia, which saw all of his deliveries deemed legal, including the doosra.

Harbhajan Singh was the subject of an official report by match referee Chris Broad, on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Mark Benson, and TV umpire Mahbubur Rahman after the second Test between India and Bangladesh at Chittagong in December 2004 but was later cleared.  Shoaib Malik was reported at Australia in Dec 2004; so also was Johan Botha in 2006.   

In July 2009 in Australia, a spin summit held at Cricket Australia's Centre for Excellence decided not to teach the doosra to young spinners. In 2004, Saqlain Mushtaq, the developer of the doosra, claimed to have developed a new variant called the Teesra, which is a backspinner disguised as an off spinner.  He was supposed to have used it in ICL matches.

While an illegitimate delivery should not be allowed to be used as a weapon  – England raising such Q and Asian bowlers being called in Australia does raise some Q …. John Lever created a controversy using ‘vaseline’ strips but got away so easy … Pakis bowling reverse swing was questioned ~ whereas there are so many pacers with suspect actions - getting away with chucking, getting wickets and if not, putting doubts in the minds of batsmen with that spurt in pace….

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

28^th Mar 2014.

Aussie Faulkner brings out 'gangnam' dance by Bravo, Gayle, Sammy... !!!

There are always hypes that precede match – be it ‘India – Pak’ or ‘Aussie – England’ …….the calypso team which dominated the Cricketing World is now-a-days have a low profile, though remaining good entertainers…….remember they are the defending Champions ! …… They displayed great spirits after that win over Australia in the Super 10…and got into nets … and before that stayed silent for two minutes. That gesture was for Under-19 Trinidad cricketer Tevin Robertson, a left-arm-pacer, who died in a car crash in southern Trinidad. Last year Runako Morton too died in a road accident.  Windies are known for celebrating … but the manner of partying revealed how much they wanted that win. It is Bravo who leads in ODIs

While Bravo leads Windies in ODIs, Sammy leads them in T20s and Tests …… and they hunt like a pair.  Against Australia it was  53 off 21 balls ~ and they claimed that it was achievable because of the IPL experience !!  ~ and probably the pre-match talk also made them achieve near impossible task.  Bravo played down the possibility of any ill feeling off the field and stressed that leagues like the IPL and Big Bash have eased tensions. At the hotel, we see each other, meet each other and have a quick chat. We may not be best of friends or go out for dinner, but we play together. With all these leagues in the world, you end up developing a better relationship. Look at India-West Indies games, it’s like one country playing.”

The match was very significant – both knew that a defeat could enable their travelling back home early…..  Aussies won the toss, played well and made 178/8.  Indians know James Faulkner too well, not only for his IPL stint …. – not so long ago, in India 44  were needed off 18, and  India seemed to have the match well within their grasp.  Ishant Sharma bowled that fateful over at Mohali ….to Faulkner  … 4;6;6;2;6;6 … Faulkner’s 50  and suddenly the match was well in Aussie hands – what not, when someone leaks 30 in an over….

The man James Faulkner, was fined for screaming an obscenity at Calypso cool cat Chris Gayle admits he doesn’t like the West Indies team. They felt that upset the team and their performance will only go down.  It was reported by a section of the Press that the potential sledging barrage from the 23-year-old all-rounder,  who was set to play his comeback game from knee surgery, will add extra spice to what is almost certainly a knockout game for Australia. Aussies have displayed their arrogance time and again and Faulkner was quoted as saying “There’s a few players I would like to knock over and more importantly I’d like to beat them. I’m looking forward to it.”

Australia's batsmen were made to look like one-trick ponies in the 18th over of their World Twenty20 clash against Pakistan, only putting bat to ball once in a fine over delivered by Saeed Ajmal when the required run rate had reached double figures and they lost that match. Faulkner believing his batting or allround skills is acceptable ~ but to think that he can easily rattle opponents with sledging …. ! .. perhaps may not have matured still to learn ..

