Rossi wins his 9th World Riders’ Championship at Sepang…

Unlike F1 over the past few seasons, MotoGP has reinvented itself, just when one thought Rossi has no competition, youngsters like Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner & Jorge Lorenzo put their hands up to be counted. So today, after 9 world championships, I am sure Rossi still has to work hard, both on & off his bike. Limited interventions from management, close opponents & similarities in machinery have resulted in MotoGP raced being more competitive than F1 which suffers from too many scandals, a prohibitive thirst for money, unwarranted & stupid interventions of management in race results etc.

When I went to see the Malaysian MotoGP, I had some expectations which were all satisfied – and exceeded. Rossi started from pole (which was a huge surprise on Saturday since he completely messed up his last two fast laps in qualifying, overshooting turn 1 in both cases), made a good start whilst Lorenzo had to start from the back of the grid because he changed his bike due to setting problems he discovered during the formation lap. Valentino had actually beaten his own Sepang Circuit Fastest Pole Lap Record (which he had set on a 990CC Bike before) with his 800CC machine on Saturday & was the only rider to dip below the 2 Minute 1 Second barrier. He got away well from the line, but exercised a lot of caution over the first set of corners, because a mistake under the treacherous conditions could mean he was out of the race! Nevertheless, over the first few laps the order settled & Stoner took over from Pedrosa, eventually building a stunning 15 second gap – Stoner, much to the pleasure of Ducati fans, was a league aprt on Sunday. Rossi meanwhile, ended the first lap at P10 with Lorenzo at P8 after a storming start from the back of the grid. The pair eventually consolidated & took out about 1 rival per lap and slowly moved up the grid & by Lap 7, Rossi had overtaken Lorenzo, and was on P4, trying to get away from Lorenzo (on P5) even as he closed the gap to Dovizioso. Eventually, Dovizioso fell off the bike while chasing Pedrosa for second & gifting the last podium step to the doctor. As a clear racing line was established, both Rossi & Lorenzo upped their pace but Pedrosa was too far away (over 2 seconds) to be caught – also, throughout the race, major portions of the track remained wet & the lack of heat in the weather meant it was drying up any quickly, so any risk would have been foolish.

Once he got into P3, Rossi realised that the gap to Pedrosa is too large & therefore did not attempt to go for it, but instead drove a good race to ensure the crown was his – that Lorenzo was behind him, helped. And then he finished in P3, winning his 9th World Riders’ Championship, the 7th in MotoGP & 4th for Yamaha.

Awesome thing to observe was the enthusiasm fans reserve for Valentino Rossi & the way he entertains them. May be Stoner, Lorenzo & Pedrosa need to take a leaf out of his book even as they covet his position in MotoGP – media & people management are important skills. Consider these: The largest crowd on practice day was sitting right opposite the Fiat Yamaha garages; the most vocal fans were Rossi fans; every time he exited the pits & during every lap Rossi made, he was cheered the most; his colours (flourescent yellow) were the most visible & his merchandise would have outsold all other merchandise that was on sale at the venue.

The man himself responded brilliantly – after an amazing qualifying session, he found himself in conditions that were a complete anti-thesis to the way his bike was set up. He made that all important start & kept himself out of trouble in the initial laps, judging the conditions & setting up his bike, all this even while keeping an eye on Lorenzo. When he passed Toni Elias, I was asking people around me if he’d take the risk of trying to pass Lorenzo, being on equal bikes – we were all skeptic & were pleasantly shocked to see him take turn 1 ahead of Lorenzo, having made the move & made it stick at some other part of the circuit.

I think Valentino has been a great entertainer alongside being a great rider, sportsman & competitor. Agreed that sometimes his methods are questioned for their spirit, but I think he does what he does for the sake of competing.

I also hope F1 Management & FIA take some lessons from the MotoGP Management.

Here’s to Rossi for the awesome Championship!! May he win many more!!

 

The closest I’ve come to liking Sridevi…

Sri was a very famous Indian actress & friends often wonder why I don’t like her so much – I wonder too, since she has delivered a few powerful performances – Mr. India, Johnny & Moondram Pirai etc.

Nevertheless, this is one of her best performances that I like – especially at the start (the female humming). Point to note is that her leg was broken during the shoot & hence she is not moving around as usual. But expressions-wise, she has done so well, in spite of the leg.

Also, the song is a potent combination of Rajni’s style, Ilayaraja’s Orchestral arrangements & use of instruments & Malaysia Vasudevan’s fantastic rendering of the composition.

Check it out.

A Nobel Prize & A Nobel Mind…

Hearty congratulations to Prof. Venki Ramakrishnan for his great achievement. His research is surely for the benefit of humanity & we are forever indebted to his hard work & efforts. I feel happy that his achievement has been recognized & rewarded – his Indian Origin is a moot point that is of academic interest.

While we are not producing the number of Nobel Prize Winners we should considering our population that is 1/6th of the World Population, we take pride in his achievement because his grandfather was an Indian or because he ate dosas during his last visit to India. What an argument? If Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi wants to become the Indian Prime Minister, we will agitate because they are not “Indians”. But a Professor who has spent decades abroad, holds the citizenship of another country & has reached this point by utilising that country’s facilities, knowledge & infrastructure should dedicate his achievements to us because he was born here or educated here? Such bad logic.

I think we have to build on the vision that starting 2025, we will produce Nobel Winners every year – that is a good vision. And we should start working towards providing our scientists & researchers with adequate facilities to achieve our vision. Instead of focussing our energy on piggybacking on somebody else’s success.

We need not write off Prof. Ramakrishnan’s success – it is still our success, but so is President Obama’s or Elinor Ostrom’s & Oliver Williamson’s because we believe in “Vasudaiva Kutumbakam”. The awards were not designed to generate nationalistic pride but to aid the betterment of the world as a unit.

This letter by Prof. Ramakrishnan (as a response to the replies he received for his previous post) is unnecessary (in my opinion) because he is arguing for what is common sense. If people haven’t understood it already, they will never & he is just wasting his time.

I do not fear…

someone looking better than me & attracts people. I do not fear someone with the most power & can do anything. I do not fear someone with a lot of money & can buy anything. I do not fear someone with the greatest personality & the cutest smile. I do not fear someone with nuclear codes or constitutional knowledge. I do not fear someone who is intelligent & informed. I do not fear someone who can get anything & everything done.

I only fear someone who has better values & ethics than me because they are the ones that can see through my eyes & look into my soul. They are the ones who can see me inside out. It is this that I have to hone & move from the intellect/knowledge level to the wisdom level.

The Significant Shift…

Being an A. R. Rahman fan I was browsing through some Ad Jingles he had composed between 1988 & 1992. That’s when I found the videos below – both are the same tune & for the same brand (Leo Coffee). Take a look at both, in the order that they have been displayed here & try figuring out if there’s a Paradigm Shift in the videos.

Well, it is not very difficult: the first video shows the traditional south Indian lady waking up early & doing all the household work culminating at handing over the coffee to her “Executive” husband. The second video shows a modern south Indian lady, still attached to her traditions, waking up, completing her household chores & then doing more – she is teaching music (which signifies the new-found economic independance) & her husband making the coffee & handing it to her, even as she works on her laptop.

This, to me, is great. I am very pleased that this paradigm shift has been observed & included, though in such a small medium as an Ad.