Soccer lover from Pune

Goal unreached, Hopes still Kicking

It’s unofficial but true. Cricket is the religion of India. That’s why Hockey is the national sports of India but most popular game in the country is one and only cricket. Cricket gets publicity, media coverage, funds and facilities from government and important is the support of the peoples. This thing creates the positive atmosphere for any sports and then that sports become more and more popular. But unfortunately in India only cricket gats all this and therefore we lack in other sports including hockey.

But there are some peoples who are not only sports loving but also they want to change the situation and for that they fight against the system. Elic turner from pune is one of them. He has completed the training course of ‘FA’ from England, which is beneficiary for any soccer coach. He completed that course successfully in 2005 and then work with well-known Bolton soccer club from UK. He might be the only Punite who completes this course.

After that turner comes to India and now he is giving training to students in Kalyaninagar, which is at the outskirts of Pune. There he runs academy for two days in week. In his academy there are around 65 to 70 students. Students get training as per European criteria and there is special attention towards each student. For that there are at least three coaches for each practice session. For each two students there is one football. This is important for the personal practice of dribbling, passing and kicks.

After running academy for more than one and half year now he has plans to open academies in other parts of pune i.e. Aundh and Deccan. He plans to go beyond pune and wants to reach little towns and village places through Mobile Academy. This is new concept he wants to develop. If any school wants training from Turner, then turner will go to that school with his colleagues and sporting material. There he will stay for two or three weeks and during this period he will give training for soccer players in that particular school. All this is only for soccer and upcoming player from small towns and villages. He will charge only few bucks and moneymaking is not the idea of this academy as per turner.

Turner is very upset with the currant situation of football. No one wants to do career in sports. If any one takes this thing seriously then cricket is the first choice. Football comes after so many games. Other thing is that soccer is limited to some states in India. Bengal, Goa, Kerala and some Northeastern state are soccer crazy. Therefore we lack in qualified coaches and such coaches are not available in many parts of the country. If we can give good coaching and training facility at school level then we can definitely improve our condition in soccer, he adds.

He knows that only one person cannot change the condition of game but still he fights against all odds and wants to reach the goal.

Money talks louder than ever...

If it was not Roman Abramovich spending 30 million pounds on a 30-year-old (Andriy Shevchenko), it was Ashley Cole flouncing out of Arsenal in a hissy fit over their 'disrespectful' offer of a new contract worth 55,000 pounds a week. No sooner had the ink dried on a forecast-busting new television deal than Dubai's accountants were poring over Liverpool's books with the aim of wrapping up a 450-million-pound takeover of the five-times European champions. Money has never talked louder in English football than it did in 2006. And with the enhanced television cash that will kick in from next season acting like a dose of financial Viagra, never have the country's top clubs appeared so attractive to suitors from around the world.

By this time next year it is conceivable -- likely even -- that half the Premiership's 20 clubs will be in foreign hands. If the Dubai bid goes through, Liverpool will follow in the footsteps of Chelsea, Manchester United, Fulham, Portsmouth, Aston Villa and West Ham. Everton, Manchester City and Newcastle look good bets to take a similar route in 2007 as global investors scramble for control of businesses which have seen their outlook transformed by the prospect of sharing broadcasting revenues that will exceed two billion pounds over the course of the 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned that the influx of foreign capital threatens "the soul of football." But the buyouts of Aston Villa (by American tycoon Randy Lerner) and West Ham (by an Icelandic consortium) this year have generated few complaints from those clubs' fans, while the hostility of most Manchester United supporters to Malcolm Glazer's 2005 takeover at Old Trafford melted away as results improved. United's revival -- which began at the tail end of last season -- has served as a reminder that the correlation between money spent and success in football is not always a direct one. Given how easily they cantered to the 2005-06 title in May, it was wildly assumed that the costly summer acquisition of Shevchenko, Cole and Michael Ballack would make Chelsea irresistible for a third successive season. That could yet prove to be the case.

Jose Mourinho's boast that United cannot match the depth of quality in his squad is not an idle one. Yet it is also true that, apart from giving Abramovich someone he can speak Russian to, Shevchenko has been only a sporadic contributor to the Chelsea cause while Ballack too has yet to reproduce the kind of marauding form on which he constructed his reputation. United in contrast have prospered largely on the strength of existing resources, the increasing maturity of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney being complemented by the Indian summers being enjoyed by the homegrown duo Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

Even allowing for the scheduled short-term arrival of Henrik Larsson in January, United do look vulnerable to injuries during the title run-in. But for the first time since Mourinho's arrival at Chelsea in 2004, the year is ending with genuine uncertainty about the destination of the title. Most neutrals will be pleased about that, but the switch from one-horse to two-horse race will not be enough to assuage concern about the gulf between the top clubs and the rest, for whom a run of three defeats can mean a lurch from challenging for a place in Europe to the relegation battle.

The over-riding imperative of avoiding the financially calamitous consequences of a drop to the Championship was behind the pre-Christmas sackings of Iain Dowie and Alan Pardew at Charlton and West Ham. Both men could justifiably argue that they should have been given more time, Dowie on the grounds that he had only been in the job for four months, Pardew on the strength of a record that included winning promotion and taking the Hammers to the FA Cup final.

