From variety to monotony.....

I am sure that most of us have grown up listening to radio and also watching television. When we were kids, radio had only vividh bharathi and TV had only Dooradarshan. Both the media have come a long way in terms of sophistication and advancement of technology and now, the government stations, Vividh Bharathi and Dooradarshan, have taken a back seat and it is the FM stations, the Radio citys, Radio Mirchis and the Fevers in Radio and the innumerable channels in television that are the dominating forces. But all of them have the same motive... To render entertainment to one and all, to all ages and all walks of life.

Nowadays there are so many daily soaps and reality shows on television and radio runs 24 hours with the same set of songs in each and every station that it is getting too monotonous to get entertained. Things were a lot different when we were kids...

In the early 90's, there was a lot of diversity in the kind of programmes aired by both dooradarshan and Vividh Bharathi or even the regional stations. We used to desperately wait for the programmes to start whereas nowadays, we are desperate for them to end !!!!!!!

There were so many serials like Bharath Ek Khoj, Mahabharath, Legend of Tippu Sultan, which gave us insight into the history of the country, whereas there were also series like Nukkad, Circus, Byomkesh Bakshi,Yeh jo hain Zindagi and all which were for pure entertainment. Then, there was Chitrahaar on Friday nights, followed by some nice movies over the weekends. In Radio, we had a number of nice serials, single episodes, mainly, some nice informative programmes, etc, which were also listened to with great interest.

I miss them these days. Nowadays, its only daily soaps with the same storyline, where they concentrate on issues like extra marital affairs, revenge of one over the other, the same kind of stuff with different names. There is no diversity what-so-ever. Come to reality shows, you have someone singing or dancing, whether it is an adult or a kid, all the time, competing against a few of them to win the trophy as the best of that show. Each and every channel, whether Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, has the same schedule.

Radio has also become a monotony. You have so many different FM stations that people (and I am included in that) keep shuffling one after the other to listen to the same set of songs. Most of the stations in Bangalore air only Kannada songs, except Radio Indigo, which airs some nice English songs.

What this has done is that even the channels like Dooradarshan and Vividh Bharathi have been forced to follow the rest and come out with similar shows. This is the saddening part. But if we observe carefully, in spite of being forced into it, these channels do have some nice and informative programmes being aired once in a while.
But people do not realise this. They crib and cry about it day in and day out but still do not want to miss the same old sentimental stuff.

Another drawback of these shows is that it attracts the younger generation so much that they are so glued to it that they do not go out and play. Of course, the computer is another culprit, which makes the younger generation addicted to it, making their life so sedentary that instead of playing outside in the open, they sit in front of it and play. Not that they should not, but there is no physical exercise and this is leading to many complications to many of them at a very young age.

So, what I feel is that there is a complete overhaul needed if these stations have to survive in the days to come. Because all said and done, people are going to stop watching the same old stuff. When such a thing happens, the industry is going to be hit badly.

What I think is a need for more quality than quantity. We should have more serials like Nukkad, Surabhi, and the kind as it gives good entertainment and also some good education.

The radio jockeys have to really improve their intonations and speech. They try to imitate those of the west a lot. That's not what is needed. They should be their normal self and attract people with their natural ability than trying to imitate someone else. They are all capable of doing a much better job than what they are doing. And they should try to increase their collection of songs, give a more variety to the programmes, like how radio city was when it started, with a variety of shows, and a nice collection of songs. There were theme based shows as well.

All these changes have to be brought about as we watch television or listen to the radio once in a while as a means of relaxation after a tiring day's work or a busy schedule. Here, what people want is some good, pure entertainment and not what happens in their daily life being repeated again on screen or over the radio.

Am sure if these alterations are brought about, people will not be as stressed out in life as they are right now as they will get some relaxation daily as it is important to have some relaxation to prevent a breakdown !!!!

As they say, "People want a change", and this is the time for a change and let us all raise a voice and get it done !!!!

Sudi.

Roger, the Victor and Andy, the Vanquished !!!!!!!!!!

Advantage Federer, at 15-14, final set. And a nice forehand return from him to Andy Roddick’s backhand. Andy’s backhand goes haywire, and…… GAME SET AND MATCH ROGER FEDERER. 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14. The new Wimbledon champion, Roger Federer!!!!

