Sreesanth: The outcast nerd

There is an early warning sign to identify the transition of an individual from a confident person to an arrogant pest >> when that person starts addressing himself pompously in first person. I request your attention to the following statement.

"Sreesanth's way is to be aggressive. Sreesanth will always remain Sreesanth."

- Santhakumaran Sreesanth to Cricinfo

There are two points in that short statement which are certainly disturbing.

(1) Addressing self without using the humble pronoun.
(2) Denial mode; viz a viz acknowledging a problem which has caused significant personal and professional heartburn.

Where does the shoe pinch for Santhakumaran Sreesanth? And why is he the only person on the sphere not feeling that pinch?

Received this one funny parody song yesterday on the protagonist of this post from one of my Twitter buddies which sparked the idea for this blog. Here goes! (It's in Malayalam)



Its funny. No doubt. Now what is not funny are the statements made by the Captain and Manager about this one member of Indian Cricket team.

"I was very specific to him and told him that he should not cross boundaries. If you want to irritate someone, that should be the opposition and not your side."

- MS Dhoni before the World Cup (Newslink)

"He was told that he has been playing international cricket for long enough now that he should know what is right and wrong." 

- Lalchand Rajput, Manager during previous Australian tour (Newslink)


Even the print media and television channels have made a mock-merry of this strange and sorry style of Sreesanth. Any video or mention of S. Sreesanth on YouTube or any social networking site immediately attracts sneer comments, especially from Keralaites, because we understand his issues better than anybody. In all fairness, Sreesanth gets the short end of the stick because he begged for it.



Saddest point is that this is happening to a bowler who was rated by Harsha Bhogle as 'a bowler which appears once in a generation'. Now, Harsha is one astute observer and the finest analytic of the cricket game and players; he has seldom been proved wrong. So where has all that promise withered away?

Sreesanth, if carries on in this self-destructive hillbilly ways, will be a clinical case-study of a talented sportsperson who dug his own grave by trying to be someone else. There is no excuse what-so-ever to the acts Sree has committed over his erratic, short and apologetic career in the name of 'aggression' & 'passion'. Take a look...

•  Deliberately & provokingly barging into English Captain Micheal Vaughan
•  Personally abusing SA Captain Greame Smith 
•  Sarcastic hand-clapping vile towards umpire in IPL
•  Altercation with Harbhajan Singh and the infamous slap-weep incident
•  Multiple fines from ICC for excessive and provocative appealing
•  Persistent over-reaction and on-the-field run-in with opposition team members and spectators 
•  Official final warning from BCCI & KCA regarding on-field behaviour (Newslink)

All the above incidents carried significant fine-tags and bans from the Governing bodies. All this in just 24 Tests and 50 ODIs in under 5 years! But the painful fact is that Sree still refuses to admit there is an issue. He is in a persistent denial mode, just like an Alcoholic finding solace in his ego-defenses. Only if you admit the problem, you can address it, resolve it.

It may be hard to believe but the private Sree is at the opposite pole from the player Sree we all know. Sreesanth could just be the 'most eligible bachelor' if he mimics his performances on Women's College dance halls, Five Star Hotel ramps and on red carpet with arms measuring those Bollywood hotties' tender waist. But drop him on the green, oval arena and the boy goes bizarrely berserk!

It's all impressive dear Sree, but we're not exactly in search for a Rock-star. If so, BCCI would've selected Appache Indian to play cricket long time ago.

Sreesanth's issues seem clear: He is yet to come in terms with the sudden exposure to limelight. Its pretty obvious that the match situation gets better of him everytime he's on an International field; may be it just clouds his judgement. Sree is trying too hard to 'create' an attribute of his personality which is not inherent in him. Sreesanth surely considers "aggression" as physical confrontation or 'maa-behen' usage against opponents, often leading to comical, weird acting outs like 'The Hatter' in Alice in Wonderland, and worse, puts himself and his team under pressure.

But Sreesanth has some explanations. Like this one (after the Smith incident)

More explanations: (From @sreesanth36 Twitter)

I live with passion..do every little thing with lots of passion.that's my motto .I am thankful to all

Dear Sreesanth, passion, pride and patriotism aren't anything alien. I possess it, you possess it, your neighbour's cousin possesses it, but in varying degrees. Understandably, when you adorn your nation's colours these passions hit the roof. But with Sreesanth they go through the roof taking him along with it. But you must know the difference between 'sarcasm' & 'insult', 'aggression' & 'stupidity' , 'sledging' & 'abuse'.

We've seen hundreds of thousands of sportsmen playing for their clubs, states, provinces and nations with the same pride and passion. But Sree is exhibiting tomfoolery and juvenile immaturity in the name of it. Reminds me of the same 'pride & passion' of erstwhile English Football fans which breached the borders of criminality.

There are quite a few sporting scumbags (excuse the expression s'il vous plait) matching Sree's profile, if that'll make you feel better. Austrialian skipper Ponting, South African seamer Andre Nel, Paki pacer Akhtar, our own Bhaji. But they seldom turned themselves into laughing-stock of the nation. They had issues similar to Sreesanth but they command respect of their team-mates and opposition because they had their on-field numbers to show-off.  People tend to forgive and forget if you let your performance do the all the talk. Sreesanth's statistical exploits with the red cherry have only helped in outraging the cricket fans. Kind of 'all fart, no shit' condition. That's how the bad blood formed between the fans and Sree.
 
