Cartoon Speak: The Hindu on the Indo-US Nuclear Deal
Showing posts with label Cartoons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cartoons. Show all posts
Aug 31, 2007
Jul 10, 2007
Jul 5, 2007
Jul 2, 2007
Jun 5, 2007
May 28, 2007
May 18, 2007
Apr 21, 2007
Cartoon Speak: Pain & Relief
Cricket's last emperor The timing of Brian Lara's retirement from international cricket is a wistful reminder that not all great sportspersons can exit on a high. In his prime, the left-handed genius — Test cricket's highest run-getter with 11,953 runs at 52.88 — was a glorious attacking batsman whose swift footwork, range of strokes, and courage placed him above all contemporary cricketers. Aesthetically, Lara's batting always had the power to elevate the senses. "I've come out there and tried to entertain," Lara said, summing up his approach to the game. "You have to remember that people pay to come through the turnstiles." An exceptional sportsman who upheld the finest traditions of the game, Lara chose to `walk' every single time he knew he had been dismissed fairly. His knocks were characterised by a fierce commitment to the team's cause. While he was susceptible early on, what set him apart was his ability to capitalise brilliantly on starts. Lara's penchant for steep scores — his 34 Test centuries include nine doubles and two triples — helped secure his reputation as the greatest match-winner of his generation. Wisden ranked his unbeaten 153 at Bridgetown, 1999, which took West Indies to a one-wicket win over Australia, as the second greatest innings in Test history — after Bradman's 270 against England in Melbourne, 1937. The only man to recapture the record for highest Test score — with knocks of 375 and then 400 not out, both against England, after Matthew Hayden posted 380 against Zimbabwe in the interregnum — Lara naturally holds the current record for the highest first class score (501 not out). The first half of the 37-year old Trinidadian's international career was rich in spoils. It was also marked by inconsistency and punctuated by spells of rebelliousness, reflecting a confusion born of sudden stardom. It was a more sober Lara who made the effort to revitalise his career in a breakthrough series against Sri Lanka in 2001-2002 — accounting for an astonishing 42 per cent of his team's output in a three-Test series. By then West Indies cricket was in a state of terminal decline, making people wonder how such transcendental individual greatness could co-exist with such collective mediocrity. Lara's stints as captain were mostly unsuccessful. While he did spur the West Indies on to a spirited win in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy in England, his side's performance on home soil at the 2007 ICC World Cup has been mostly toothless. Given how far and fast Caribbean cricket has declined, and how quickly sports such as baseball and basketball have caught the imagination of young athletes in those islands in the sun, Lara may be the last of the giants. He will be missed by millions of cricket lovers.[The Hindu] |
Mar 19, 2007
Mar 13, 2007
Feb 7, 2007
Cartoon Speak: How to Bite the Dust
The Congress Party is in the habit of exhibiting their arrogance of power from time to time and each time they do it they bite the dust. The latest was in the run up to the municipal polls in Maharashtra. Logically Congress and NCP being coalition partners should have joined hands and fought the polls together especially when the alliance was returned to power in the state assembly election only because of them going to polls together. Not only that after returning to power, the alliance has been on a downhill spiral - from power cuts in Mumbai City to farmer suicides in Vidarbha. But the overconfident and arrogant Congress Party felt no need to have an alliance with the NCP and spurned all offers from the NCP for an alliance. The Congress didn’t want to give any foothold to NCP in their Mumbai ‘bastion’.
On the other hand a weakened Shiv Sena took along its partner the BJP and despite Raj Thackeray walking out of Shiv Sena, the coalition was able to hold onto its vote bank.
The difference between the two coalitions is that one has mastered the art of coalition but the other despite putting up a viable coalition of secular and castiest parties is still to learn the art of coalition politics.
The postmortem has revealed that it was this arrogance of power on the Congress party’s part that has prevented the 'secular' coalition from dislodging the 'communal' coalition from BMC. So much so that the Congress will be able to rule only one municipality and that too with NCP’s blessings. Had they fought as a coalition, about 60 more seats would have been in their kitty.
The secular vote was further divided when the Muslims voted en masse for the Samajwadi Party because of the so-called witch-hunt of Muslims by the Maharashtra police after the 7-11 serial train bombings. The brutal Khairlanji killing of Dalits – in which the accused are fellow upper-caste villagers having allegiance to a local BJP politician - has ensured the Dalit vote moving to Dalit parties like BSP and various factions of RPI. BSP’s performance has been particularly impressive.
One heartening aspect of the BMC poll was the victory of apolitical Adolph D’Souza in Juhu’s 63rd ward.
Jan 29, 2007
Jan 23, 2007
Dec 31, 2006
Dec 26, 2006
Dec 23, 2006
Dec 11, 2006
Dec 8, 2006
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