THE 'SAVE KERALA' INITIATIVE

THE 'SAVE KERALA' INITIATIVE

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Thendi-Thendi - Indian Prime-Time League

Thendi-Thendi, the new Indian Prime Time League, is my brainchild and there are so many teams vying for the top spot already, it looks like. This year's edition will have 8 teams and I invite bids for the same, along with suggested team names. Seriously, looks like the Premier League 20-20 edition is turning into a tightly contested "Thendi-Thendi" match, with all the exchanges of love and affection on television, twitter and internet. The chap who started it didnt probably think it will boomerang and burn his own chair. Anyway, the point is, without the concerted efforts of the people behind it, Team IPL Kerala would never have materialized. That Kerala won over the "high" and "mighty" others is obviously a shock and matter of jealousy for many. So kudos to our MP and we simply need to stand behind him as United Kerala.

IPL itself is a money spinner and crores are spent, exchanged, transacted on several aspects of the sport. The teams were picked in a closed envelope bidding. So where is the question of power, beyond that of the council and league heads? Are they worried the power is leaking out? As the MP rightly said, mainstream cricket has been so far been a fort of power, money and charm, and cornered and abused by a select few. We have all heard how team members get selected and how much our netas fought for getting into the councils. Take a look at who governs these cricket councils and its evident.

Getting a team for Kerala was a hard fought battle, it looks like obviously, and what is wrong with a person passionate about cricket coordinating the efforts? If the team went to another state, would we have ever heard of these issues, irrespective of the people and money involved? It is so unfair to target the MP who probably worked with the best of intentions. If money was the intention, he is smart enough to do it better and much differently! It is heartening to see the party is going to stand behind him, and take on the powerful coterie.

Bringing up a person's personal life or saying his proxy friend, who is a person of the opposite sex adding to their convenience, benefitted sweat equity (and how in the world did this 70 crore figure come!?, and is it not natural that anyone who floats and executes an idea will obviously be a shareholder) is shortsighted, and typically the usual cheap politics and the convoluted mindset of our frustrated lot. And the fact that the person is a female and good looking must be good fuel. But then, does this mean all the friends of ministers should stay away from anything worthwhile, profitable or beneficial? Are we then going to examine all the friends of the owners of all the other teams? Are we sure we wont find any other ministers or politicians? If yes, then we should probably examine the mighty cricket council itself and the people who operate it. Where do all the billions go every year?

And most importantly, we should then extend this suddenly discovered and conveniently adopted concept of transparency and corruptionless governance, by both our politicians and the media, to mainstream politics as well. Will we be able to examine all our politicians and their friends, and the way deals are done in this country?

If yes, then we can say the match is won. By the people of India.

17 comments:

Biju said...

Nice article. I think Tharoor just did his job rightly and that he did not misuse his position to his advantage.

We believe what the media tells us. We will have to wait and see once he presents his case to the Prime Minister.

~*. D E E P A .* ~ said...

:D :D :D

SophieMol said...

so unfortunate that ST had to resign finally.

what was his mistake?

he genuinely tried hard to get the team for Kerala, and without him it would have never happened. it is not as if he used the ministry illegaly to do it, but just the authority perhaps. there is nothing wrong in that.

secondly, his close friend was part of the group that floated the idea of the IPL Kerala team and subsequently won it. we cannot say whether by being his friend she won an extra amount of stake. but we cannot call it illegal or corruption. any person working for an idea and executing it is eligible for a share of the ownership. if you thought of an idea, used your networking skills to execute it into reality, then obviously you will own a share of the outcome.

but since ST has resigned and the lady given away the stake, lets take a look at the real issue. who is the IPL boss? is he a cricket player? what is his financial background? who are the other team owners? besides the key front end person who claims to be the owner, evey team will have additional investors and owners. nobody knows who. and beyond all that, IPL and BCCI is led and managed by politicians, who have nothing to do with cricket.

dont we have a right to now know more about this? or rather, isnt the government now LIABLE to investigate all these matters? i think everyone should face the same heat as ST so that real corrupt folks can be exposed and prosecuted. that will be a victory for we the people. and then, like you said, ST would have done a greater job than he could have ever done as a minister!

Pink Mango Tree said...

Politicians in India can definitely loot, kill, conspire and be negligent - cos they know for sure that they can easily get away with it!
…but never ever get educated, tweet or support an IPL bid.

Anonymous said...

If tharoor is proven guilty of misusing his power, which ad would you take out from the blog ? the one supporting tharoor / fight aganist corruption ?

Angel said...

Nice article

jomster said...

Hi
Just wanted to encourage you to keep posting and doing the job that you do.
have you been to mumbaivotes.com
Absolutely stellar site. The need of the hour. Why cannot we make one for Kerala also? If you think we can do somthing to that effect, do contact me at grafxconsult@gmail.com and we can take it from there.

tourismworlds said...

nice work

Pradeep Kumar T K said...

Good Argument...

Ariana said...

Awesome Blog. Being a half malayalee and having lived in Kerala for 5 years, cannot agree more with you.

Outspoken said...

It's a pity that we can only feel sorry for tharoor. what he had acheived for Kerala in IPL is unthinkable for others in our state politics.

If he had continued as minister, he could have effectively voiced and bring to notice a lot of issues related to Kerala..

And alas, he had to resign siply on allegations of stake in IPL and nobody dared to raise voice against central minister sharad pawar whose entire family already had direct stake in IPL.

Kerala Hotels said...

Really Appreciate for your open comment, Nice to read ur blog post ...Thanks for Sharing

Anonymous said...

We know you are busy, but please post. You have so many writers at DOC.

montreal said...

good article..interesting

ARANMULA KANNADI said...

Kerala needs some changes, especially in the development as well as the social life front. we believe ourselves the most educated state in the country, but still we are far behind in various things.

I think everything is due to our false pride

Anonymous said...

Looks like the minions who used to write this blog have grown up. No more posts!

Anonymous said...

Kerala, gods own country known for its scenic beauty across all seasons.

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