Saturday 25 August 2012

Did He or Didn't He




He was the embodiment of 21st century version of American dream. His battle with near fatal testicular cancer and later unprecedented success in the gruelling Tour de France was the stuff legends were made of. 

Overcoming cancer and then winning (that too seven times) probably the most punishing activity in the modern sporting arena was really something. Participants in Tour have to pedal a distance of 3,497 kilometres covering stretches of Italy and Switzerland, in addition to France. The route passes through mountainous stretches of Pyrenees and Alps. However, its history is badly scarred with drug taint and numerous ex-champs were stripped off their titles after testing positive for some banned substance.

All through Armstrong's post-cancer career, allegations of doping kept following him like a shadow. In 1999 his urine sample showed traces of corticosteroid in an amount that was not in the positive range. A medical certificate showed he used an approved cream for saddle sores which contained the substance. That was probably the closest he came officially to the doping taint. But there were always a legion of sceptics, who believed that he was not clean; in fact, he was too smart to get caught.

But what he did on August 24 took everyone, including his detractors, off guard. He announced that he is not going to contest the doping charges as he felt the US anti-doping agency was indulging in "witch hunt". It drew extreme reactions. While his supporters and cancer organisations felt he should not have thrown in the towel, his detractors felt vindicated.

Though Armstrong is probably the most tested athlete and has never failed in any test, barring the 1999 aberration, his reputation has always been under cloud. It took further beating when fellow US cyclist Floyd Landis, who himself got disqualified in a drug test, said Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs and even taught others how not to get caught.

Unfortunately the world of doping is very complex. While knave dopers like Ben Johnson get caught immediately, there are some who trip after years like Marion Jones. Even Florence Griffith Joyner died amid innuendos of doping. The reason is that drug cheats are always a step ahead of anti-doping agencies. They  take drugs that are not under the lens of these agencies and go scot-free. By the time doping agencies device a test for that particular drug, they move on to new ones. Some even go for blood transfusion to avoid detection.

As a counter measure the doping agencies keep samples for longer periods, so that they can be later tested for newer drugs. And it did succeed in bringing many to book.

All this is not to cast aspersion on Lance Armstrong, but he should have fought on if he were clean. By refusing to do so he has provided a handle to sceptics. He had previously won an indomitable battle against cancer and these allegations are nothing compared to that.

Also Read: Bangalore Beat

Thursday 23 August 2012

In Praise of India


For most Indians there is nothing like getting a pat from a Westerner, it is almost akin to schoolboy's euphoria on being praised by a hard-to-please teacher.

The Telegraph opinion piece by Theodore Darlymple will surely be music to their ears. The author’s name did ring a bell and I wondered if he is anyway connected with the famous historian William Darlymple. But a Wikipedia search revealed that Theodore Darlymple is in fact a pen name for Anthony (A.M.) Daniels, writer and retired doctor.

The columnist's main aim seems to be to run down Britain for being caught in its colonial time wrap and refusing to accept the new 'little England' ground realities.

He begins by attacking Britain's policy of extending aid to foreign countries in general and says it only helps the concerned British officials feather their nests with fat salaries and help corrupt governments in donor countries. Citing his own example as aid project official he said, "I bought my first house with money saved from the generous salary an aid project paid me, when I worked in the South Seas."

Then Darlymple comes to British aid to India says it has more to do with "hangover of a colonial superiority complex" and also decries clubbing all poor nations in one category. He also quotes Pranab Mukherjee as saying British aid was 'peanuts'. He lauds India for the scientific and economic progress made by the country in general – and all that without an authoritarian government. He heaps praise on youth of India and their thirst for knowledge and says the country's condition improved because of hard work by its people and not due to any aid.

Surprisingly Darlymple also finds Indians’ command over English language amazing. He gushes, “The best and most beautiful spoken English in the world is now to be heard in India.” Probably the rise of Indian writers in English fiction made him come to such a conclusion.

However, Darlymple at the same time reminds us that he has not lost track of what ails India. He says the country “remains profoundly corrupt and its government is incapable of passing necessary reforms. Rural poverty is deep and persistent.” Still he says it has come a long way from being perceived as a hopeless case with “perpetual epidemic and recurring famine”.

What I found a bit disconcerting was his justification for India's low tally of medals at the Olympic Games. He says, “Its young people have more important things to do than put the shot or throw the javelin.” Sorry Mr Darlymple, we are a medal starved country and are acutely conscious of it. That is why even bronze medalists here get the kind of reception, which even multiple gold medalists in other countries may not get. One of the main factor for this disquiet is that our neighbour China returns home after every Olympics with a cart load of medals.

I also don’t share his fulsome praise of how things have improved in Calcutta, “they don’t any longer collect dead people from the pavements who have died in the night of starvation.”  Maybe starvation deaths in our cities are no longer happening or not getting recorded, but our metros such as Kolkata or Mumbai are far from presentable. And when I say this I am not even thinking of London or New York, even those who have been to Shanghai or Bangkok rave about their infrastructure, clean streets and polite people. Something sorely lacking in our cities.

Also Read: Bangalore Beat


Tuesday 14 August 2012

Copysutra Unlimited



The fact that noted Indian-American political commentator Fareed Zakaria was caught for plagiarism and suspended from Time and CNN may have caused ripples in US, and Zakaria was oozing with apology, he said he made “a terrible mistake. ... It is a serious lapse and one that is entirely my fault.”

But at his home country it caused hardly any such stir. Gauging the reaction of people from all walks of the society, it seems that at best it evoked only a casual what’s-the-big-deal shrug. 

An editor who not too long ago was caught for lifting paras from some foreign publication, but still managed to keep his job, said, “Being editor-at-large (Fareed Zakaria is editor at large at CNN) is a tough call. You travel so many places, attend cocktail sessions and read so many things that after a point you don’t remember what is yours and what it somebody else’s.” As an afterthought he said, "I feel he should not have taken paras from a well known journal like New Yorker, but maybe from some provincial publication, whose website frequently gets inaccessible due to lack of bandwidth."

The members of the academic community were more amused than shocked about developments concerning Zakaria. A research scholar, who considers ‘control C+control V’ the greatest invention since wheel, said, "God for copying one para he is doing all this. I know of guys who have lifted whole thesis and are now well placed in life." He then reeled out some names which were indeed very respectable ones.

However, he added that sometimes accidents do happen, as in the case of one of his seniors. He had plagiarized one thesis and unfortunately the invigilator happened to be the guy, whose thesis he had lifted! “Such incidents do happen, but are as rare getting hit by lightning,” he philosophized.

A film director of seventies, who had improvised many Hollywood spaghetti westerns of the 70s into daaku films (also called faluda western) and rode into sunset with good fortune and some popular awards said, “This internet age is proving to be a boon as well as bane. These days it is easy to get film footage and other materials to copy, but it is becoming almost impossible to not get caught by the audience.” 

He recalled nostalgically that during the licence-permit raj days of the 70s, few Indians used to go abroad and English movies were hardly screened in small towns and television was unheard of beyond metros. In such an environment it was easy to get away with lifting almost a whole film and pepper them with song and dance numbers.

For most Bollywood music directors plagiarism is as inherent in their songs, as say words like pyaar or ishq. A Bollywood remix lyricist amid his tight schedule took time off to share few thoughts on the issue. “There is nothing like originality. Everything happens due to inspiration. Even Shakespeare was not original.” Just then he broke into the latest ad jingle for a telecom company ‘jo tera hai, woh mera hai to drive home his point.


Disclaimer: A work of pure imagination

Also read: Bangalore Beat