DOOSRA -- A sweetly timed Straight drive
It is but natural, when one goes to watch a new creation of a director/playwright, to go by the benchmark set by the previous production.
Having seen Thanimai it was justified to go high on expectations to Doosra- the story of cricket. That the expectations were not belied speaks volumes of the potential of the creator as well as the implementers. If Thanimai brought in positive energy in the form of the widowed septuagenarian, Doosra, dealing with a more populist subject, had the audience rapt for around 2 hours.
To stage a subject which is eaten, drunk and lived in this part of the world, the author had to tread a cautious path and indulge in lot of research to present it to the erudite audience. That the impact was created, once again, underscores the tight script of the play.
What appealed most was the narration itself. Right from the self talk by cricket in the opening shot to the end, the model adopted was indeed innovative. Most of the scenes comprised of just 2 of the characters on stage with one of them delivering a lengthy monologue. The powerful script coupled with the histrionic ability of one and all carried such scenes to new levels ensuring that it was not a harangue.
The constraints in finance for the passionate stage operators notwithstanding, one has to laud the attempt of the technical staff to create sets for such real match situations.
The play begins with a considerate father who is anguished that the fate which befell on him while playing the game, does not happen to his beloved son. He moves every coin to ensure that his son represents the game in the highest of the levels. Initially sluggish, Delhi Ganesh plays this part to perfection and reaches a crescendo in the scene where he chides his son for not walking when he knew he was out. That elders still don’t compromise on ethos to meet ends is depicted with panache by the veteran.
The other doyen of the stage, Kathadi Ramamurthy, was at ease portraying the role of the BCCI chief and the Minister for Sports. Adding a local flavor to his delivery, Kathadi walked away with the scenes where he was present. The point that the game is strangled by the draconian hold of such non-cricketing administrators is highlighted in the scene where the minister confronts the chairman of selectors on the non performance of the Indian team.
Anand Raghav, the director/ author, as the chairman of selectors, donning the greasepaint for the first time(maybe) was quite comfortable in his anglicized account of the cricketing events than even his attire.
The aficionado turned bitter critic reflects the mood of the spectators who pay to see their heroes fight tooth and nail in every game. A commendable cameo indeed.
The captain Arjun revels in the post match drinking outburst which reiterates the fact that cricketers are scapegoats and pawns in the hands of a powerful lobby.
The cricketer, Ganesh Vishwanathan, who plays well within himself throughout the play, rose to the occasion whenever the role demanded his acting skills. Neither he nor the audience was comfortable with the lengthy ad shoot which could have been done away with but for depicting the nexus between the cricketing and the tinsel world. That was probably the only time when the audience was having a look at their timepieces.
The last nail in the coffin of the game was showcased with the advent of 20-20 format with the corporate tycoons hobnobbing with the non- cricketing think tank of the fraternity and convincing them into adopting the final recipe for the decay of the values of the gentleman’s game.
The last scene where the business magnate elucidates the nuances of match fixing was a feather in the cap of the actor.
That the game gets its requisite quota of oxygen from being played in the streets by innocent, passionate and uninhibited folks of all age groups is the moot point of the play.
The credit goes to the director in driving this point, a motherhood statement in itself, in a stageplay with purpose and a lot of clarity.
Must watch for all involved in the game (active and passive).
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Thursday, August 26, 2010
BIOTECH-- Is it as rosy as it is claimed to be
One more year of admissions are over with the students undergoing the grind of counseling, cut-offs and what not.
Good sense, that the government too has realized the folly of churning out too many engineers and technologists than the demand, with a cap being brought on the opening of new engineering colleges from the next year onwards. Enough is enough, thought they.
The placement scenario has been okay, if not great as in the yesteryears, with the IT biggies weaning off the available talent.
Having said that, it is time enough for me to get into what I thought should be scribbled about one ‘specialty segment ‘which promises to be promising but yet not arrived.
Be wary, students.
Whenever a sector sees light these days, it has been very normal to equate it with the boom of one industry..IT. That has been the biggest selling point of any segment which needed the necessary push and pull. Biotechnology, willy-nilly, had fallen into that bracket. With the entire industry poised for a huge growth, the need for qualified manpower was likely to be in great demand and the compensation package too was likely to be on par.
Well, now reality bites..
The hype created by the Bio segment was neither a bubble which burst nor was it anywhere close to real. The lessons that the qualified career seekers learnt needed to be experienced to be believed.
One such experience,
A bright M.Tech from one of the best BIOTECH institutes in the country with a good academic record and prestigious projects to her name was courageous and pragmatic enough to forego all the carrots offered by the IT industries in their placement programs conducted in her institute.
Reason-- she did not want to ditch the field which she had been wedded to for the last 5 years.. Almost eating, sleeping, talking, walking and what not, her only Mantra... Biotechnology. To her dismay none of the industry majors of her most adored field, turned up for campus placement. Says she, if this was the treatment meted out to this prestigious institute, the plight of the others need not be mentioned. A couple of her batch mates were lucky enough to get projects in an industry major that absorbed them for a good package. That was more incidental than an organized appointment. Not one of the batch of 34 pass outs was placed by a biotech company of repute.
The Scenario outside:
After 3 months of active knocking of many industry doors, she is yet to find herself a suitable job. She is in a catch 22 situation where job needs experience and experience gets job. She has neither. Her hunt did open the eyes of many and sundry; breaking a myth that Biotech is the most sought after field after IT (you must have heard that too).