There is also a worry that the financial fear factor is making teams more cautious, resulting in the Premiership currently producing the lowest number of goals per game of any top flight in Europe. It could equally be argued that the quality of defenders is improving in a league in which half the registered players come from overseas. But Arjan de Zeeuw, Wigan's veteran Dutch centreback, thinks otherwise. "When I first came here everyone played 4-4-2 and you knew what you were going to get," de Zeeuw said recently.

"Now you see teams with one up front and five in the middle most weeks. And one of the five will usually be in the Claude Makelele position, providing an extra level of defence. "Everyone is more cautious now because there is such a big gap between the top three or four and the rest. Once you go behind against Chelsea they won't let you back into the game, so teams are thinking first and foremost about how not to concede." That might mean problems lie ahead but for now the Premiership can bask in its status as the world's favourite league.

(Thanks to Reuters)

MARATHI NATAK GOES TO BLOG

Who says Marathi Theatre is towards dying? Those who think that there is no future to Marathi theatre then they are unaware the happenings in Marathi theatre. ‘Makadachya Hati Champagne’ is the play, which popular among all age groups from last few months.

Some new subjects from society are coming to theatre and some innovative peoples are also taking advantage of new technology. Recently Girish Joshi, the director of ‘Final Draft’ and ‘Makadachya Hati Champagne’ has created blogs for the reactions of audience. Before starting play they announce about their blogs and ask audience to react there and comments on various aspects of play.

Both the blogs are created in recent months but response to the blogs is not very poor. Around 60 to 70 peoples have commented on blog of each play. Viewers of the play have reacted there about script, dialogues, acting and theme of the play. There are some good comments about play and some have reacted against the theme of play. But the thing is that viewers have commented.

Many time only renowned actors, some directors or producers and peoples related to theatre industry react about the play. But general viewer or audience couldn’t express about play. He wants to comment about the play but there is no proper platform to express. That’s why reaction of general audience doesn’t reaches to producer or director. That’s blog was introduced for reaction, Mr. Joshi added.

This type of system was recently started but it will become popular in coming days.

Links to these blogs are below :
http://makadachyahati.blogspot.com
http://finaldraftcomments.blogspot.com

Makadachya Hati Champagne

Dr. Vivek Bele writes this play and it makes humorous comment made on the manipulative overtures of the political mind. Political mind, because the manipulations may be designed and applied as much in mainstream politics as much in the personal relationships.The characters in the play are three roommates, of which one imagines he has found his love. The friends address each other by names they have invented on the basis of their individual personalities.

So, here we have the uncouth and aggressive ‘Chaku (Knife)’, who brings home the woman he would like to marry to meet his friends ‘Pustak (Book)’ who like his name goes by the book and ‘Makad’ a T.V channel journalist who could move heaven and earth to find news.The lady herself is unabashed about changing her mind when it suits her, and moving on with life. With no answerability to an erasable past she aptly renames herself ‘Pencil’.

The story becomes a chain of witty battles between the four characters as Pustak and Chaku both woo Pencil while Makad eggs on both individually. The duel goes on parallel to the Elections news that is being shown on TV.The two men vie for the lady’s favors just as the opposing candidates vie for public support. The media and Makad meanwhile enjoy the show as long as the bottle of champagne is not opened. Because champagne means celebration and celebration means everybody is happy which clearly does not agree with their psyche.

Then Pencil marries Pustak and things seem to come to a dead end. But Makad would not let that happen. He now convinces Chaku that he is not out of the race and that he can still have his love back.Strategies are built, manipulations galore and wit abounds. Every time there is a possibility of stability, Makad the media man becomes restless and succeeds in unsettling the situation once again.

Who gets the lady, who gets the chair? Whom does the lady favor, whom does the public uphold?In a thoroughly enjoyable laughter ridden two hours of moves and countermoves, Director Girish Joshi brings out the stark insensitivity and selfishness of the human mind in no uncertain terms.

Mr. Prime Minister you are WRONG!!!

First Preference to Minorities?

Thank you, Prime Minister for clarifying the thing that minorities have first claim on all Natural Resources.

Till date we thought that according to our constitution everyone is one same par. But this thing is correct in constitution only and some people have more advantages as they are from minorities or from lower caste. But when there is lot of criticism from all corners of the country then Manmohan Singh took U turn and claim that I didn’t said this thing and Media has twisted my statement.

This thing came in to picture when he spoke just like congress leader on last Saturday. Controversy began when he said that MINORITIES MUST HAVE FIRST CLAIM ON RESOURCES. He was speaking at Chief Minister’s conference in New Delhi.

Everyone has heard his statement on Television, at least I have heard and seen it on Times now and other news channels. There was no twisting or no editing in the story. That’s why one can easily understand the feelings of Prime Minister. As he is from congress party everyone know what will be his ideology but this statement was not expected from a man like Manmohan Singh. As he changed the face of India’s Economy and who lead India in globalization process, this was shocking statement.

As we are becoming as global village how can anyone claim on education, Service and other resources just because of he is from minority or he is from lower caste. There should be two criteria’s only. One is talent and another is economic backwardness. If you are talented then no one can stop you from progress. If you are economic backward and still you are talented then you should get some financial help or reservation things. But other wise every thing should be decided on talent only.

But due to vote bank politics every party wants to keep minorities happy and that is the only reason why we have reservation based on caste. Now some parties are of the view that there should be reservation for minority religions. Appeasement is the only reason why minorities get special treatment in our country.

