Farewell Tendulkar

It is very painful to imagine that Tendulkar will not be playing cricket again. I cannot write a great tribute with all the statistics and figures. Many have already written about his gigantic records and achievements. I just want to write about the deep impact that he had in my heart. I am so thankful to him for all the pleasure he gave me while watching him play exquisite strokes. Though he lost the exuberance with which he used to attack the bowlers during my school days, he kept adjusting his technique and choice of strokes as per the situation and age. Some instances of exuberance that come to my mind are as follows.

1. He reached century with a six of Courtney Walsh through a wonderful hook shot when West Indies toured India (I was probably in 6^th class then). I missed his hooks & pulls badly later.
2. He scored a boundary through a wonderful on drive just past the umpire in the bowling of Dion Nash (New Zealand). Captain Chris Cairns removed the fist slip fielder and put him in mid on position. The next ball was guided sweetly to the boundary through the first slip from where the fielder was removed. New Zealanders did not know where to put their heads in.
3. There is a story that Allan Mulally (England) bowling on his test debut complained to the umpire that Tendulkar is using a heavy broad bat. Tendulkar walked up to the wicket, pointed to the stumps, and stated that he would happily face Mulally’s bowling ‘with one of those’. He went on to make 124.
4. The desert storm against Australia in Sharjah is unforgettable. Specially the sixes against Shane Warne and Kasprowiz still come to my mind.

He also disappointed me many a time by failing to finish the game (I still remember me crying when India lost to Pakistan in 1999 Chennai test when he scored a hundred but India fell short by 12 runs). World cup finals of 2007 and many second innings matches come to mind when he failed to deliver when India needed it big time. Lara delivered much better for his team in such crunch situations. But, there is something more than these failures in Tendulkar. He gave joy and fulfilment to all the fans who watched him. He gave the nation a unique feeling of celebration all the time he played. I cannot express that excitement and exhilaration inside me whenever I watched his cover drive or straight drive. Who will now give me that feeling of contentment and celebration?

There is something more than cricket to Tendulkar being liked by many. As he told in his farewell speech, he strives to be good human being. It reflects in his attitude, demeanour and approach towards life. Whenever I read that he toiled hard in the nets before the beginning of every match, I tell myself to keep working and improving myself. In spite of playing all the master class strokes, he never let him feel arrogant and stop practising. He kept improvising his technique, kept learning like a boy who starts playing the game. ‘We should give our 100% in everything that we do’ is what Tendulkar conveyed throughout his career. He behaved responsibly on and off the ground, never lost his ethics and upheld the pride of the nation. When I saw his message that he takes bath with the use of a bucket instead of shower to save water, my respect for him increased manifold.

Injuries haunted him. Billion expectations weighed on him every time he went to bat. Still, he bore the burden of all the hopes and tried to deliver his best. When Tendulkar punched Brett Lee for spectacular straight drives in Commonwealth Bank series in Australia, commentator Ian Chappel said ‘that was young Sachin’. I always wanted Sachin to play with the same audacity. That is the reason behind the pain to see him getting bowled during his last years of career. Age probably reduced the speed of his reflexes. But, wish list in my mind never got dampened. I wanted him score 100 fifties and 20000 runs in ODIs. But, he ended at 96 fifties and retired from ODIs. Even, yesterday, I wanted him to cross 16000 runs in test cricket. He fell short by 79 runs at the end of the career. As I wrote before, figures do not sum up what Tendulkar gave to the nation. He gave lakhs of people reason to celebrate and enjoy in spite of their worries and engagements.

I always felt bad whenever somebody criticized Tendulkar for not being the true match winner. I felt bad because I did not have statistics to refute the criticism. His fourth innings hundred against England in Chennai is rather unfortunately an exception. When I read the gist of Sumit Chakraborthy’s latest book ‘Master Laster’, I could not but agree with him that Tendulkar should have retired before. But, there is heaviness inside imagining Tendulkar not playing again. 

The exemplary spirit of sportsmanship he displayed is what makes him dear to all. He had limitations. He failed as a captain. I vividly recollect the 3-0 bashing that Steve Waugh & Co gave to India in Australia under Tendulkar's captaincy. But, he always strived to rise above his limitations and deliver his best. His indomitable spirit is what made many believe him to be the God of cricket. ‘Bharat Ratna’ is an apt tribute to his spirit, service to the game, devotion for excellence that inspire fellow Indians to contribute to the nation. I join the nation and salute Sachin Sachin..