This is one fair criticism about Sree, which he ought to take very very seriously. He is pissing off his fans as well as his Captain & team-members consistently. How many times have we seen a ginger Dhoni at post-match conference when journos take out the Sreesanth card?

Some over-patriotic people have some odd arguments and lame excuses for the 'Sreesanth' phenomenon. That Sree is targeted by 'North Indian lobby' because he is a 'Madrassi', a Keralite. Another one that we  are more eager and enthusiastic to see the decline of a fellow Keralite as depicted by the Kerala crab story. hah. Do we all need to be naive like the ubiquitous garden variety politicians around us? This is like Kalainjar Karunanidhi defending Saint A. Raja terming the 2G scam as 'conspiracy against a scheduled caste minister' and such pathetic third-rate politico stuff.

Seriously guys, how can you expect the sensible masses to support and justify the regular excruciating antic show on serious business like International Cricket, where cricketers are role models for kids?

History shows that Keralaites have always admired and acknowledged talent. PT Usha was the delight of the state, and we're still all ears to what she says, and does. Kerala just love our 'black pearl' IM Vijayan and other footballers who adorned our state and national jersey. Which section of public haven't loved or supported our Track & Field stars like Anju Bobby Goerge or Shyni Wilson? Keralites may not be as expressive, open or eccentric like our neighbours in expressing admiration, but claiming that we're envious, jealous... lol! guys, you better open your wide-shut eyes!

Just see why Sreesanth alone had fallen into the odd bracket? You tell me why. Its obvious.

No one asks Sree to be another gentleman-personified Tendulkar or cool-dude Dhoni. Just be sane at the business end of the job. It is perfectly ok to be aggressive, neither do I see anything unduly wrong in this 'sledging' meme. Zaheer and Harbhajan are aggressive on filed without any animation or eccentricity, and it has worked very well for them.

In sledging and aggressiveness, you need to know what you're doing. You must be sure that you don't approach the sacrilegious red line. You're actions must be beneficial to the team. You needn't be a pestilential prick to get under the opponents skin. And lastly, you must know when it starts affecting your concentration instead of the opponent's. Sreesanth appear to be unsure, unaware of all the above.


Result: Boomerang! He becomes the scourge of himself and his performance nosedives.

One thing I beg of Sreesanth. Leave 'aggression' and such emotions at the door before entering the green, at least for a while. Just look back, recollect, reassess. This misplaced 'aggression' has only reaped miseries. Concentrate on the job and show us the 'once in a generation' bowler that Harsha promised us that you are.

 A rare sight for an Indian pacer vs a top class batsman tussle. Sreesanth's peach blows Kallis off the ground

We all want Sreesanth to do well for the country simply because he is a hugely promising, rare, match winning bowler India so badly needs, and also because he is a fellow Keralite. I'll be the first to put my hands up and say "I was wrong" if Sree eventually proves us wrong, with his consistent performances on the 22-yard strip. I sincerely hope to see that day. 


Images courtesy: Cricinfo, Flickrbuzz

read more...

Kaleidoscope Express: Railway Budget 2011

Mamataji's day out. And a pretty postcard stuff. You can very nearly smell the gourmet coffee brewing. The very stuff which oozes just before an Election.

Righton. Back to business. While I have conformation that the Budget speech was neither in Bengali, nor in Malayalam (as being widely propagated on cyberspace) it's very certain that AKG Bhavan (and Center) is abuzz with 'public relations' experts as to how to tackle this largely unprecedented pre-election attack.

Whatever the politicians say or do, or before we start counting the chicken still in egg-protein form, let's see the facts for facts.

Kerala at 2011 Railway Budget.

12 new trains. Amen. Because this is the number which makes all headlines for good reasons or not. Appreciation to the Minister and all those who worked for this.

Chennai- Trivandrum Duranto. Excusez moi, but isn't this the 10th Express connecting TVC to the major South Indian Metro? And most of them run daily. All right, to cater and connect to the large transit commuter base and expat population in Chennai? But isn't the discrepancy evident when you note that the annoyingly snail-paced Island Express is the ONLY daily Express train connecting Trivandrum to the other similarly prominent metro Bangalore?

Weekly Express trains to Gujarat, both via Konkan
Kochuveli- Porbandar
Kochuveli- Bhavnager

Rajya Rani Express: Introduction of a new set of trains connecting state capitals with important cities/towns in those states: Nilambur Road - Trivandrum Link Express (daily) which could be a good option. Interesting to see if its is a night train or a day one.

Vivek Express: To mark the l50th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda which will be celebrated in 2013, it is proposed to introduce new trains called "Vivek Express". Kerala bags two of them:
i. Dibrugarh- Trivandrum -Kanniyakumari Express (weekly)
ii. Howrah-Mangalore Express (Weekly) via Palghat

Mangalore - Palakkad Intercity Express (daily): Good one for Malabar as this would help solving the teething travel problems of the region to an extent.