This is the only reason why not a single ‘so-called secularist party’ dares to protest against the minorities when they denied singing of Vandemataram. Congress Chief Minister Gulam Nabi Azad (Jammu Kashmir) demands that Mohammad Afzal should not be hanged. But congress claims that this is his personal statement and party doesn’t want to comment on it. How can a Chief Minister comment on such issues so casually? Or you just want to attract minority community from Jammu and Kashmir toward congress?

Bhartiya Janata Party has its own image about minorities. Image of BJP is pro Hindu and anti Muslim or anti Minority. They wanted to change their image. That’s why Atal Bihari announced in his political speech that Two Lacks Urdu teachers would be recruited after Polls. Advani goes to Pakistan and claims that Jinnah was Patriot. Bangaru Laxman announced after becoming BJP’s president that Party workers should give up their animosity towards minorities. This message is good but party president declaring this is serious. You are doing this just to attract minorities and nothing else is clear from this. So BJP is not a party with difference in this case.

I don’t want to comment on Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party of Mayawati. These parties are limited to certain part of India and certain community.

So, Mr. Prime Minister you are wrong and you are not there to divide the people on caste and religion. If you do that you will lose the your place in many hearts.

Medha Patkar, Voice of Voiceless

Narmada, Mumbai and now in Singur

Medha Patkar, the name that is familiar with protest, strike and indefinite fast. From last two decades Medha Patkar is associated with Narmada Dam issue. She is fighting against the Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh government for the benefit of farmers and poor peoples, who were displaced from their own village.

There are always many aspects and angles to any issue. And when the issue is political, social or economical then difference of opinion is must. Narmada Dam issue has also many angles, but the important thing is that Medha Patkar gave the voice to villagers and farmers. When there is no one to hear complaints of farmers and everyone is busy with own business at that time, Medha came forward and gave helping hand to dam affected peoples.

She raised the voice of affected peoples to the international level also and brought some funds to continue the protest. Actor actresses like Rahul Bose, Aamir Khan and Nandita Das, Booker Award winner Arundhati Roy and socialist politicians are active supporters Medha Patkar.

After handling the issue of Narmada Dam for more than 15 to 20 years, she came in picture again when Maharashtra government demolished the illegal huts in Mumbai. When poor people living roadside or in slums become homeless then she started fast at Mahatma Gandhi Statue near Mantralaya. Many social organizations came forward in the support of Medha and then government softens his stand on the illegal hut issue and decided to legalize the slums till 2000 instead of 1996. There may be debate whether stand of Medha was right or wrong? Or illegal slums should be legalized or not? But the thing is that every time she comes forward to help the helpless.

Then Medha protested against the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) issue. Maan is the village near Pune. Government had plans to declare SEZ on the green land of Maan. But villagers raised the voice against the government decision and demonstrated on the streets. When there is no leader to protest then again Medha Patkar is the only name that came to forefront. She visited Maan and supported the protest. When issue was highlighted at state and central level, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has to comment on the issue and he assured the villagers that no SEZ on green land unless and until farmer wants it. Of course this is the victory of people and not of Medha. But she once again proved that, she is voice of voiceless peoples.

Now her battlefield is Singur in West Bengal. Marxist government has given the green land of farmers to Tata Motors under Special Economic Zone. This is sure that in the communist regime helpless farmers cannot fight against the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government. Mamata Banerjee has started the protest against government’s decision. Medha Patkar has also joined the protest and now singur has came in the limelight. Mamata is more violent in protesting, as Medha is not protesting with peace.

There are so many opinions about Medha patkar’s protest in various issues but the common thing is that she always gives helping hand to poor as well as down trodden people and works devotedly for them. More than that according to me one thing is most admirable is that she devoted her whole life to society and always become voice of voiceless peoples.

Rane factor in Vidarbha also!!!

Rane in Queue?

Another set back to Shivsena and Bhartiya Janata Party alliance. After Konkan now in vidarbha also Rane has successfully won the by-polls. Shivsena lose their strong holds like Chimur and Daryapur in these by-elections to congress candidates who are supporters of Rane. In Chimur Vijay Vadettivar and in Daryapur Prakash Bharsakhale won the election and secured their birth in the Legislative assembly.

After resigning from Shivsena Rane joined the Congress and became powerful leader there also. He got the active support from Congress state president Prabha Rao and Margaret Alva. Though he got support from other congress leaders Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh supporters as well as old congress leaders and Nationalist Congress Party were not very much happy with winning of Rane in by-polls.

Rane won the by-polls of Malvan and Sawantwadi in Sindhudurg district. That election showed that sindhudurga is strong hold of Rane and not of Shivsena. Then Rajapur and Sangmeshwar from Ratnagiri district were also gone in the favor of Rane supporters. But Shivsena gave major jolt to Rane when sena won the Shrivardhan and Mhasala seat from Raigad. Here also Shivsena won with the help of peasants and Workers Party and Nationalist Congress Party.

After this five by-elections Rane supporters viz. Vadettivar and Bharsakhale resigned. This time battle is out of Konkan. That’s why everyone is interested to see how Rane factor works in Vidarbha also. In this by-election only Bjp-Sena got into dispute when both the parties wanted to contest from Chimur. Chimur is the seat with shivesena from last 16 years. Though Vadettivar has joined Congress, there should be no challenge to claim of Shivsena for the seat as per unwritten rules of alliance. But Bjp wanted to contest that seat as they thought that their candidate is much stronger than Sena and it would win definitely.