Running Down the Memory Lane

I remember the first week after coming back from memorable Bharat Darshan and joyful stay at home when I was counting the number of days to spend in Phase-1. Classes after two month long travel looked not so exciting and I kept telling myself that I need to pass this phase of career as well. But, I never counted days after the first week as the momentum picked up with PT, games, movies etc. In fact, now in the last week of Phase-1, I am again counting days with a loaded heart so that they do not pass on quickly. Perhaps, this is the irony as well as beauty of life.

Phase-1 made me experience many unexplored aspects of my personality. To begin with, I am thankful to Mussoorie’s balmy weather, Rawat sir for making me reach unprecedented levels of fitness. I have never been physically fit than how physically fit I feel today at the end of Phase-1. After my ligament tear during Foundation Course (FC), I was wondering whether I would be able to run again or not. Today, my joy finds no bounds when I am able to run 4-5 kms daily.

I am really thankful to my running partner Vilas for making me discover this joy in life. Every day, when I complete the targeted distance, I get an assuring feeling that I am alive and kicking. When it looks almost impossible to run the next meter distance, it all boils down to the mind game. But, when we complete the next rounds as well, I thank God on one hand for giving the strength & tenacity and on the other hand reaffirm my conviction that solution to the most improbable problem is only in the mind.

Apart from running, that teaches us the attitude towards life, I enjoyed Happy Valley Sports Complex to the fullest in Phase-I. Playing badminton and representing the batch in internal tournaments with the faculty and Phase-IV is memorable. I am thankful to my roommate Anirudh for pulling me to play tennis everyday and I got a good flavor of it as well. The technique in any game is so fascinating that we can keep experimenting and improving every day. But the most cherishable sporting event is the LBSNAA Premier League (LPL) which the Officers’ Club organized with great fervor. I want to relive  those moments  when I was made the captain of ‘Hyderabad Heroes’ team, picked players in auction with Vachhani sir and then played with wonderful players in my team like Deepak and Thyagu. I eagerly look forward to LPL-3 in when all of us come back for Phase-II next year.

Cultural programmes on the zonal days and Plays of the Fine Arts Society made discover another facet of life. I started enjoying this in IRS at NADT, Nagpur and Mussorie made me come over this stage fear completely. Though I realize that I am a clumsy & hopeless dancer and never get the right expression on the stage, I offered myself in all cultural programmes and did many small roles. Though I had few minutes’ roles in the English play ‘The Importance of Being the Earnest’ and the Hindi play ‘Mahabhoj’, I enjoyed the process of rehearsals, helping on the backstage in the production team. Finally, it is such a nice feeling to see gifted actors in our batch perform flawlessly in the final show that all the previous effort looks insignificant.

Screening movies on behalf of Film Society is another experience of its own. We are all thankful to Mir for screening some wonderful movies in FC. As Mir told in FC, great movie is one which makes us feel bad that we cannot experience the same exciting feeling which we got first time. I continued this journey of exciting feelings with Vijaykarthikeyan when we screened more movies. However, it is unfortunate that we could not pull large audience for most of the movies. May be many have already seen the movies before or time is short for many other personal commitments.

Personally, I would have liked far more academic rigor in a Professional Training like Phase-1. Somehow, academics were never demanding and I also spent most of my free time in extracurricular pursuits. Law is the only substantial academic input in the academy in my view. But, what I would have liked more are rigorous discussions among my batchmates about development issues confronting the society. ‘LBSNAA Lab’ was one good idea as a discussion forum, but it could not take off (I am equally to be blamed). I sincerely wish that the zeal and idealism with which most of us join the service never dies down.

Games, physical activity, movies, cultural programmes are also required. They make us view things from a different angle and think out of the box. But, the core of our training and our work must be about contribution to the society and the zeal to find solutions to persistent problems. It is already four years since I left PRADAN & our poultry cooperatives in M.P. Whenever I speak to my ex-colleagues about the fascinating progress made, I get uncomfortable to get back to work again and tell myself that passion for rural livelihoods should never reduce even a bit. As this phase of life – ‘Phase-I’ comes to an end, it makes me realize that life moves on with new friends, new experiences and lessons to take forward.

