The Dubai-Mangalore AI Express flight IX812 is one of the the biggest air crashes in India in several years. The last one I remember was Charkhi Dadri near Delhi I guess in 1996 when 150+ people lost their lives. At that time also it was dubbed as human error as Kazakh cargo plane had head-on collision with Saudi Airline plane. If at that time it was error due to language (especially between Kazakh pilot and ATC) what were the lessons learnt and actions taken to avoid such things in future?
The new crash also, some quarters attribute happened, due to Serbian pilot (possible language issue).But I don't agree, because same pilot had 19 successful landings earlier at same airport without any problem and moreover he was a British citizen therefore can't question his English language abilities. I am sure ATC doesn't speak in regional languages. There were two very experienced pilots commanding the plane and they complement each other so where did the fault happen after touchdown? Was there some obstruction on the runway due to which sudden brake was applied and tire bursted leading to aircraft going out of control, eventually overshooting the runway and falling off the hill? Or was there a techincal fault in the aircraft like brakes or tires ...etc. I understand that before anyflight the aircraft is given fitness clearance by DGCA certified aircraft engineer after thorough check...so was their a slackness in checking the plane before take-off from Dubai? I personally do not agree to the theory of short or table top runway which is tricky. The Boeng 737-800 is not a very big aircraft that it can't land easily at Mangalore.I have myself travelled from Mangalore a number of times. I dont know about quality of surface on the runway but otherwise it looks OK. Airports at Agartala,Patna,Bagdogra,Srinagar,Leh and (old one at) Cochin are far more tricky or difficult than Mangalore. But international flights are not flown by novices they are under command of expert pilots.
So many innocent lives have been lost in this mishap and the nation deserves right answers for all questions throght independent & thorugh proble. Stringent measures must be implemented to remove any ignorance or casual approach on technical issues. Pilots selection, aircraft certification, runway safety and clearance must be stringent and accountability established for every critical functional area,random inspections must happen so that such incidents do not repeat in future and inncocent lives are not lost due to human error. India should implement such strong measures for aviation safety that even the developed countries may envy and try to emulate.
May 12, 2010
India's ICC T20 world cup debacle raises several questions
It has been a very disappointing ICC world T20 for India. Cricket has become a cult or religion for most youngsters and even elderly. There is so much of money,glamour,media glitz, controversy and politics ... you name it and that keeps big money spinning all round the year.Our player are by far the most highly paid sports people in the world. To me it looks as though it is coming too much too early for the younsgters and they are not capable to cope up and rise to the occassion to perform for the country in top tournaments. We have seen that in last ICC world cup,ICC T20 world cup to name a few. There is no learning from the mistakes of past.
For a country of 1 Billion plus with such huge fan following, it is a big let down by the players. The captainship in Super-8 stage was abysmal and unpardonable,so was team selection and execution of game strategy. The so called top ranked team in Tests and 2nd in ODIs proved to be very ordinary in-front of so called laggards like WI and Sril Lanka who on paper do not have star studded line-up and they get paid far less than Indian players and also the poor guys do not have much endorsement money either. I dont know why players like Jadeja, Pathan who have very consisitent poor performance getting place in final playing eleven? Even Murlai Vijay was very ordinary and unfit for this stage though he was brilliant at IPL.The big names like Gambhir, Yuvraj,Dhoni himself,Kartik all proved ineffective against real pace and bouncy wickets. Simply speaking they all need to work hard to come up with top performance at international stage. IPL itinerary is also to blame for this poor performance as Dhoni said in media but that is a lame excuse.
Except for Pakistan, all major teams had their key pleyers playing at IPL and some of them even had very tight schedule back home before joing IPL. That way all of them had same fatigue factor or so. But Australians proved once again what professionalism and commitment means. They are shoulders above all teams. England has also shown very improved and consistent performance beating all odds.
Our cricket team needs to work in following areas on urgent basis:
1. Right team selection (not based on past laurels alone but actual calibre for the format)
2. Good bench strength to fall back when major names fail
3. Rigorous SWOT analysis of players to identify weak areas and strenghten those
4. Killer instinct and aggressiveness on ground
5. Early planning and application of simulated training sessions for the team that matches actual conditions of major tournaments (like bouncy wickets, rain disturbed games, rising deliveries etc)
6. Game strategy and its execution and holding the nerves in crunch moments (clear all out action plan for final overs)
7. Bowling in right areas (disciplined approach)- no straying please
8. Improvements in fielding- a lot to learn from Australians and South Africans
My point is , if you are getting highest paid then you must perfom the best in the world. But you are not performing even 2nd or 3rd best in international tournaments and that's not acceptable.