Both parties not agreed to take one step back. But after some meeting shivsena handover the seat to Bjp. Nitin Gadkari and Gopinath Munde made prestige issue of this seat and after all Bjp Candidate lost to strong Vadettivar. Of course there was no scope to sena Candidate in Daryapur as shivsena workers had joined the congress and there was so many differences in remaining sena leaders. So it was supposed that there is cakewalk to Congress candidates and Rane supporters in daryapur and Chimur.

But during the campaign unfortunate incident of Khairlanji happened and angry dalits came on streets. In Chimur and Daryapur percentage of dalit voters is considerable. That’s why some analyst was hoping that Bjp-Sena would have better chance in by-election. But Bjp workers stayed away from campaign in Daryapur and Shivsena didn’t do much in Chimur. That’s why both the seats gone in the name of Congress or in the name of Rane. After this win Rane is successfully won all the by-polls except Shrivardhan. Narayan Rane (Malvan), Shankar Kambali (Sawantwadi), Ganpat Kadam (Rajapur), Subhash Bane (Sangmeshwar) had secured their constituencies much before. Now Vadettivar and Bahrsakhale joined them. Only one left behind is Sham Sawant, who lost Shrivardhan.

Now Rane has become much more powerful in congress than a year before. His eyes are on the Chair of Chief Minister and he will get much support from rivals of Vilasrao from congress itself. There are so many rivals of Vilasrao but no one is capable as Rane is. Patangrao Kadam, Govindrao Adik, Ranjit Deshmukh, Prabha Rao, Suresh Kalmadi, Kripashankar singh and so many others. When Rane entered the congress these people come closer to Rane and anti Deshmukh Camp got power and strong leader too.

Rane is well aware of the Maharashtra and he knows the plus minus of each part of state. As he was Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition, Rane done a lot for Shivsena and Shivsainiks. He brought many congressmen to Shivsena and created a fleet of own supporters in Sena. That’s why after joining congress he got much support from Sena and Sainiks. This was not the case at the time of Chagan Bhujbal and Ganesh Naik.
Rane has good opportunity to become Chief Minister of Maharashtra as he is good speaker, strong study of laws and rules of assembly, efficient Minister and above of all that he is Kunbi (Maratha). Because of this one or other day he will definitely become Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Will this Stop???????

Babasaheb, Look at your Followers!

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, one of the most talented men of India. But unfortunately he has become most controversial man of India now days. Many time some thing or other is done to statue of Babasaheb and the violence starts. This is the normal thing now.

Kahirlanji is the small village in Amravati District in Maharashtra. Incident happened in this village is the reason for all the violence happened in Maharashtra now. Incident happened in Kanpur (Vandalizing the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar) was just a reason to start the violence. But the anger was of the Khairlanji. Both the incidents, Kanpur and Khairlanji were not only wrong but everyone has to condemn both. After that all the Dalit leaders and party workers of various Dalit parties come together and joined the violence. This type of violence was started after Ghatkoper case few years back. All the Dalit leaders and Republican Party workers were came on roads and started violence.

In Khairlanji some miscreants raped one dalit woman and then killed three persons including that woman. After that violence started in many parts of Maharashtra. That violence was because of the anger that state police did not handled the case properly. Reaction of the Khairlanji was not that much serious and police brought the situation under control very quickly. But reaction of later incident was harsh. Rather it was the anger of Khairlanji after incident of Kanpur.

Though Kanpur is far away from Maharashtra reaction that came through out Maharashtra was unexpected not only to peoples and political parties but Police also. That’s why no one was prepared to face this situation including police. That’s why the violence was one of the most severe in the history. May be first after Name change controversy of University of Marathwada.
Everywhere violence started on Wednesday and public transport buses and private vehicles were the main aim of the protesters. But unfortunate thing of this time is that protesters burn the Pune-Mumbai Deccan Queen at Ulhasnagar. This train has great tradition since British Empire and it was the pride of all Maharashtrians. But this train was set afire by protesters was unfortunate. Everyone can understand the emotions of the dalit’s after Kanpur incident. But this doesn’t means that they have right to do anything in the name of protest.

There are so many trains, which go from Pune to Mumbai and vice a versa. But protesters selected Deccan Queen has another reason. This is the train, which was famous for elite class traveling. Traveling by Deccan Queen was prestigious for so many years. This thing may be in the mind of protesters and they burn the pride of Maharashtra.

Another thing is that after some months there are election of Municipal Councils and Nagarpalikas. Keeping eye on that no political party condemned the violence spread by dalit protesters. Everyone want votes of dalit community and to attract them everyone is pleasing that community. Government could bring the condition under control much quickly by giving orders to police. But it heard that there were orders to police that no counter attack on protesters. No firing to brought situation under control. This is the reason that protesters go on and on.

Babasaheb Ambedkar was a great man, but his followers are nothing but useless. No one wants to become well educated and contribute to the society. There is some exception for this but they are so much less in numbers that others side of uneducated, poor and jobless peoples is the introduction of dalit community. If we start to count the experts and well-educated peoples from this community then one can get idea of the less numbers of peoples. Dr. Mungekar and Dr. Narendra Jadhav are two names, which came quickly at tongue. But to go beyond this one has to think more.