The Joy of Running – Celebration of Vitality of Life

For a change, I decided to write a short piece – neither about any development issue nor about any subject matter. It is the about the recent joy that I discovered in running in the morning. As a part of the mandatory physical exercise, the instructor makes us run for about 15 minutes in the morning. But out of the 5 days in a week when all 150+ of us fall in line for the whistle, we run only twice as rest three days are devoted to either horse riding, aerobics, yoga or a morning walk. Those two days that we get to run, I and Vilas (my batch mate from Pune going to Chhattisgarh cadre) run together as both of us run at a decent yet equal pace.

This Friday we realized that we can do it on Saturday and Sunday as well when it is not compulsory to wake up early. We reached the Polo ground (about 1.5 kms away from hostel) at 6.45 AM and ran in the calm background of Himalayas amidst chirping of birds. When it is forced upon us, we tend to have grudges about the ruthlessness of Rawat sir (our PT instructor). But, when we went on our volition, we enjoyed it to the hilt.

We ran 7 rounds along the track of 400 metres whereas Vilas continued for two more rounds. There is always a point when it looks that it is impossible to continue. But, when there is a partner and when we challenge our physical stamina, we reach new levels of performance. I do not know whether any other feeling can match the joy of finishing the unthinkable. It is truly satisfying to reach to higher levels of physical fitness and stamina by challenging ourselves continuously.

My joy doubles (actually it multiplies by an unknown quotient) when I am reminded of last two months of Foundation Course when I was limping all the while because of my ligament tear in the right leg. There were moments during those times when I used to wonder whether I will be able to run again or not. The day when athletics meet was held, I was watching everybody run, jump with disappointment. I do not claim that I would have won medals had my ligament been alright at that time. But, I missed the joy and fun of participation in all the track events.

I am thankful to Vilas for making me discover this new joy and celebrate the vitality of life. I am hopeful that I continue with this fun even when I move to work in the districts. A running partner makes us more committed to the time and the rigor of the exercise. Even otherwise, we can challenge ourselves and get to new levels of self discipline. The challenge lies in doing it continuously in later years of life when physical exercise becomes more relevant to prevent emergence of any lifestyle diseases. We can do skipping, yoga, gardening, aerobics, walking etc. as per our liking. God has given us everything to live a complete and fulfilling life. We can do our bit not to let it become incomplete in any respect.

Revisiting & Reliving NADT, Nagpur (6th-8th April, 2012)

Me and Menaka were so much excited about going to Nagpur (NADT) that we booked our tickets almost a month before. We were also lucky to get leave for the same. My fools’ day (April 1^st) prank that the course team has reconsidered & cancelled the leave granted was believed by almost everybody. Even the friends in NADT believed that we are not coming and were telling me that we would meet sometime soon. I do not know whether to feel happy that I successfully doctored the letter so nicely that nobody had an iota of doubt or feel bad that I made Menaka & Anji disturbed for quite a bit of time. However, the moment we landed in NADT, everything was forgotten.  

I kept talking to everyone that I came across. I got to see the Lal Bungalow under construction (shramdan project of our batch which I consider more of dhandan than shramdan). I was excited to come to know that Ganapathy House is again competing for title in the volley ball finals with Bapat House. The marathon match which I played for Ganapathy last year against Bapat immediately flashed in my mind. The five set match is such a memorable one that me and Rahul consider it as the match of our lives. I was present and cheered for Ganapathy even this time and I am very happy that it retained the title. I was so happy to see Akhileshji, Mantu and Rahul playing so well that I also joined them after the official match for some practice matches.

The Mess and MDO (Mess Duty Officer) room are such places which I cherish very much. I recollected the time that I used to spend as Controller of Stores and all the purchases that I used to do for the mess. The steel glasses that I and Rahul purchased going on motorbike to avoid usage of plastic ones welcomed me. Calling the suppliers asking for better rates, visiting the vegetable, egg, chicken and fish markets for wholesale rates, looking at issue of material so that wastage of food is minimized, going in the night after everybody had dinner to look at the food left are still fresh in my mind.

How can I forget to write about the activities of Social Welfare Club (SWC)? Me and Rahul taking Preetam on bike to Mayo hospital for his eye operation immediately came to my mind. Vikram, Srinivasu, Rahul, Madhusmita and many others did such a fine job that the visits to the orphanage are remembered for long. I am so happy that they took the club along well and now made even the juniors active participants so that the tradition continues. I was very eager to donate blood in the blood donation camp organized by the club when I was there this time. However, the doctor there poured water on my enthusiasm when he did not allow it as I took Hepatitis vaccine just 10 days before. Initially, I was adamant to give blood. When Dr. Praveen sir told that the recipient may have problem in the first 30 days of vaccination, I relented though with little disappointment.

