Re: OT: Was Re: Excellent coaching by Bondanath

Date: Thu, 29 May 2003 21:35:44 -0400
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket
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Arjun Pandit wrote:
> Obviously you are confusing me with someone else. Dont remember being
> uncivil with you.
Just wanted to be doubly sure that our conversation will not
degenerate to name-calling etc. If I loath one thing, it is the idiot
who resorts to name calling at the slightest pretext. I admit that our
exchanges thus far (about five years?), although sporadic, have
been quite cordial. As long as it stays that way, I have no problem
continuing our exchange.
> He is already Tamilian.
What is the problem then? If he is uncomfortable he should seek
residence elsewhere. Seriously. It is not worth living in a place
you don't like and you won't adapt to. Hopefully, he will get used
to life in Chennai.
> So you concede that its impossible to enjoy your stay in Chennai if
> you dont speak Tamil? Its not the case with other cities like
> Bombay/Bangalore etc where you can enjoy your stay without having to
> know Marathi/Kannada etc. You can enjoy life in Bangalore even knowing
> just Tamil and English. The problem is even at private professional CC
> environments, usage of progressive language Tamil is preferred to
> English.
I won't deny that much of what you have said about
Bangalore and Bombay are very true. More power for such
cities. What I meant was if not knowing tamil was your friend's
problem, he could address that immediately and enjoy his stay
there. Is it then the case that he wants to speak in English and
doesn't have much scope for that? If so, that is a novel problem!
> And surely there must be many places where you are subjected to FM
> music without having a choice.
I doubt if this is the real problem!
> Nope. I am not some anti Tamil activist. I just enjoy making some
> Tamil fanatics here come face to face with certain harsh realities.
Not many here, IMO.
> I
> enjoy making a CC fan realise that at the end of the day, in terms of
> achievements Ashok Mankad = TES. At the end of the day Chennai is yet
> to produce a good cricketer. At the end of the day Agarkar >>>>>>>>>
> Kumarans that CCs are producing of late.
This I agree. Agarkar is one of my favorite cricketers. There is no
comparison between Bombay and Chennai. Bombay batsmen/teams
are better, period. TN will have done very well if they provide a half
Sachin in the next few years. However, what is the problem with
someone saying X or Y is his favorite cricketer? Even now I will say
that TES, Venkat, and Cheeka are some of my favorite cricketers.
Sachin is one of Chennai's very own ;-) (Someone reported that he
likes the Jeans song sung by Nithyashree, BTW.)
> I dont wanna take names. But there are realms and realms written here
> in RSC and elsewhere (SCI/RAMLI?) about English being the progressive
> language and CCs embracing it. Evidence suggests otherwise. We would
> have had FM stations playing Classic Rock 24*7 else and not 24*7 of
> Deva and others. We would have had Sun TVs playing English ads rather
> than having to translate into Tamil, ads which play in English on
> other channels. Which is where the pretention bit comes in. I dont
> think the CCs have the moral right to criticise the Hindianization of
> other states.
Oh, OK. I don't frequent these newsgroups. Your sarcasm is
probably misdirected.
> I had rather have them accept the realities.
Good. You should then start thinking about how you will
*implement* your ideas. Poking fun in RSC will provide
no solution :-)
> I dont feel embarassed because of my Tamil. I feel its much more
> polite to hear than the Tamil I have heard in Chennai or have seen in
> movies. What you say as sentamizh comes across as crude tamil to me. I
> call your sentamizh "Village Tamil". And I prefer English to
> progressive Tamil in work environments, so I dont see myself becoming
> a part of the Sentamizh Group of Companies. Exigencies forcing me to
> learn Sentamizh are ruled out. Can you tell me how rampant is usage of
> Tamil in project discussions in a Sentamizh Group firm? I will tell
> you, lots and lots .. if not the whole of it.
You have misunderstood my intent. IF there was an exigency, you WILL
also adapt.
> You see it as his learning Kannada, I see it as resistance to change
> for five to six years! That should also explain the rampant usage of
> Tamil in Bangalore. All the resistance multiplied many many CCs should
> have resulted in it.
The key word is "fluent". It takes about that much time unless you are
very quick to learn a language. Obviously you don't know much about
Bangalore. For every example you give, I can readily provide an example
of those from NoV (North of Vindhyas) who have resisted in equal
measure, their rationale being that they don't need to learn Kannada.
Believe me, I KNOW.
> > More specifically, they are staunch tamils.
>
> Donno of the Hindi guy, but the Kannada guy sure is.
Ha. What a conclusion. Allow me to be the judge.
("close" was the key word)
> I am not trying to start any revolution in Chennai through my few
> numbered RSC postings. I dont harbor any such misconceptions.
Look, it is easy to criticize, much harder to provide real solutions.
Here is one possible solution: Collect like-minded folks who
harbor ideas such as you have, set up camp in Chennai, inspire
Chennai-ites to follow your ideals. Obviously the burden is on you.
With the right approach it may become possible :-)
> Not worth the effort. I had rather come here every now and then and
> have some fun at the expense of Sentamizhs :)
Your idea of poking fun is noble but misdirected.
SCI or RAMLI would yield better results, although it is also
possible you will end up with a bruised ego. :-)
Bottom line: The key word is "adapt". Suppose your friend sets up base
in Chennai and starts a family. His sons would adapt to Chennai
more readily than he could.
I would like to close this discussion, unless you really would like me
to respond.
Best,
Sundar