IPL entertainment - Chetan Sakariya .. Deepak Hooda and more !!

It is only 4^th match of the 2021 IPL season – we have already seen so many sixers and so many local talents getting unearthed ! – in between how would you describe that side-armer delivered by Ryan Parag squarely defeating Kedar Jadhav ?  Royals employed 8 bowlers !! ~ and not many would have identified this left arm medium fast bowler who ended with figures of 4-0-31-3 !!

In today’s match RR’s Ben Stokes, has had a forgettable match. He dropped a catch – gave 12 runs in his only over and was out for a duck. In another belter, (IPL is grave for bowlers !) – Punjab made 221 as 13 sixers were hit.  Chris Gayle’s hit 2 (taking his overall IPL sixers to 350 !!)- KL Rahul who made 91 off mere 50 balls 5 sixers and Deepak Hooda 6 in his 28 ball 64.

Deepak Hooda made a royal statement with his 28-ball 64 in his return to cricket in the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals.  Hooda, who had been suspended by the Baroda cricket board after the vice-captain had walked out of the domestic team alleging “misbehaviour” on the part of captain Krunal Pandya, had been forced to missed the Indian domestic season. Hooda smashed his fifty in 20 balls, the fastest 50 in the IPL by an uncapped Indian.

Besides big names of International players – we are seeing so many young Indians emerge.  In the first match, it was unusual bowling performance of Harshal Patel with figures of 4-0-27-5.   In the 2^nd match, Ruturaj Gaikwad flattered to deceive but Prithvi Shaw was too good.  In the third, it was all about Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi. Today, Rahul Tewatia brought off a remarkable catch but a stunner had been taken by Sakariya off Morris.  

Chetan Sakariya is a 23-year-old fast bowler, who made his debut for Saurashtra in 2018-19. He was picked up for INR 1.2 crore in the IPL 2021 auction by the Rajasthan Royals, and made his IPL debut at the first opportunity, named in the XI for the Royals' opening game of IPL 2021, against the Punjab Kings.  A left-arm swing bowler who hails from Vartej, a hamlet 180 kilometres west of Rajkot. Sakariya grew up wanting to be a batsman, but turned towards fast bowling when he was in class XI because that helped students get a lot of 'bhaav' (attention) in school. The 2021 auction was bittersweet, because Sakariya lost his younger brother, who died by suicide just three weeks prior to that. The story in ESPN says that he could not afford proper shoes even and Saurashtra's Sheldon Jackson, the senior batsman who also hails from Bhavnagar,  gave him his first pair of boots after Sakariya had dismissed him in the nets, just before he left to train at the MRF Pace Foundation. The two have developed a strong bond since and train together in Bhavnagar.

Sakariya has been the lone breadwinner for his family for the last few years, after his father has largely been forced to shut his tempo business due to ill-health. He couldn't afford his son's cricket expenses, and it wasn't until Sakariya's maternal uncle stepped in that he was able to focus fully on the game.

IPL no doubt dishes out great entertainment ! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

12.4.2021 

Beauty Pageants ! - fairness products and .. .. .. பேர் என்ன லல்லி?

முன்னொரு காலத்திலே இந்த சோசியல் மீடியா (முகநூல்,  ட்விட்டர், வாட்ஸ் ஆப்) கிடையாது; தொலைக்காட்சி (முக்கியமாக) இவ்வளவு சேனல்கள் கிடையாது.  [உண்மை, உண்மை தவிர வேறொன்றுமில்லை].  வீட்டில் DC ரேடியோ வைத்திருக்க லைசன்ஸ் வேண்டும் !!  வானொலியில்  விவித் பாரதியின் வர்த்தக ஒலிபரப்பு என்று ஒன்று உண்டு.   தினமும் இரவு 9 - 15 மணி முதல் 9 - 30 மணி வரை 'வண்ணச்சுடர்' என்ற நிகழ்ச்சியில் நான்கு பகுதிகள் தொடர் நாடகம் ஒலிபரப்பாகும். ஆர். எஸ். மனோகர், ஹெரான் ராமசாமி, டெல்லி கணேஷ், ஒய். ஜி. பார்த்தசாரதி போன்றவர்களின் மேடை நாடங்கள் ஒலிபரப்பாகும். ஞாயிற்றுக் கிழமைகளில் மதியம் 12 -௦௦ மணிக்கு ஹார்லிக்ஸ் வழங்கிய'சுசித்ராவின் குடும்பம்'  - சுசித்ரா, சங்கர், ராஜுரவி சுஜாதா, நல்ல நல்ல குடும்பம், இதுதான் ஹார்லிக்ஸ் குடும்பம்.  தவிர அற்புதமான குவிஸ் நிகழ்ச்சி !  .. .. அப்போது விவித் பாரதியில் வரும் ஒரு விளம்பரம்: 