Post dinner walk in the campus are another enjoyable experience that I could enjoy again. I remembered the last days when I used to walk along with Neeju, Kanu, Kajal, Rahul. However, Yaduraj’s sweet songs are the highlight of those days. I used to catch him every day after the Yoga class or after dinner and make him sing for me. He did it again this time dedicating them to the bright moon in the sky. I will list down four such ‘chand’ songs that Yadu used to sing (among many) that you will also relish.

1. Thandi hawan yeh chandni suhani by Kishore Kumar from film Jhumroo
2. Khoya khoya chand by Mohd. Rafi from film Kala Bazar
3. Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki by Mohd. Rafi from film Dulari
4. Chaudvin ka chand ho ya aaftaab ho by Mohd Rafi

One more song on ‘chand’ that flashes in my mind is ‘Tum aaya to aaya mujhe yaad..Gali mein aaj chand nikala..’ from Mahesh Bhatt's ‘Jakhm’. When Yaduraj says that he misses a good listener after I left NADT, I felt it as a great compliment for me. But, all the credit goes to him for patiently singing the songs first and later explaining me the context along with the meaning of the difficult Urdu words. I wish I continue to listen to such great numbers all throughout my life.

I also walked along the floors and rooms in the new hostel complex ‘Vikramshila’. As my batchmates are joking, its name reflects the strong bonding between our sweet Vikram and his lovely pet Shila. The new building is impressive in terms of facilities, but disappointing in terms of steps taken to minimize ecological footprint. The issue of urban solid waste management came to my mind where they could have made arrangements for decomposition of the solid human waste generated within the premises in underground tanks. Similarly, the floors and rooms can be designed in such a way to minimize electricity consumption. The trade-off between initial additional cost and long term savings needs to be studied in detail to come to workable solutions.

The affection of MOTA (Married Officer Trainees) when I went to their quarters is really sweet. Me and Rahul kept eating or drinking at least something in all their houses. I also met Jayasankar sir at his home. He looked tired physically, but not in his spirits. He talked to me till the last minute I spent with him. He talked about all the things that he planned for training, what he could accomplish, the support that he could not get from his colleagues and seniors etc. At the end, he gave me a wonderful book titled ‘The Book of Mirdad’ by Mikhail Naimy. He told me that all he tells and what even Gita contains is captured in this book. I am eagerly looking forward to read this book. As sir told, I was destined to get this book and hence I met sir at that moment.

I could not play badminton matches in the limited time. But, I walked around the courts in the night and also enjoyed the ‘memoIRS’ that my batchmates prepared on the wall there in sports complex. I also missed sitting along with everybody in auditorium which Menaka could do. The day long ‘inspiration’ and ‘brown bag’ presentations in auditorium are very less likely to be forgotten soon.

The three days that we spent there flew away in three minutes. Probably, we may not be able to meet all the friends at the same time. In fact, the entire batch itself may not meet together in near future. However, I already told most of the friends that I will come for the Course Review Meeting that may be held next year. Hopefully, it comes true and I will again enjoy the freshness and serenity of NADT. 

Bharat Darshan Memories (Dec 17th, 2011 to Feb 10th, 2012)

I may go for tours and excursions with friends in future. However, I may never match the excitement and learning that I derived from the 56 day long Winter Study Tour (Bharat Darshan as we popularly call). I was lucky to be part of such group which was travelling from J & K to Tamil Nadu (touched all the states on the way) and then to Andamans and West Bengal as well. The tour became more memorable as I was also given the responsibility as the Group Leader of my proud Group IX. Arranging for accommodation, food, travel, tickets for the places of interest, interacting with the district administration over all these matters was an experience indeed and I can never forget the same for life.

Initially it looked painful to discharge those responsibilities – calling collectors, liaison officers everywhere, discussing the programme schedule with them, then ensuring that all my friends in the group are informed and finally seeing that programme goes off smoothly. However, I realized within the first week that I started enjoying this role and from then I never looked back throughout the tour be it for troubleshooting or arranging for extra visits.

