Nonetheless first series win in Lanka after long time deserves kudos.

India's collapse (only Kohli managed to score more than 20) was mainly orchestrated by Ajantha Mendis (4-10) and Nuwan Kulasekara (4-40), proving that India's batsmen are still as vulnerable as ever.

After splitting from Shiv Sena; as it was not offering any higher leadership position to Raj; he has formed another party MNS to fuel the politics of hate in youth of Maharashtra. In general youth need arenas to vent out their feelings and mob behaviour helps them as nobody comes under police scanner in general.

The recent actions and fatwas of Raj (MNS) are nothing but ill mentality to destabilize the society to make short term gains in election year. Why Raj was silent for so many years on issues which he is raising up now? The same issues were prevalent even when Shiv Sena / BJP alliance was in power and Raj was very much part of it. Issues like sign boards in "Marathi" are useless (they are nothing but having sign boards in Arabic in Saudi Arabia for somebody who is entering in the country without knowing that language).

Did Raj study only in "Marathi"? How having signboards in "Marathi" would help the state and people in specific? If Raj would have been really a leader he should have worked on issues which are pressing the society in Maharashtra viz. severe power crisis, road infrastructure, debts of farmers, looming part drought etc. If MNS has no strength to raise this then at this moment even if Raj keeps out of roads, it shall help society.

Más de una razón me llevó a visitar este famoso templo consagrado a la diosa Kali: Por un lado, fue morada del gran santo Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, de quien yo había escuchado bastante, sobre todo en mi casa.

Sri Ramakrishna fue un sacerdote brahmán que vivió en el siglo diecinueve y que pasó la mayor parte de su vida a cargo del templo de Dakshineswar. No fue sólo un sacerdote, sino un alma iluminada que generó un gran movimiento espiritual en Bengala occidental y, con el tiempo, en la India. Además, su Orden está diseminada  en varias partes del mundo.

La increíble y santa vida de este hombre está retratada en muchos libros, de los cuales el más conocido es “El evangelio de Sri Ramakrishna”.

Durante la vida de Sri Ramakrishna no se hubo formado una Orden de manera oficial y sus enseñanzas estaban limitadas a quienes podían entrar en contacto directo con el santo. Fue sólo después de su muerte en 1886, que sus discípulos principales se plantearon la creación de una organización formal.

Swami Vivekananda

De todos modos, había una razón más fuerte que me llevaba a visitar el templo: 

Swami Vivekananda es el nombre de quien es considerado el principal discípulo de Ramakrishna, que además fue el impulsor de la Orden monástica y el portavoz de sus enseñanzas, sobre todo en Occidente.

Swami Vivekananda era también de origen bengalí y fue quien representó al Hinduismo en el primer Parlamento de las Religiones del mundo, llevado a cabo en Chicago en 1893. Debido a que sus discursos tuvieron un gran éxito, fue invitado a dar conferencias en toda Norte América y también en Europa. De esta forma, contribuyó a la difusión de la filosofía espiritual de la India en Occidente.

Luego de esa primera visita a Occidente, Swami Vivekananda retornó a la India, donde fundó la Orden Ramakrishna en 1898.

Todo esto no sería más que datos históricos si no fuera porque Swami Vivekananda tiene una importancia personal en mi vida.

Mi nombre, Naren, me fue dado por mis padres en referencia al nombre de bautismo de este santo, que luego adoptó  el nombre monástico de Swami Vivekananda.

Mi hermano, Rakhal, fue llamado así en referencia al nombre pre-monástico de otro gran discípulo de Ramakrishna, Swami Brahmananda, quien fue el primer presidente de la Misión Ramakrishna y se encargó de desarrollarla grandemente en Oriente.  

Naren y Rakhal (Vivekananda y Brahmananda) eran considerados hermanos espirituales y por esa razón nuestros padres nos dieron esos nombres.

Evidentemente, el ir a conocer el lugar donde se gestó la hermosa historia espiritual de todas estas personas santas tenía un condimento especial, que iba más allá de mi interés espiritual general y se centraba también en lo personal.

Kali-Ma

Existía todavía una razón más que me había llevado a visitar este templo: la misma diosa Kali, también conocida como Madre Kali.

Hay dos formas básicas de explicar quien es la diosa Kali.

Una forma es la que utilizó Steven Spielberg en “Indiana Jones y el templo de la perdición” (“el templo maldito” en España), retratando a Kali como diosa de la muerte e ídolo oscuro de una secta de fanáticos religiosos que con voz lúgubre y alienada entonan un hipnotizante cántico de “Kali-Maaaaa, Kali-Maaaaa, ...”.

Esto se debe, más allá de a la fantasía hollywoodiana (de hecho la película “Help” de The Beatles también hace referencia a una diosa muy similar a Kali), al aspecto feroz de la diosa.

En la iconografía del Hinduismo, Kali generalmente es representada danzando en un estado de éxtasis, con la lengua afuera, con un collar de calaveras y llevando en una de sus manos la cabeza decapitada de uno de sus devotos.

Aquí entra la segunda forma de explicar quien es la diosa Kali: Se trata de un aspecto de la Madre Divina. Para el Hinduismo, como ya he explicado en anteriores entregas, el aspecto femenino de la Divinidad es tan importante como el masculino. La Madre Divina es el nombre genérico para ese aspecto femenino del Absoluto, que viene a ser lo masculino. Se trata de dos caras de una misma medalla, inseparables y complementarias.

El aspecto masculino es el poder de creación latente y el aspecto femenino es ese poder puesto en acción; como el fuego y su calor, como el solo y sus rayos.

La idea de la Divinidad en su aspecto femenino no es sólo propiedad del Hinduismo; en el Catolicismo por ejemplo, se cristaliza como la Virgen en sus diferentes aspectos; y para mucha gente lo hace en la Naturaleza o la Energía Cósmica, por ejemplo.

La Madre Divina es muy adorada en la India y tiene una infinidad de aspectos, nombres y formas. En el caso específico de Kali, ella es la consorte de Shiva, la deidad que tiene como función la destrucción de cada ciclo. Teniendo en cuenta que para el Hinduismo todo es un proceso cíclico, la destrucción o muerte no significa un final sino un renacimiento; es por ello que, por ejemplo, al terminarse (morir) el invierno le sigue la primavera.

No se trata de un proceso de destrucción malintencionado o malvado sino del natural ciclo que sufre el universo.