"ஹேய் லல்லி, ஆளே கலர் மாறிட்டியே, எப்படி?"

"ஓ அதுவா,  பேர் அண்ட் லவ்லி உபயோகப்படுத்தறேனே !"

"அப்படியா? பேர் என்ன லல்லி?"

"fair and lovely !" 

A few months ago, Hindustan Unilever announced  that they will remove the words “fairness”, “whitening” and “lightening” from their line of products, and even remove the word Fair from their  popular Fair & Lovely brand.  It was renamed -  ‘Glow & Lovely’, days after it decided to remove nomenclature that propagated racial stereotypes.  That rattled their competitor Emami who  threatened legal action against HUL as it has already changed the name of its men’s fairness cream to ‘Emami Glow & Handsome’ !  .. brand wars in multi crore market.

Beauty Pageants ! – some hold the view that they are held to promote so called  beauty products and promote their merchandise in thirdworld countries – fairness creams now sell well in remote villages too – is one view .. .. .. another often criticized one is the Q & A of the top contestants.

The contestants have 30 seconds to answer. The countries from Colombia, France, Thailand, and Haiti requested interpreters.  Question for Miss Philippines, Maxine Medina: What is the most significant change you've seen in the world in the last 10 years?  A:   The last 10 years of being here in the world is that I saw all the people being in one event like this in Miss Universe, and it's something big to us that we are one, as one nation, we are all together.  .. ..     

On May 21, 1994, Sushmita Sen made history when she became the first Indian woman to win the Miss Universe title. After impressing the judges during the preliminary interview round, Sen made it to Top 10 and then to the Top 6. In the Top 6 Interview Round, Grammy Award-winning singer-actress, Florence LaRue asked her, “If you had the time and money to embark upon a great adventure, what would it be?” To which the actress replied, “Well I think adventure for me is what I enjoy from within me and children are little things that could bring a lot of adventure in your life. If I had the time and the money, I could do something, I wouldn’t say I would do something for the children who are downtrodden, any child is worth its while. I would do something for the children, go out with them and have a great time.”  In the final interview round, she was asked, “What for you is the essence of being a woman?” The actress's reply secured her the Miss Universe title and a place in the hearts of a generation. She answered, "Just being a woman is a gift of God that all of us must appreciate. The origin of a child is a mother, who is a woman. She shows a man what caring, sharing and loving is all about. That’s the essence of being a woman."

After winning the Miss Universe title in 1994, Sushmita Sen made her Bollywood debut with 1996 film Dastak, in which she played a victim of stalking. She then went on to do the Tamil action film Ratchagan .. .. this is no story of Sushmita but a very long intro about a post on ‘Mrs Lanka’ !!  .. .. more so, on – the  winner of a Sri Lankan beauty pageant being taken off  from her during the prize ceremony, when one of her predecessors claimed - erroneously - she had broken the rules.  Wonder what that was all about ??

Hundreds of beauty pageants are conducted yearly, but the Big Four are considered the most prestigious, widely covered and broadcast by media. The Wall Street Journal, BBC News, CNN, and other major press including Reuters Xinhua News Agency,[6] and global news agencies such as Reuters -  refer to the four major pageants as "Big Four" namely: Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth. There are so many other events too ! 

Controversy erupted at the Mrs. Sri Lanka beauty pageant, when a former title holder took the crown off the winner's head and falsely claimed she was a divorcee and therefore ineligible to take part.

