Time and Tide

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Right, a reality

It's difficult to imagine that the Kamala Harris team didn't see this coming. They were at no point clearly ahead in the run-up to the polls. If at all they were, it was just by a small margin in some regions.

The Trump team had the momentum right from the start. In fact, he was running for 2024 right from the time he was narrowly edged out by Joe Biden in 2020.

The Democrats bungled with the nomination. There was an initial excitement, but that gave way to real issues on the ground.

Inflation, real-estate prices, unemployment, etc., seem to have played a good part and even overridden an issue like abortion.

Kamala Harris made a faux pas when she replied, "There is nothing," when she was asked if she would do anything different from Joe Biden. She made amends subsequently, but the damage seemed to have been done.

It's not that Trump is always correct in replies to questions. But when someone who is trailing makes a mistake, the damage is greater than when someone who is leading makes a mistake.

IT'S NO LONGER A BACKLASH

The right wing began consolidating its position, and the far right began emerging into the mainstream about 10 to 15 years ago.

It was a backlash against a social, economic and political norm that many people began to feel was unjust. We have seen that in many countries, including India.

Conservatives began to be seen as a group of pro-active, result-oriented people, compared to the liberal and progressive groups who were seen preferring the status quo and merely complaining and not doing anything.

That might be a perception, but in politics, perceptions play a huge role.

Perception or not, it began to settle down in various strata of society, and internet-aided social networks played a huge part in this transformation.

Aspects like globalisation, multilateralism, cultural inclusivity, etc, were seen as a threat to national identity and national prosperity.

Brexit and the ascent of conservatives to power in many countries, including India, was a testament to how the social mosaic was changing.

A decade and a half down the line, it's no longer a backlash. It's a reaffirmation of a reality and, for many, even an aspiration.

This is a reality that has also thrown the liberal camps into confusion and disarray. So much so that many in those groups are switching sides. Otherwise, the sort of gains that conservatives are making won't be possible.

RIGHT AND WRONG

Many years ago, probably in the mid-2000s, I was talking to a professor of physics who is good with computer technology as well.

Those were the days we were revelling in the excitement of "connections" and "friends" we were making on social media. AI and deepfakes were just restricted to the realms of labs and academic discussions.

I still remember him saying that free access to the internet in general and social media in particular will bring huge changes in society at all levels. At one point, he said it might even "wreak havoc".

I won't get into whether there has been a havoc or not, but definitely, we have seen changes, quite drastic and dramatic.

I asked him, "Are we heading in the right direction?"

He said, "Right or wrong is debatable. What is right for one could be wrong for another. But a clearer way of looking at it is 'for anyone, what works is right and what doesn't work is wrong'."

He just left it at that and set me thinking.

That was about 20 years ago. A good point to ponder over today as well.

Monday, October 14, 2024

UK Tour 12 - Lord's Cricket Stadium and Museum

(Links to all parts of the series are at the end of this post.)

June 12, Wednesday

One of the must-sees in London for me was the Lord's, the heart of cricket. So, well before our trip, I had booked a tour of the iconic cricket ground and its museum. The "Lord's Tour" can be booked online.

It was scheduled for 3:30 p.m., and we were required to arrive at least 30 minutes in advance for mandatory security checks.

With very little time to spare, we hurried from the BBC to Lord's. The journey, although not far, took about half an hour by tube.

W.G. GRACE

We arrived at the Grace Gate, located on St. John's Wood Road. It's named after W.G. Grace, one of the earliest legends of the game. We first went to the museum and then to the Pavilion.

We were accompanied by a guide who was very knowledgeable, articulate and engaging in his description of various facets of the game and its players.

W.G. Grace's influence on cricket was immense. He was an all-rounder who played first-class cricket for an astonishing 43 years (1865–1908), participating in nearly 870 matches.

In 1873, Grace became the first player to score over 1,000 runs and take more than 100 wickets in a single season. He was also the first cricketer to score a triple century, achieving this milestone in 1876.