Además, la figura de Kali tiene un simbolismo todavía mayor. En su caso, la destrucción a la que hace referencia es a la del ego de cada persona, el ego que le impide ver a cada ser su verdadera esencia divina. La cabeza decapitada que sostiene Kali en una de sus manos es justamente ese ego que se ha arrancado de raíz.

Por otra parte, a mi padre siempre le ha gustado mucho la Madre Kali; de hecho cuando mis padres tuvieron que ponerle nombre a su restaurante en Argentina optaron por Kali-Ma, (Ma en la India se entiende por madre).

Por ende, la visita al templo de Dakshineswar era algo ineludible que estaba muy conectado con diversas partes de mi crianza.

Pero no era yo el único que tenía un interés especial por este lugar.

Miles de peregrinos llegan cada día para, después de hacer una larga cola y aguantar algunos empujones, acercar su ofrenda a la estatua de la diosa Kali.

El día de mi visita lloviznaba y yo, creyéndome precavido, me había puesto calcetines y zapatillas, en lugar de sandalias. De todos modos, para ingresar al templo tuve que quitarme el calzado y recorrí con los pies desnudos, como debe ser, el sagrado lugar.

El sitio se encuentra junto al río Hugli, un brazo que deriva del río Ganges. El templo dedicado a la Madre Kali no es tan grande, aunque el conjunto arquitectónico todo sí lo es. Hay pequeños templos para otras deidades y muchas áreas verdes.

Además, se encuentra la habitación en que Sri Ramakrishna recibía a los devotos y visitantes cuando aún vivía físicamente. Y digo físicamente porque la energía que hay en la habitación y en todo el templo es muy perceptible; como una muestra de que una energía espiritual tal, a pesar de que pasen 100 años (o más), no se disuelve.

Madre Teresa

Una vez que regresé a la ciudad de Calcuta me dirigí a conocer otro sitio espiritual: la Misión de la Madre Teresa.

El Cristianismo es la tercera religión más numerosa de la India, aunque sólo representa el 2,3 % del total de la población (algo así como 26 millones de habitantes).

Probablemente, la madre Teresa fue la persona que más representó el lema cristiano de “amar al prójimo” en los últimos años.

Por como es la India, pobre materialmente pero rica espiritualmente, no parece en principio el lugar ideal para iniciar un proceso de evangelización intensivo; sin embargo, debido a la falta de dogmatismo del Hinduismo, la doctrina cristiana fue recibida con brazos abiertos por muchos indios.

La idea del Hinduismo de que no hay un solo profeta, ni un solo Mesías, ni un solo camino que lleve a la salvación, permitió que Jesucristo fuera recibido también como el Hijo de Dios.

Más allá de las funciones evangelizadoras, la Madre Teresa se dedicó plenamente a ayudar a los estratos más marginados de la sociedad india, y eso la hace digna de elogio, sin duda.

En su Misión pude ver muchas monjas ataviadas con el característico hábito blanco y celeste. Lamentablemente, no sé podía recorrer todo el lugar sin un permiso, así que no vi mas que el área administrativa.

Lo que sí pude hacer fue ver y tocar la tumba de la Madre Teresa que se encuentra en una pequeña capilla a disposición de todos los visitantes.

Me quedé un buen rato sentado, leyendo las frases de la Madre que hay pegadas en afiches por toda la pared. Realmente disfruté de ese lapso de reflexión espiritual y lamento no haber llegado a tiempo para conocer en persona a la Madre.

Como durante mi estadía en la India yo no estaba muy informado de lo que pasaba en el mundo, me enteré gracias a unos recortes de periódico de que el Papa Juan Pablo II había beatificado a la Madre un par de días antes de mi visita (octubre 2003). La alegría por este hecho era bien perceptible en la Misión.

Dos Madres

A fin de cuentas, en mi estadía en Calcuta visité dos lugares que pertenecían a Madres, una feroz, la otra compasiva; una con cuatro brazos y lengua afuera, otra con perfil bajo y hábito.

Pero más allá de las diferencias externas, en ambos encuentros sentí paz y además sentí la prueba de que la energía de este universo es también femenina, y que hay una Madre Divina que, no sólo nos cocina, nos lava la ropa y nos agarra de la mano para cruzar la calle, sino que se encarga de nosotros en el plano espiritual, y eso me hace sentir mucho más protegido y afortunado.

On the whole, there are like one or two leaders who have qualities to reckon. I believe Somnath Chatterjee is one of them. He has integrity at least. The common thing in all of these are that they are not great orators. None of them. They cannot move a crowd which is at least partly sensible by their words, let alone ideas. I have come to realize that oratorical skills are very important in the making of a good leader. The one who comes closest is Manmohan Singh because when he does speak, he makes sense and provides conviction.

I may be missing and overlooking some totally phenomenal leaders who I don't know about. If you do , please let me know. I will be glad to know. And just as a sidenote, I think that Sachin Pilot's political career is one worth following. He is one of the more worthy leaders of our generation.

The Kremlin

Moscow, Russia

Priminester Putin:

As the holder of the, "Keys of War and Peace", I throw America, likened to a, "Bone to the Dogs of War!" The following reasons should sound the alarm for Russia to prepare for the Victory of Russia and the Defeat of The United states of America for "sins' against Natures God, "YHWH!"

I find the current political act for President of The United states of America a contest between a "Black Racist", and a "White Racist!" That being said the persuit for "a" President of The United states of America is in reality the thirst and desire of the status quo (Black and White) to elect a "Tiller of the Garden of Hate!" This is what America today is and has become, a "GARDEN OF HATE!".

The nations of NATO must and should disband and vacate NATO or be viewed as the continuation of this "sin" against "Natures God, YHWH!" Further America is the only nation to use and exterminate a human race with the inhumane use of the atomic bomb and must not be trusted! (prepare for global victory.)

The use of thermal nuclear weapons on America has a set criteria for its use and punishment against there 'sin' against 'Natures God, YHWH!"

1. Unsolved murders from 1945 to the present date (2008 A.D.) when nuclear launch on America occurs shall be rated by city and region starting with the most murders and to the least murders. Then the tally of unsolved murders compiled with solved murders and its greatest sum total will be rated first to last in Nuclear strikes. "Those who remain silent are just as guilty as the ones who perform this satanic evil sin, MURDER!"