Pushpika De Silva was named the competition winner to applause and cheers from spectators in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. Video footage from the event showed organizers placing the winners' sash around De Silva and the crown on her head.  Shortly afterward, the pageant's 2019 winner and Mrs. World 2020, Caroline Jurie, took to the stage and picked up the microphone. "I have a small request," she said. "As for the Mrs. World Inc., there's a rule that you'll have to be married, and not divorced. So, I'm taking my first step saying that the crown goes to the first runner-up." Jurie then turned to a stunned De Silva, forcefully took the crown off her head and placed it on the first runner-up, who broke into tears and thanked the judges as De Silva walked away.

The Mrs. World series is an international beauty pageant for married women, founded in 1984. The winners of each country's title advance to the Mrs. World competition to face off against each other. Under the rules of the pageant, contestants must be "married as of the date of entry."  After the incident, organizers declared De Silva the official winner of the pageant, and said in a statement that contestants who were "legally married" were allowed to compete. De Silva said in a statement posted on Facebook  that she was currently separated from her husband "for personal reasons," but they were not divorced. If she had been ineligible, she would have been removed from the competition at the start, she said. In her statement, De Silva described the incident as an insult and decried Jurie's actions, saying true queens do not snatch other women's crowns. In a second statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday, De Silva added she had forgiven those involved.

Mrs. World Inc. organizers said in a news release that they are reviewing the incident. "We are deeply disturbed and sincerely regret the behavior of our current title holder, Mrs. Caroline Jurie, Mrs. World 2020, at the crowning," the statement said, adding the director of the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant will be asking Jurie to apologize. "Let it be known, Mrs. World Inc. does not sit in moral judgment," the organizers' statement said. "If the delegate sent by Mrs. Sri Lanka-World to compete in the international competition is legally married she will be accepted."

In 2018, Veronika Didusenko was crowned Miss Ukraine before being stripped of her title days later when it emerged she was a divorced mother.

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
11.4.2021

 

learnings from Madagascar's failed experiment !

The Latin phrase  ‘De mortuis nil nisi bonum’    "Of the dead, [say] nothing but good", yet there are so many circumstances in History especially Political history that one cannot BUT  speak the TRUTH ONLY .. ..

Ratsiraka was a controversial figure. Nicknamed the “Red Admiral” for his socialist policies, he was a national hero and great patriot for some, for  many others even on his death, seen only  a ruthless dictator with policies that led to the ruin of the national economy and the country’s cultural heritage.

Madagascar is famous for its small animals; the mouse lemurs, the smallest primates on earth, for instance, are widely known. There’s also growing awareness that Madagascar is home to a variety of other uniquely miniaturised animals, especially chameleons and frogs. In those groups, researchers have discovered large numbers of tiny species in recent years.

Recently, Indian naval ship INS Shardul made a port call in Madagascar’s Antsiranana as part of increasing patrols of the Indian Ocean in recent years given a surge in Chinese naval activity in these waters. Adhering to covid19 protocols, the port call was conducted in “a non-contact format and a virtual conference with officials of Madagascar Armed Forces was held on 23 March," an Indian navy statement said. In recent years, Indian naval ships have increased their presence and patrols in the waters of the Indian Ocean region that New Delhi considers as lying within its sphere of influence. Indian naval vessels have acted as first responders to nations affected by natural calamities on the eastern sea board of Africa – a case in point three Indian ships of the Navy assisted Mozambique in relief and rescue operations in March 2019 after Cyclone Idai made devastated southern and eastern Africa.

Madagascar   is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately 400 kilometres (250 miles) off the coast of East Africa. At 592,800 square kilometres (228,900 sq mi) Madagascar is the world's second-largest island country. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world) and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population and other environmental threats.

Until the late 18th century, the island of Madagascar was ruled by a fragmented assortment of shifting sociopolitical alliances. Beginning in the early 19th century, most of the island was united and ruled as the Kingdom of Madagascar by a series of Merina nobles. The monarchy ended in 1897 when the island was absorbed into the French colonial empire, from which the island gained independence in 1960.  

Didier Ignace Ratsiraka (4 November 1936 – 28 March 2021) was a Malagasy politician and naval officer who was President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2002. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving President of Madagascar.