I always feel that one of the main purposes of our training at the academy and attachments like this is to teach us learning to adjust with colleagues in a group and becoming a team player. I feel that Bharat Darshan serves this purpose most wonderfully. There are umpteen circumstances in the tour that reveal our personality to our friends in entirety and also reflect that of others. My experience as the group leader and also as a member of the group helped me learn being a team player, appreciate my colleagues better and be responsive to their needs and sentiments.

I could not have asked for better group mates than who were with me in our group. We began the tour with many apprehensions about group dynamics (there were already warnings in the tour briefing that we should not fight openly in public). However, our group shared remarkable chemistry and everybody got along very well. There were neither misgivings nor any bickering. The differences were appreciated and everybody respected others' point of view. I am personally grateful as a group leader to all my group mates for never making fuss about the facilities offered to us, attending even the most boring of attachments and making Bharat Darshan a memorable lifetime experience for all of us.

Accommodation

We were fortunate to get the best of accommodation with exquisite facilities as well as experience the basic ones with minimal facilities. Staying along the Line of Control in army camps with the Company Commanders is a lifetime experience. It is so inspiring to see our jawans staying in places with harsh conditions and minimal facilities to protect their brethren. Similarly, staying in tents in Sathyamangalam forests and taking bath in Moyannar river is also an unmatchable experience by itself.

The Narmada Sagar guest house in Khandwa (M.P.), the South Point Circuit House in Port Blair, Dolphin resort in Havelock island (Andamans), the Jalandhar Circuit house, Thamizhagam guest house in Ooty (was once the property of the erstwhile Jodhpur maharaja) are some of the wonderful stays we had in the tour. At the same time, the shabbily maintained ones like the VIP Guest House in Dalibagh in Lucknow also come to mind.

Food

We got the opportunity to taste variety of cuisines all over the country. We had the fortune of tasting the most lavish delicacies in five star hotels as well as taste the most basic food like the mid day meals cooked at schools. We were also fortunate to eat variety of foods while being on the move – like many dinners in the trains, breakfast in the aero planes, and lunch on the boat in Sunderbans. I cannot afford to miss to write about the food that we ate in religious places – langar in Amritsar golden temple, breakfast in Jain math in Shravanabelagola, Karnataka, and lunch in Belur temple in Hassan (Karnataka) etc. Personally, I enjoyed the South Indian food the most. After reaching Karnataka, I discarded all spoons and bowls and started eating with hands in banana leaves.

Modes of transport

We enjoyed all kinds of modes of transport. I do not think we missed any mode. Army in the Surankot (Jammu) sector made us experience travelling in their jeeps, vans. We also walked and trekked there along the Line of Control and in other Company Operating Bases. We also did enjoy the jungle walk in Sathyamangalam forests in Tamil Nadu when we were with the Special Task Force. We travelled in all classes of Indian Railways like AC, Chair Car etc. However, the most memorable among the train journeys was the short one from Ooty to Conoor in the toy train in Nilgiris. This route is already a UNESCO declared world heritage route (celebrated its centenary in 2009).

Journeys in water were no less either. The boat ride in Narmada Sagar dam in Khandwa, Pykara lake in Ooty are the small ones to begin with. Later the two hour cruiser ride from Port Blair to Havelock island in Andamans was the longest in terms of distance and memorable as well. Finally the boat ride on MV Krishna boat in Dhamkhali in Sunderbans in West Bengal is also an experience by itself.

Temple Darshan

It would not be rhetorical if I write that our Bharat Darshan tour was a tour of religious places. We saw worship places of all religions. We visited Golden Temple in Amritsar, Nangali Saheb Gurudwara in Surankot (Jammu) and had enjoyed langar. We also saw Bara Imambara in Lucknow, Bibi ka maqbara in Aurangabad, Sufi shrines and Aurangazeb tomb in Qultabad and Daulatabad near Aurangabad. We also had the opportunity to visit many Jain and Budhist temples, shrines and monuments like in Ajantha, Ellora in Maharastra, Shravanabelagola, Badami, Halebidu in Karnataka.

Coming to Hindu temples or monuments, listing them itself is a difficult task. We visited Badami caves, Pattadakkal, Aihole in Bagalkot district (Karnataka), Belur and Halebidu in Hassan district (Karnataka). We also saw Durgiana temple in Amritsar, Grishneshwar temple (one of the 12 Jyotirlingas) in Ellora (Maharastra), Omkareshwar in Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh), Dakshineswar Kali temple, Belur Math and Kalighat Kali temples in Kolkata. However, the most beautiful of all was the Chennakesava temple in Belur (Hassan) and the Shiva temple in Halebidu. Most interesting of all is the fact that we missed our main Shrine Board attachment with Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in Jammu due to certain gaps in communication between the academy and the army.