2. The above formula to ratings of nuclear strikes also must and will be used in compiling "Rape, Robbery, theft, fraud, and extortan, etc... to be factored in to strike criteria and use of Nuetron bombs or Plutonium bombs.

The current status quo, "Republican and Democrat", after the nuclear strikes and fall out settles across America and any alleged "allies' is the complete round up of 'all" party members for the, "Devine Judgement" of there actions and words and deeds, i.e., "sins" against "Natures god, YHWH!"

The current demonic satanic government is a 'cult of attorney's mostly" (United Satanic America [U.S.A.]. )

and they to will be dealt with severly for the abomination and bastardization of the "LAW!"

Last but not least, the news media also ("all" will meet there fait outlined above for there distortions of truth,lies, and deceit leading the human condition into spiritual/physical enslavement. These evil media mouth pieces seek a three (3) water fountain and three (3) bathroom condition called for in there judgment, "The Good," "The Bad," and "The Ugly (people)!" (at there distorted judgment and whim.)

We shall set up (after the global victory) as human beings of Planet Earth The Kingdom of God i.e., "Natures God, YHWH!" The peace and harmony of Planet Earths peoples under the abolishment of "Democracy and evil governmental systems."

for the establishment of a Global Monarchy and benevilent rule buy the 'King of Kings," (JESUS CHRIST) the begotten son of "YHWH!"

Remember Mr. Putin the people yearn and pray for change, and well let us, you and I deliver that change with rightous change that you and I know can only occur with, "WAR!"  The only peaceful solution is for Senator McCain to step aside and surrender the nomination to Captain Democracy or maybe Mr. McCains health will fail in order to, "Save planet Earth from the perils of World War III!"

Thank you,

"The Patron Saint of Planet Earth"

Elect Captain Democracy President of The United States of America November 4, 2008, "The saviour of America! Liberator of the human condition under the evils of oppression and enslavement."

{Reporting: Robert E. McCullough B.A., Arch./ "Keeper of THE KEYS of WAR and PEACE."}

Total Score (India): 103/10 (26.3)

Result: Sri Lanka beat India by 112 runs, India win series 3-2

INDIA WON THE SERIES BY 3 - 2

Para muchos más conocida como Benarés, Vanarasi, la ciudad de Shiva es uno de los lugares más sagrados de India y también uno de los más impactantes, para bien o para mal, en especial por el ritual de las cremaciones de los fieles fallecidos y por los cuerpos de difuntos que flotan en el Ganges.

Lo más destacable de la ciudad son sus ghat, gradas o escalinatas que se adentran en el río sagrado y sirven de escenario para los rituales hinduistas.

Visitarlos, tanto a pie como a bordo de alguna embarcación, implica guardar el mayor de los respetos.

En el caso de los ghat en los que se celebran cremaciones hay que abstenerse por completo de hacer fotografías.

La mejor hora para la visita, tanto por la actividad como por la espléndida luz del sol que incide sobre las gradas, es el amanecer.

En total hay casi cien ghat repartidos por la orilla occidental del río a su paso por Vanarasi, desde el Ghat Asi, el más meridional, hasta el Adi Keshava, unos seis kilómetros más al norte.

El de Manikarnika es especialmente apreciado como lugar de cremación, mientras que el de Dassawamedh es más adecuado para los baños rituales.El tramo de río que los separa es uno de los más atractivos.

Tanto si se camina como si se navega a lo largo del curso del Ganges hay que ir bien mentalizado, pues se vivirán sensaciones intensas y nada agradables, como la contemplación de las piras de los difuntos ardiendo, con su penetrante olor a carne quemada.

O cadáveres que flotan en el río mientras los pájaros se acercan a picotearlos.

Para digerir este espectáculo es fundamental entender que para los hinduistas morir en Vanarasi supone la purificación de su alma y el ansiado fin a su ciclo de reencarnaciones.

Además del río y los ghat, Vanarasi tiene casi setecientos templos y santuarios, entre los que destaca el de Vishawanath o Templo Dorado, dedicado a Shiva y con cúpulas cubiertas de oro. El interior del edificio, que en su aspecto actual data del siglo XVIII, sólo es accesible para los fieles.

Muy próximo está el llamado Pozo de la Sabiduría, cuya leyenda afirma que los fieles que beban su agua alcanzarán un mayor grado de espiritualidad, ya que en sus profundidades se esconde el ligam (pene) de Shiva que adornaba el templo original de Vishawanath y que fue lanzado al pozo para protegerlo de los invasores islámicos.

Precisamente el emperador mogol Aurangzeb levantó en el siglo XVII su mezquita sobre el anterior templo hindú.

Por supuesto, pese a que en el fondo esté el pene de Shiva, no es aconsejable ingerir agua del pozo, ya que aunque beneficia al alma, para el cuerpo de un occidental puede ser fatal.

Por su parte, la Universidad Hinduista acoge una espléndida colección de pintura india desde el siglo XI hasta la actualidad, sin olvidar algunas preciosas miniaturas pictóricas de estilo mogol.

Otra cita, si se dispone de tiempo, es el fuerte Ramnagar, situado al sur de la ciudad y en la orilla oriental del Ganges.

Levantado en el siglo XVII y protegido por una robusta muralla, fue durante 400 años la residencia de los marajás locales, mientras que hoy es un museo de armas, fotos, algún reloj astrológico y otra parafernalia relacionada con los citados gobernantes.

