The IPL, and Election Fever,

I now have something akin to a daily routine. Its scary that I only have 8 working days left, but routine it now is.
I start with a run in the morning around the lakes. It is quieter and cooler at 6am and makes me feel sanctimonius to have done some form of exercise. (My gym membership probably didn’t really pay out as I have not used it as much as I intended). I then take a rickshaw and bus to work (if one of my Aunties isn’t giving me a ride in their car). This is faster than the school bus, and only costs Rs16. (20pence for those of you who do not carry the exchange rate in their heads). I buy the paper on the way and get 10 minutes of local context plus the world sports results and some stuff on Bollywood stars I have never heard of. As this is for the princely sum of Rs 2.5 its seems to me to be a good deal. I then drink my morning coffee (Anujit, the volunteer who also educates me about cricket makes a mean cup of black sludge- just the way I like it). I work a little- (actually it’s a lot at the moment as I have many things coming together and Id like to finish one or two of them before I leave). Twice a week I have my bath…er do hydrotherapy…. And then work some more. Without my computer- still with Sony India who are “waiting for a part,” I’m reliant on a dodgy laptop and a desktop with internet access (when the power is working). It means nothing is easy any more, but I am progressing slowly.
I take the bus and riskshaw (sic) home। There are very rarely accidents in this city because everything goes at about 15km, but the rickshaws race the taxis who race the buses and everyone tries hard to run over any poor cyclist or pedestrian who steps out in front of them. A couple of times I’ve though I was going to die, but everyone has a cheerful disrespect for traffic lights, and no-one seems to mind being cut up too much. God forbid they ever discover road-rage as the place would be carnage. Just outside my apartment is a Kwality (yes…the spelling is such) ice cream trolley and every day I have a RS5 “orange fun.” When it is really hot this can be the best moment of the day, and the ice cream man and I are now on smiling terms.

If I don’t have shopping to do, I can relax and watch the Indian Premier League on tv. Mark Tully, respected journalist and commentator, described India as “a country without full stops”. I must confess, I have no idea what he was on about and found his vignettes a little tiresome when I tried reading his book. (It was part of my Indian prereading before I arrived). However, India is a country of contrasts and beguiling solutions that defy logic. (OK I’m a bloke and logic isn’t my strongest suite). Hence, it is perfectly natural here that when the country’s national passion (cricket) collides with the general election, and there is a dispute about the availability of security (plus an alleged undercurrent of political pressure being applied to try and use the IPL matches for party advertising), the solution is to move the IPL to South Africa. (the weather was better than in the UK apparently).

The whole tournament is designed around Indian TV advertising revenue, and the razzmatazz of Bollywood stars who own the 8 franchises. Just like 20/20 in the UK, they have dancing girls (One Indian commented to me that the best thing about it being in South Africa was that the girls wore less this year), rock music and occasional fireworks. They also have the cream of world cricket, and Freddie Flintoff and Kevin Pieterson. I would have loved to have visited Eden Gardens in Kolkata to have seen the Kolkata Knight Riders play, but I cannot really justify Durban or Cape Town. However, I do watch quite a bit on tv. For those of you not into cricket- its twenty overs a side, lasts about 3 hours and is great to watch them slugging out as many sixes as possible. Unfortunately the KKR are absolute bottom of the heap (played 9, lost 8, and many of those miserably). I get the feeling that they don’t care too much. There is loads of money and the majority of them will be back next year. They have smart uniforms, and are adored by millions. Who cares if they don’t actually win very much?
On the other hand, winning the general election is much more important, although exactly how you win is still a mystery to me. One of the wonders of the modern world… one billion people voting (more or less) democratically, over 5 weeks. (in the UK with a paltry 60 million we should be able to do it in a day). I am not going to comment too much on Indian politics- because I don’t want to get locked up. (I saw a couple who were volunteering in the Gambia got imprisoned because they blogged about the local government). I have heard many opinions about politicians, none of which I will print. ( I have no idea what the libel laws cover in India).
I actually live in a state ruled by the communist party. Other than the odd painted slogan on the wall, and now every tree and wall being festooned with a sickle and star flag, you couldn’t tell- although admittedly I don’t pay taxes.


The leader (Rabin Deb) does not have his picture posted anywhere. He does not play the game of personality politics, unlike his key opponent here, Mamata Banerjhee who is standing for the local grassroots Congress party (not the national one…its different you see..) and they have cool Indian flags with flowers or hands on them, and lots of pictures of her ladyship. ( I confess officer…I may have one or two flags as souvenirs!)

The key players in Indian politics appear to be as follows_ and I have taken this stuff from the national general election website so its all kosher and party approved.

The BJP- humanist ( Im not totally sure what a humanist is, but it sounds good)
Making India a Developed Nation and a Great Power by 2020
Broadening and deepening of economic reforms, based on a self-reliant approach
To fulfill the basic needs in education, healthcare, housing, cultural development.
Commitment to women's all-round empowerment · Intensifying dialogue with Pakistan to find a lasting solution to all bilateral issues
The Indian National Congresss – whose head is sonia Gandhi (and having that surname seems to help in this country. Her namesake (Varun Gandhi) just served a two day jail sentence for making racially inciteful speeches which were videoed and played to the world on Utube….he claimed to no avail they had been tampered with–The INC stand for the following
Generation of more jobs
Eradication of poverty
Step up public investment in agriculture
One-third reservation for women
Commission for the problems of North Eastern States
The other parties are less clear to me.
Bahujan Samut Party BSP – I think are worried about caste ( “the majority are ruled by a minority”…..hmm sounds like anywhere) and are mainly regional- They do however have a cool elephant on their flag
Samajwadi Party stands for Equality and Prosperity of all. It is deadly against communal forces and is in favour of 'Indo Pak Bangladesh Mahasangh'. Party believes in democratic socialism and opposes uncontrolled entry Of Multinational companies to India, It believes that Agriculture, Small and Medium scale Industry is the backbone of Indian Economy and hence every assistance should be given to these sectors.
Finally the Communist Party of India (CPI) supports the Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, but without taking part in it. The party is part of the coalition of leftist and communist parties, also known as the Left-Front in national media. The part has been against India's recent nuclear treaty with the United States and even withdrew support to the Manmohan Singh government over the issue.


So there you have it in a nutshell. Next time you go to the polls and struggle to define if New labour are actually more right wing than Maggie’s conservatives ever were, spare a thought for the poor Indian population who have been voting for 5 weeks and it’ll be another month before they know who won.


The only other thing about election day (which in Kolkata is Wednesday 13th) is that we all get a holiday and Horror of horrors, it is a dry day so Ill need to stock up on beers beforehand.