Anand at the top of the World

On 30^th May India achieved a new feat in the world of chess. Viswanathan Anand, 42, secured his fifth World Championship title defeating Boris Gelfand of Israel in the ‘toughest’ title clash at the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. He made India proud by achieving this glory and challenge Russian monopoly in World Chess. It was high tension drama. Intensity of the battle made everyone forget that both the players had played 12- classical games over the past three weeks.

pic source: e Khabar (picasa)

In 1988 Anand became India's first grandmaster. He achieved the distinction of receiving the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1991-92, India's highest sporting honour and the Padma Vibhushan in 2007, the country's second highest civilian award, making him the first sports person in India's history to receive the award. Anand's strong presence in the international arena started in 1995 with his attempt at the world championship crown where he lost to Russian Gary Kasparov 10.5-7.5 in the PCA world championship match.

This is fourth successive world championship victory for Anand. He is the only player in the history of chess to win the world championship in all the formats- knockout, round- robin tournament and individual matches.

Anand will be the world champion till his next title clash, which will make him the world champion for a cumulative nine years now (2000-2002 and 2007- 2014). He pocketed about USD 1.4 million- 55 percent of the total prize fund of USD 2.55 million- while Gelfand got the remaining amount. No doubt it was a great moment for India.

However, for Indians sports means only cricket. Others hardly find support. We forget that there are sports persons across disciplines who made Indian proud. The athletes had an impressive show in the Commonwealth Games. Proper infrastructure can do wonders for sports in the country. The focus must shift beyond cricket. Three weeks long match between Anand and Gelfand hardly got space and time in media because at that time people were glued to the IPL. Fortunately when Anand won the title IPL was just over so he got proper media attention.

It is a pity that achievers like Indian Kabaddi champions, boxers, weight lifters stayed in darkness and were treated badly by the authorities. They were deprived of the honour which they deserved. Hope things will change for good and India will soon be a super power in the sports arena.

About the Author-

Moon Jana is an announcer at All India Radio, Siliguri, West Bengal, India. She did her Masters in Journalism & Mass Communication from Visva-Bharati University.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and they do not reflect in any way those of the Dispassionate Observer.

On 30^th May India achieved a new feat in the world of chess. Viswanathan Anand, 42, secured his fifth World Championship title defeating Boris Gelfand of Israel in the ‘toughest’ title clash at the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. He made India proud by achieving this glory and challenge Russian monopoly in World Chess. It was high tension drama. Intensity of the battle made everyone forget that both the players had played 12- classical games over the past three weeks.

In 1988 Anand became India's first grandmaster. He achieved the distinction of receiving the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1991-92, India's highest sporting honour and the Padma Vibhushan in 2007, the country's second highest civilian award, making him the first sports person in India's history to receive the award. Anand's strong presence in the international arena started in 1995 with his attempt at the world championship crown where he lost to Russian Gary Kasparov 10.5-7.5 in the PCA world championship match.

This is fourth successive world championship victory for Anand. He is the only player in the history of chess to win the world championship in all the formats- knockout, round- robin tournament and individual matches.

Anand will be the world champion till his next title clash, which will make him the world champion for a cumulative nine years now (2000-2002 and 2007- 2014). He pocketed approximately USD 1.4 million- 55 percent of the total prize fund of USD 2.55 million- while Gelfand got the remaining amount. No doubt it was a great moment for India.

However, for Indians sports means only cricket. Others hardly find support. We forget that there are sports persons across disciplines who made Indian proud. The athletes had an impressive show in the Commonwealth Games. Proper infrastructure can do wonders for sports in the country. The focus must shift beyond cricket. Three weeks long match between Anand and Gelfand hardly got space and time in media because at that time people were glued to the IPL. Fortunately when Anand won the title IPL was just over so he got proper media attention.

It is a pity that achievers like Indian Kabaddi champions, boxers, weight lifters stayed in darkness and were treated badly by the authorities. They were deprived of the honour which they deserved. Hope things will change for good and India will soon be a super power in the sports arena.

Yet Another Beginning

Wish I could fly like Spiderman and scream with joy, "I am back, I am back!" I know posts in Dispassionate Observer are irregular. I can't help it..Trying to fix this for months though..alas not finding much success..Hope this time Dispassionate Observer will not disappoint. It is now a fact that this blog has been accepted by some readers and hence the page views have swelled. I am happy to see that Dispassionate Observer has gone past 10,000 page views.  I didn't expect this when I started the blog given the long absence of any posts. Thanks a lot to all those who considered it worthwhile to read the articles and thought pieces.