ऐसा प्रचार हो रहा है कि ब्लाग लेखक तो फ्री में ब्लाग लिख रहे हैं और हालत यह है कि उनको एक मजदूर की तरह देखा जा रहा है। नारद के एक कर्णधार ने कहा लिखा था कि वेबसाइटों को ब्लाग नहीं माना जा सकता है पर हालत यह है कि अब वेबसाईटों को ही ब्लाग कहकर प्रचारित किया जा रहा है।
बहरहाल इस ब्लाग के साथ मेरी दिलचस्प यादें हैं। मैंने यूनिकोड में सबसे पहले इसी ब्लाग पर क्षणिका लिखी थी और उस पर पहली टिप्पणी मिली थी। दूसरे ब्लाग पर नारद के लिये जद्दोजहद चल रही थी। एक महिला ने दूसरे ब्लाग पर टिप्पणी लिखते हुए पूछा था कि मैं किस फोंट में लिख रहा था-सामान्य देव फोंट में होने के कारण वह उसके पढ़ने में नहीं आ रहा था। मैंने उसे सामान्य हिंदी फोंट में जवाब भेजा तो रोमन में उसने यही सवाल किया। तब मैंने रोमन में ही उसे अपने इसी ब्लाग का पता दिया, पर इसी बीच उसने एक सवाल किया था ‘आप एक पोस्ट लिखने का कितना पैसा लेते हैं।’
मैंने जवाब दिया कि मेरे एक पोस्ट की कीमत दो हजार रुपये है पर मित्रों के लिये यह काम मैं फ्री में कर देता हूं। आप तो यह बताईये करना क्या है? इसी बीच उसका जवाब आया कि ‘वाह, आपका यह ब्लाग तो पढ़ने में आ रहा है।’
मैंने उसे दूसरा ईमेल किया कि वह क्या चाहती है? पर वह फिर नहीं आयी। बात आयी गयी खत्म हो गयी, पर पिछले कुछ दिनों से हुए वाक्यात ये यह लगने लगा है कि कुछ ब्लाग लेखकों को वाकई पैसे देकर लिखवाया जा रहा है। हम छोटे शहर के हैं इसलिये कोई इस बारे में दांवपैंच नहीं जानते इसलिये फ्री में ही लिखे जा रहे हैं। पर कोई बात नहीं! मुख्य विषय लिखना है और उससे भी बड़ा मजा स्वतंत्र लेखन में है। जहां आपको विज्ञापन और धन का विचार आता है वहां गुलाम बनकर रह जाते हैं। मैं पत्रकार रह चुका हूं और सारे छलकपटों के बारे में जानता हूं। पर मेरे संस्कार ऐसे हैं कि मैं स्वयं कर नहीं सकता यही कारण है कि पत्रकारिता जगत से बाहर आ गया। चालाकियों को समझने के लिये अधिक समय नहीं लगता। लिखना मेरा जीवन है इसलिये लिखता हूं-प्रतिदिन आठ सौ पाठ पढ़े जा रहे हैं। हो सकता है कि इसमें कोई धोखा हो पर परवाह किसे है?

यह ब्लाग वर्डप्रेस पर है और इस पर लिखने का मतलब है कि अंतर्राष्ट्रीय ब्लागर होना। यहां फोरमों से अधिक हिट बाहर से आते हैं। ब्लागस्पाट के ब्लाग के लिये हिंदी फोरमों पर ही निर्भर रहना पड़ता है। मेरे वर्डप्रेस के तीन ब्लाग हिंदी के सबसे लोकप्रिय फोरम ब्लागवाणी पर नहीं है पर उन पर भी जमकर पाठक आते हैं। हिंदी फोरमों पर यह ब्लाग आते हैं और वहां मेरे मित्र बन गये हैं इसलिये वहां भी जितना समय मिलता है सक्रिय रहता हूं। वहां से अधिक पाठकों की अपेक्षा तो मैं नहीं करता क्योंकि मेरा लक्ष्य आम पाठक तक पहुंचना है। मेरी सबसे बड़ी ताकत ब्लाग मित्र और मेरे पाठक हैंं। यह और ईपत्रिका मेरे प्रारंभ से ही हिट ब्लाग हैं। इसका कारण यह रहा है कि इनको फोरमों पर बाद में ले गया और लिखना पहले ही शुरू कर चुका था। तीस हजार पाठक संख्या पार कर इस ब्लाग ने अपनी ताकत मुझे बता दी और यही मैं ब्लाग मित्रों और पाठकों के समक्ष प्रस्तुत कर रहा हूं। यह ब्लाग आगे चलकर अनेक वेबसाईटों को चुनौती देने वाला है यही कारण कि आलोचक विचलित होकर अनेक ऐसे मुद्दे उठा रहे हैं जो बेसिर पैर के हैं। शेष फिर कभी। सभी पाठकों और ब्लाग लेखकों का इस अवसर पर आभार ज्ञापित करता हूं और आगे आने वाले संभावित संघर्षों मेंें उनसे सहयोग की अपेक्षा करता हूं। आलोचकों से मेरा साफ कहना है कि आप मेरे लिये कोई आर्थिक मदद का स्त्रोत निर्माण करें फिर मुझे लिखना सिखाये। फोकट में खोपड़ी खाने की आवश्यकता नहीं। आगे चलकर टैग की संख्या हजार भी कर सकता हूं क्योंकि भई हम कोई व्यवसायिक ब्लागर थोड़े ही है। बिना धनार्जन के भला कोई व्यवसाय होता है।

यह आलेख 'दीपक भारतदीप की हिंदी पत्रिका’पर मूल रूप से लिखा गया है। इसके अन्य कहीं भी प्रकाशन की अनुमति नहीं है।
अन्य ब्लाग
1.दीपक भारतदीप की शब्द पत्रिका
2.दीपक भारतदीप का चिंतन
3.दीपक भारतदीप की शब्दयोग-पत्रिका
लेखक संपादक-दीपक भारतदीप

A. Mike Denness incident : In the second test of India's 2001 tour of South Africa, match referee Mike gave a suspended ban of one game in light of alleged ball tampering. Television cameras picked up images that suggested Tendulkar may have been involved in cleaning the seam of the cricket ball in the second test match between India and South Africa at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth.This can, under some conditions, amount to altering the condition of the ball. The match referee Mike Denness found Sachin Tendulkar guilty of ball tampering charges and handed him a one Test match ban.
After a thorough investigation, the International Cricket Council revoked the official status of the match and the ban on Tendulkar was lifted. Tendulkar's ball tampering charges and Sehwag's ban for excessive appealing triggered a massive backlash from the Indian public and even the Indian parliament

B.In commemorating Sachin Tendulkar's feat of equalling Don Bradman's 29 centuries in Test Cricket, automotive giant Ferrari invited Sachin Tendulkar to receive a Ferrari 360 Modena from the legendary F1 racer Michael Schumacher.On September 4, 2002 India's then finance minister Jaswant Singh wrote to Sachin telling him that the government will waive custom's duty imposed on the car as a measure to applaud his feat.However the rules at the time stated that the customs duty can be waived only when receiving an automobile as a prize and not as a gift. It is claimed that the proposals to change the law (Customs Act) was put forth in Financial Bill in February 2003 and amended was passed as a law in May 2003. Subsequently the Ferrari was allowed to be brought to India without payment of the customs duty (Rs 1.13 Crores or 120% on the car value of Rs 75 Lakhs).When the move to waive customs duty became public in July 2003, political and social activists protested the waiver and filed PIL in the Delhi High Court. With the controversy snowballing, Sachin offered to pay the customs duty and the tab was finally picked up by Ferrari.