After 4 hours and 16 mins of intense battle, the Swiss ace came up trumps on a hot and sunny afternoon against a rejuvenated gladiator in Andy Roddick to claim his 6th Wimbledon crown and more importantly, surpass Pete Sampras as the greatest tennis player in men’s history with 15 grand slam crowns to his name. More importantly, he achieved what Pete never could, which is to win the French Open too, co-incidentally equalling Pete’s record with that win in Rolland Garros in 2009. So, there was a new human being accepting the crown as the greatest tennis player ever in the history of the game.

But spare a thought for Andy Roddick. He played the match of his life. He initially was not serving great and in a crucial tie-breaker in the second set, where he was 6-2 up, he committed hara-kiri to lose 6 points in a row in 3 minutes, which eventually may be termed as the turning point of the match. It was there that one felt that Roger Federer was destined to win this Wimbledon crown. But Roddick was outstanding not only in the finals, but throughout the tournament. His serve was as impeccable as ever, but what was heartening to see was his approach to the game. It had changed drastically from what I had seen of him earlier.

Roddick always depends a lot on his big booming serves. But in this edition of the Championships, he was not only serving big but his returns and placement of his shots were simply mind boggling. He made all his opponents, including the King, run around the court in search of the tennis ball, who, most often than not, missed it. Roddick’s attitude also had completely changed from the usual aggressive one. He was more prepared to play the waiting game and when he got the chance, cash in on it. Well, till the finals that is.

Federer, on the other hand, was his usual demolishing self, stamping one after the other of his opponents with ease. The fact that he dropped a set was in itself a mojor news in the newspapers. Such was his dominance over the rest of the pack till the finals.

Sunday, the 5th of July, 2009. At 12:00 pm, London time, both Roddick and Federer came out to the cheers of a packed house in the Centre Court to face each other in one of the most anticipated finals in sometime, with people expecting Roger Federer to make history on the day. Legends like Rod Laver, Bjon Borg, Pete Sampras and even the Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson did not want to miss history in the making. Most people expected it to be a good match but one where Federer would dominate over Roddick as their head-to-head was completely in favour of Federer. Also people thought that he had to take revenge to what happened last year on the same court where Rafael Nadal defeated him in an epic 5-setter to be the new king of grass. People were also under the impression that the fact that Nadal was not on the other side of the court made Federer’s life that much easier. Boy, were they proved wrong !!!!!!

The first set was going to serve till Roddick broke Federer’s serve to take it 7-5. It was a great beginning for him and not a good one for Roger. But the most important fact here was that Federer was serving much better than Roddick at this point but made a few more unforced errors than him too. Federer also had only one chance to break Roddick’s serve, which he sprayed.

Come the second set, the games went on serve to both the players. It was 6-6 and the Tie break began. Roddick raced away to a 6-2 lead and Federer was serving to stay in touch, facing 4 break points. But the King of grass was as calm and composed as ever. He came up with some great servesand returns to take the second set 7-6 (8-6). He had won 6 points on the row to snatch the set from the hands of Roddick. The weak link here was Roddick’s serve. Though fast, at more than 200 kph, it was easily picked by Roger.

The third set also went into a tie break and here, federer did not give any scope for any dramas like the one in the second set and got the crucial points to win the set 7-6 (7-5) to go 2-1 up. Most of the people thought that now Federer will take complete advantage of the situation and win the match easily from here on.

Start of the 4th set. Initially, the games went on serve but Roddick had appreciably picked up his game. He was serving much better, more on the body of Roger, which was difficult to pick for the champ. But the ground strokes that Andy started to display were simple astounding !!. He was making Roger run all around the court and used not only power-packed shots but some intelligent lobs as well as deft touch shots near the net, which were simply impossible for Roger to pick. Crucially, Andy broke Roger’s serve twice to run away with the set 6-3.

So, it was 2 set all and at 2 hrs 41 mins, there was no indication as to who was dominating this match, though Andy was playing much better tennis than Roger. Roger was not getting his forehand strokes in court and was committing more unforced errors, interspersed with some breath-taking strokes at some point to get some good winners.

