Ganguly is no GOD of the Game? Nor he is greater that his country??

The recent exclusion of ‘Maharaj’ from the Indian cricket team is getting too much attention. He is not a permanent member of the team nor does he owns the team. Many good players have been previously excluded from the team, it was not hyped this much. Firstly, when Ganguly was just asked to step down from captainship he should have accepted it gracefully. It was just his captainship and not his place in the team. Ganguly’s own stupidity and his statements have caused him his place from the team now. Why is the coach there for? Do the players know everything about the game? If yes then there is no need to appoint a coach when his decisions are not going to be respected at all. If at that time, he had just stepped down and proven his worth by playing the game and not by taking the whole matter into the press, which eventually was and is presently hyped beyond comparison. Well I would just like to ask the press/media, what do you people try to achieve by giving so much coverage to these insignificant things and make a huge issue out of it? You have enough guts to publish the frauds, misdoings of big people and the problems common taxpaying citizens are suffering from. Will that be a major loss for your paper or channel if you cover them till they are solved?

Anyway, one should always remember that no player is above the game or the team. Our National team for instance. Many people in this case think the opposite. I think Ganguly does too. Where is the spirit of the game? Where is the honor of playing for the country?

Also, cricket not everything. There is more to life (and sports) than cricket, movies and politics in India. What about other sports like Hockey(our national sport in which we are not good at all), football, rugby, swimming and more? Shouldn’t we worry about the fact that a country having a population of nearly 2 billion could not produce many Olympic or Asian games medalists or any record holders or excellent athletes in any sport since Independence? It should be shameful that less populated countries and those having very poor sports infrastructure are producing world-class athletes.

Lastly, BCCI is not a government-controlled organization. Therefore, technically the government should not interfere with it. Then how and why this issue was taken up in Parliament, when the whole country is suffering from many problems way worse than cricket. Instead of tackling problems and finding solutions to those like terrorism, inflation, etc. and locally bad roads and traffic, electricty shortage, pollution and many more. Well no importanc eis given to these problems and on the other hand too much importance is given to Big B's hospitalisation, Ganguly's selection, and many such petty problems. This shows how lame and hopeless the whole system is.

Again coming to the old point, where are our good roads which were ‘promised before Diwali’? Our MP says it will take 3 more years for proper roads. As the roads are just being patched up as of now, get ready for the same problems during the rains next year.

There are many more ‘basic’ problems to look into and write/show about. Isn’t that important?

Where is the press/media hype now?

Renaming of Lohegaon Airport(Air Force Base), Pune

Recently our MP (who never seems to be in the city or concerned about the city's problems actually) suddenly surfaces and comes up with an announcement that the Lohegaon Airport be renamed after Chhatrapati Shahu (of Kolhapur). Even the Minister for Civil Aviation has agreed. Some other groups are turning up, suggesting to rename the airport after Mahatma Phule or the Peshwas, Saint Dyaneshwar or Tukaram, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, etc. How many people know our history? The names of these great people are just used, as we all know who benefits from them. How many people actually respect their ideologies and go by it or preach it? No one actually does. This is an insult to their names and their work.

In addition, why most of the things in India should be named after politicians or people related to politics. Is it a rule or what? The politicians are or were not the only ones present in the country. There are many great people in various fields and have done much greater work than the politicians have. As for Pune, it has a large number of great personalities not related to politics, after whom the airport can be renamed like P.L. Deshpande, Shantanurao Kirloskar, Dr. B.V. Rao, R.G Bhandarkar, and many more.

Well the debate should stop. Why don't we keep the name of the airport as it is or as far name it ‘Pune International Airport’? Who in the world is going to remember where 'Chhatrapati Shahu International Airport' is apart from us? Where as ‘Pune International Airport’ will be instantly recognized by anyone. Pune is well known all over the world, let us keep the identity of our city intact. We, the citizens of Pune, should decide not the politicians.

(Originally published in the Maharashtra Herald, on Sunday 27th November 2005.)