2.Sourav Ganguly :

A.The Chappell - Ganguly controversy : His dispute with then coach Greg Chappell resulted in many headlines during 2005 and early 2006. Greg Chappell emailed the BCCI stating that Ganguly was unfit to lead India and that his "divide and rule" behaviour was damaging the team. This email was leaked to the media and resulted in huge backlash from Ganguly's fans. Eventually due to his poor form and differences with the coach he was stripped of his captaincy and dropped from the team. However, 10 months later, during India's tour to South Africa, Ganguly was recalled after his middle order replacements Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif suffered poor form.

B.Shirt take-off at Lords : During the final match of the 2002 Natwest Trophy held in Lords after a stunning performance by team mates Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, Sourav Ganguly took off his shirt in public and brandished it in the air to celebrate India's winning of the match. He was later strongly condemned for tarnishing the gentleman's game image of cricket and disrespecting Lords protocol. Ganguly said that he was only mimicking an act performed by the English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff during a tour of India.

C.During the 2003 World Cup final against Australia, Ganguly won the toss and decided to field. This decision raised eyebrows but Sourav remained confident that there would be moisture on the pitch that would help his bowlers, however the bowlers flopped and Sourav performed poorly with the bat. India went on to lose by 125 runs, a staggering defeat.

3.Kapil Dev : In their first match of the World Cup, Australia scored 268 against India. However, after the close of innings, Kapil Dev agreed with the umpires that the score should be increased to 270 as one boundary during the innings had been mistakenly signalled as a four and not a six. In their reply, India scored 269 falling short of Australia's score by one run.

4.Rahul Dravid :

A.Ball-Tampering Incident : In January 2004 Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence although Dravid himself denied this was his intent.Lloyd emphasised that television footage conclusively showed the star Indian batsman intentionally applying a lozenge to the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba, which was in breach of clause 2.10 of the ICC's Code of Conduct.

B. One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as captain for an injured Sourav Ganguly. The Indian first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 with 16 overs remaining on Day 2.

C.He was crticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance since Dravid's team royal challengers was the second worst team by winning less amount of matches in inaugural DLF Indian Premier League.

5.Mohammad Azharuddin :

MATCH FIXING SCANDAL : Towards the end of his career Azharuddin was accused of match-fixing South African captain Hansie Cronje in his confession for match-fixing had indicated that Azharuddin was the one to introduce him to the bookies. This led the BCCI to ban him from the game of cricket for life in 2000.

The BCCI lifted the ban on Azharuddin in 2006 and even honoured him along with other Indian Test captains in a ceremony in Mumbai during the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. The ICC, however, claimed that it alone had the right to revoke the ban despite playing no role in handing out the original ban.

In one of his interviews, he claimed that he was being targeted because he was from a minority community. However, this statement backfired badly and invited severe criticism from all parts of the country and even from prominent minority community organisations in India. Ultimately, Azharuddin had to apologise publicly and retract his statements.
The ban cost him a chance of joining the 100 Test club, in the end finishing stranded on 99 Test matches.

6.Mahendra Singh Dhoni :

A.Home Vandalized: After the loss to Bangladesh in 2007 Cricket World Cup, the house that Dhoni was constructing in his home-town Ranchi was vandalized and damaged by political activists of JMM. The local police arranged for security for his family as India exited the World cup in the first round.

B.Walk-off: On the fourth day of the first test match during India's tour of West Indies, 2006, Dhoni's flick off Dave Mohammed to the midwicket region was caught by Daren Ganga. As the batsman started to walk back, captain Dravid declared the innings when confusion started as the umpires were not certain if the fielder stepped on the ropes and Dhoni stayed for the umpire's verdict. While the replays were inconclusive, the captain of the West Indies side, Brian Lara, wanted Dhoni to walk-off based on the fielder's assertion of the catch. The impasse continued for more than 15 minutes and Lara's temper was on display with finger wagging against the umpires and snatching the ball from umpire Asad Rauf. Ultimately, Dhoni walked-off and Dravid's declaration was effected but the game was delayed, and Lara's action was criticized by the commentators and former players. Lara was called by the match referee for explanation of his actions but was not fined by the match referee.

7.Sunil Gavaskar : In a notorious ODI performance in 1975, he opened the batting and managed just 36 (not out) off 174 balls (scoring just one four). Replying to England's 334 from 60 overs, India managed only 132 for 3 from the 60 overs. It was alleged that Gavaskar deliberately performed poorly in that match, due to his annoyance with the promotion of Srinivas Venkataraghavan to captaincy.He later claimed that he could not adjust to the pace of the game.

8.Harbhajan Singh

A.While Harbhajan was batting during the third day of the Second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he became involved in an altercation with Australia's Andrew Symonds. As a result of this, he was charged with a Level 3 charge of racially abusing Symonds. Harbhajan was alleged to have called Symonds a "monkey". Harbhajan and his batting partner at the time of the incident, Sachin Tendulkar, denied this.At a hearing after the conclusion of the Test, match referee Mike Procter found Harbhajan guilty of the charge and imposed a ban of three Test matches.

B.Harbhajan was involved in further controversy after an 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab at Mohali in April 2008. While the teams were shaking hands, he slapped Punjab paceman and Indian team-mate Sreesanth.[130] The Kings XI Punjab lodged an official compliant to the IPL.The match referee Farokh Engineer found Harbhajan guilty of a level 4.2 offence, banning him from the remainder of the IPL and fining him all of his match fee. Harbhajan made up with Sreesanth, and said that "I have been punished for the wrong I did".On May 14, the BCCI disciplinary committee found Harbhajan guilty under Rule 3.2.1 of the BCCI regulations and handed down the maximum punishment of five-match ban from ODIs. Harbhajan faces the prospect of a life ban if he commits further disciplinary breaches.

Kinga, cheffe en chef d'un déjeuner improvisé chez elle me prépare un curry au piment et du riz rond à la vapeur.

Quatre pommes de terres, une tomate, une gousse d'ail entière, un peu d'huile, un soupçon de sel... Et les piments. Le tout mijoté dix minutes!

