Come What MAY......

It has been quite some time since I last hit the "Publish Post" link. The month of May 2008 was perhaps filled with more news than any month in the first half of the year. Perhaps, the lionine share of the news and all that constantly hit the daily headlines belongs to the Indian Premier League which has blown the trumpet of freshness, both in the world of cricket and that of business. Lots of cricket zealots (wives and girlfriends apart) would have silently cursed Lalit Modi, for spoiling their evening plans, sleep and keeping a zillions of spines chilling at the eerie hour of 12 (2400 hrs) in the possible hottest month of the summer. It really was an ornate extravaganza, for at times, I felt that the IPL would eventually replace the quadrennial World Cup in its fame charts.

Modi, later in Exxtra Innings, revealed that it was during a scorching noon at Wimbledon, where it all began. Sharad Pawar, Modi and other eminent officials of BCCI were at the Centre Court watching in awe as The Fedex Juggernaut was on its full strength thrashing a belligerent, equipotent Rafael Nadal en route its 5th consecutive championship to equal an existing record of Bjorn Borg. That the finale dragged itself into exhaustive 5 setter, two of which included tie-breakers, gave the spectators more than their penny's worth. Taking a cue from the unprecedented glory of Wimbledon, our guys have done an incredible job of gifting us a month-and-a-half-long reality blockbuster, which has already cast its growing shadow on the 50-50 over or 5-day version of the game. The league has already launched India to the fore of a corporate run cricket with tremendous ease. Fittingly, Rajasthan Royals, led by a shrewd campaigner in Shane Warne won the inagural edition of IPL, effectively putting an end to theories which sought the opinion that the amount of money invested is tantamount to talent and success. Where were the Asnodkars and the lesser known Pathans in the mind of a well bred cricket purist?? Hardly anyone would have guessed that these cricketers, who have spent most of their time playing for dull Plate 'B' divisions would carve a gem of success from a team which resembled a sandstone at the beginning of the league. All plaudits to Rajasthan, for proving the pith of the success was hard work and self belief. Those impaired in the Jaipur blast can happily find some smiles returning on their faces following the stupendous feat of Rajasthan Royals.




While IPL itself is not the soul of life, the month of May had other important things in store.In Karnataka,the focus on cricket had to take a back seat as the Royal Challengers of Bangalore did everything unasked for.Instead, someone who had been ruthlessly humiliated and betrayed in a 20-20 contest (the stakes involved here were higher than an IPL tie) had all reasons to cheer as he successfully made a come-back to shut JD(S) out of contention, atleast for the coming 5 years. BJP ripped severe deep cuts into its earlier coalition partner with 110 seats favoring the earlier-beleaguered party. While BJP's clinch this time around improved from 80 (2004 stats) to 110, that of JD(S) saw a slump from 58 to 28. A neat shift of 30 in the wrong direction for demonstrating calculated betrayal. The media crew, known for its expertize in spicing up things, did not miss capturing a glimpse of an empty JD(S) headquarters at the onset of declaration of the election denouement. Congress meanwhile remained mute as ever, taking no chances to reform ties with a party who've clearly demonstrated what they are capable of. BSY finally ascended the throne and the new government has just finished its expansion and is looking forward to justify its selection. The independent winners were drafted to create a majority bench and were actually offered posts which they otherwise would have never likely achieved. With this victory, BJP, which has seen tremendous success of late, achieved its first full strength government in South India and is looking in good nick for the 2009 national elections.


On May 5th, oil prices reached US $120 per gallon for the first time to pressurize world economy. And more was to come as it soared close to $130 at the end of the month creating severe panic. The central government, already under fire from several quarters due to rising inflation and fluctuating economy is fighting its best to keep the surge within manageable limits by reducing tax levy and other involved costs, but it remains to be seen as to how long will this last. Tough times await us if this runs rampant. It's interesting to see how Mr Manmohan Singh and Co. would manage to stabilize things in the final leg of UPA's helm at the top.


Shifting our focus to the cinema, Bollywood fared moderately this summer. It's the smaller screen which has captured the excitement with a steep increase noticed in television viewer points and ratings. While it was the Set Max which romped home with maximum prime-time television viewings, Star Plus came up with innovative programmes like 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain..?' to keep the viewers craving for more. Shah Rukh's affable hosting of the show has won several fans already including the likes of Lalu Yadav and Amitabh Baccchan.

So many things happening there within a short span of 30 days. It was a hectic but nevertheless happening May, things came and things went. Come what MAY, things begin and things continue.....................