He was first appointed president in 1975 by the military leadership, he was then reelected twice in 1982 and 1989. While he lost to Albert Zafy in 1992, Ratsiraka returned to office after winning the 1997 election. After the 2001 election, he and his opponent Marc Ravalomanana engaged in a lengthy standoff after the latter refused to participate in a runoff election; Ratsiraka eventually stepped down.

Ratsiraka attended Lycée Henri-IV, a prestigious public secondary school in Paris. He then graduated from École navale, the French naval academy, as a naval officer with a bachelor's degree in 1962. He returned to Madagascar, where he began his career as a naval ensign at the French naval and military base in Diego-Suarez. In 1964, Ratsiraka married Céline Velonjara and had  four children, namely Olga, Sophie, Annick and Xavier.

Known as the "Red Admiral", he was made head of state, as President of the Supreme Revolutionary Council, by the military leadership on 15 June 1975.  He began setting up a socialist system, guided by the Charter of the Malagasy Socialist Revolution, which was approved in a referendum held on 21 December 1975, establishing the Second Republic;  Ratsiraka was also elected President for a seven-year term in this referendum, which received the backing of 95% of voters according to official results. In the midst of a poor economic situation, Ratsiraka abandoned socialist policies after a few years in power and implemented reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund. He was re-elected as President with 80% of the vote in 1982 and with 63% of the vote in 1989. The latter election was condemned as fraudulent by the opposition, which protested, and at least 75 people were killed in the resulting violence.

Ratsiraka faced intense opposition to his rule in 1991. On 10 August 1991, about 400,000 people marched on the Presidential Palace, The government placed the death toll at 11, although other reports placed the toll much higher. Ratsiraka said that he had not ordered the Presidential Guard to open fire, but Ratsiraka's orders were recorded and in these records, he ordered the helicopter to shoot the car of the HAS president and open fire on the strikers.    

On 6 August 2003, Ratsiraka—who was accused of stealing nearly eight million dollars in public funds from the annex of the central bank in Toamasina in June 2002, just before going into exile—was sentenced to ten years of hard labor in Madagascar. Because he was living in France, he was tried in absentia.  However, few years later in Aug 2009,  Ratsiraka met with President of the High Authority of Transition of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina, as well as Ravalomanana (who had himself been ousted and forced into exile) and former president of the Malagasy Republic Albert Zafy, in crisis talks mediated by former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano and held in Maputo. Ratsiraka's amnesty issue, related to the court sentence that prevented him from returning to Madagascar, was resolved at the talks. Ratsiraka returned from exile in Nov 2011.  Ratsiraka died from cardiac arrest at CENHOSOA hospital in the early morning of 28 March 2021, at the age of 84.

Despite such a long and controversial rule,  there are two legacies that stand out.

·         First is the country’s deep poverty. While Madagascar was among the most advanced African countries at independence, it is now ranked among the poorest in the world. The World Bank estimates that 77.4% of the population lived below the international poverty line of $1.90 a day in 2020. It was 46.1% in 1980 and increased to 70% in 1992, when Ratsiraka left power for the first time.

·         Second is the lack of education (or miseducation) of its young people. After two decades of socialism and “Malgachisation” (use of the Malagasy language as an educational language) under Ratsiraka, Madagascar had one of the worst education systems in the world.

A classic case of what wrong autocratic corrupt governance can bring to the people – there are lessons to be learnt by every country, every democracy. 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
4.4.2021.
  

Horse racing : reluctant heroine Rachael Blackmore and bay Minella Times

A few years ago, every traveller in Beach Tambaram EMU would be intrigued by those green topped books on sale near Guindy Railway station –  a book full of  statistics, the sire-dam details that guide the punter at Madras Race Club which traces its origin to 1837 and more decades beyond.  To some Horse racing is an equestrian sport; to many it is gambling. 

Horse racing, like all sport and entertainment, relies on social approval - what is often referred to as social licence - to thrive and prosper. The casual sports fan, the once-a-year punter, and the regular whose life merged with horses and their history  will turn up on the big race days.  At Guindy there would whiff in the air, crowds – so many, trying to hit a jackpot.  Remember seeing a Muthuraman film, where he would embezzle [take out Rs.10000/-] office cash on a Saturday thinking that he would play horse race, and put back money on Monday – but losing the money and losing life !  ~ know a case of an employee, receiving PF loan for daughter marriage, withdrawing cash, fly to Bangalore, book a star hotel, punt it,  lose the total money – much to bewilderment of his family !!  ~ there have been many sob stories of punters.   This is no post on race-goer and the plight of their family ! but on a woman achiever.  