When the final set started, it was 5 pm London Time. The sun was shining and the players were sweating it out in the middle. Neither one was ready to give even an inch to the other. Both were desperate for the crown. Start of the 5th set, remember no tie-breaks in the final set.
It started to take a nice shape when it reached 6-6 and people started to realize they were watching an epic here, if they had not yet realized it already. By then, Andy was playing some outstanding tennis and more and more people thought that he would spoil Roger’s party here today. The set then continued…. 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10…. Nobody was giving up at any stage. Each one was playing with such adrenaline that even on their serves, if the score became 0-30, with the other having a sniff of a break point, they would nullify it with 2-3 booming serves to go and hold on to the serve. Once, I guess when it was 11-11, with Roger serving, he was 30-40 down, with Andy having a break point. He served with such zeal that he got the score to deuce and won the game with 3 consecutive aces. 12-11. Roddick held serve, 12-12. We were all going crazy !!!!!

Imagine the emotions and the thought process of the players themselves. They not only had physical strain, but also mentally they would be drained. But nobody wanted to give up. 13-13…. 14-14. Roger to serve. He served well, with ace after ace, serving his 50th ace during the course of the game to hold serve in another nervy game to go up 15-14. It was already the longest 5th set and the match duration was 4hr 10 mins. Roddick to serve. With him serving so immaculately at the body of Federer throughout the final set, one expected him to win the game in a canter. 15-0… 30-0… then came a Federer magic, where he wrong footed Andy to force an error to make it 30-15. It soon became 30-30. Then, again Andy had the big serves coming to make it 40-30. Well, here goes another round !!!!!!! This is what most people expected.

Something happened out of the ordinary…. Federer got a winner to make it deuce. Then, Andy brought back sense into the game with a booming serve to get an advantage. Federer got it to deuce with a scorching winner. Then, luck favored Roger, with his mis-hit drop shot was smashed back by Roddick, but straight at Federer’s feet, which was put off with ease into the open court by Federer to get him only his second break point in the entire match !!!!!!!!!!!

Then, Roddick’s second serve was attended to with ease by Federer, returned back to him by Roddick. Federer then placed the ball deep to Roddick’s backhand. There was the defining moment. Roddick missed his backhand, which went long and thus, after 4hrs and 16 mins, Roger Federer had scripted an amazingly outstanding victory to make it his 15th Grand Slam victory and 6th at the All England Lawn Tennis Club !!!!!!!! The scenes after the match will be remembered for years to come.



If we had seen an outstanding Finals in 2008, this had no words to describe it. It will go down into the history books as one of the greatest matches of all time. Imagine, the final set itself went for 95 enthralling minutes. The stamina of both the athletes was simply spell-bounding, both able to serve at over 200 kph even after 4 hrs of grueling tennis in the hot July sun.

It really was an epic. But, amidst all these, just spare a thought for Andy Roddick. He must be kicking himself for not closing out the second set when he had the opportunity. He gave everything he had in his reserves. The comment he made after the match, where he apologized to Pete Sampras for not being able to hold off Federer speaks volumes of his attitude. HE WAS DSEPERATE TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIPS. But, Andy, this was just not your day!!!

All said and done, Roger is the Master after all. He now has achieved all but one, winning all 4 majors in the same year. Hope he does that. And I also hope that next year, it is Andy Roddick who wins the Wimbledon crown. Though I am a strong supporter of Roger Federer, I felt Andy Roddick deserved to win this year’s Wimbledon crown as he played a match much much superior to Federer. I hope most of Federer’s supporters agree to this.

I would also like to give my congratulations to the coverage of Wimbledon, especially that by Radio Wimbledon, whom I had to resort to during the final stages of the match, listening to them online. They spoke commendably, keeping us abreast to all the happening s on court and describing so effectively that we could picturize as to what was going on on the court. Hats off to them and the two gentlemen who made such a memorable tennis match happen.

Andy Roddick, take a bow !!!!!!!!!!!!

Sudi

Courtesy is disregarded !!!!!

Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American poet once said "Life is not so short but that there is always time for courtesy."

When I was a kid, my parents had taught me to be friendly, courteous to most people, but at the same time, be affirmative and never be submissive, especially once you reach a higher position. My father keeps advising me the same even today saying that I am a research scholar and so, I need to be a bit affirmative at times but at the same time, not be proud of my achievements and not be arrogant. I should still be courteous to people, especially those that are elder to me.

