The Big Cats last whimper

I still remember my childhood days when I was taught that the tiger is on top of the food chain pyramid, was once a vehicle of the gods and is a symbol of our national pride. Being a true nature lover the tiger has always fascinated me. But are we part of a generation lucky to have the last glimpse of this beautiful beast? I experience goose bumps even at the slightest thought of it.

The charisma of the tiger has inspired poets, persuaded nations to adopt it as their emblem, and sold everything from gasoline to sport merchandise and confectionery. Yet universal appeal has not assured the survival of the tiger in the wild. Nothing has prevented the poachers from systematically killing the big cat for profit. But are they really profiting? Is a dead tiger more worth than a live one? The answer is an unequivocal NO. My neighbor Shailesh a true tiger lover has been to kanha and ranthambore tiger reserves numerous times and has always shared with me his anecdotes. Rightly said by him, the Indian tiger is arguably the best draw for tourists both in India and abroad. People have been known to wait for days on end for a glimpse of the lord of the jungle.

We should take a leaf from other countries which have projected one or other species as a big tourist draw. China advertises its elusive panda as a major tourist attraction, no one comes back from Australia without seeing the cuddly koala bear and far-flung Galapagos Island draws hordes of visitors who flock there to see the giant turtle sunning itself on the rocks. This is not to say that tourism alone will save the tiger; we need conservation measures alongside. Public awareness is a key to this issue. Despite propagating awareness campaigns, the myth that the tiger's body parts boost strength and courage still persists. It is only by convincing people that they are harming their own economic interests by killing the tiger that they will realize the merits of conservation. They must be made aware that killing the tiger brings in a one-time profit, keeping it alive means a sustained income. Surely, the choice will then be obvious.

There is still a chance to save the tiger from extinction, but that will require a concerted effort in the two largest developing economies, China and India — to control the trade in tiger parts, and to protect habitats.

Extinction of the Royal Bengal tiger, lord of the Indian jungle, would be an irreversible loss to India’s heritage and a signal of the environmental dangers of the current development path. It is urgent that India and the world community realize the solemnity of this issue, lay down a concrete plan on tiger conservation and implement it without procrastinating so that the tiger continues to live for generations and generations to come.

Back to ground zero

All the euphoria that surrounded the Indian team, after their victorious return from the T20 World Cup, has died down - thanks to the two convincing defeats against the Aussies. So far, the cricketing public seem to have taken it in the right spirit - only because the opponents are the deadly Aussies. They are wishing that the Indians can pull back once or twice, in the remaining matches.

The Australian team have shown why they have been on the top for the last decade or more. Their all-round skills have not diminished even with the induction of new blood and the retirements of the Greats. The newcomers (like Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin) have ensured that the absent players were not missed at all. The other teams in international cricket must be still wondering at the enigma called Australia.

The Indians have done a decent job till the 30-over mark, while bowling. But, once the ball is changed (thanks to a new change in ODIs), the batsmen have taken a liking to the hard ball and tonked it around. The youngsters like Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir, have not been able to show the spark that they did in the T20 World Cup. But, the fielding has definitely shown a major improvement (even with the presence of the slower ones like Ramesh Powar, Sourav Ganguly).

The team management would do well to persist with the younger crop so that they get a continued run as well as some exposure to high-class cricket in the longer version of the ODIs. Even without them, there is a very good possibility of the Aussies winning the series - hence, there is nothing much to lose for the Indians if they let go the youngsters against the champs.

The Indians came back after being down against the South Africans in England to win the series; equaled the series (with 3 straight wins) before going down to the English; won continuous make-or-break matches in the T20 World Cup. Can they do it once again? If they do achieve it, this is certainly the dawn of a new era in Indian cricket. We have the luxury to dream, dont we?

Ronaldo : The Handsome tauter

There aren't a lot of soccer players in the world today that can honestly state they are more popular than Cristiano Ronaldo. Except for a few already established super stars such as Ronaldinho or David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the most popular rising star on the pitch.
His good looks combined with his awesome repertoire of Cristiano Ronaldo soccer tricks and a hint of trademarked Cristiano Ronaldo goals made him reach the level of fame on which he is basking in the spotlight sun today.
Sir Alex Ferguson, manager and coach of Manchester United desperately needed a quality right midfielder in 2003, as David Beckham had just left the club for Real Madrid.And there came in Christiano Ronaldo and played his first season in 2003...
In his following seasons at Manchester, with more and more trust coming from Sir Alex Ferguson and the team's fans, Cristiano Ronaldo has developed into an extraordinary player that is now feared by even the sturdiest defenders out there.
The best part is that with each passing year Cristiano Ronaldo improves his game even further, so don't be surprised if in a couple of years he steps up to become the greatest footballer in activity.

Wake up: INDIANS

In my very first blog I would like to express my thoughts about the resilience of Indians towards terror attacks in a concise and compendium manner.

We are very much aware that our arch-foe Pakistan is the biggest exporter of terror in the world. It’s been over 60 years that we are facing such barbaric acts of terror and have always been taken for granted. India has lost more lives to terror in recent years than any other country except war-torn Iraq. And what has been our response to cease and circumscribe such acts? Precious little. Frankly speaking, we have had a weak kneed and bumbling response to terror attacks – both in preventing them and bringing the merchants of death to book. Successive governments have failed to deal firmly with the scourge of terrorism. Time and again our top law enforcement agencies have been reprimanded by the judiciary for hopelessly bungling or delaying investigations. Little wonder we are a soft target for terror. All of us keep giving our views and opinions on ways to tackle the obstacles of successive counter terrorism. But then what about its implementation?

Firstly, we need to be clear about one thing: an attack by terrorists on Indian citizens is an attack on India. Our response must be commensurate. Our anger shouldn’t be reserved only for those who commit such acts, but directed equally against those who plan and finance them. Peace cannot co-exist with terror. Nor for that matter, can peace co-exist with attacks on any community or class of people. It is sad, that the perpetrators of such violence have often been allowed to go scot-free even in the face of overwhelming evidence. So a suspicion arises of whether they enjoy political or other patronage which puts them out of reach of the truncated arm of our law.

Such acts of terror not only take away innocent lives, but also divide the society, create mistrust among people and leave scars that can take decades to heal. In other words, it is worse than war because terror acts are executed by stealth against civil society.

Is there any solution to such acts of treason? For far too long we have failed to focus on terror as an act of treason. Myself being a witness of the Mumbai train blasts, I even witnessed the post drill of such an attack. After every such terror attack compensations are announced and there is finger pointing across the border. That done, its back to business as usual. Often this has been touted as the country’s resilience, to take blows on the chin and move on. Terror has become a routine, benumbing sensitivities and dulling responses.

I feel the basic pre requisite to act firmly on this issue is stop discriminating as people from different states but think and deliver being proud Indians. We need to recognize how critical this issue is and let’s put aside our petty egos and differences and act as one in defending the nation from future terror attacks.

Will we do it? It’s a question for our conscience. And till we decide, we will have to learn to live with terror from outside and our complicity with it within.

Rohit P. Nair