The lessons learnt would certainly benefit her, and if shared the entire community would, as it is tantamount to a rude awakening. These experiences are endured during the rookie stage; it would sure harden the victim for tough situations ahead.
Lesson 1-If your objective is to find a job in Biotechnology, introspect before making a decision to join the course because rewarding jobs are far and few at the entry level (unlike IT)
Related jobs do come but with a cost. If you are a Biotech grad from a reputed university, the company which needs you also senses your desperation. The result-- Offers are made to you for peanuts and the irony is that these peanuts don’t come with butter but with bondage ranging from 2 – 5 years.
Lesson 2- Check if you would like to get bound to a medium sized company just for the sake of getting employed and that too underpaid
The BPO bug is prevalent in this industry too. Night shifts to work for the western clock for medical coding, transcription and documentation just because you happen to be a Biotech candidate. The selection procedures are invariably murky with touts advertising on the net to pick up innocent and hapless job seekers again for peanuts.
Lesson 3 – The jobs available in this BPO segment, don’t be surprised, would just require a science graduate. The training would be intense and would involve a cost for you too. Check if you need to be into this before opting for this.
With all the above riders, the moot question would be whether any student looking for a job, post graduation should chose this segment? The prospects are no doubt, slim.
Lesson 4 - However, if the student has the intention of going ahead with academics, with research and teaching as priority areas, then it would be a choice stream.
The objective of this write up is to make the student understand why he/she is choosing this particular segment.
If there is willingness to wait for long term (how long) then it could be preferred.
Most importantly…don’t fall for hype and the exaggerated claims of the industry being equated with the IT industry. (Could be a redundant point in this write up but still underscores the reality)
Good sense, that the government too has realized the folly of churning out too many engineers and technologists than the demand, with a cap being brought on the opening of new engineering colleges from the next year onwards. Enough is enough, thought they.
The placement scenario has been okay, if not great as in the yesteryears, with the IT biggies weaning off the available talent.
Having said that, it is time enough for me to get into what I thought should be scribbled about one ‘specialty segment ‘which promises to be promising but yet not arrived.
Be wary, students.
Whenever a sector sees light these days, it has been very normal to equate it with the boom of one industry..IT. That has been the biggest selling point of any segment which needed the necessary push and pull. Biotechnology, willy-nilly, had fallen into that bracket. With the entire industry poised for a huge growth, the need for qualified manpower was likely to be in great demand and the compensation package too was likely to be on par.
Well, now reality bites..
The hype created by the Bio segment was neither a bubble which burst nor was it anywhere close to real. The lessons that the qualified career seekers learnt needed to be experienced to be believed.
One such experience,
A bright M.Tech from one of the best BIOTECH institutes in the country with a good academic record and prestigious projects to her name was courageous and pragmatic enough to forego all the carrots offered by the IT industries in their placement programs conducted in her institute.
Reason-- she did not want to ditch the field which she had been wedded to for the last 5 years.. Almost eating, sleeping, talking, walking and what not, her only Mantra... Biotechnology. To her dismay none of the industry majors of her most adored field, turned up for campus placement. Says she, if this was the treatment meted out to this prestigious institute, the plight of the others need not be mentioned. A couple of her batch mates were lucky enough to get projects in an industry major that absorbed them for a good package. That was more incidental than an organized appointment. Not one of the batch of 34 pass outs was placed by a biotech company of repute.
The Scenario outside:
After 3 months of active knocking of many industry doors, she is yet to find herself a suitable job. She is in a catch 22 situation where job needs experience and experience gets job. She has neither. Her hunt did open the eyes of many and sundry; breaking a myth that Biotech is the most sought after field after IT (you must have heard that too).
The lessons learnt would certainly benefit her, and if shared the entire community would, as it is tantamount to a rude awakening. These experiences are endured during the rookie stage; it would sure harden the victim for tough situations ahead.
Lesson 1-If your objective is to find a job in Biotechnology, introspect before making a decision to join the course because rewarding jobs are far and few at the entry level (unlike IT)
Related jobs do come but with a cost. If you are a Biotech grad from a reputed university, the company which needs you also senses your desperation. The result-- Offers are made to you for peanuts and the irony is that these peanuts don’t come with butter but with bondage ranging from 2 – 5 years.
Lesson 2- Check if you would like to get bound to a medium sized company just for the sake of getting employed and that too underpaid
The BPO bug is prevalent in this industry too. Night shifts to work for the western clock for medical coding, transcription and documentation just because you happen to be a Biotech candidate. The selection procedures are invariably murky with touts advertising on the net to pick up innocent and hapless job seekers again for peanuts.
Lesson 3 – The jobs available in this BPO segment, don’t be surprised, would just require a science graduate. The training would be intense and would involve a cost for you too. Check if you need to be into this before opting for this.
With all the above riders, the moot question would be whether any student looking for a job, post graduation should chose this segment? The prospects are no doubt, slim.
Lesson 4 - However, if the student has the intention of going ahead with academics, with research and teaching as priority areas, then it would be a choice stream.
The objective of this write up is to make the student understand why he/she is choosing this particular segment.
If there is willingness to wait for long term (how long) then it could be preferred.
Most importantly…don’t fall for hype and the exaggerated claims of the industry being equated with the IT industry. (Could be a redundant point in this write up but still underscores the reality)
Thursday, December 24, 2009
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