Cuit dans une cocotte, le riz gluant reste croquant, je me régale avec les doigts! Kinga me sert en guise d'accompagnement une sauce de bœuf séché au piment. Ca ressemble à de la sciure épicée, mais c'est très bon.

Kinga habite à 15 minutes de Jamia, elle m'avait dit que chez elle c'était tout confort, salon, deux chambres avec terrasse, le tout pour 5 000 roupies (soit environ, 80 euros). Elle habite avec un autre camarade du Bhoutan, Kinley, qui a du oublier de ranger sa chambre depuis quelques semaines. Le ventilateur est noirci de poussière, l'air ne circule que si l'on éternue et il n'y a pas de tuyau sous l'évier... Nous mangeons sur son matelas, au rythme étouffant des klaxons de la rue sombre et tortueuse au-dessus de laquelle sèche son linge.

Kinga travaille pour un journal au Bhoutan. Elle est ici parce qu'elle a obtenu un bourse grâce à son journal. Après deux années heureuses à Bangalore, elle souffre à Delhi. Elle ne se sent pas en sécurité, n'a pas beaucoup d'amis et est épuisée par le rythme de la fac.

Mais c'est un petit brin de fille dynamique, toujours en train de raler du coin de l'œil...

Experts said corruption in India was largely responsible for the disaster. The Kosi's embankment is meant to handle almost 1m cubic feet of water per second, yet the river was breached at around a tenth of capacity, pointing to serious defects in the river system.

Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the independent South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People said there was an "unfortunate lobby consisting of politicians, bureaucrats, builders and engineers who take money and don't do any work. There is no oversight of this process. That's why we get flooding every year."

Full Story

The fear factor

What is stopping Indian sportsmen from emulating the chinese and US success story?

China had been going all out to put in an impressive performance at the Beijing Olympics. China’s leaders have had a long tradition of using sports to boost national pride. For china, a significant victory at Beijing would enhance its potential superpower status. Its vast multibillion sports machine has only one goal in mind — grooming Olympic champions. At the time of writing this piece, they seem to be succeeding in their mission; currently, China is at the top with 35 Golds, 13 silver and 13 bronze (on August 18).

The heartening thing about the Beijing Olympics is that India too finally managed to produce an Individual Olympic champion, 108 years after the Olympics restarted, Abhinav Bindra received the first individual gold medal in shooting in the 10ms Air rifle category from a strong field of 122 shooters from nearly 100 countries. His impressive performance got him the kind of adulation that is normally reserved for cricket and Bollywood stars in India. Apart from being feted for his achievements both by the President and the Prime Minister, the manner in which the newspapers and news channels covered him made him a national hero and an eligible bachelor overnight. However, considering that it was the first individual gold medal for a nation of a billion plus population in such a long time, everything said in his praise would seem like an understatement.

Bindra mentioned in one of his interviews that our country’s sports administration needs to be brushed up in a way that winning such medals should be more a rule than the exception. How does one achieve that? The Mittal Steel Trust (MCT), with a corpus of $10 million set up by steel baron Laxmi Mittal to support talented Olympic aspirants, is a handsome initiative. Bindra was one of the beneficiaries of Mittal’s largesse. The Olympic gold quest by India’s sporting legends Geet sethi and Prakash Padukone backed by business funds is another such initiative. Apollo Tyres Mission hopes to create a Grand Slam champion in India in Tennis by 2018 and NIIT Mind Champion Academy has taken chess to 4,000 schools across India. While all these attempts are laudable and one hopes that other business houses follow their footsteps, will that be enough?

The China model

One needs to have look at the way China develops its champions. After 1959, when Rong Guotuan made history as China’s first world Table Tennis champion, to maintain ping pong supremacy, coaches fanned out across the countryside looking for kindergartners with quick reflexes and superior hand-eye co-ordination. In their table tennis school, kids train for four hours everyday in the morning and three times a week in the evening with academic classes in between. Many kids see their parents for only a couple of weeks each year. That maybe a little far fetched but a proactive talent spotting process has to be there in place to ensure that talent is spotted at a very young age and groomed on a continuous basis.

Retirement blues

That is one aspect of talent management in sports. There are deeper issues involved. Who shall take care of the sportsmen after they retire, is a prime worry that prevents many a talented sportsman from opting for a sports career or devote full time to it with a single minded focus.

The China Sports Daily estimates that 80 per cent of the world’s retired athletes are plagued by poverty, unemployment or chronic health problems, resulting from overtraining. India’s record is hardly impressive. Norman Gilbert Pritchard, who got silver medals for India for 200m sprint and hurdles in 1900 and was the first man to score a hat-trick in Indian football, died a physical and mental wreck in New York in 1929. Freestyle wrestler KD Jadhav won a bronze for India in the 57kg bantamweight category but got nothing on his return, apart from felicitation. He was killed in a road accident in 1988, for which his widow received a paltry for Rs 25,000. He was posthumously awarded the Arjuna Award in 2001. This is peanuts for people who win medals for the country. Hockey Wizard Dhyan Chand’s son Ashok Kumar had himself been in the Indian hockey team but he mentioned once that since Dhyan Chand did not get anything out of hockey, he did not want any of his sons to play after his playing days got over. Though Flying Sikh Milkha Singh’s son Jeev is now an established golfer, the father did not exactly approve of the son’s choice of career in sports because of his own experience of disappointment with the returns on his achievement.

Sportsmen from other disciplines may face problems of a different kind. Tennis ace Vijay Amritraj revealed in his autobiography that his worst nightmare after retirement would be to be forced in a business not of his liking just to support his family. India’s former coach John Wright had to actually live through that nightmare. In his book Indian Summers ,Wright explains his experience in the corporate world after retiring as a test cricketer, before he became coach for Kent and then, India. In his own words, “Working at Fletchers gave me a crash course on everyday reality, which for many people boils down to earning a living doing something they wouldn’t necessarily choose to do. I had gone from doing something I had a passion for to doing something completely different, which, with the best will in the world, I wasn’t passionate about.” Kapil Dev’s autobiography reveals how a senior cricketer like Chandu Borde was humiliated routinely by the board as he was dependent on them for a job.