Hope BCCI is listening and seeing these comments of a sincere Indian. This is not a criticizing note but an eye opener because I think Indian cricket team needs to work as a matter of urgency on above areas if they want to keep our heads held high as a nation. Jai Hind !
For a country of 1 Billion plus with such huge fan following, it is a big let down by the players. The captainship in Super-8 stage was abysmal and unpardonable,so was team selection and execution of game strategy. The so called top ranked team in Tests and 2nd in ODIs proved to be very ordinary in-front of so called laggards like WI and Sril Lanka who on paper do not have star studded line-up and they get paid far less than Indian players and also the poor guys do not have much endorsement money either. I dont know why players like Jadeja, Pathan who have very consisitent poor performance getting place in final playing eleven? Even Murlai Vijay was very ordinary and unfit for this stage though he was brilliant at IPL.The big names like Gambhir, Yuvraj,Dhoni himself,Kartik all proved ineffective against real pace and bouncy wickets. Simply speaking they all need to work hard to come up with top performance at international stage. IPL itinerary is also to blame for this poor performance as Dhoni said in media but that is a lame excuse.
Except for Pakistan, all major teams had their key pleyers playing at IPL and some of them even had very tight schedule back home before joing IPL. That way all of them had same fatigue factor or so. But Australians proved once again what professionalism and commitment means. They are shoulders above all teams. England has also shown very improved and consistent performance beating all odds.
Our cricket team needs to work in following areas on urgent basis:
1. Right team selection (not based on past laurels alone but actual calibre for the format)
2. Good bench strength to fall back when major names fail
3. Rigorous SWOT analysis of players to identify weak areas and strenghten those
4. Killer instinct and aggressiveness on ground
5. Early planning and application of simulated training sessions for the team that matches actual conditions of major tournaments (like bouncy wickets, rain disturbed games, rising deliveries etc)
6. Game strategy and its execution and holding the nerves in crunch moments (clear all out action plan for final overs)
7. Bowling in right areas (disciplined approach)- no straying please
8. Improvements in fielding- a lot to learn from Australians and South Africans
My point is , if you are getting highest paid then you must perfom the best in the world. But you are not performing even 2nd or 3rd best in international tournaments and that's not acceptable.
Hope BCCI is listening and seeing these comments of a sincere Indian. This is not a criticizing note but an eye opener because I think Indian cricket team needs to work as a matter of urgency on above areas if they want to keep our heads held high as a nation. Jai Hind !
May 4, 2010
Sri Sri Ravishanker's talk on nature
Back to nature
Deccan Herald, 3rd May, 2010H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Ancient scriptures have it that human beings have five sheaths: the environment, the physical body, the mind, the intuitive sheath and the fifth sheath is purushartha, i.e., the blissful state. The environment is our first body and one of the most important sheaths. If our environment is clean and positive, it has a positive impact on all the other sheaths and they are in balance.Environment consciousness is inbuilt in the human system. Historically, nature has always been adored in India; mountains, rivers, trees, the sun, the moon, have always been honoured. It’s only when we started moving away from nature that we started polluting nature. We need to revive the ancient practice.Today man has become greedy, he wants to make quick profits and achieve quick results. This obstructs preservation of ecology. It not only pollutes the physical environment but also stimulates negative emotions in the subtle level. These negative emotions do not stay limited to that one person but rubs off onto all those who he comes in contact with. These negative vibrations once compounded are the root cause of all disasters and misery in the world.Most of the wars are triggered off by such feelings; which is always accompanied by waste and natural disasters that take ages to balance out. We need to attend to the human psyche which causes pollution, whether physical or emotional. If compassion and care are kindled within the self, they reflect in the environment.Just observe nature; the five elements of nature are opposed to each other. Water destroys fire, fire destroys air. Then there are so many species in nature - the birds, reptiles, mammals; all these different species are hostile towards each other and yet nature balances them out. We need to learn from nature.In ancient times, if a person cut one tree, he planted five in return. The ancient people did not wash clothes in holy rivers; only ashes of cremated bodies were to be submerged in the river so that everything gets digested back to nature.We need to balance our views with a free mind. We need to work out ways and means of protecting our beautiful planet earth. For this to happen, human consciousness must rise above greed and exploitation. We need to revive the ancient practice of honouring and conserving nature. Spirituality has been a time tested answer. It eliminates all the negative emotions; it elevates one’s consciousness and promotes a sense of caring and commitment for the whole planet.(H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the Art of Living)
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