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“Blame it on the Rain” was a song written by Diane Warren and sung by Milli Vanilli in 1989. It had become extremely popular. Part of the lyrics were as follows: You said you didn’t need her Blame it on the rain that was falling, falling You can blame it on the rain Indeed you can blame the rain for anything, even for the XIX Commonwealth Games scheduled to begin on 3 October 2010 at New Delhi. The CWG has all along been in the news for all the wrong reasons: corrupt practices, mismanagement, lack of coordination, poor standards, schedules lagging way behind targets, athletes failing doping tests, and so on. Initially, some strong actions were taken and a few heads rolled. But as time went by, scapegoats became harder to find. Finally, there came a brilliant idea out of somewhere and it has now caught up with everyone. It is now officially stated that the delay, unpreparedness and shoddiness is attributable to the fact that IT RAINED DURING THE MONSOON. It is now … [Read more...] about CWG: Blame it on the Rain

As India prepares to host the sporting extravaganza, our Indian blogger asks if it is an expense the nation can afford.   The chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee has declared, "The games won't cost the country a penny," but that hasn't stopped the the Delhi government from raising our taxes to pay for them. You see, nothing in life comes without a cost – and the Commonwealth Games are no exception to that rule. Sometimes you have to laugh at all the things that are justified in the name of these games. Because of the CWG, we'll soon be able to buy liquor in fancy malls, but we may be sent to jail and fined Rs. 50,000 if we are caught drinking in public. Our street vendors – at least those visible to tourists – have been promised state-of-the-art, solar-powered carts but we've all been asked to stop spitting and urinating on public roads. Oh well, all good things require sacrifices! … [Read more...] about Commonwealth Games 2010: Counting the Cost

Phew! I’m no longer feeling like a Louis Vuitton knock-off. Thank you, Modiji, for promptly revoking the I & B mantri’s diktat against journos dispensing ‘fake’ news. The I-rani had    ordered ‘Cut off their accreditation’ which, in our case, is a fate worse than decapitation. This vital badge of honour chopped off, ballsy media would no longer be able to do penetrative stories. Thank goodness, senior media members rose to the occasion, and denounced this bare-faced attack on Press freedom. Ostensibly, the order was meant to uphold professional integrity. The legit and the licit had nothing to fear; it was even okay to covet thy neighbour’s scoop. The now-axed axe was to have fallen on anyone found to have ‘created and/or propagated fake news’ – an ostensibly desirable move in this age of promiscuous disinformation. BUT, the sarkar had pre-decided both definition and punishment, thus ensuring that, in the … [Read more...] about Faking it: It shouldn’t happen during elections with an ‘l’

Remember how the 2010 CWG scam was the beginning of the beginning of the NDA’s stunning 2014 victory? Now, with the Indian gold rush at the current CWG someone at least is fulfilling Modi-ji’s prediction of ‘Acche Din’. It’s even brought back India Shining, Vajpayee-ji’s election claims in 2004 – which were shown to be a dross exaggeration in Sonia G’s own marathon cross-country campaign. How super to see this growing pile of medals. Makes a change from the growing meddles of a sarkar which had promised ‘Less Government, More Governance’. The cool Manu Bhaker, 16, shot down the CWG record. Our hockey women gave Olympics-champs England the stick. Varanasi’s Punam sisters did for weightlifting what the ‘Dangal’ daughters did for wrestling. Badminton goodies. The TT team smashed a never-beaten-before Singapore. But ouff! Compared to this uplifting show, our netathletes and political players are only putting up … [Read more...] about Gold-plated politics: ‘India Shining’ Down Under. Up here netas add to their meddle tally 😜

On September 26, Hockey India (HI) announced the squad for the men’s Asian Champions Trophy (ACT). The last time an e-mail from HI popped up, which was the list of probables for the national camp, the news of Sardar Singh’s decision to retire followed. No such repercussions are expected this time, but the decisions taken in selecting the 18 men for the ACT can lead to a bigger issue – uncertain players performing below par. Not that Indian hockey isn’t accustomed to it, but two months from the World Cup, this could be a body blow. The Asian Champions Trophy is the last tournament where India can conduct checks to test its machinery that misfired in the Asian Games semifinal. But it’s ironic perhaps that some knee-jerk decisions have added to the uncertainty that began with Sardar’s omission from the probables. For reasons best known to Hockey India, PR Sreejesh’s return to captaincy has lasted just two tournaments. The reins of the team have … [Read more...] about Two months to go for the World Cup, air of uncertainty hurting Indian hockey

Section 3 of The Implicit Mind asks: how can we improve our implicit minds? What can we do to increase the chances that our spontaneous inclinations and dispositions get it right rather than act as conduits for bias and prejudice? It is tempting to think that one can simply reflect carefully upon which spontaneous inclinations to trust and which to avoid. But in real-time, moment-to-moment life, when decisions and actions unfold quickly, this is often not plausible. How then can we act on our immediate inclinations while minimizing the risk of doing something irrational or immoral? How can we enjoy the virtues of spontaneity without succumbing to its vices? A poignant formulation of this last question surfaced in an unlikely place in 2012. In the climactic scene of Warner Bros.’ The Lego Movie, with the bad guys closing in and the moment of truth arriving, the old wise man Vitruvius paradoxically exhorts his protégé, “Trust your instincts . . . unless your … [Read more...] about 4. An Ethics of Spontaneity