Right choices

Fortunately, Bindra seems to have earned a fair amount of prize money from various sources. He is a rich man’s son but otherwise, would it suffice to sustain him for a lifetime? Who will take care of the responsibilities on retirement. Maybe other corporate houses would come forward to absorb them just the way some of them absorb cricketers. Bindra’s spectacular achievement is a good opportunity to look at talent management from a different perspective on how excellence can be achieved both in sports and other spheres. The book Welcome to the Talent Wars by Bruce Tulgan and Now, discover your strengths by Marcus Buckinhgam offer insights into talent management, which one can apply from sports to corporate management and vice- versa.

Both Tuglan and Buckingham have emphasised the importance of knowing your one’s specific niche and planning accordingly. Buckingham has given the example of super golfer Tiger Woods and English soccer star David Beckham. Tiger woods knew that his bunker play was poor. Once he made sure that it reached acceptable levels, he focused totally on his dominant strength, his swing. Explaining how English soccer star David Beckham hit a 35 yard shot to beat Equador 1-0, Buckingham says that he had become so overwhelmingly good at bending long range free kicks into the net that this one strength virtually defined his entire role. He calls this rarefied specialisation and advises emulating it in the management world. Buckingham has written extensively on how silly it is to correct a weakness at the cost of building a strength. Whether before or after retirement, or in sports or other disciplines, nothing can be truer and if one discovers one’s niche at a young age, chances of success improve considerably.

Buckingham has also said that it is better to aim for well-rounded organisations with people complimenting each other’s weaknesses. The percentage of great all rounders to total number of cricketers is extremely low and even if one were to possess that kind of versatility, one can only focus at one area at a time. The core of talent management is to know your niche and build on it.

Phelps phenomenon

There will of course be honorable exceptions. Swimming superstar Michael Phelps is one. By winning eight gold medals, he conquered Mark Spitz’ record of seven gold medals and with the highest number of individual gold medals, became the greatest Olympian of all times. He is not great just because he got eight — he has achieved single handedly what India could achieve in 108 years. Phelps’ total tally — 16 golds and 2 bronzes — towers over India’s total tally in 108 years. Phelps has 14 golds against India’s nine. Without his contribution, the US gold tally would be halved.
Phelps was diagnosed with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in school but as his talent was spotted early, he focused only on that. I had read in one write- up how some ADHD children have a very high IQ but only in one or a few areas. Such people cannot afford to be in the wrong profession. If not handled properly, they can make a nuisance of themselves and even take to crime. Phelps has shown what is possible when they are in their prime, which is possible only with the right kind of talent management.
When people are in their right roles, they represent the strength, health and wealth of a nation. A person who could have been a zero is a superhero and what is a nation without its heroes?

If some superstars like the players mentioned above cannot afford not to know their sub niche within their main professions, can anyone afford to be in wrong profession at all?

Former seven times world Billiards champion Geet Sethi answers that both for sports and management. In his book Success v/s Joy, he states that after exposure to the game for only a few months, he got addicted to billiards at the age of 13. Though Sethi focused on billiards, his friend Sunil Aggarwal did the opposite. Though he shared his passion for billiards, he focused on his IIM and IIT and achieved the exalted social status as the managing director of a company. He declared that a feeling of inadequacy and failure dogged him continuously, which was primarily because of lack of achievement in what he considered to be his true passion — the billiards table. Considering that such well-qualified man can talk like this, can sportsmen or anybody for that matter afford to be in the wrong occupation?

Talent and passion

Former football superstar Pele, considered by many to be the greatest ever football player ever answers that when he says, “I felt a strange calmness... a kind of euphoria. I felt I could run all day without tiring, that I could dribble through any of their team or all of them, that I could almost pass through them physically.” Pele also said,
“Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string.” Which reminds one of former management leader Charles Schwab’s assertion, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”. Talent management in this perspective is nothing but locating and redirecting talent in the right areas, whether is management or in sports. Both our World cup winning captains, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kapil Dev are prime examples. Both were ardent footballers but switched to cricket because both discovered by chance that they could hit the ball very hard while trying another activity (batting) in another sport (Cricket).

Doesn’t that imply that training matters more than education in spotting and grooming talent? This is because talent is actually activity centric unless one is involved in research. According to Buckingham, “Whatever our job happens to be, it comprises several activities. Some invigorate us, some leave us neutral, some deplete us, bore us or drain us. There cannot a perfect job we love but the jobs can be sculpted around activities which strengthen us.” Buckingham has asserted in his book that 8 out of 10 people not using their strengths actually shows tremendous scope for talent management. In sports career switching is relatively easier as it is more activity centric.

A word of caution here. According to Buckingham, interest without adequate ability can also be dicey. Giving the example of Basketball superstar Michael Jordan, he says that even if he had not spent countless hours in the Gym, he would have still been a better player than most of us.. But without those hours in the Gym, he would not have become the star he was”. Talent management implies a healthy balance of both talent and passion. Buckingham has also explained what a waste of time and money it is to send people for training for talents that they do not possess. According to him, while skills and knowledge can be learnt, Talents are inborn and cannot.

Management lessons

Tuglan offers some valuable insights while comparing education with training. He says “General Electric alone — with its stunning college campus at New York — spends $500 a year on training and education, 10 times more than the total annual tuition paid by Harvard’s MBA student body in a typical year. Nobody can be stubborn and insist that the only way to train people is for the long haul, mimicking the obsolete pedagogy of yesteryear. Corporate training and distance learning will eventually wipe out many, if not most of the graduate business programmes in existence today.”

One of the chapters in Tuglan’s book is Turn Managers into Coaches. According to him, personal coaching is much more effective in getting the best out of people. Tuglan says “If it takes your organization months on end of years to get people up to speed into meaningful roles, you have a serious problem in today’s short term environment. Neither individuals or organizations that employ them have any more time for long term knowledge acquisition. It is no longer sufficient for anybody to receive their education up front through formal schooling and expect that education to last them very long. You have to identify quickly what a person is capable of, choose the right role for that person, teach that person exactly what he needs to know to play that role and then require that he gives it all. Depending upon his, there should ba a multiplicity of opportunity for you.” He gives the examples of US Marines on how in 11 weeks, they can get a person ready. Explaining a training programme for a new trainee, an example of one company was given with a training programme from week to week, where the individual is assessed at the end of every month. According to the company “Every day is meant to be like an MBA crash course because we have hired you to run our business”

Such emphasis on training rather than formal education may allay some of the fears that sportsmen have about what to do after retirement. I had once come across the businessman father of a promising Tennis player who was wary of going all the way because of the risks that it entailed. When one reads of the difficulties of career switching at sites like www.careerswitchers.org or books like Working Identity even in the western world, one can hardly blame him. That apart, career switching can sometimes bring out very promising talent — Amitabh Bachchan is also a case of lateral career transition who came up more because of hands-on coaching rather than formal education in acting.
The word education comes from the latin word educere which implies to bring out what is already in, which perhaps can be done better in some cases by hands-on coaching.