That is the condition of dalit community. Dalit leaders are also hopeless and do not want to do something constructive. They just want become minister and for that they can do anything. They can go with congress and if they don’t entertain they will go to Nationalist Congress. While doing this they will forget that congress has rejected TICKET of election to Babasaheb. Dr. Ambedkar fought against congress for whole life but Republican leaders forget this factor while joining the congress government.
There are so many fraction of Republican Party and every leader is against other.

But emotional issues are more popular in dalits and not serious issues. That is the reason this poor quality leaders are leading the parties. Of course they have mass support but no one try really for the peoples. This is the worst part of the politics. Unless and until dalit community will educate and try to develop their own future, no one will come for their help and this things will go on. Today it’s Deccan Queen in the name of Kanpur and Khairlanji, next time it will be some other reason.

There may be some different opinion on this and every one can write their views on this blog may be positive or negative. So please read and write your views on this.

Thanks.

REPORT ABOUT PUNE IN CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Hi,

Pune is emerging one of the fastes developing city in India. Its said that its oxford of the east. Forget about that but it is Cultural and Educational Capital of India. This city gives many Social Revolutionary, Freedom fighters, Educationalist and Thinkers to India.

Automobile and Mechanical Industries are the backbone of the Pune and its twin city Pimpri-Chinchwad. After that now Pune is emering as Cyber city and many companies are coming to Pune. Many international companies are running towards Pune. It includes software and Automobile industry also.

Though we have not good roads and our infrastructure is not as good as foreign countries, we love Pune and we are trying to change the face of the city. There are many obstacles in it. But many peoples are trying hard to maintain the face of the city.

Here is one interesting story compiled by foreign journalist. She spoke to only IT people and herself filed a story. Everyone should go through this story and mail ur comments to my blog and Chicago Tribune also.

Sleepy city in India goes boom

India : Once a slow backwater known as Pensioners' Paradise, this small Indian city is now bursting at the seams. It is at the forefront of India's economic boom, a microcosm of both the country's incredible growth and its struggles to overcome ramshackle roads and baffling bureaucracy.

At the same time, Pune seems stuck between old India and new India: More people here use computers than in any other city in the country, and it hopes to be India's first city with high-speed wireless Internet service for all. Yet Pune has no road rules, no taxi service, only one airport runway and signs in sleek corporate buildings that show people how to use Western toilets.

"Pune was once a sleepy, sloppy city with no growth," said Darius Buhariwalla, general manager of the Hotel Sagar Plaza, where rooms are guaranteed only by booking a month in advance. "Now, every day there's such a lot of change going on, that we ourselves don't know what's going to happen next. But we do know one thing--people are just not willing to say `stop.' "In its sheer numbers, the growth of Pune is staggering.The city is spilling over its limits, with a population that grew from 2.54 million in 2001 to an estimated 3.19 million this year.

Every day, government officials say, people register more than 400 new vehicles in Pune. About 4,000 people fly in and out daily, compared with a year ago, when only 1,800 people did.Land prices have shot up, doubling in certain neighborhoods in the past two years. The skyline is a series of construction sites, where more than 40 million square feet of building space is being developed this year, the equivalent of the space in about nine Sears Towers, according to government figures.Twenty shopping malls are now being built.

Fueled by an influx of information-technology companies with gleaming new buildings and the promise of biotechnology, Pune now has the highest per capita income in India, about $1,030 per year. With 126 small colleges, each teaching an average of 150 students, the city is described in India as the Oxford of the East, churning out thousands of information-technology graduates.

The city, near India's west coast, has developed so explosively for a combination of reasons. It's close to the major business hub of Mumbai while offering a milder climate and a qualified labor pool to fill new jobs. Unlike congested larger cities, Pune has had room and inexpensive land for companies to grow. Government incentives helped build Pune as a manufacturing hub in the 1960s and then as an information-technology hub in the 1990s.

But at certain points, Pune's identity problem is all too evident.At the Best Western Pride Hotel, under serious, sleep-disrupting renovation, clerks make the mistake of sending guests to their rooms with electronic key cards although the rooms can be opened only with actual keys.And some instruction is needed about the new Western toilets for residents more accustomed to traditional Indian ones. "Please do not use it if you are not aware of its utility," a sign says above the Western toilet at Persistent Systems, a software development company."The way I would describe [Pune] is a village turning into a bigger village, turning into kind of a town, and wanting to be a city," said Girish Wardadkar, the president and executive director of KPIT Cummins Infosystems Limited, a consulting and information technology company.

If Pune does not make improvements, it runs the risk of turning into Bangalore, the country's original information-technology darling, where traffic and infrastructure snarls have forced some companies to flee.Hotels are strapped. With an average occupancy rate of 84 percent between April and June, Pune had the highest occupancy rate in India, according to industry figures.There are only 1,100 decent hotel rooms in the city, said Hotel Sagar Plaza's Buhariwalla, also the treasurer of Pune's hotel association.

By 2012, there will be 4,500 rooms, if all the planned construction happens. At least 13,000 new hotel employees will be needed. "I don't know where they're going to come from," Buhariwalla said. Amritaksha Chatterjee, the front office manager for Le Meridien, one of Pune's two nicest hotels, said he was shocked by one run-down hotel that was charging up to $150 a night."Forget it, we won't talk about such rooms," he said.