The best of attachments

Army attachment was the best attachment I enjoyed the most. Wearing the combat dress and doing night patrol along the fence on the border made me feel like a real soldier. The opportunity to shoot with AK-47, Light Machine Gun, INSAS rifle was so thrilling. Getting to know about so much military lingo like CASO, SADO, ADP, COB, TOB etc. was very interesting. We got to interact with some bright young minds in similar age category like the Captains, Majors in various battalions. Interaction with Colnel SS Brar in 39 RR (Granediers) is still fresh in my mind. I also felt like being part of their battalion when they presented us a wonderful memento before departure.

I felt so emotional whenever I went to these armed forces attachments like in Jammu, STF in Sathyamangalam, National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune, and National Security Guard (NSG) in Manesar. I strongly feel that all our youngsters should be exposed to opportunities working in armed forces so that they can consider this option seriously when they make career choices.

Tourism attachment in Andamans is another beautiful experience. Talking bath in Radha Nagar beach in rain and running along the shore in the beach was awesome to say the least. Morning walk along the Kala Pathar beach still looks so fresh in my memory. However, the most thrilling was the scuba diving along the jetty. I only read about coral reefs during preparation time in Geography. But, seeing the countless colorful fishes and other creatures beneath the blue waters only made me humble about the creativity and imagination of the Mother Nature. Sound and light show in the Cellular jail in Port Blair made me travel back in history and remember emotionally the sacrifices made for attaining our independence.

And the not so better attachments

Kolkata was not very inspiring in terms of work culture and ambience. I felt as if people there keep living in the past and do not look forward to meeting future challenges. Rabindra Sangeet, Subhash Bose’s contribution to independence, poet Nazrul’s poetry are no doubt inspiring. However, the tiring traffic congestion, filth and dirt on the streets, laid back attitude of most of the workers were very disappointing. The public sector attachment with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Lucknow was also not inspiring as we saw most the employees idling their time in the workshops. Perhaps, the tour is purposively designed in such a way to expose us to all kinds of realities.

Rich mix of emotions

The physical drill imparted to soldiers and the rigor in army made my heart pump more blood and get charged up. Whenever I saw jawans in combat dresses, I told myself to be physically fit and be ready for any challenge if the need comes. The serene surroundings in religious places especially in Ajantha caves made me spiritually calm and I felt like spending some time meditating in those caves like the Budhist monks few centuries ago. The lush green forests in Sathyamangalam and the clean blue waters in Andamans made me immerse in the tranquility of nature. Lack of basic amenities like roads, electricity, and drinking water in most of the villages that we visited reminded me of the responsibility that I need to deliver as an administrator.

I do not know how many such emotions that Bharat Darshan evoked in me as we kept visiting place after place. I personally got an opportunity to talk to so many varieties of people like the army officers, jawans, collectors, police, drivers, hotel attendants, liaison officers, villagers and whom not. Perhaps, this is one the best ways to train us as future administrators whereby we need to learn the art of interaction with everybody in the society. I may not visit most of the places that we saw in this tour and very less likely in the same group. But the memories will surely stay forever.         

'Poultry Festival' during Holi

I really enjoyed Holi this year in the academy in Mussoorie. But, when I looked back 4 years when I was celebrating Holi in Jatara (M.P.), more sweet memories came to my mind. Then I was working in the Jatara poultry cooperative and Holi was the festival we always looked forward to. Not only in Jatara cooperative, all our sister cooperatives in other districts (of course every single poultry producer and trader) look forward to Holi. The eagerness is not play with colours, but to do some quick business when the consumption of chicken almost shoots up to 200% of the normal.

A common man may start his preparation to celebrate Holi few days before the festival either by purchasing colours or clothes etc. However, poultry cooperatives start their preparation at least 45 days before when they start placing broiler chicks especially for Holi sale. Broiler chicks attain the weight of 2 kgs in roughly 42 days and hence will be ready for sale during Holi if they are placed on schedule. No wonder the breeder farms and hatcheries also make their preparation from even before. It takes 21 days in a hatchery for the chick to hatch from the parent egg. Hence the hatcheries need to plan their hatching schedule from before to meet the demand for chicks.