Following the philosophy of “The best are worth accommodating”, Tuglan states that in the current scenario, companies have to bend backwards to accommodate aspirations of the best talent. The book mainly talks of how the most talented people in management are now thinking like free agents (like professional athletes and actors) and how it is not possible to achieve excellence without catering to their specific needs, whether it is a three way workweek or sticking to one location instead of shifting them around etc. It talks of fluid and flexible staffing: “Learn to employ people wherever, whenever and however they are willing... Where and when people work matters much less in the new economy than what people actually do and how they do it... In the new economy, career customization will be the norm, not the exception”.

If these are the new standards of talent management, we can hardly afford to mistreat our sports or other superstars before or after retirement. The people who make the country proud can hardly be treated as the rest of the crowd.

True to his name

The word Abhinav means brand and uniquely new and one must say that with his achievement, he has lived up to his name. Though old is gold in a certain context, we should ensure that his gold never becomes old and continuously inspires us to better performance. The name of the first citizen of the country, the President of India, is Pratibha or talent, which should symbolise our conduct. Bindra has set a healthy precedent. Following letter and spirit, President and precedent, it is better if we pull up our socks in talent management to live up to the new Olympic spirit everywhere. Otherwise the saying Chak de India may end up meaning more like chuck (leave Olympic aspirations) de India.. And instead of our players being on song, “Hum honge Kamyaab” will remain what it is — just a song.
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Though perhaps not evident in the way the article has been edited, much of Bindra’s success has come from some of the factors mentioned in the article- discovering his passion(talent) at a young age, having the flexibility to devote to it with a single minded focus, having no worries of life after the sport etc. Competency based systems which have a people orientation rather than a task orientation are more likely to detect talent at a young age.

That apart the chapters of Tuglan’s books is clearly indicative of a sports model for training which can be applied in management:-

Talent is the show,
Staff the work, not the jobs,
Pay for performance and nothing else
Turn Managers into coaches

HT: Compass Direct News

Con más de 13 millones de habitantes, un tráfico caótico y un alto grado de contaminación, tanto atmosférica como acústica, la capital india resulta, al menos al principio, muy poco acogedora.

Sin embargo, en medio de su frenética actividad, que para muchos es gran parte de su atractivo, Delhi esconde varios lugares que bien merecen una visita.

Con excepción de los monumentos concentrados en la Vieja Delhi, el resto de los puntos de interés están muy alejados entre si y, dado el tráfico, se puede tardar mucho en llegar a ellos.

Antes de lanzarse a visitar nada conviene informarse sobre los horarios de apertura y organizar bien la ruta para evitar desplazamientos innecesarios.

Si no se llega a la ciudad con un viaje organizado ni se quiere contratar un tour es posible acceder en transporte público a todos los sitios de interés.

Lo más cómodo es recurrir al taxi, que tiene precios bastante razonables. Aunque muchos llevan taxímetro no todos quieren usarlo, así que es imprescindible negociar el precio antes de subir al vehículo.

Más económicos y rústicos son los moto-rickshaws, unos ruidosos carromatos que se mueven a gran velocidad sorteando los obstáculos y poniendo los pelos de punta a más de un viajero.

Por otro lado los tradicionales ciclo-rickshaws sólo circulan por algunas zonas, pero son un buen medio para trayectos pequeños y zonas muy congestionadas, como Chandni Chowk.

Hay que negociar precio y asegurarse de que el conductor ha entendido bien el destino, fundamentalmente para evitar desagradables sorpresas.

Por último los autobuses que llegan a todos los lados siempre van muy llenos, son muy lentos y es más difícil aclararse con sus rutas.

Los centros neurálgicos de las compras en Delhi son sus laberínticos y bulliciosos bazares. Lo más recomendable es acudir a ellos sobre las 11.30 y evitar las tardes de los lunes y viernes, ya que es cuando más concurridos están.

Los hay de casi todas las especialidades, de forma que si se quiere comprar plata hay que ir al Dariba Kalan, mientras que el mejor mercado de especias está en Khari Baoli, cerca de Fatehpuri Masjid.

Hay hermosos lugares donde se puede hallar alivio ante las sofocantes multitudes de Delhi.

Durante los meses frescos, uno puede refugiarse en los agradables jardines de la tumba de Humayun, junto a Mathura Road, o en el Museo de Artesanía, cerca de Pragati Maidan.

El cine es algo omnipresente en India. Por un lado en el país hay más de 12.000 salas cuyas fachadas exteriores siempre están engalanadas con todo tipo de adornos y enormes carteles que indican sesiones ininterrumpidas de 11 a 23h.

La popularidad de sus estrellas supera cualquier devoción hollywoodiense, llegando incluso a protagonizar campañas políticas.

Con más de mil estrenos al año, la producción cinematográfica india es la mayor del mundo y se concentra en Bombay.

De ahí el término Bollywood creado en 1970 para dar nombre a las películas en hindi realizadas en la ahora Mumbay.

Aunque a algunos puristas no les agrade la utilización de esta palabra, por considerar que indica una parodia de Hollywood, esta palabra se ha hecho mundialmente conocida y ya aparece formalmente en el Oxford English Dictionary.

Marcas interesantes de las películas de Bollywood son sus escenas musicales. Suelen ser empalagosas historias animadas con coreografías impecables.

En cada película se incluyen cantos y danzas típicas del país, mezcladas con curiosas coreografías del pop occidental.

En esas escenas hay siempre un doblaje. Esto es propio de la tradición de esta industria fílmica, en la que primero se graban las escenas y luego se doblan todos los diálogos (es una práctica que facilita, asimismo, la posterior traducción a otras lenguas), lo que en la India (país plurilingüístico, donde se hablan más de 16 lenguas distintas ampliamente extendidas) resulta esencial.

Las pistas musicales de las películas de Bollywood son producidas muchas veces por conocidos artistas.

Bollywood es una pieza fundamental de la cultura popular de la India y el resto del subcontinente Indio.