These words of my parents has been helping me ever since I started interacting with people, whether in school, college or in the surroundings around me. Being polite, courteous and at the same time affirmative, I can say I have gained a lot of respect and friendship of a lot of people. Even to this day, if I go and visit my teachers in school or my lecturers in college, they talk to me in a very nicely and give me respect. Even when I go to get some stuff for my home from the nearby market, the shopkeepers speak to me nicely, wish me and give me respect, apart from the concession I get thanks to the way I interact with them.

I was able to imbibe this culture in myself because day in and day out, I used to see my parents practice what they preached. They were polite and courteous to most people but at the same time never were they submissive. When required, they were quite affirmative and used to get their opinion across with a strong voice. Also, they never had any negative attitude. They were never pessimistic. Their policy was : “All that happens is for the good”.

But nowadays, it is difficult to see many people following this culture. The present day culture, in majority, is one of people being rude, arrogant and with no sense of showing any courtesy. Take for example those who drive the public transport. Their behaviour is one of pure arrogance. They do not have the word polite in their dictionary. You ask them if they will take us to the destination of your wish, the response you get is either a rude nod of the head, saying “Oh Hell, who will come to drop you there!!!!” or they will ask you exhorbitant rates to take you there saying they have to come empty on the return. Effectively, you are paying for their return also!
Well, I had least expected the better educated people to exhibit such a behaviour. I thought atleast the learned folk will have some sense of courtesy and be more polite towards others. What I have experienced in the last few years is something complete opposite.

Nowadays, people expect YOU to be polite and courteous but YOU cannot expect the same from them. They can be as rude and impolite as possible. YOU are expected to show all the courtesy to them whenever possible. If not, they will raise an alarm saying you are being rude to them. But if YOU expect the same from them, then you are at fault as you are not supposed to be expecting.

There is another class of people, who have the feeling that if you are asking them something out of courtesy, then you are imposing things on them. They think you expect them to be with you always, just because you asked them out of pure courtesy !!! But if you fail to include them in your activities two to three times, they will complain that you are rude to them. So, I don’t know how to interact with them. If you do something, YOU are at fault and if you do not do, even then YOU only are a fault !! Ultimately, in their minds, whatever you do, you are a fault.

Then there is the third kind. These people are those who hardly practice what they preach. They advice people saying “you have to show courtesy towards others. When you are going for a cup of coffee or tea or say you are going out for lunch, then call others to find out if they want to join, out of courtesy”. But when they themselves are going out, then even if you are in their sight, then they just ignore you and carry on, as if you were a ghost or a spirit, who is not to be seen by them. I am not saying that we should go together always as a group. People can do whatever they want with whomever they want. But the fact is that when you are a part of a group, then when others of the group are doing something in your presence, then I feel at least out of courtesy, they should ask the rest of the group if they also would like to join. It is THIS COMMON SENSE that is lacking in the present generation.

These instances are increasing in our daily life day after day and it is sad to see that a sense of courtesy is diminishing by the day. It is sad to see how the younger generation is losing these values of life as I feel they are important in modelling anyone as a good person, a good human being. People make use of your friendship whenever they want and later, when not needed, you are completely forgotten. Your existence depends on their requirements. This attitude is on the rise in all walks of life and there is no trust between people. They just say that you are a good friend and one who can be trusted only from their mouths !! At the bottom of their heart, they will be thinking completely differently.

I sometimes feel that not being a part of any friends circle is a better way of living in the present scenario. I probably would not be writing this if I was living all by myself with no TRUSTWORTHY FRIENDS, some of whom, have really pierced me with a sharp knife at sometime or the other due to which I have lost all the respect I had towards them. There are so many cases where people whom I considered good friends have slapped me with curt comments, after which my interaction with them has changed for good.

Hence, my advice to all those who read this, if at all anyone does read this completely, is not to make any assumptions in haste. Interact with people for sometime before making any opinions about them. But even after that, be prepared to face the knife at any point in your life.
But remember one thing: Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of the pleasures costs nothing and conveys much. It pleases him who gives and him who receives, and thus, like mercy, it is twice blessed. And as Benjamin Franklin once famously said " To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy and to inferiors, nobleness" we need to be humble towards others and definitely not proud of what we are as there are always people much better than us, who will surely bring us back down to earth.

So, be polite and courteous towards others and try not to be curt to anyone as sometimes friendships are lost in a second due to some ugly comment you make, thinking it is funny, but not realising that the person receiving it might be hurt. !!

Regards,

Sudi