The Pune Airport, one of the only ones in India shared between the public and the Indian air force, has only one runway, which served about 10 passenger flights a day four years ago and now juggles more than 30. The airport is being renovated, but it's unlikely the government will be able to find land nearby for another runway. A second airport may have to be built.

Traffic on the city's narrow roads is occasionally at a standstill. Hand-painted trucks with "Horn OK Please" painted on rear bumpers play chicken on crowded roads with new SUVs. Chaos rules. On a Wednesday evening at 7:30, driving 1 mile took 40 minutes.

Pune Municipal Commissioner Nitin Kareer said traffic is the worst problem. Three years ago, the city spent almost $11 million to build and repair roads. This year, it will spend five times as much, Kareer said.Huge bureaucracy Change here, as in much of India, often happens in spite of government, not because of it.That's not necessarily because officials lack vision. Kareer, the area's top official, is well-regarded in the business community.

Instead, this is largely because of the huge Indian bureaucracy and the glacial pace it takes to accomplish anything.For instance, in October, just when the city's wireless project was about to start, the central government announced new rules for going wireless. But these regulations have not yet been approved. Meanwhile, the project waits.Private companies paid for the expressway between Mumbai and Pune in 2000.

After the increasing demand on Pune's power system, leading to power cuts of five hours a day, 20 top companies agreed last summer to generate their power for six to eight hours a day, lowering the demand on city power." Anything here that is private is among the best in the world," said Kerman Kasad, the head of corporate communications for Symantec Corp. in Pune. "But whatever the government tries to do is among the worst in the world. ... The moment you talk about government, the first thing that comes to mind is run away."

Financial Controlling of Soccer

Soccer Premier League : Ultimate Toy for Rich Boys

English Premier League clubs are being bought by overseas investors because they offer potentially huge returns thanks to their large regular incomes, lucrative television revenues and international brand values.

Despite FIFA president Sepp Blatter saying this week that the biggest threat facing the game was foreign investors wanting football to serve them instead of them serving the game, English clubs continue to prove attractive to men with large sums to spend.

West Ham United became the sixth Premier League club to be acquired by overseas interests this week with Icelandic Eggert Magnusson, 59, a member of UEFA's Executive Committee, leading a consortium backed by billionaire compatriot Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson.They have paid 161.5 million dollar to acquire the club whose major, but sporadic, successes since they were formed in 1900 have come in cup competitions.

West Ham have never been champions of England but famously did provide three players -- Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters -- to the England side that won the World Cup in 1966.Whether West Ham will ever be able to challenge the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea and establish themselves as serious contenders for major honours is open to doubt but there is no questioning the potential of the club whose home at Upton Park in east London holds 35,000.That capacity could double if they were to move into the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 London Games.

BOYS' TOYS Analyst Bill Gerrard of Leeds University Business School says that a club's past history does not really have a bearing on its future potential for a big-money investor.''The English Premiership is the top domestic football league in the world,'' he said.''It's got the best international coaches and players. It attracts an international audience and is the ultimate toy for the very rich boy.''

Analyst Alan Switzer of Deloitte & Touche said the financial and promotional lure of the Premier League could not be ignored.''The top 20 Premiership clubs generated combined revenue of 2.59 billion dollar in 2004-05, with its nearest rival the Italian Serie A at 1.73 billion dollar,'' he told Reuters.''English clubs benefit from modern stadiums with extensive corporate facilities hence higher ticket prices than elsewhere in Europe. The clubs are very successful at extracting value from their stadia.''

The trend of non-British businessmen buying English football clubs started when Egyptian businessman, and owner of top London department store Harrods, Mohamed Al Fayed bought Fulham FC in 1997 for 49 million dollar. In 2003 Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea for 99.50 million dollar.Texan oil billionaire Martin Glazer paid 1.41 billion dollar to acquire Manchester United in 2004, while Aston Villa's new owner is another American tycoon, Randy Lerner, who bought the club for 119 million dollar.Russian-French businessman Alexandre Gaydamak bought Portsmouth in 2006 for 58.46 million dollar from its former owner and another overseas investor, Milan Mandaric.

BUSINESS SIDE The number may rise as Liverpool, previously approached by ex-Thai Prime Minister and telecommunications tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, continues takeover talks with American entrepreneur George Gillett.Of Europe's top five soccer-playing nations, German clubs had the largest average league match attendance last season at 40,800 per game.England were second with an average of 33,800 followed by Spain, 28,500, France, 21,700 and Italy, 21,500.

However, English clubs generate the highest television revenues at an estimated 1.08 billion dollar per season from 2007-08.''Premiership club brands benefit from their great exposure,'' Switzer said.''The global appeal of the Premiership is illustrated by the expected 50 per cent increase in overseas TV rights for the new deals from 2007-08.'' English clubs are also more accessible to foreign businessmen than their European counterparts because a number of them are publicly-owned companies listed on the Stock Exchange.

''The largest Spanish clubs are owned by their members which makes them more difficult to take over than the listed clubs.Some Italian clubs are listed but others are held by powerful Italian figures or companies who to date have not wished to sell,'' Switzer added.The trend has been welcomed by Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson who said that although clubs were not run on a break-even basis and businessmen risked losing millions, owners ultimately wanted returns on their team's performances.