The problems for me compounded when I understood that I am experiencing a writer's block. My mind went blank, devoid of any ideas to work on. I turned to books, read a number of them but still the flow was not there.  Not only my blog, I promised to write for some other websites who really had beautiful plans. I know I have not done justice to them but somehow I was not feeling like writing anything.

Dispassionate Observer will hopefully do justice this time. There will be regular posts from me and a number of other authors who have made this blog what it is today. In this month of London Olympics Dispassionate Observer wishes best of luck to the Indian contingent. Depressing news about events have been the order of the day, an event like Olympics will provide some fresh air and enjoyment worldwide.

Resilient KKR Brings Trophy Home

picture source: Sahil Deewana (picasa)

The wait is finally over. No more anxious moments to touch the beautiful IPL trophy and Shahrukh Khan can now stop wearing his lucky black tees and same jeans to make his team win.

After digesting a lot of controversies the wind finally turned in favour of Khan’s Riders. Already the evening shower brought a bit of relief to the city, but the sweet midnight storm was much more reliving.

Dhoni failed to make a hat trick of wins in the IPL . The way his team performed in last few matches it appeared they will be hard to beat in their own backyard. The credit goes to the Knights specially – Gautam, Bisla, Kallis, Manoj and Narine.

It no more remained just a game. For the emotional people of Kolkata it was like a dream come true. It was their belief that the team could win and finally their belief turned into reality.

Gautam (Gautam Gambhir) proved it was the team spirit that led them to success. King Khan who always believed in "Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo"( we will do it, fight and finally win) kept the flames alive and finally he was rewarded with a grand victory. 

Dada’s (Sourav Ganguly) sixth sense got it right and the night turned out to be lucky for the Knights. Co-owner Juhi’s (Juhi Chawla) promise to Mamtaji (The Chief Minister of West Bengal) to return to Bengal with the cup finally turned out to be true.

After going through all types of experiences in the past years Kolkata Knight Riders finally achieved their desired goal. People of West Bengal had a peaceful sleep as they basked in the glory of being the top team in India. 

‘Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo’ anthem worked out this season. Team spirit, hard work, belief and excellent execution helped them to lift the DLF IPL Cup 2012.

About the Author-

Anwesha Guha Thakurta  is student of Journalism & Mass Communication at Muralidhar Girls College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and they do not reflect in any way those of the Dispassionate Observer.

Why Are We So Wrong To Girl Child, India?

India envisages to become a developed nation. However, due to her so-called superstitious traditional culture she is unable to cope with modern world. Some beliefs and practices are acting as hurdle to her progress. In this country women are not getting the respect which they should get. According to Indian Constitution everyone should get equal opportunity to progress.

picture source: Savio Sebastian (picasa)

India is a land where female gods are worshipped, however, in practice the society is patriarchal. Mother is an important factor but if she gives birth to a female child then she is abused by the family. Through scientific methods it can be detected whether the baby is a boy or a girl when it is inside the womb. So called cultured people irrespective of education are taking the advantage of advanced technologies illegally and are wasting no time in destroying the baby if it turns out to be a girl. Most are happy with male child. According to them their future will be protected by their sons and they will earn lots of money. Even they will also help maintain their lineage and heredity. At times the mother is held responsible for the birth of a female child but those who are aware of medical science know it better that the male chromosome Y can only be given by the male partner. In spite of knowing all this many women are tortured, killed and even compelled to commit suicide. During pregnancy women are subject to brutal torture to kill the female baby which even lead to death of the mother. In India steps were taken against female infanticide which lead to reduced instances of such cases. Now the disturbing trend has again surfaced.

Almost every day if we open any newspaper or news channel we hear or read news about female infanticide. Government has enactments in place against such killings but it is not enough. Before elections all ministers shout they will do for the society but once they are elected they are of no use. In India the president is a woman, there are female ministers and number of entrepreneurs are women. My question to them is what are they are doing? Aren’t they reading newspapers? Why can't they do anything despite being in seats of power? Who will reply to all these questions? Now it’s high time for common women to raise their voice against female infanticide. If this system persists then a situation will arise when female population of India will decline which is alarming for the days to come.