However, the most exciting aspect is the sale of birds for 3-4 days around Holi. Poultry traders start stocking the birds beforehand in expectation of good sale. Hence, lifting of birds from the farms starts at least 4 days before the actual consumption day. The reason for spurt in consumption is simple i.e. celebration time marked by consumption of alcohol. In M.P., Bhaidooj is celebrated on the following day of Holi where brothers and sisters spend time together at home by visiting others’ houses. This sober and sentimental occasion also helps increase in sale. Rang panchami is celebrated on the fifth following day of Holi and those (especially tribals who enjoy festivals in a continuity) who can afford visit the poultry shop again adding to our joy.

I recall and cherish my Holi days in Jatara a lot. The cooperative’s poultry vehicle (the driver and his assistant) has the busiest of times. Me, the accountant, the marketing assistant were engaged either responding to traders’ phone calls or counting the money. I speak to my boys every year on this occasion and relive the occasion. They told me that Holi has been exceptionally good this year. The cooperative sold 25 tons of live poultry birds in 4 days in comparison to normal sale of 6-7 tons during the same duration. I presented these figures in the following table.

Particulars	2010		2012
Sale period (normal sale dates are of same week days 2 weeks before)	Sale during 13th-16th Feb	Holi sale during 27th Feb-2nd March	Sale during 22nd-25th Feb	Holi sale during 6th -9th March
Live weight of birds sold	4673 Kgs	8895 Kgs	6638 Kgs	24895 Kgs
Average rate realized per kilo live weight	73 Rs.	80 Rs.	70 Rs.	74 Rs.

As we can see from the data, normally the consumption roughly doubles (as in 2010). However, victory of Samajwadi Party in UP elections added to the business tremendously in 2012. The victory celebrations made sure that the poultry vehicle did not stop for 3 days continuously supplying birds. Jatara though located in M.P., is close to U.P. borders and caters to small town markets in U.P. like Lalitpur, Mauranipur, Panwari, Rath etc. The market becomes a suppliers’ market and we command the price to some extent and have the liberty of choosing the trader whom we want to supply.

Similarly, the sales of the biggest poultry cooperative in M.P., Kesla Poultry Sahakarita (KPS) have increased by almost 100 % from 26313 Kgs of live weight (during Feb 14^th-17^th, 2012) to 50557 Kgs (during Holi time 6^th-9^th March, 2012). My former colleagues, Dr. Harekrishna Deka and Dr. Mridu Pawan Hazarika told me that chicks prices’ also shoot up for Holi placement. This year, the chicks’ price shot up from 15-16 Rs. to 19-20 Rs. for Holi placement. The All India Broiler Breeders’ Association has also cleverly declared hatch holiday to create scarcity in the market.

The bumper consumption of poultry during Holi also repeats itself during Dasara festival, X-Mas and New Year. However, the most crucial aspect of poultry business is the ability to continuously produce birds every day. If we are out of the market even for few days, we may not be able to take advantage of the price fluctuations. For example, KPS which is likely touch a turnover of 20 crores during the present year 2011-12 could make an enterprise profit (after distributing the grower margins to the member producers) of only 5 lakh rupees in the first 10 months. However, since it continued to produce birds, it made a handsome margin of almost one crore in the next two months.

The wonderful performance of the poultry cooperatives in MP reinforces my belief in poultry as one of the beautiful activities for the rural poor. The annual per capita availability of poultry meat increased from 0.16 kg per annum in 1961 to 2.96 kg in 2011. However, this is far below the ICMR recommendations of 11 kg meat per capita per annum. Similarly, the per capita availability of eggs per annum is merely 51 eggs as opposed to the recommended 180 eggs per annum.

Moreover, the progress of the broiler industry is well dominated by the southern states including Maharastra which contribute 60%-70% of the total output. There is a great need to promote poultry in central and eastern Indian states which are marked by malnutrition as well as poverty. Poultry can not only create supplementary income in the hands of the poor, but also address the chronic protein deficiency in these poor states. The phenomena of eating out in the cities with more and more quick service restaurants opening up is reflective of the changing consumption profile of the middle class Indians in the cities. We need to cash in this opportunity by promoting poultry like agro-industries in the villages so that they can cater to growing markets in nearby cities and also create respectable rural livelihoods.