(Thanks to REUTERS)

A Mighty Actress, Angelina

Hollywood Actress and Shooting in Pune

Hollywood’s famous actress Angelina Jolie was in the Pune for last one and half month. During these days all the media persons and punites were following Angelina where she goes. First few days she kept herself aloof and no one got her pictures. But one day Angelina and Brad Pitt were caught in Auto. They were going to see the prominent places in Pune and take the ride of city.

At that time Media persons take as many as photos they can and publish the stories about Angelina and Brad. Next day one newspaper published the interview of the auto driver in which both were traveled. After that many stories regarding ‘Brangelina’ and `A Mighty Movie` came in Media. Shooting of the movie was taking place in Sindh Society near Aundh in Pune. Many stories related to shooting and shopping of Angelina get place in Media. But everybody did not know stories, which give some extra information about A Mighty Heart. No one is allowed at Shooting and Media persons were strictly kept away was the main reason for that.

There is one interesting story regarding `A Mighty Movie`. It is heard that in that movie one House worker from slum is acting with Angelina. She is from Pune’s suburb and she is an Urdu Speaking woman. She and her 3 years old girl child is in the movie as per the information we get. After abduction of Angelina’s Husband that woman and Angelina are shown together in many scenes. That woman is caretaker of Angelina’s child and child is nothing but that woman’s own daughter. That woman is working as cleaner in homes. Director of the movie searched many slums and they choose that girl child first and then her mother to act in movie.

Those people were living in just 10 by 10 house in slum and they are real fortunate to get acting job with Angelina in movie. Every one want to take one photograph of Angelina and Brad but many of them didn’t get success. But the woman from slum who did not pronounce Angelina’s Name properly is the co artist with Angelina is nothing but the luck. Those people are also happy when they knew the greatness of Angelina and Brad. They are thankful to ‘Allah’ and all the crew of the movie as they co-operated well. But now mother and daughter are facing another problem as the media persons are going to their home for interview and they do not want to entertain the media. Movie men have told mother and her husband not to talk with any of media person. That’s why they not in the mood of giving interview.

On Urdu Theatre organization has also got good opportunity in this movie. That organization is working in Pune from last few years and they have performed in Most of the cities in India and in Pakistan also. Members of this organization are well aware of Urdu speaking and because of that they got job in the movie. They were shown in Mob and few of these artists were acted as neighbour of Angelina. They were also enjoyed the job and very excited when they were contacted by some media persons. All the crew including Angelina and Brad were present before time for the shooting and many times they didn’t take lunch because of the busy schedule. This thing is more important when we look towards Bollywood artists.This information was not published before anywhere. We have confirmed all the information and it is true according to us. Some of this information is also published in Pune’s local newspapers including some Marathi and English.

Mahesh Bhupati’s academy in Pune

Mahesh Bhupati’s academy in Pune

Pune, Hyderabad and Chandigarh
are new hot spots for tennis: Bhupati

Pune: India’s legendary Tennis Player Mahesh Bhupati is planning to open a Training Academy in Pune in 2007. This academy will be run under the guidance of Bhupati’s father Krishna and it will start from 1st of April or 1st of August.

Bhupati was in Pune today for the prize distribution of NECC-ITF Women Tennis Championship. Nugnanda Wannasuk of Thailand won the championship by beating Amina Rakhim of Kazakhstan 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. This is second major title for Wannasuk. She won her first title last year in Nigeria.

Speaking with media persons Bhupati said that India has a lot of talent in tennis, but the problem is of coaches and facilities available. India has only five or six coach who can train the players at international level. India requires more number of coaches. That is the worst part of it. But good thing is that day-by-day more corporate companies are sponsoring sports including tennis.

Currently after Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi now Pune, Hyderabad and Chandigarh are the new hot spots in India. We are planning to start tennis training academies in these cities within one year. In Pune we are identifying proper places for academy but still no place is finalized. Within few months we will final that and also select the coach for academy. City has produced many well-known international coaches like Nandan Bal, Nitin and Sandeep Kirtane. We can utilize their experience for academy, he added.

Mahesh once again clarified that he is playing with Leander peas in doubles in Doha Asian Games starting next month. With Leander in Doubles and with Shikha in Mixed doubles, we have good opportunity to win gold in Asian games. Though Leander and Sania is also a good combination, we are little bit ahead of them. In doubles we have to beat world no. one pair of china to win the gold, Bhupati told.

Ashish Chandorkar
ashishchandorkar@rediffmail.com

What u think about it?

Champions Trophy and Pawar Controversy!!!

After all Australian players apologized the Indian Cricket Control Board’s President Sharad Pawar. They have to apologies just because theirs behavior at the presentation of champions trophy on Sunday. This controversy has some points that may not be discussed by Indian Media but someone should think over it.

Mr. Pawar is famous for the thing that, he says one and does another. In his political carrier so many times Indian especially Maharashtrian peoples have experienced this. Habit of Mr. Pawar remains in Sports also. After ceremony of Champions Trophy this thing once again noticed.
When he didn’t get respectful treatment from Australian players his first reaction was that is okay and in game this things are going to happen. Aussies were in the mood of celebration. Aussies have won the Champions Trophy for the first time. Just because of that they want to celebrate that moment. It’s without intension and that’s why Indian media should not prolong this controversy by putting oil in it.

This is the reaction of Mr. Pawar while speaking with Indian Media. Though Pawar was not taking that incident seriously his supporters were angry and they were doing protest all over the India. Obviously with greater intensity in Maharashtra.

But after two days he speaks with Australian Daily Sydney Morning Herald. While speaking with that newspaper Mr. Pawar turned in 180 degrees to take completely different position over that issue. He reacted that, Australian Cricketers are totally uncivilized!!!! If Australians players are uncivilized then how Mr. Pawar didn’t get this idea when Indian Media Persons asked this question to him. Or within those two days Mr. Pawar knew this secret? What is the reason or strategy behind Mr. Pawars 180 degree turn is interesting. He always had done such things. He never does what he speaks and he never speaks whatever is in his mind. That’s the gimmick of Pawar Politics.

Actually Mr. Pawar might have waited for the reactions of Former cricketers and other persons from all corners of India. When he knew that from Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar to CM of Maharashtra Vilsasrao Deshmukh and all the political parties have protested against treatment to Pawar. Considering those reactions he might have reacted strongly against Australian Players while speaking with The Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr. Pawar is always criticized the Indian Media Persons that they don’t research more and just ask questions with no proper information. Keeping that thing in mind Mr. Pawar may have bypassed the Indian Media Persons and speaked only with Australian Media persons. This is the worst thing in this controversy. Australian players have apologized Mr. Pawar, all the protesters are happy with that and there may not be any controversy after the apology. But the treatment given by Pawar to Indian Media Persons is not only wrong but everyone should think over it. At least Journalists and Media persons should!!!!!

Ashish Chandorkar.

ME and MY BOSS

ME and MY BOSS

• When I Take a long time to finish,I am slow,When my boss takes a long time, he is thorough
• When I don't do it,I am lazy,When my boss does not do it,he is busy,
• When I do something without being told,I am trying tobe smart,When my boss does the same, he takes the initiative,
• When I please my boss,I am apple polishing,When my boss pleases his boss,he is cooperating,
• When I make a mistake,you're an idiot.When my boss makes a mistake, he's only human.
• When I am out of the office,I am wondering around.When my boss is out of the office,he's on business.
• When I am on a day off sick,I am always sick.When my boss is a day off sick, he must be very ill.
• When I apply for leave,I must be going for an interview. When my boss applies for leave,
• When I do good,my boss never remembers, When I do wrong,he never forgets …….

Should Minorities Get Reservation?

Minorities : Look towards Indian Cricket Team

Reservation has become the one of the controversial issue in the country. After reservation for OBC's in higher education now someone minority organisations have doing demands that minorities should get reservation as they are not yet come up to the level of other majority citizens. Those who are doing such demands there is excellent example of Indian Cricket team.

Recently Indian Cricket squad was declared for South African tour. In this team there are total five Muslim Players. Zahir Khan, Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Kaif, Munaf Patel and Wasim Jaffer are those players that are from minority background get seat in Indian team. But most important thing is that those players are not there just because they are from minority religion. But they are in the team because of their quality performance.

Look towards background of these players, all these players are from poor family. Some of them are from villages and not from big cities. Zahir Khan is from Shrirampur that is in Ahmadnagar District of Maharashtra. He is hardworking and took lot of efforts that’s why he is there in Indian team. Munaf Patel is from Bharuch in Gujarat, which is also not that much big city. Irfan Pathan is from Vadodara but he also from poor family background. Same thing with Mohammad Kaif. He is from Lucknow. Nothing different with Wasim Jaffer. Though he is from India's Cricket Capital that is Mumbai, his father was for service in BEST. (Bombay Electric Supply and Transport). All these players have no cricketing background; this is one more important thing.

Just with hard work and natural talent these players get succeed to get berth in Indian cricket team. But this is not new thing for Indians. Our most successful captain till emergence of Sourav Ganguly was Mohammad Azharuddin. Who is also Muslim. But he took Indian team to new height under his captaincy. Though he caught in match fixing scandal no one can take objection to his contribution to Indian Cricket.

This starts from Mohammad Nissar who represented Indian cricket team in 1932. This year India played first test against England. Right from that the Muslim cricketers played their innings for India. Batsman Mushtaq Ali, Abbas ali beig, Gulam Ahmad, Medium pace bowler Abid Ali, Famous six hitter Salim Durrani, India's one of the best wicket Keeper Farooq Engineer and Syed Kirmani, Off spinner from Hyderabad Arshad Ayub and Wicket Keeper from Bengal Syed Saba Karim are some of the prominent Muslim Players who did remarkable job for India.

Not only that Iftikar Ali Khan Pataudi was the first Muslim Player to Captained the Indian team. He was captain of Indian team before independence. Gulam Ahmad was second minority captain of Indian team. He captained the team in 1948-49. Iftikar Ali's son Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi was also becomes the captain of India team. He was the youngest captain of the world that time. After that era of Azharuddin started. He was the most successful captain of India before Sourav Ganguly.

Looking towards the history of Indian cricket team one can claim that there is quota system for players from different states of India. But there is not a single example of cricketer who registered his seat just because he is from minority. This is not the case with cricket only but the hockey and soccer have the same history regarding minorities. This is the case of sports where competition is most. If minorities can do well in sports they can rule the any walk of life if they do devotedly. That’s why there is no need of reservation for minorities.
Every one should think over it and do their best to get good results.

ashishchandorkar
ashishchandokrar@rediffmail.com