newCover IP 07.02.11 final:Layout 1 3/2/11 2:25 PM Page 1 INDIAVOL 25 NO. 1 MARCH 2011 PERSPECTIVES INSIDE COVER STORY Why India is Cricket Crazy ESSAY The Importance of Being Sachin CULTURE Chennai in Season TRAVEL Andaman and Nicobar Islands INTERVIEW Arpita Singh, Arts and Minds Calender-March:Layout 1 3/1/11 8:02 PM Page 2 INDIA THIS MONTH MARCH-APRIL 2011 March 19 April 6-8 Dangs Darbar Mewar Festival Enjoy the Dangs Darbar This event is a visual treat festival with its fascinating with Rajasthani songs, dances, dramas and dances, processions, songs. During the fest, devotional music and women wear traditional firework displays. The colourful dresses and fest has special significance heavy silver jewellery. for women. Where: Ahwa, Gujarat Where: Udaipur, Rajasthan March 19 April 3 Mid-April Elephanta Festival Nenmara Vallangi Vela Chithirai Festival Enjoy an evening of Indian An annual affair in Kerala, The Chithirai Festival is classical dance the celebrations open with one of the biggest performances while some traditional flag celebrations in Madurai. admiring the grandeur hoisting, during which It re-enacts the wedding of sculptures of the 30 caprisioned-elephants of Lord Shiva and Elephanta Caves. line up under lavishly Goddess Meenakshi. Where: Elephanta Island, decorated canopies. Where: Meenakshi Temple, Mumbai Where: Palakkad, Kerala Madurai, Tamil Nadu April 5 April 9-10 Attuvela Mahotsavam Shad Suk Mynsiem The Attuvela Mahotsavam Shad Suk Mynsiem or the is a delightful water carnival. Dance of the Joyful Soul is Devotees carry out a a much sought-after event procession of illuminated in Meghalaya. Locals dance canoes carrying colourful to mark the onset of the temple replicas on the sowing season. Moovattupuzha river. Where: Weiking Ground, Where: Vadayar, Kottayam Shillong March 20 April 6-7 Mid-April Holla Mohalla Gangaur Festival Rongali Bihu This festival is celebrated a Join the women of This is the most popular of day after Holi. During this Rajasthan when they all the three Bihu festivals. time Sikhs reaffirm their honour Parvati with lively The sensuous, yet energetic commitment to the processions during the Bihu dance is performed in community. It is the biggest Gangaur Festival. the fields, on road-sides event held at Anandpur. Where: Across Rajasthan, and on stages especially Where: Anandpur Sahib, mainly in Jaipur, Udaipur, erected for the occasion. Punjab Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Where: Throughout Assam Editorial Note:Layout 1 3/1/11 7:54 PM Page 3 EDITORIAL NOTE e are grateful to our readers for the numerous messages of appreciation and support they have sent us from all over the world. This has been the impetus behind the changes we have made to the content and look of India Perspectives. The environment around us is rapidly changing and we feel that the W magazine should adapt to the times and remain in sync with what you want. With this in mind we have gone back to being a monthly publication, but one with a contemporary look and with content that is more representative than ever before of our vibrant, pluralist society. To help us realise our vision for the magazine we have tied up with Media Transasia, a well-known publishing house that has over 26 titles to its credit worldwide. The company will bring to the table its vast experience and help us bring to you India Perspectives in its new and improved avatar. The issue may be slimmer, now that it is a monthly, but in no way are we going to compromise on quality. Also, we are placing special emphasis on translations, so that wherever in the world you are and whichever of the 18 languages you are reading it in, it will be as if it has been especially written for you. Currently, the ICC World Cup is being played in the Subcontinent — it was last played here in 1996 — and cricket fever is at its peak. In the issue we analyse why our nation is cricket crazy and why Sachin Tendulkar is a God for many Indians. Also, our Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao writes about Tagore’s vision of India and China. This year, at the Davos Summit, our country made its presence felt strongly with the ‘India Inclusive’ campaign and we bring you a snapshot of the event and its unique mix of style and substance. To help you understand the India story better, we have introduced a series on our development partnerships; the first of which is about the training provided under the Indian Technical and Economic Co-operation Programme. To make the magazine even more relevant and reader-friendly we have included features on culture, travel and the arts, plus reviews of films, books and lots more. We look forward to your feedback on our new initiative, so write to us on [email protected]. And if you are one of the 500 million individuals with a Facebook account, join the India