Beyond cricket, Grace was a qualified physician, having graduated from Bristol Medical School in 1879. He balanced dual careers and was commonly known by the nickname "The Doctor".

THOMAS LORD

Being at Lord's was surreal, a name so familiar from childhood, thanks to the Test matches we followed religiously on the radio.

The ground is named after Thomas Lord, who established it in 1787. Lord's is home to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is also the venue for Middlesex County Cricket Club matches.

The stadium currently holds around 31,000 spectators after multiple renovations. This capacity pales in comparison to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which seats 132,000 — making it the largest stadium in the world.

MARYLEBONE CRICKET CLUB

Lord's is owned by the MCC, founded in the same year that Lord's was established, 1787.

The club was started by a group of cricketers led by Thomas Lord. It originally played at Dorset Fields in Marylebone, London, where they hosted their first match between Middlesex and Essex. In 1814, the club moved to its current location.

In 1788, that is one year after its founding, the MCC formulated the laws of the game. While the International Cricket Council now oversees the laws, MCC retains copyright over them.

The club is so exclusive that the waiting list to become a member is said to be around 30 years!

THE MUSEUM

Our tour began with a visit to the Lord's Cricket Museum, one of the oldest sports museums in the world.

The museum boasts an incredible collection of memorabilia, including the original Ashes Urn and the first Men's and Women's Cricket World Cup trophies. There are detailed exhibits on the evolution of cricket and profiles of legendary players.

There is a letter written on the 22nd of February 1933 by the secretary of the MCC to England's captain Douglas Jardine. It was soon after the infamous 'Bodyline series' in which English players, on the instructions of Jardine, bowled aiming at the body of the Australian batsmen in an intimidating manner.

When a delivery struck Australian captain Bill Woodfull, there was a fear of a riot. The situation was exacerbated by Jardine's character, who was perceived as rude and supercilious.

However, the MCC supported Jardine. The letter talks of his "wonderful captaincy" and says:

The crowds seem to have behaved abominably, and from all accounts, you have shown most wonderful restraint, and I am sure you will continue to do so until the end because, as you are reported to have said in one of your speeches, 'the least said, the soonest mended'.

The museum also displays cricket kits worn by greats such as Victor Trumper, Jack Hobbs, Don Bradman, and Shane Warne.

There are also scorebooks of some of the matches. One of them is the first match played by All India XI on the tour of England in 1911 against Oxford University from June 1 to 3.

THE ASHES URN

I was really delighted to see the original Ashes Urn. It is the most sacred and prized exhibit.

Our guide provided a fascinating history of the Ashes, and we couldn't resist taking photos beside it.

The history of the Ashes dates back to the 1882 Test series when Australia defeated England at The Oval — the first time Australia won a Test match on English soil.

The Sporting Times published a mock obituary stating:

In Affectionate Remembrance of English Cricket, which died at the Oval on 29th August, 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances. R.I.P. N.B.— The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.

The urn

During England's 1882–83 tour of Australia, which England won 2–1, captain Ivo Bligh was presented with an urn containing ashes — believed to be from burnt bails or other cricket-related items.

(Ivo Bligh, besides being a cricketer, was also the 8th Earl of Darnley, a British nobleman and parliamentarian.)

After Bligh died in 1927, the urn was given to the MCC, where it has been on display ever since.

On the urn, a six-line verse is pasted. This is the fourth verse of a song-lyric published in the Melbourne Punch on 1 February 1883:

When Ivo goes back with the urn, the urn;

Studds, Steel, Read and Tylecote return, return;

The welkin will ring loud,

The great crowd will feel proud,

Seeing Barlow and Bates with the urn, the urn;

And the rest coming home with the urn.

While the original urn is inside a glass case, there is a small replica that one can hold, have a close look at, and take pictures with.

STUFFED SPARROW

The stuffed sparrow

Besides the old letters, willows, jersey, of course, the urn and other cricket memorabilia, what is really most unique is a stuffed sparrow.

July 3, 1936, a ball delivered by Jahangir Khan of Cambridge University to T.N. Pearce of MCC struck a sparrow killing it instantly. It was stuffed and mounted on the very ball that killed it.