Ernakulam- Bangalore Express (weekly): Again I don't quite get the 'weekly' business in this route. How longer would we need to turn a blind eye and deaf ear towards the persistent accusation that this is a result of backroom dealings of the Bus Lobby? Kerala needs daily and overnight Express/ Superfast connections to Bangalore. Pronto!

Bilaspur- Ernakulam Superfast (weekly)

Special tourist trains called "Janam Bhoomi Gaurav" will be introduced connecting important historical and educational places on the following circular route: Chennai - Puduchcheri - Tiruchichirappali - Madurai - Kanniyakumari -Thiruvanathapuram - Emakulam - Chennai

MEMU:
Ernakulam- Kollam (via Alappuzha)
Kollam- Nagercoil

Also to top up the list, Shornur- Ernakulam Passenger will now run all days instead of 6

Nagercoil- Trivandrum passenger painfully extended to Kochuveli, just 8km away!

There are a few annual jokes called 'surveys' announced, as usual. Let's not waste time on listing them out; I'll tell you why these surveys are conducted. So that some people in Indian Railways always have something to do. The serious ones, which could benefit both the state and Railways could be:

Mysore- Thalassery line 154km (red)
Trivandrum- Punalur- Pathanamthitta- Chengannur line (blue)
Nanjangode- Nilambur Road  238km (green)

On the infrastructure front, provision for new coaching terminal at Nemom provides hope, especially in view of Vizhinjam terminal. Though the Vizhinjam railway line is a separate budget allocation from Railway budget, it isn't too early to think or to send the nomad surveyors to Eastern suburbs and villages to see how Vizhinjam- Balaramapuram/ Nemom - Nedumangad/ Murukkumpuzha line could prevent a future heart-block on the Nemom- TVC- Kochuveli circuit. Mile-long snaky container trains on their way out via Trivandrum Central blocking all incoming trains as well as chronically locking down all level crossings isn't something we want eh?

 Green- proposed Punalur- Trivandrum line

 Pink- Trivandrum Terminal complex Bypass for Vizhinjam

The same principle also applies to the already operational super-port of Vallarpadam. This budget also maintains its silence on how the container traffic from VICTT is channelized out of the state to peripheral industrial hinterlands. Survey for quadrupling the Edapally- Shoranur line is a good step in the right direction but a dedicated freight corridor parallel to the existing line must also be an open option. If Railways plan to utilize the already gasping Edapally- Trichur line to operate container traffic then "God bless the Queen" is all what I've to say.

Modernisation of stations: Budget keeps mum. But there is a cliche. Read on:

Rail Tourism


We have planned for rail business with Ministry of Tourism. If successful this year, we will expand the partnership' To improve look of railway stations and its approaches, the cost will be shared on 50:50 basis. The stations are : Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram, Rameshwaram.

So what does this mean? Already Trivandrum, Ernakulam North and Calicut are on the list for modernization to Int'l standards with all those swanky features such as separate level arrival/ departures like those in aerodromes. So this new 'improvement of looks' confuses me. Have they scrapped the 'International-ization' project? Anyone?

Most importantly, for the 4th consecutive year, the Coach Factory at Kanjikkode gets its honourable mention in budget without even a single piece of wrought iron yet to be manufactured there. The Cherthala also gets into Year II of 'mention'. That's a pass.

Rail Yatri Nivas & Budget Hotel at Trivandrum. Old wine in new bottle.

Pretty curious to note that the proposal for a Railway Medical College on the premises of Pettah Rail Hospital promised in last years show, hasn't reached anywhere. Also there've been rumours that this is the same project that is now being planned somewhere in Tamil Nadu. Hello?

Also some Water Bottling Plant was the toast last year, it has been replaced by something else. Some Mechanized Laundry or something.

The issue is that Kerala is not craving for dozen new trains every year. While these weekly trains to far off Malayali niches are a bane, the reality that with every passing year the situation at home becomes more and more chaotic isn't to be strapped up in covers. That's is what the applauders for this Budget should check out.

Kochuveli Terminal SHOULD be completed at any cost ASAP. Trivandrum Central can no longer cater to the existing traffic as it is choc-a-block.(See image on right) Trains are now held more and more in the outer and in suburban stations. Upgrading KCVL  with completion of Platforms 2 & 3 along with the pitlines will solve the issues of managing, parking and servicing coaches to a great extent. Nemom Terminal is a very welcome step but if they're going to do it the same way as Kochuveli then things going to be back to square one.

The extremely crucial track doubling is sure to carry on a t the present snail-pace. Excerpts from The Hindu

While land acquisition for the proposed coaching terminals will pose a problem for the State, the saturated terminal capacity in Thiruvananthapuram, Nagercoil, Ernakulam and line capacity are the biggest constraints for the Railways in commencing the new trains in the budget. The Railways cannot handle any more trains from the saturated Thiruvananthapuram Central. Handling Duronto Express sanctioned from Chennai will be an arduous task.

“Unless the terminal facilities are improved at Kochuveli, the Railways will have to take the trains to Kazhakuttom or far-off places and bring them back at the time of the departure,” sources said.

 Punctuality of services, maintenance of rakes and the track and the movement of goods trains will have to be restricted as the line is choked.The announcement of projects and sanctioning of trains without taking into account the ground situation has come in for criticism.