She has been described as the “reluctant heroine” of horse racing and was recently hailed as the “Queen of Cheltenham”, but Blackmore’s journey to the top of the sport has been unexpected. The daughter of a dairy farmer and a school teacher, Blackmore hails from County Tipperary in the south of Ireland. Her father, Charles, bred horses and she grew up riding horses on a farm in Mortlestown Castle. She got her first horse, Bubbles, at the age of seven. This time, however,   Minella Times was 10-1 ahead of the Grand National and was among the favourites ahead of the big race.

In the world of horse racing (more specifically in UK) the Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool. In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and the Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: hurdles and steeplechases.   In a hurdles race, the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles; in a steeplechase the horses jump over a variety of obstacles that can include plain fences, water jump or an open ditch.

The Grand National has been broadcast live on free-to-air terrestrial television in the United Kingdom since 1960. From then until 2012 it was broadcast by the BBC. Channel 4 broadcast the event between 2013 and 2016: UK broadcasting rights were transferred to ITV from 2017. An estimated 500 to 600 million people watch the Grand National in over 140 countries.   

The 2021 Grand National (officially known as the Randox 2021 Grand National) was run at 5:15 pm BST on 10 April 2021. It was the 173rd annual running of the Grand National horse race, taking place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The event was once again sponsored by Randox Health, although the sponsorship name on the race from this year onwards was shortened to just Randox.

The race was won by Minella Times, trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Rachael Blackmore, who became the first female jockey to win the Grand National De Bromhead, who won the race as a trainer for the first time, also trained the second placed finisher Balko des Flos. The winner was owned by J. P. McManus, who had previously won the race as an owner in 2010 with Don't Push It.  Another horse named - The Long Mile was euthanised after fracturing a hind leg. Jockey Bryony Frost was treated for injuries after falling from Yala Enki.

It is all about Rachael Blackmore who created history by becoming the first woman to win the Grand National with Minella Times. The 31-year-old took her sensational form in 2021 into Aintree with six wins at the Cheltenham Festival last month, which ensured she became the first woman to land the leading jockey prize. She also became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle and finished second in the Gold Cup. Rachael Blackmore (born 11 July 1989 is an Irish jockey who competes in National Hunt racing.  She gained a degree in equine science at the University of Limerick, while riding out and competing as an amateur jockey.

Blackmore rode her first winner as an amateur jockey on 10 February 2011. She turned professional in March 2015 and rode her first professional winner in September 2015. Her first Cheltenham Festival winner came in 2019 and she gained her first Grade 1 race victory in Ireland in April of that year, finishing the season with 90 winners and taking the runner-up spot in the Irish jump racing Champion Jockey competition behind Paul Townend for the 2018–19 season.  In 2021, she has achieved two notable "firsts" at the Cheltenham Festival, becoming the first female jockey to partner a winner of the Champion Hurdle and, by finishing with six winners across the four days, she also became the first female jockey to win the Ruby Walsh Trophy for leading Cheltenham jockey. On 10 April she became the first female jockey to ride a Grand National winner, when she rode Minella Times to victory at Aintree. 

Minella Times (foaled 4 March 2013) is an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt racing. In 2021 he became the first horse ridden by a female jockey, Rachael Blackmore, to win the Grand National. Minella Times is a bay horse with no white markings bred in Ireland by Cathal Ennis at Quill Farm near Kilbeggan. in County Westmeath.  As a foal in November 2013 he was consigned to the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale and was bought for €31,000 by John Nallen of Minella Racing. The horse was gelded before the start of his racing career.  He was sired by Oscar, a horse who finished second to Peintre Celebre in the Prix du Jockey Club before becoming a leading sire of National Hunt horses.  Minella Times's dam Triptoshan was an unraced mare from a family which had produced several good steeplechasers.

Interesting ! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
11.04.2021.