We can not move towards modernisation with our illogical, illegal, unethical, inhuman, immoral and unjustified Hippocratic culture. Detection of sex before birth is illegal and punishable crime but in every part of the country it is happening. Harsh punishments should be imposed on the criminals who indulge in this act. The notion that male child is more likely to ensure well protected future for parents is proving to be useless in modern society. Research has shown that female children are actually taking care of their parents even after their marriage while the male ones are failing to keep their word.

About the Author- 

Nilika Banerjee is student of Journalism & Mass Communication at Rani Birla Girl's College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and they do not reflect in any way those of the Dispassionate Observer.

Satyameva Jayate- Promise of a New Dawn

“Pehle Sunday ko subah aap Mahabharat dekhte the, aab dekhiye aaj ka bharat”- enough to invoke interest to see today’s ‘Bharat’. This is what Satyamev Jayate is all about . Innovative in its advertising campaign, Satyamev Jayate has already succeeded in capturing the mind space of the audience. The campaign, prior to the launch of the serial, had an element of suspense which was built up in a skillful manner. From its first advertisement itself it remained interesting. People became curious to see the next advertisement. One by one, step by step it unfolded its features in a conscious and strategic way.“Entertainment ka matlab sirf hasana nehi, mujhe to lagta hai public ko gussa ana chahiye”, “Sunday subah der se soiye, saat baje tak, aath baje tak, nau baje tak, daas baje tak, fir to main aa hi raha hu aap ko jagane k liye”- this is how Aamir Khan created strong curiosity about this show.

                             picture source:Hammad Hassan (picasa)

                               

 

Satyameva Jayate did not appear as an advertisement of any product or a show. It was just about a person (not a star) who talks with his friends or anyone about a matter. Informal in style but highly focused. “ Sunday subah ghar ka sara kaam jaldi kar lijiye, fir main aa raha hu, kuch baat karni hai”. Its seemed like a person who comes to your doorstep and reminds you about the meeting where you have to be present. It directly addressed the audience and convinced them to be ready for discussion .

In first two or three advertisements people could not figure out whether it’s an advertisement or has something more to it. In first advertisement there was no direct approach or testimonials from the star about the show. So, people had no clue what was going on. This resulted in heightened curiosity.

Another ingredient of this successful ad campaign is ‘Aamir Khan’ himself. People know him as a perfectionist. They have lots of expectation from him. Many are watching this show because of him. They are aware that Amir Khan, of late, has been associated with projects which are classy and not run of the mill. He sums up the objective of the show- ‘Sirf hungama khara karna mera maksad nehi. Meri kosis hai k yeh surat badalni chahiye. Mere sine me nehi to tere sine me sahi. Ho kahi bhi aag, lekin jalni chahiye” A bold step to make positive changes in Indian society by taking on age old evil practices. However, aware of media which believes more on sensational practices rather than actual good, he vows to make this show different in all aspects. A show that can really make some difference. Satyameva Jayate Amir Khan!

About the Author-

Moon Jana is an announcer at All India Radio, Siliguri, West Bengal, India. She did her Masters in Journalism & Mass Communication from Visva-Bharati University.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and they do not reflect in any way those of the Dispassionate Observer.

Social Media and the Disadvantages of Networking

picture source:

jmparada.com

The Good

It’s becoming a small, small world. It seems, with the Internet, places that seemed so far away really aren’t anymore. People you never thought you’d communicate with are a button away. Social media is a concept that has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years. Many companies and people now see Facebook and Twitter as a valid method of raising their profile. The Internet affords an instant connection to a global audience which is now being used to its full potential by these companies.

There are great examples of social media. One of them relates to my employment. The company I work for sells kitchen appliance online. Maybe not the most interesting of things. But that’s the beauty of social media. We can make it interesting. Through a representative who is considered the ‘face’ of our business, we gained interest on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Facebook has almost 50,000 people interested in what we are doing. Twitter has almost 5,000 follows. We have created a community that shares information and gets involved. When news gets out, it’s shared almost immediately.

The Bad

But is this always a good thing? Like human nature, social networking can become pretty disappointing at times. Like all technology, it can be abused, twisted and turned into something negative. Remember the riots last year? The planning of that was done in part via certain social networks. The instantaneous communication that resulted from social networking mean that people were informed about police locations and actions before the police had chance to maintain an effective presence.

Basically, it was like the flash mob from hell.

And the Ugly...