So there. With the elections out of the way, we may be back to ground reality in the next budget. But unless the state priorities itself instead of going on wild goose chases like Peninsular Railway Zone, things are going to stay put. Not going into the necessity and advantages of a separate Zone but a fully electrified and doubled main-line, parallel line to MC Road connecting Sabari line to Punalur and to Trivandrum/ Vizhinjam, connecting Malabar to Mysore which will drastically cut travel times to Bangalore & beyond and development of major terminals including Kochuveli, Nemom ought to be our priority to-do list.

Adding more and more trains to the already crumbling and struggling infrastructure will only add more woes to commuters in terms of slow speeds and later running of trains, fuel inefficiency and man-hour losses, handling of trains in major station outer etc. Our representatives and officials ought to draft their necessities and prioritize the list in the best interest of the state.

Images courtesy: Southern Railway discussion board

read more...

Ultimate wtf hits town: Indi Commandos

Was just drafting a photo-post on Trivandrum's new International Airport Terminal for my friend Srijith and his TrivandrumLife metroblog when this news hit me.

Kerala's IPL Team's finally has a name. "Oh what's in a name" is probably what you'll think. But there more to it than the epic #wtf-ness purging out of this christening misadventure.

INDI COMMANDOS, with a tag 'Kerala' added as a delayed, reluctant after-thought.

For those thoroughly baffled and confused at this out-of-the-universe name, there is a method to this madness. The explanation, you fools:

From Kochi IPL Team's official Twitter page @IndiCommandos

ha--ha--ha--very funny. Feast time for Twitter guys and lampooning-experts. Nothing will beat this except for a Yarukku yaro sequel (or original). And what if we read between the name-letters?

The owners have no intention at all to carry on as a Kerala Team. If the name is any indication, this is an unscrupulous trick on the people of Kerala into believing that they own the team. No way someone would approve such a crappy name for such a serious business. Indi Commandos? Well guys, the name itself has more than 75% of serious profane nature as this Tweeter indicates. Fill in, don't!

 This is the problem with us mallus and our Malayalam language as a whole. ONV winning the Jnanapit is one thing, but whatever prefix you add to that 'ndi' it becomes obscene, which demands a strict A-inside-a-circle certificate. And with the slang and style we speak our language, especially towards the southern part of our state, this name is not going to be a tasty choice.

Remember the trouble our ace film lyricist Gireesh Puthenchery went through after writing this piece?

"Onnam vattam kandappam penninu K-I-N-D-A-N-D-A-M"

This is not a joke; my dad beat up my brother because the bloody bugger dared to sing it at home! Mind you, it was a hit number featuring Mohanlal. Language, my dear fellas, language. Especially Malayalam where people are so street smart that they see double,triple and all the hidden meanings in cosmos for every word/ phrase. We didn't want this I-N-D-I thing, no.

And Showsanth, Jadeja and co are the Commandos. Indi-martyrs?

Certainly the brain-stormers received a rude, unpleasant shock when they opened social media tabs. So here comes an interesting update! Awe...

Gotcha? The space between the 'indi' & 'commandos' is gone, "Kerala" suffix comes in to ascertain the 'proposed' location of the team and two goddamn exclamatory marks.

Blogger Vadakkus has compiled a cracker of a list of some pretty hilarious tweets of this frivolous christening. I think you all should read this :-)

http://vadakkus.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/indicommando/

I feel sorry for these guys, Windchime Communications, who've been given the job of 'social media marketing' for Kochi IPL Team. Task cut out guys, the mock-fan pages and hashtags have gone uber-viral on Twitter & Facebook...Good luck cleaning the muck. Damage control mode seems to be in order.

And if that's not enough, they've got a brand logo befitting the epic fail name. First looks tell me that this is the second runner up for a kinder garden crayons competition.

There is only one last thing left for Kerala's IPL nightmare. A theme song and promo video. Heard Priyadarshan is on the job. Man, take my advice and stick on to your remakes and Coca-Cola ads. This gonna be a sinking ship; only thing left to see is if it'll set sail on its first voyage or when it'll go down.

Tweetworld is ablaze. Such has been the preposterousness on the microblogging site that 'Kundi Commandos' tag was trending in India after the announcement. If you're not familiar with colloquial Malayalam, 'Kundi' means 'ASS'. Raw and plain profanity. Yeah, you wouldn't want your mummy hear you uttering that!

And so is Facebook. This has been so outrageous that the IndiCommandos satire page on Facebook has already more fan growth than the official page. 1000 members in under an hour! rofl! Congrats Kochi Team owners.

After over an year of roller coaster ride, costing a Minister his job, a hi-flier cricket boss into an asylum-seeker crook-on-the-run, ownership mysteries, money laundering  fiasco, team selection comedy and goof ups with more wicket keepers and spinners than batsmen (for T-20 team! ) this is what the head honchos of Kochi's IPL Team have come up with. This is what happens if you think too much for trivia.

Ultra #fail, epic ^2 proportions! Two to one that this one makes into Warwick Business School list for biggest branding disasters.

Kochi team think-tanks, I'm happy you all didn't decide to be priests naming babies. 

read more...

Home

"Listen to me, please. You're like me, a homo sapien a wise human.

Listen carefully to this extraordinary story, which is yours

and decide what you want to do with it. "

- Home (2009)

A visually stunning tribute to the planet we call Earth, our home, and a mirror to see what we're doing to this home. Because wherever we are, be it NYC, Jerusalem, Dubai, Dhaka, Ethiopia or Kerala, everything is linked; the air, water, soil, trees, life...

Watch HOME on Youtube

Director:  Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Narrator: Glenn Close

Runtime: 95 minutes

Location: 55 counties, 7 continents

Home movie website

Home on imdb

Wikipedia

read more...

Lesson 1: Blowing your own trumpet

3 months into my life Down Under, one thing has pretty much struck me. The intense rivalry between the states and capital cities of this island-nation and the vivacious, uninhibited competition between the cities and the efforts to market themselves.

No rivalry is as pronounced and historic as the one between Sydney and Melbourne, the two largest and most recognized cities of Australia. The proceedings became so bitter that the authorities could not choose between the two for Australia's capital, and eventually it was decided to build a greenfield urbanscape called Canberra, sort of a settlement formula between the two cities. While Sydney has sprinted on to become the best known, global and immediately recognizable face of Oz, thanks to that Bridge and the Opera House, the City Council of Melbourne is behind nobody in taking the responsibility to carve out a distinction for their city.

The video below exhibits how enthusiastically and professionally a City Council goes about doing its job: creating and improving the brand identity of the city.





Wonder, why our cities stay largely immune to this idea. Surely Kerala has more to compete than just one or two cities or states. In fact with all the negativity surrounding the investment scenario of our state, our vying for the IT pie with almost all other notable Indian cities or with a buoyant tourism related brand courtesy the pro Kerala Tourism folks, it is imperative that our cities start thinking to get their names on the placard, and shout their names out loud, louder and louder. Aye, aye Sir!

Brand Kerala needs no introduction, even to the most undiscerning tourist thanks to the industrious Kerala Tourism, or regrettably, even to the most unsolicited investor, thanks this time to the much cliched Kerala political scenario. Kerala Tourism has built a strong and vibrant brand over the years due to some smart and enterprising marketing efforts. Isn't it about time our City Councils start taking a leaf out of Kerala Tourism and get serious with advertising themselves?

First things first, sit down and decide what name you're going to build. Like our own Trivandrum Corporation who're yet to decide between Trivandrum, Thiruvananthapuram, Anathapuram, Ananhtapuri and not to mention the whole strange ways the city is called outside the state.

Is it too hard a thing to stamp your name on what you own and do? I guess not. And I'm sure it is extremely crucial in the present global village set-up. Here is what someone who eats, drinks and breathes Trivandrum has to say:

Ajay Prasad on an earlier post on a similar topic here on this blog, Trivandrum, please.

Building a world-class city is better than just focusing on the name, but in the short term the brand has to be built up around the name.

In all senses, ease of use, length and what not, TRIVANDRUM is head-and-shoulders ahead of the rest. Ananthapuri is a romantic suggestion but even residents of the city wouldn't be using it today.

In a rapidly integrating world, we should be aiming for greater clarity in communication not lesser.

Trivandrum has a lot to offer, though not so much as Melbourne, to show off to the potential traveller, investor or businessman. A city is known for its events, places, institutions and people and those elements could be brought together to create a more robust brand. We've got our calender full of interesting events and places...Technopark or Vizhinjam, Kovalam, Ponmudi or Veli, the Film Festivals, Onam Celebrations, Soorya Festival, Trivandrum Book Show or the Hay Festival being the latest addition.

Brand Kerala assisted immensely in establishing some of these brands while brands like Kovalam did initially help cement the Kerala brand. Commensalism, that's the idea behind it. So now its time we go and build the 'Trivandrum', 'Cochin' or 'Calicut' tag rather than sticking on to just the lone Kerala name.

But the leads ought to come from the Corporation of Trivandrum and from Trivandrum DTPC. A logo or an image which makes the city instantly recognizable to the outside world. Like what Melbourne has done so effectively.

That illusionistic tiled 3D fonts of Melbourne has become a familiar sight world over. During cricket matches, golf and other sports events, during cultural, art festivals, or during the Australian Open, this style of city branding has made it instantaneously recognizable.

Have a look...

Hand over the work of building the Trivandrum brand to people who know the job. Yes, now we're talking in dollars and cents. It may cost some heavy bucks but let me assure you, the results are sure to come and well worth it. Hard part is to convince the lullaby gang called  Councillors, presuming it is the Corporation which takes up the initiative. And certainly the press folks may come out laughing & ridiculing as spending silver on such seemingly outrageous ideas is sure to create a few frowns. Finding an allocation in the Corporation Budget for the name-tag is worth it instead of perennial paper projects like parking plazas, shopping complexes and bus stands which never materialize.

See how Bangalore has successfully promoted itself through namma Bangalore caption! Many major roads, bus stations, and even the new Metro exhibits the brand Bangalore in a thumping manner. 

I almost forgot to mention roping in a brand ambassador. Melbourne is pretty much lucky to have someone like Shane Warne, a person who needs no introduction in any corner of the world, who is very patriotic to drool over Melbourne at every opportunity. Warne duly makes use of every public opportunity; casual Twitter chats, television commentary boxes and TV shows to go bla bla about the articulations of Melbourne. Trivandrum has more than enough celebrities... Mohanlal, Priyadarshan to start with. How about someone like Santhosh Sivan, who with his meticulous photography skills and international fame could be a real asset to patronize brand Trivandrum. Just a thought.

Talking about films and film-stars, another initiative by another Oz local Govt could be an example. Sydney has successfully marketed itself in Bollywood as a favourite filming location through conscious, joint effort by Sydney City Council and NSW Govt. With Chitranjali, Film & Video Park and more than a handful of well-known scenic locations and a rapidly developing uber-urbanscape including the waterfront, isn't it worth an effort to lure in the bigwig film makers of Tamil, Telugu or Bollywood dream-merchants to capture the beauty & essence of the city and surroundings, not to mention the local filmmakers? Film industry is a major fillip for the local hospitality and allied businesses and the silverscreen exploits could be a further shot in the arm for the tourism sector as a whole.

Ideas aside, the complication lies with implementation. Our Govt Depts function within their shells and are notoriously rigid and seldom blend in for a common job. Apart from the state Govt, we have a TRIDA, DTPC, Corporation and a whole bunch of NGOs involved in city development, each one doing their own part. Weather promoting tourism or attracting investments, Trivandrum Corporation appears to say "Oh, that's none of our business, we're only involved with Birth-Death certificates & Vilappilsala". The IT Dept or Technopark themselves does the branding job, Trivandrum DTPC does its own share of nothing, TRIDA doesn't know what they're doing, Kerala Tourism fills some holes and the GoK does some bit and pieces on its own but the essential team work to get the job done is lacking.

Having a Twitter or Facebook Page won't hurt. Trust me folks, this is how people converse and do business in this new age. Just see how vibrant Kerala Tourism has been going about their business.  Step up, being the first city council on social media is a cool achievement ;)

Kerala Tourism on Twitter
Kerala Tourism Facebook page

And the best bit... It costs NOTHING! :)

This could also throw up an opportunity to bring-in like minded citizens to involve in city-building and administration. This is how we could be patriotic and aid in promoting a healthy competition between our cities. At the end of the day a positive competitive strategy will turn out to be productive for the entire state.

A few bucks could be spent in a well way to adore the streets, boulevards, major retail avenues, leisure centers with banners, fliers of this brand image. Also crucially Trivandrum misses to stamp its name and signature to its important and well-known institutions viz the Technopark, Kerala University, Kovalam and even the upcoming Vizhinjam Port. This lack of certainty has been counter-productive for the city at times.

There have been pretty much misadventures for Technopark which has been associated with Cochin and even other Indian cities by our national media. While the Kerala-tag may have helped Technopark build its name and image during its nascent stages its now certainly time to shake free and build a new robust city-themed image for itself.

It's all about helping the city build a name and fame for it. And these days a lot depends on the superficial, media-driven image propelled by the media. It certainly helps weather we like it or not.

Plans aside it takes a good bit of time and effort to built a brand, and results won't be visible overnight. Sure takes time. Good news is that there are a few guys around who understand the importance of city-brand building and these folks at TDF have been going about their business on their own without much official support.

Intelligent Trivandrum presentation at CII Summit (brochure & video)  [Link opens in new tab/ window]





This could well be an avenue to ponder for another familiar and internationally well known face which has been associated with Trivandrum of late, that of Dr. Shashi Tharoor. His initiative for city development, TCAN, could well take the initiative to help build the Trivandrum brand, either in association with NGOs or with the various bodies of Govt. With Dr. Tharoor at helm the visibility could be international.

Talking about funding, the private sector and businesses could well be roped into the plan. They're the ones who're going to benefit directly from a robust and magnetic city. The plan won't finish by clearing the cheque for the logo designers but the real works starts then. The cultural, sporting, entertainment and business events should be continuously propagated with it.

Do we need to talk about souvenirs? While I was on vacation in Kerala last time, one of my colleagues requested me to bring a few Fridge Magnets representing Kerala and my cities. I looked around a lot, but came up with nothing. Small-scale industry job, doesn't it surprise you that we have so less with Kerala imprint on them, let alone Trivandrum, Cochin or Kovalam?

Anyone thinking of souvenirs and fliers to keep the name of the city, especially for the tourists and business visitors? It'd be an interesting survey to conduct to find out how many people outside Kerala are aware of the fact that Kovalam, Technopark and Vizhinjam are actually parts of Trivandrum Corporation?

Those who feel offended by the 'blowing your trumpet' phrase, let me put it this way. Our state and our cities have a lot to offer, so what harm does it do if we exhibit our pride, beat our chest about it or give away a few goodies with our name on it?

read more...

Windup 2010

You know it, there is much ado about nothing. In short nothing has gone nowhere. But if foundation stones are the keys and proofs to success then we've the full Monty. 10/10!

So where do the ticks fall? Technocity? Tick. Vallarpadam Terminal? Tick. Cyberpark? Tick, with a half mark. I think the bucks stops there...not an inch more.

Now let's hit the ramp. Rolling out the drop dead gorgeous stuff, yeah the manikins.

NH Development

Stalled. Kerala is probably the last of the 28 states and 7 UTs to nod to the basic necessity to have their roads widened. Then we had lot of round table discussions, confusions, itches and gas trouble related to the alignment, toll, width, people and shops on both sides, ducks crossing the road and snake-charmers coming out of the toddy shops aligning the NH.

You know it, but I'd say this once again. These kind of idiotic and selfish rulers are the major sclerotic elements of our life vessels.

Smart City

I won't blame you if you've a "I've-heard-this-name-somewhere-before" feeling. 7 years is a long time to remember something, if fact E=mc^2 is the only formula I remember 7 years after college. To brush up our memory, Smart City was a colossal IT project roped in by our erstwhile CM Chandy, (or was it Antony?) which promised to turn Cochin city something into the present Dubai, Singapore and Silicon Valley, all rolled into one big thing! Gulp, so hard to imagine that, as now the brown blades of grass have long taken over the piece of granite stuck into the marshy land. Not very smart.

For the record, Dubai Sheikhs and Kerala comrades are on and on at the yo-yo game. Nobody appears to be in a mood to give up. So, how 'bout another Foundation Stone Mr. CM? Make sure this one sears above the coconut trees.

National Waterway Development

This Central Sponsored project has also been sacrificed at the altar of our bureaucratic- political mismanagement. Multi-hundred crore plans for TS Canal renovation from Kovalam to Kollam have lapsed because nobody at the administrative circles were interested. What a great mistake I made thinking and wasting my time blogging about the TS Canal at my backyard turning into something like the stuff up there in Amsterdam or somewhere. (TS Canal: A passage through time) All dreams gone in a thick puff of big black smoke. Muddy, messy, mucky Puthanar continues to expunge nauseating odour poisoning the olfactory nerves of the unfortunate residents.

T3 @ Trivandrum

No more comments on this one. We had a chat early this month in this blog. (The Trivandrum Airport Saga) The tale has been evolving ever since the Terminal was ready for commissioning almost an year back. Let me Ctrl + C > V what I've written about this project exactly one year ago. (Link)

The swanky new terminal which was supposed to open this month is still u/c. Now the authorities say that 2010 March is the holy date, third time the opening date is being deferred courtesy lorry strikes, militant trade unionism, red tapes and what not? The 6 lane approach flyover is also stuck up behind the deadline. Anyway I expect to walk out of T3 this summer, anything else would be a huge disappointment. 

The Terminal is still not open. STOP.

My friend and fellow blogger Nishanth had promised a photoblog of the proud new terminal when he passes through it a fortnight from now. Now he has replaced the 'when' with 'if' and thinking about other city landmarks to test his photography skills. I don't blame him.

Kannur International Airport, Aranmula International Airport, Kottayam International Airport, Idukki Airport, Guruvayoor Airport (Now, did I miss anything?)

Who is too bothered about the old ones, lets talk about the brand new ones and that too of the International breed. Foundation Stone laid for Kannur. Good. Land acquisition in progress for Aranmula. Good. I'm not too sure about Kottayam. Bad. What was that proverb we all were taught at school?

Winners don't do different things, they do things differently.

Precisely what Award-winning state Kerala plans to do. 2 laned National Highways, clogged up waterways, primordial railway services and tracks but hey, we will have 14 international Airports by the end of the world and we all will be flying around. From Pattikkad Int'l Airport to Vattappara Airport, from Kumbalangi Airport to Guruvayoor and from Chavakkad Airport to Valayar International Airport. There are even plans to connect Sabarimala via Choppers, wow!

No need of bhaang, cocaine or the black stuff to fly around in the clouds, catch my drift?

Vizhinjam Port

Good news first. The current Govt has done a lot of good, hard work for the project and things have come a long way forward. The bed news is that the project is still on paper. Some infrastructure development works have been initiated but when the first stone for the breakwater will go into the Arabian Sea is anyone's guess. Especially since the onus is on the next Govt to make sure things don't go back to square one as had been the fate of Vizhinjam a few times before. That could be a bad news for some pretty obvious 'historic' reasons, if the Reds go down the dump this new year.

And that's NOT a big 'if' given the see-saw nature of Kerala's political affinity.

Cochin Metro

Guess this one will be another Ganapathi wedding tale. Another project to make ass of the citizenry of Cochin to divert their attention from the original infrastructure related issues. This one seems to be on the trail of Vizhinjam, Smart City and the likes, projects with such incredible gestation periods that it'd put the longest pregnant dinosaurs to shame. Some folks appear to believe that Cochin Metro plans appear to build up muscles just before an Election, so the idea behind the project appears clear: take everyone for a ride.

Some good news out of all this is that someone had the right senses to think of a road development plan for Cochin on the lines of the Trivandrum project. Now that's something inevitable and sensible, no matter what lies ahead of the Metro tracks.

TRDCL

Into year #9, the 42km road development project in the Capital is 'promised to finish soon', as has been the case the last half-a-decade. Roads now certainly look better in Trivandrum, after 50+ years of State formation and we've to appreciate that. Clap. So that also means we ought not roam around Power House Road looking for that dreaded flyover which completes the inner ring road. Another 5 years? Yes, if we're lucky enough. But there is a new year feast awaiting the residents of the Capital, a plethora of road inaugurations are coming your way. Hold on to your knickers! (especially the ones living along the K'puram- Nalanchira corridor)

In a few months Kerala will enter the poll booths yet again to perform their civic sacrament, a new Government will surely take seat, may be the Reds again, most probably not but remains to be seen if there would be any significant alteration to the course our state appear heading. Dead End.
 