On that day, he had the opportunity of bowling the ultimate over – 12 required … Darren Sammy with 22 of 9 balls and Bravo at 27 off 12 were at the crease ~ as the great drama unfolded…. !! The first ball was padded away; 2^nd was dug out …. Bailey was happy – 2 balls no runs – and now the equation is 12 off 4… 3^rd was a full toss and Sammy cleared long-off easily….. and of the 4^th Sammy hit another powerful straight six sealing the game… and started celebrating even before the ball passed over the boundary… Gayle was also celebrating..  last time after winning the WC, Pollard, Gayle, Russel,Sammy,  Bravos, Charles and more were dancing in the outfield – it was all  gangnam style. 

"We have not won the tournament, its just a game against Australia but we were pumped up for this," said Darren Sammy, the Man of the Match.  It was really nice to see Faulkner bowling the last over. A lot of things were said before this match and you never wake up a sleeping lion [Chris Gayle]. It was remarkable hitting by Sammy that ejected Aussies out….

A little earlier, 31 were required of final 2 overs.   Starc was hit all over the park conceding 19 runs making it 12 off the last.  Sammy was on strike- he played two dot balls, still won with two left. This was West Indies' highest successful chase in T20Is, beating the 170 they chased against the same opposition at the Oval in the 2009 World T20.

Australia were shattered by the loss, which left them winless from their first two games. Now they have lost so badly to India too…earlier Gayle provided the perfect start hitting 4 fours of Starc and hitting a 6 of Doug Bollinger, taking 40 off his  first 14 deliveries.  Those two final overs were fatal to Australia who were made to lick their wounds.  

West Indies love dancing ‘Gangnam Style’  and the party animals were provided the right platform by the loud-mouthed Team. After slaughtering two sixers of Faulkner, Sammy reportedly said … “Talk is cheap,” ; “Cricket is a game of action. You can talk all you want but it is the action that matters. West Indies acted today. It feels very good to bring it home. Bailey refused to lay the blame for Australia’s probable tournament exit squarely at the feet of the bowlers, saying the batting and fielding was also not up to scratch.

The ball flew out of the middle of Darren Sammy's bat and cleared the sightscreen, Sammy, wasn't concerned about where it went or landed, - and you had threesome Sammy Bravo Gayle dancing…

…. Will we see Calypso Kings dancing more !!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

31^st Mar 2014.

Election watch - Campaign, Candidate, Commandering ...

First a Q for Insurers on this election related post…  [General insurance is all about Motor these days !!!] do you know what GR 38 is ?

Goldman Sachs is again at it. The global financial services company, also infamous for a few missed predictions, has poured more oil into the raging debate on Gujarat model in India. A new report from the brokerage house has done a comparative study between Gujarat and West Bengal's labour policies, favouring the former. According to the report, the state, where BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has been chief minister for three times, has managed a 60 percent growth in manufacturing between 2000 and 2012 thanks to its pro-employer policies. West Bengal, meanwhile, has seen only a 22 percent growth due to its pro-labour policies.

Almost 3 decades ago, I was part of a small group that strategized and managed the poll campaign of an independent candidate …. Electioneering was far different those days – the group drew the symbol on roads and on walls – went on door to door campaign, engaged auto-rickshaws fitted with mikes announcing the coming of candidate seeking votes, went to polling booths collecting data, and lastly represented the candidate at the time of counting of votes, which was a manual process.  Speaking from the propaganda van is also an art. Those days political parties would organize – bi-cycle rallies canvassing …. Those days candidates would either change their name or provide their full name to get some advantage as the polling sheet would have names in alphabetical order. 