THE PAVILION

After visiting the museum, we moved on to the Pavilion, which houses the players' dining room, besides the Long Room, often described as "the most evocative four walls in world cricket".

Dilip Vengsarkar

The walls are adorned with portraits of cricketing legends. Among them are Dilip Vengsarkar, and Kapil Dev.

Kapil Dev

Vengsarkar's impressive record includes scoring centuries in three consecutive Lord's appearances. Kapil Dev made history as India's captain during their groundbreaking 1983 World Cup win, igniting a nationwide passion for cricket that endures to this day.

There is a strict dress code here. Men and women have to be formally attired.

DRESSING ROOM

The dressing rooms for the home and away teams are located above the Long Room. So the players have to walk a long and winding distance to the field and back. There are stories of players getting lost on the way to the field and back!

The ground

Each dressing room features Honours Boards that list players who have scored centuries and made five-wicket hauls. The boards were originally limited to Test matches but were updated in 2019 to include achievements from One Day Internationals (ODIs) and women's internationals as well.

The Pavilion also features separate dressing rooms for the home and away teams, each with its own balcony for players to view the match.

The entire Lord's Tour lasted over an hour and a half.

WRAPPING UP THE DAY

After the tour, we had dinner at one of the nearby restaurants and then took the tube back to Wanstead.

It was a long and exhausting day. The day had started with a London city tour, followed by a visit to the BBC, and then concluded with this unforgettable Lord's experience.

A tiring but truly eventful and memorable day.

(To be continued)

Links to all the posts in the series

01 - Departure (June 05, Wednesday)

02 - Dockwray Square, Tynemouth (June 06, Thursday)

03 - Cresswell Pele Tower (June 07, Friday)

04 - Howick Hall Gardens & Arboretum (June 07, Friday)

05 - Boulmer Beach, Zamorins (June 07, Friday)

06 - Beamish Museum (June 08, Saturday)

07 - The Holy Island of Lindisfarne (June 09, Sunday)

08 - Linhope Spout Waterfall (June 10, Monday)

09 - London, Wanstead (June 11, Tuesday)

10 - London City (June 12, Tuesday)

11 - BBC (June 12, Tuesday)

12 - Lord's Cricket Stadium and Museum (June 12, Tuesday)

Monday, September 23, 2024

UK Tour 11 - BBC

(Links to all parts of the series are at the end of this post.)

June 12, Wednesday

Around 50 years ago. Those were the days of valve radio sets. We had one at home. An HMV radio.

Though my father was a chemistry teacher, he had a deep interest in history and current affairs, and he would regularly listen to news bulletins and other programmes.

I was in school at the time, and I was fascinated by this large device sitting on a shelf that allowed us to hear voices and music from far and wide.

My curiosity wasn’t so much about the radio itself but about the world it brought into our home, from local happenings to global events. A few years later, the smaller transistor radios arrived.

Among all the stations I listened to, the BBC World Service stood out. It made a lasting impression on me, and even now, I still listen to it. Unlike in the past, though, when I miss a live broadcast, I can catch it later as a podcast.

My conscious decision to choose journalism as a career was in no small way shaped by the BBC, and it was a childhood dream to visit the radio station.

Today was that day.

After a morning walking tour of London, we took the tube from Green Park to Oxford Circus. Just 500 metres ahead was the iconic Broadcasting House.

I had finally made it to the BBC. While I would have loved to see Bush House, the former home of the BBC World Service until 2012, time was short. We only had an hour to spare.

This was also an occasion for me to meet a journalist who works there whom I have known for a few years. Despite having a recording scheduled for later in the afternoon, he had done his prep work ahead of time and took a break to show me around. I was so grateful for his kindness.

Even though I’ve spent 37 years in the newsroom, stepping into the BBC felt different.

It was about reconnecting with those early days when I would listen to the World Service, an association that sparked my passion for current affairs and, ultimately, journalism.

I didn’t want to leave. But time was running out.