The negative sides to people can really come out in new ways thanks to the Internet. For example, bullying can take on a whole new level that transcends the physical. Tales in the news of cyber bullying are constant. This isn’t focused solely on school children or work colleagues. More recognisable faces are in fact more likely to be targeted in this way. Matt Lucas (of Little Britain Fame) for example, felt he had to leave Twitter because of derogatory comments made about his partner, who recently passed away. 

The argument could also be made that whilst it makes communication between people much simpler, are we damaging the personal relationships of those closest to us? People are now ‘addicted’ to networking sites, which can have an adverse effect on their personal as well as professional life.

A decline in productivity has been seen in companies that allow access to Facebook and Twitter. And remember, often your personal information contained on these sites can create a ‘life brand’ potential employer might check to see if you are suitable candidates. 

Those ‘harmless’ comments, photos and posts you and your friends might have found amusing may actually work against you in the long run. Think about when you meet someone new. They seem to really like you, until they see your Facebook and Twitter posts that make disparaging remarks. These days, no one is anonymous. 

Social media and social networking takes a certain amount of responsibility. When used right, it can be a powerful tool. When used wrong, then lives can be affected in the real world.

About the Author-

Halit Bozdogan is a writer for Appliances Online. He likes Japanese culture, has lived in Japan, loves playing squash and is going to be a father in July. It’s a boy, so the only real question is which will be his favourite; Batman or Spider-man! You can follow Halit on Twitter @TheBozDog

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article and the picture used are those of the author, and they are in no way related to the Dispassionate Observer.

The Make Belief World of Social Networking

picture source: Harold Elam Jr (picasa)

                                          know more about the picture                                

“Hey! Have you changed your profile pic! You are looking so nice…”

“I have updated my status, check it out.”

“Have you uploaded our party pics? Don’t forget to tag me buddy...”

“I poked you, why didn’t you? It’s not fare.”

“My favorite hero twitted yesterday that he would tie knot soon. I’m gonna die!”

“Hey buddy, what’s up? I’m just chatting.”

“Why don’t you download information from net? It’s too easy. You can just Google it.”

" Hey! Have you seen my baby? Isn't her smile one in a million?" 

 

These are few expressions which have become a part of the world of social networking. Across age groups people are getting used to conversations of the new generation. This is the trend of a generation who are too obsessed with themselves. 

 

Am I being rude saying that? May be I’m not. Isn’t it our obsession to spend most of the hours of a day in front of a screen & make new friends who can never be met (even running the risk of being duped by fake profiles), giving updates of every single step taken in the day ( I just washed my teeth, I am feeling sleepy now etc), editing snaps in Photoshop or Picasa to create beautiful profile pictures? Nowadays we do not even have any personal or private life, because we update our status, flood our walls in facebook with every change in our life. Even we have given right to every person (known or unknown) to make comments on that. Now we have become attention seekers by creating our "hip and happening" profiles consciously or subconsciously waiting to count how many likes & comments we get.

Can we instantly become prettier after someone make a comment or can we become ‘not so cool’ after someone thinks that? These social networking sites are overpowering our minds & we are forced to believe what others think or say about us. These websites like Myspace, Facebook, Orkut, Twitter,  Yahoo 360 & so on got instant popularity for its ease of use & free subscription. A person does not need to be a computer expert to use these websites. Therefore every single person has their own account & profile these days. Not everything these websites have offered so far is bad. However, the way the young generation is using it is unworthy, useless. It would not be so harmful if it becomes a tool to relax in leisure time or to get refreshed after a stressful day, but it is affecting the mental-development of young generation who are more conscious about their profile settings than the real world, society, career and the future.

Social networking websites have discovered a wide field where people around the world can access what they want. There are millions of sites (such as Google) where we can search for valuable information, news blogs, & other essentials. If this social networking can be used fruitfully, no other medium can be better than this one. Even Facebook, Orkut and similar websites like this are useful to voice one’s own views, opinions, protests against social or political issues & to make strong public support on a burning problem. Now it depends on us how we use it. It can be fruitful if we wish or can just ruin our ability to think if used in a wrong manner. Ideas and opinions in Facebook, Orkut or Twitter should not guide our lives, images posted there of life and happenings should not be the real story. The real story should come out of life which is real and not virtual. 

About the Author- 

Shayani Gupta is student of Journalism & Mass Communication at Muralidhar Girls College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and they do not reflect in any way those of the Dispassionate Observer.

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