Now in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM)  - the order in which the name of a candidate/party appears on the balloting unit depends on the order of filing of nominations and validity of the candidature. EVMs can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates. There is provision for 16 candidates in a Balloting Unit. If the total number of candidates exceeds 16, a second Balloting Unit can be linked parallel to the first Balloting Unit; so on there can 4 and it can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates. There are reports that Congress heavyweight Ajit Jogi, might be planning a comedy of errors to romp home in Mahasamund Lok Sabha constituency. To unseat sitting BJP MP Chandulal Sahu, at least 10 independent candidates with sobriquet of ‘Sahu’ have filed their nomination from the seat. A rattled BJP is calling it sabotage tactics by Congress.     At least six among 38 contestants in fray have identical names of the BJP nominee and four others had similar sounding names. On the last day of filing nomination papers, cell phones of most namesake candidates remained switched off, triggering speculation these were dummy candidates who deliberately went missing.

Back home in Tamilnadu, the man who spearheaded the protests against the Govt in Kudankulam and who went hiding many a times, is contesting as AAP candidate.  He has reportedly  shown assets owned by him and his wife as worth 5.23 crore. The disclosure is bound to raise eyebrows given the allegations of foreign funding that were made against some of the NGOs which backed the struggle. Udayakumar, who has more than 300 cases against him under various sections of the IPC, filed his nomination for Kanyakumari constituency on Saturday amid apprehensions among supporters about his possible arrest. He has been holed up in Idinthakarai, a village close to the nuclear plant, where he spearheaded the protest, and faces restrictions imposed by the district administration on his movement. Udayakumar’s associates and fellow anti-nuclear activists M Pushparayan and M Jesuraj have also filed their nominations.  Jesuraj, a Catholic priest, has disclosed assets worth 5.20 lakh in the form of agricultural land and bank accounts.  One might recall that some of the NGOs run by activists were barred from collecting foreign aid.

A day after disowning Imran Masood’s “hack Modi to pieces” speech, Congress went to the EC saying the remarks were still to be verified while having been made well before the Model Code of Conduct came into force.  The statements of  Congress’s legal cell chief K C Mittal give an impression that Congress is not distancing themselves, though  Rahul Gandhi delivered a rebuke as did the Congress by saying it was not the language approved by the party.     Standing by him – evident in how Rahul went ahead with his rally in Saharanpur despite Masood’s arrest and shared the dais with his wife.  

Her name would give you a feeling that she is a candidate in Madurai or Chidambaram…. But she is contesting from Mandsaur, in Madhyapradesh, which was earlier part of princely state of Gwalior. Amidst the din, it is her silence which has got her in news. Meenakshi, who is contesting from Mandsaur, did not speak a word on her campaign trail on Saturday.  It is stated that Meenakshi observes maun vrat (ritual of silence) on Saturdays and prefers listening to people, instead of talking. And she does not disappoint her constituency. Armed with a notepad, she interacted with people through written replies during her campaign in Neemuch district.

Moving away from the candidates, SUV owners are apprehensive of their vehicles being snared by Election Officials, for they come in handy transporting personnel and machinery. Taxi operators, bus and truck owners live in trepidation during these times, for many have endured the trauma of their vehicles being requisitioned and returned as mere shells on worn-out wheels. If poll authorities requisition a car, the owner — government department or taxi operator — has no right of refusal. It is stated that vehicles in thousands are requisitioned or hired…..

On earlier days of the All India Motor Tariff,  - ‘confiscation, commandeering, requisition, detention, embargo, quarantine, or any result of any order of public or government authority’,  was an exclusion under the Motor Comprehensive Policy.

In the present AIMT - GR.38. is ‘Vehicles requisitioned by Government’ – which states ‘Vehicles requisitioned by the Government are automatically held covered during the period of  requisition without any additional premium.  In the event of a loss/ damage occurring during the period of such requisition, the insurer shall  pay losses / liabilities if any, in excess of  the amount(s) made good by the Government.’

Do you know the political parties and the name(s) of candidates of your constituency ……. My area Triplicane was part of Madras (South) which had elected TT Krishnamachari, R Venkataraman, Vaijayanthamala Bali, TR Balu…. Now after delimitation – it is Chepauk-Thiruvallikkeni and falls under Chennai Central.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar