Associate Cricket

These are dark days for cricket, specially for the Associate Nations. With the ICC deciding to cull all Associate members other than Zimbabwe from the next World Cup scheduled for 2015 and reduce the number of participating nations to 10, the Associate Nations have lost the one big stage they had to perform and learn. The fact that the Associates in general are proving themselves to be push-overs in the current ICC World Cup 2011 vindicates ICC's stand.

However, this development in the long spells doom for Cricket. The sport cannot rely on solely the Sub-Continent to finance the game and a few top playing nations to keep it competitive. The looming threat of IPL and T20 cricket make the very existence of ODI cricket uncertain. In this grave circumstances, the ICC and the influential BCCI have a huge responsibility to make cricket a sustainable sport in the long run by promoting Cricket beyond the traditional borders.

It is in this extreme scenario, IPL, known as the Great Indian Tamasha can play a critical role in popularizing Cricket in the Associate Nations. IPL would love to expand its fan-base beyond the existing countries to generate more revenue and accomplish its dream to rival EPL. For this, IPL needs to take drastic steps.

The best way to earn fans is to provide opportunity for their local boys to play. Obliging the IPL teams to maintain atleast 3 players from Associate Nations in their roster, would provide atleast 30 players from all parts of the world an opportunity to train on world-class equipment with the best in the business. Also, keeping a quota of minimum one associate player required to turn out for an IPL match would pique the curiosity of the Associate Nations who would be interested to see their sportsmen perform on such a big stage. This act would also increase awareness about the potential Associate Cricket has. Also, the quality players emerging from Associate Nations would increase the competitiveness of the playing standards of IPL.

The above mentioned steps would boost the image of cricket beyond the traditional cricketing nations. This, in the long run will bring Cash Inflows to Associates, they desperately need to develop world-class infrastructure. With significant improvements in infrastructure as well as increased exposure to top-level cricket, we can surely hope the Associate Nations to raise their bar and improve playing standards and make Cricket a more competitive and a sustainable sport. For example, Usain Bolt, worlds fastest man was inclined to join cricket, but the poor infrastructure in place was a big reason why he joined Athletics and cricket lost a potential superstar.

And what does the IPL gain from this? Increased competitiveness, larger fan-base achieved by these measure are a prerequisite to rival top leagues like La Liga and EPL.

This is just a humble opinion, but I sincerely believe my stand holds merit and hope someone acts on it.

China and our future

China is expected to become the world's largest economy by 2020. The present near double-digit growth rates validate this claim. Hence ignoring any decisions by the Chinese think-thank would be pure folly. If one studies the 12th Five-year plan to be implemented by the Chinese Government for 2011-15, we can predict future trends of the world economy.

Post-Recession world is looking towards the Eastern Hemisphere to drive growth. China has finally realized that it cannot expect to maintain high growth rates with the present Export-Oriented strategy. Also, it cannot afford to allow its economy to be subject to the economic vagaries of other countries. China seeks to be the leading economy post 2020 and it better start acting like one. It needs to develop its own domestic demand, not just because of the fore-mentioned reasons, but also also because the traditional markets of the Western Hemisphere are getting saturated. Infact these markets may contract owing to the populist protectionist measures taken by them. China has finally decided to tap its own domestic market to fuel its burgeoning economy.

Even though Chinese Economy has had its spoils of riches, it has been concentrated in select few hands. The 12th Five-Year Plan focuses on creating a more balanced economy by allowing the whole country to get rich rather than a lucky few. Domestic demand, sought to be increased by raising wages and salaries of the common man, will become the prime focus of this plan. The reduction in income gap will be critical for China to maintain its meteoric rise in the economic pecking order.

This change is not bereft of challenges. Raising wages and salaries would directly affect prices and China could lose its edge in exports. Increased domestic demand may lead to high inflation rates and an overheating economy. China needs to balance these threats while maintaining its edge in export-led sectors.

What it signifies

China is unwilling to feed US and Europe, the consumer giants and wants to focus on domestic needs. The country will still remain an FDI favorite, but firms will start looking at other alternatives to invest. Chinese policymakers are seeking to address its poor fundamentals and strengthen its position in the World. However this shift in policy might back-fire, as increased cost and investment fears might cause them to lose their USP as an investment favorite and trigger massive Cash Outflows.

What it means to me

China will no longer churn out products at dirt-cheap prices. However one can safely assess that opportunities for Indians will rise with the heavy capital to be invest in India. A growing working population and a fundamentally stronger economy will attract more Cash Inflows. In the long-run, Indian economy, inspite of having its own share of problems, will surely overtake Chinese Economy, though it is tough to put a finger on when this might happen. We as Indians surely hope to relive our age of "The Golden Bird of the World".

Why Led Zeppelin HAVE to be the greatest Artist of 20th Century

If one tries to jot down the artists who have had the greatest impact over the last century, few names that would crop up in your mind may be Beatles, Elvis, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder etc. All these created exceptional music for their audience over the years and enchanted the fans with their delightful concerts. However, if we seek to pin-point one single artist which had the maximum impact in world of music, it HAS to be Led Zeppelin.

Loved by fans, hated by critics, they were an enigma during the 60's and 70's and polarized the world in two. They managed to sellout whole stadium during their concerts and produced classic albums revered by rock fans. A quartet founded in 1968, it consisted of vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, drummer John Bonham and the versatile multi-instrumentalist John Paul Johns. Their signature style which is derived from various sources, has Blues as its foundation and simply cannot be confined to a single genre. Not only did they shape the Hard-Rock and Metal genres, they have inspired a host of brilliant performers from Prog-Rock bands like Rush, Dream Theatre to Metal bands like Megadeth and Contemporary Performers like the ageless Madonna to the quirky Lady Gaga.

To seek to justify my stance, I have analysed them on the following criteria:-

1. Talent

2. Originality

3. Creativity

4. Passion

5. Ability to withstand the vagaries of time

6. Ability to change the Face of Music

Talent. As far as Talent is concerned, the quartet were brimming with it. Page's enigmatic guitar riffs, Plant's powerful voice and ingenious lyrics, Bonham's energetic drumming to Jones'es mellow performances were the best you could get in a band. If one browses through their discography, the songs are inspired from different genres like Blues, Rock, Samba, Rock&Roll, Classical etc, proving their versatility too.

Originality. One might question Led Zeppelin's worth on this criteria, given that few of their songs were borrowed from fellow blues musicians, but what the band did was lend these songs their own trademark sound and make them their own. If one wishes to search for truly original guitar riffs, impacting lyrics, powerful drumming and mellow bass-lines, they need to get hold of their albums.

Creativity. There are innumerable instances of pure genius littered around in their discography. Who could have imagined using a violin bow to a guitar to produce to wild sounds in "Whole Lotta Love"? They invented the technique of "reverse echo" which can be heard on "Dazed and Confused". They considered recording as a science and were responsible for their own creative sounds.

Passion. See any concert of LedZep. Period.

The band performed epic expanded elaborate live versions of their album recording with some extending to over 40 minutes! They shared a unique musical chemistry, which allowed then to experiment On-Stage. They raw passion and energy with which they performed made them a crowd favorite during the 60's and 70's, till their break-up in 1980.

Standing the test of time. When the remaining members decided to reunite in 2007 in memory of former Atlantic Records Chairman Ahmet Ertegun, due to limited seats and huge demand, the organizers had to sell tickets by ballots. This single event is evidence enough the fact that their popularity if not strengthened, has definitely not waned over the years.

Changing the face of music. The progenitors of Metal and Hard-Rock. Invented innumerable recording and playing techniques. Inspiring the future generation of musicians. Bringing "Album oriented Rock" back in fashion. Reinventing concerts in sold-out stadiums. Need I say more??

They may not be the most technically gifted and may not have access to the best equipments. They also may not be technically the most gifted, or for that matter dedicated and passionate (given their history in substance abuse and other excesses).

However, the exceptional musical chemistry shared amongst them, and the raw genius displayed by them not only enthralled fans but also made a significant impact on the music scene and society as such. With albums like Led Zeppelin II laying down the blueprint for Metal, Led Zeppelin IV on how to produce album oriented music and their bootlegs winning over music critics and fans even today, they have influenced everyone past, present and hopefully the future. And given how their methods of performance and recording were quickly embraced by contemporary artists and producers, I would love to end this post with a quote-

"Imitation is the best form of compliment"