Perspectives community on Facebook and become our partner in advancing India’s conversations with the world. Navdeep Suri MARCH 2011 INDIA PERSPECTIVES 03 CONTENTS-IP:Layout 1 3/2/11 1:50 PM Page 2 INDIA PERSPECTIVES MARCH 2011 VOL 25 No. 1/2011 Editor: Navdeep Suri MARCH 2011 Assistant Editor: Neelu Rohra Essay: The Importance of Being Sachin 10 MEDIA TRANSASIA TEAM Editor-in-Chief: Maneesha Dube COVER STORY Editor: Mannika Chopra ART AND CULTURE Creative Director: Bipin Kumar Chennai in Season 12 Desk: Urmila Marak 06 Editorial Co-ordinator: Kanchan Rana Artistic Impressions 14 Design: Ajay Kumar (Sr. Designer), Sujit Singh CRAZY ABOUT Production: Sunil Dubey (DGM), CRICKET Brijesh k. Juyal (Prepress Operator) The passion that Profile: Rajendra Singh 16 India has for cricket is greater than any Photofeature: Raghu Rai’s Indians 18 Chairman: J.S. Uberoi other country has President: Xavier Collaco for any sport India and the World: Davos 2011 24 Financial Controller: Puneet Nanda Comment: Tagore’s Vision of India and China 28 Send editorial contributions and letters to Media Transasia India Ltd. Development Partnerships: ITEC 32 323, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Global Brands: Bharti Airtel 34 Gurgaon 122016 Travel: Andaman & Nicobar Islands 36 Haryana, India E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: 91-124-4759500 IN REVIEW Fax: 91-124-4759550 Art: Anish Kapoor 42 Books: Ramchandra Guha: Makers of Modern India 43 India Perspectives is published every month in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali, Film: Naghma Iman’s In the Season of Blue Storm 44 English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Music: Manganiyars, minstrels from Rajasthan 45 Pashto, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Sinhala, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese. Views expressed in the articles Verbatim: Arpita Singh 46 are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the magazine. This edition is published for the Ministry of AFP External Affairs by Navdeep Suri, Joint Secretary, Public Diplomacy Division, New Delhi, 140 ‘A’ Wing, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi-110001. Telephones: 91-11-23389471, 91-11-23388873, Fax: 91-11-23385549 Website: http://www.meaindia.nic.in Text may be reproduced with an acknowledgement to India Perspectives For a copy of India Perspectives COVER: ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR/PHOTO LIBRARY contact the nearest Indian COVER DESIGN: BIPIN diplomatic mission. 12 36 42 MARCH 2011 INDIA PERSPECTIVES 05 Cover Story-IP:Layout 1 3/2/11 10:56 AM Page 2 COVER STORY WHY INDIA IS CRAZY ABOUT CRICKET The passion that India has for cricket is greater than any other country has for any sport TEXT: ASHOK MALIK or a month-and-a-half beginning image of the towns and cities of the vast Saturday, February 19, 2011 India American heartland. Today, the English is going to be obsessed, engrossed Premier League is not just emblematic of F and riveted. The object of this English football but also of British extreme emotion will, of course, be the multiculturalism – it attracts talent from cricket World Cup. A complex game, cricket all continents. has three mainstream formats: That each of the three versions of cricket • Test match cricket, which lasts five days has a market in India is indicative perhaps • One-day cricket, which sees teams bat 50 of the multiple rhythms of this land and of overs each and is sometimes called Fifty50 the many Indias that exist under that one or F50 cricket political identity. The languid, never-ending • A new, brash and abbreviated version that test match could, at the end of five days, sees teams bat 20 overs each and is often leave you with nothing but a thrilling draw. called Twenty20 or T20 cricket The F50 game speaks of a broader, Between February 19 and April 2 this smaller city India which still has limited year, India will co-host the F50 World Cup. entertainment and economic options and Immediately after that it will stage the so can pack a stadium for an entire day. planet’s richest cricket tournament: the The T20 revolution, with its attendant Indian Premier League, India’s flagship T20 razzmatazz, is the ideal product for the event. At the beginning of 2011, India metropolitan crowd, a direct rival to the toured South Africa for a series of test three-hour film and tailored to audiences matches. Later in the year, it will play top- that have more money than time and are in line test series against England and tune with the business and leisure Australia. In a country that needs few principles of the developed world. excuses not to immerse itself in cricket lore, Which individual, which demographic 2011 is an extraordinary bonanza. It’s a and which geography follows which type 12-month festival of quality cricket.