Credits and References

1. Dr. HK Deka and Dr. Mridu Pawan Hazarika of MPWPCL (M.P. Women Poultry Producers Company Limited)

2. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-06-08/news/27598670_1_poultry-industry-chicken-consumption-b-soundararajan

3. ‘Roadmap for Sustainable Poultry Production during 12^th Plan and Beyond’ by Dr. PK Shukla and Sujit Nayak, Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Government of India  

Tribute to Rahul Dravid

I already read so many articles on Dravid’s retirement that I do not know what new I want to write. Many already wrote about his passion for perfectionism, determination, commitment to the game that made him see through hard times. I do not need to add that he is the second most prolific run getter in game’s history and the bulwark of India’s top & middle order for more than a decade.

But, there is so much emotion and pain inside me that I just want to write few sentences for him. What strike me most about Dravid are neither his centuries abroad nor him being called ‘The Wall’ or ‘Mr. Dependable’. I am humbled by his patience, tenacity and his elegant demeanor on and off the field. There were umpteen critics who raised their fingers about his ability to play ODIs initially. He quietly worked on his game patiently and kept practicing to modify his stroke play and ended his career with more than 10000 ODI runs.

When he had very rough time between 2006 and 2008 and when others demanded that he should also retire like Ganguly, he again quietly worked and spoke with his bat. I am so sad to read one news paper heading “Dravid calls it a day after disastrous ‘Down Under’ tour” (recent Australian tour). I strongly believe that Dravid never gives up so easily. His character is such that he would have gone to Australia even next time and scored like he did in England recently. I remember how he failed miserably in an Australian tour under Tendulkar’s captaincy in 1999-2000. But, he worked hard on his technique and gave India the memorable victory in Adelaide under Ganguly’s captaincy when we toured next time in 2003. It happened to be India’s first test win in Australia after 1980-81.

His strokes are neither audacious nor flamboyant as that of Sehwag. His stroke play also cannot match Tendulkar’s elegance. In spite of Laxman’s poor footwork, his strokes many a time look more charming than that of Dravid. But, Dravid’s strokes have the character, tenacity and discipline that reveal his personality as well. Similarly, his catches do not look as effortless as that of Mark Waugh. But, he has the patience and concentration to take more than 400 catches in his international career. As Sambit Bal puts it correctly, 'there is a normalcy about him that is almost abnormal'. He is calm and composed in terms of attitude that enabled him perfect fitness. No wonder, he went on to bat for 173 consecutive innings in both Tests and ODIs without a duck between 2000 and 2004 - longest sequence for any batsman without duck.

How many times I may have cursed him that he is just defending the ball and never attacked the bowlers. I was not amused when I read that he hit only 21 sixers in his entire test career (faced more than 31000+ balls for his 13000+ runs). But, I now feel bad that I should have enjoyed his batting even for the way he sweetly defended the ball, the way he ducked the bouncers making even the best of bowlers like Donald, Gillespie, Mc Grath frustrated.

His mental resolve is what I like the most and want to emulate him for the same. Laxman told that it was Dravid who made it easy for him during the 2001 epic innings at the Eden Gardens. Dravid used to tell Laxman between the overs that ‘it is all for which we have worked so hard and let us not let it go easily’. No wonder that his resolve made India win its first test match in 15 years in Pakistan, the first win in 16 years in England. If there is somebody who can keep his resolve and score a century after 15 years where he missed it by 5 runs at his debut, it is Dravid. And what better ground than Lords for such an achievement.

As Harsha Bhogle correctly put the heading ‘The wolf who lived for the pack’, Dravid was the quintessential team player. He personally hated opening the innings and keeping wickets. But, when it was demanded from him for team-sake, he did it to his best of capability without any murmur. My respect for him only keeps increasing when he says that he wants to simple things like taking his kids to school, spend time with his young family. He is personally such a nice person that is aptly summed up in Brett Lee’s comment that ‘if you cannot get along with Rahul Dravid, you are struggling in life.’

Cricket in future will become even more fast-paced than that of today and very few may remember Dravid’s strokes. However, the future children should still be taught at least to appreciate the discipline, the patience and the class of Dravid. There are always players who are lucky to have played a sport and represented his country. But, there are very few players whom the country and the sport will be proud to be associated with. Rahul Dravid is one such player. As Tendulkar put it correctly, ‘there was and is only one Rahul Dravid’. And Kallis also put it perfectly that ‘the game will be a little poorer without him’. I wish Dravid the best of times ahead. Hopeful that he will have great time with his family, enjoy things that he may have missed during his playing career and continue to inspire us with his deeds off the field as well.