Wishing you all a prosperous 2011 ahead. Thanks for visiting No Man's Land?  :)


Remembering former CM K. Karunakaran who has at last succumbed to the order of life process, who has by far been the most progressive and development-oriented leader of Kerala, who possessed the vision and determination to bring about social development based on strong economic foundations.

read more...

IFFK: Opening to World Cinema

1055km down South from Goa where India's shambolic International Film Festival just reached its fag end, curtains have gone up in Kerala's capital city for a kindred fete which improves its outlook, reach and fame through every passing year. 

IFFK (International Film Festival of Kerala) took wings in the mid 90s, with the inaugural edition in Calicut, providing opportunity for the serious-minded and educated movie geeks of the state to get a wide-angle view of the art-form on a global scape, and was later moved permanently to Trivandrum. Over the past decade it has grown from a local festival to something very much prominent on Kerala's yearbook, winning accolades for the modest but professional & spirited way it is organized. In fact what makes IFFK stand out from contemporary jokes of film festivals in our country, is the passion of people involved in the venture.

India's prominent film-critic Ms. Anupama Chopra has a strong point on what dodges the IFFI in Goa. The article, Doomed by babudom, provides an unintentional insight as to why the Trivandrum festival has been able to score more tick marks as opposed to the much older, bigger and costlier Goan edition. Excerpts:

our International Film Festival of India (Iffi), taking place in Goa from 22 November to 2 December, continues to be an amateurish, badly organised comedy of errors with the usual complaints, controversies and largely mediocre selection of films. Which might be forgivable if the festival was new, but this is the 41st edition. A cursory internet search throws up news articles that reveal a painful consistency of bungling over the decades: fights over who will be the chief guest; criticism of films included and excluded; bureaucratic myopia; charges of corruption; and the absolute lack of character and vision.

K, let's leave the mess and get back to the point. The IFFK, organized at a shoe-string budget, has been recognized and accredited by FIAPE (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films), 'FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) and the Netpac (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema)and also has increasingly been successful in generating immense interest among local, national and international film-makers, critics, media and the general public and has acquired the premiere spot among the already glittering cultural calender of Trivandrum.

Signature clip from Technopark based Toonz Animation.

It's taken 15 years, short or long, for IFFK to cut a niche for itself. Starting from a more than impressive website, planned and put together by genera who love and care for films, careful selection of movies grouped into interesting, appropriate categories, citizenry who understand and appreciate quality reels, vibrant and educative open-sessions and interactions, IFFK's latest edition has not let anyone down so far.

Touch wood. Let it remain so...

Or perhaps the only conspicuous omission would be the red carpet? On second thoughts it may just be a good idea to have that carpet folded and stowed in the attic; the last thing we need is the Bollywood descending on it to take the sheen and class away from the festival.

For IFFK, the most important lesson is to learn how Goa has faltered over the years. While IFFI has descended into a tug of war between Goa state authorities and their New Delhi bosses, and of late threatening to turn into a Bollywood Circus, Kerala's premiere Festival is not without its fair share of ailments. One glaring aspect is that we are yet to have a permanent venue for the glorious event. And that's a shame.

Apart from the decade long promises that work on the venue will start tomorrow, next  week and so on, the films are still screened in the dozen-odd theaters in Trivandrum City. Robust plans of Tagore theater renovation was spoiled when heritage and preservation acumen got better of the construction plans. Of late there has been a promise to construct a multiplex on the Jawahar Balabhavan grounds, close to the sprawling Kanakakkunnu Palace in Vellayambalam, but we'll keep our fingers crosses on that.

IFFI Permanent venue in Goa

The IFFI legend also inexplicably exhorts the importance of whom you entrust with running the show. IFFK has been taking rapid strides just because it has people who're actively associated with movies and it's technicalities. Still at the other end of the spectrum when compared to glitz and glamour of Cannes, Toronto, Milan or Berlin or even to Ann Arbor or Pusan, IFFK commands its due share of respect among nouveaux all-over-the-map city-centric film festivals.

Just for record, Cannes' Festival Budget caps at a cool 20 million Euros (120 crore INR) , the disgraceful IFFI Goa smokes up 7.5 crores at its altar whereas Kerala State Chalachitra Academy organises IFFK at less than half that amount. No red carpet, paparazzis, reporters & journalists who travel first class on jets, expensive hotel suites, dress codes, valet parking, themed dining or even a multiplex to screen the films, but IFFK has got it right!

Film makers and critics concur. From Anupama Chopra's Twitter:

Cannes winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul on jury at IFFK. 1200+ delegates filling theaters. IFFK gets it right in 15 years. What ails IFFI?

German film-maker Werner Herzog (Newslink)

the festival had an incredible international scope and yet retained a strong cultural identity of Kerala.

So if you're in or around Trivandrum , anywhere close to a movie-fan and you've hard time filling the hours  then you know exactly where to be heading now.

IFFK 2010: Schedule
IFFK Website
15th IFFK Blog
IFFK 2010 in Yentha 
IFFKThe Hindu

read more...