Gujarat Titans wins IPL 2022 - fastest delivery of IPL `15

The biggest Cricketing extravaganza – Indian Premier League 2022 (IPL 15) is just over.  From 26^th Mar 2022 till yesterday there were 74 matches – interesting and so many nail-baiting finishes. 

Usain Bolt put Jamaica on top of the world with his prowess in sprint race .. .. back in 2008 at Beijing – a confident crew of sprinters from Jamaica became the first nation in Olympic history to sweep the gold, silver and bronze in the event when Shelly-Ann Fraser finished in 10.78 seconds, followed by teammates Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart, both at 10.98. Speed is always alluring!

What a match it turned out to be – and the cynosure of all eyes was GT Captain – who had not  delivered a single ball over his last two seasons at Mumbai Indians. It was remarkable, Hardik Pandya performed at  Ahmedabad, in front of a crowd of 104,859 - possibly the largest ever to watch a game of cricket.  He had marshalled his resources extremely well, led from the front, has been a great fielder and big pinch hitter, this time – it was he, with the ball – dismissing 3 of the dangerous batters of RR.  In seven seasons for Mumbai in the IPL, Hardik had scored his runs at a strike rate of 153.91. He had hit a six every 9.8 balls, and had hit more sixes (98) than fours (97).  For Gujarat Titans, as Captains, he was better and different -   487 runs at an average of 44.27 and a strike rate of 131.26. He had hit 12 sixes - one every 30.9 balls - and 49 fours.

Hardik seemed to be knowing everyone in the ground – smiled, waved hands, shook hands, hugged some .. .. .. and was friendly with everyone – in fact after a caught and bowl, he ran towards his mates and exchanged a friendly banter with leg Umpire – and one among the many was Varun Aaron- a man who was bowling so fast.   In  ‘what could be the fastest ball in India of that time ’ @ 153 kmph was  delivered by Varun Aaron from Jharkhand in front of literally empty stadium in a Vijay Hazare final.  The  fastest Indian  perhaps could be  – Kapil Dev, TA Sekhar, Yograj Singh, Varun Aaron, Javgal Srinath, Jasprit Bumrah,  Navdeep Saini, Ishant Sharma !!! .. and now Umran Malik  and couple of new finds.  Internationally –  Jeff Thomson, Dennis Lillee,  Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Fidel Edwards, Shane Bond, Shaun Tait, Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, Allan Donald  or the likes of Harold Larwood, Frank Tyson.. .. ..  there is also another,  most of us may not know – Charles Kortright

Charles Jesse Kortright (1871 – 1952)   was an English cricketer, who played for Essex and Free Foresters. In his obituary in the 1953 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, he was described as "probably the fastest bowler in the history of the game", a testimony fervently supported by countless of those who saw and faced him.

 

Debutant franchise Gujarat Titans scripted history in the Indian Premier League on Sunday night when they won IPL 2022 in their inaugural season by seven wickets against Rajasthan Royals in the final in Ahmedabad. With the victory, came the hefty prize money of Rs 20 crore during the post-final award ceremony. During the high-profile encounter, right-arm fast bowler Lockie Ferguson clocked the fastest ball of this season when he bowled at 157.3 kmph to RR batter Jos Buttler.In the last ball of the fifth over of RR’s innings, Ferguson bowled a pin-point yorker outside the off stump to Buttler, leaving him stunned with the speed as the ball passed him and settled into Wriddhiman Saha’s hands.

With this thunderbolt, Ferguson not only won the fastest delivery of the match award but also went past Sunrisers Hyderabad speedster Umran Malik, who had earlier clocked a 157 kmph delivery against the Delhi Capitals during a group stage match this IPL. Ferguson  took home Rs 10 lakh for registering the fastest delivery of the entire tournament. Lockie Ferguson has a reputation for bowling fast and also crossed the 150 kmph mark on a number of occasions this IPL season.

RR, who reached the final for the first time since winning the tournament in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008got  Rs 12.5 crore. Third-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore, who lost by seven wickets to RR in Qualifier 2, received a cheque of Rs 7 crore while fourth-placed Lucknow Super Giants received Rs 6.5 crore after going down to RCB in the Eliminator. Royals and Titans also were the joint winners of the Fairplay Award with both teams having an average of 10 points per match.

RR had more honours to claim on the night as their star batter of the tournament, Jos Buttler, who also contributed the team's highest score of the day with a 39-run innings, claimed the Orange Capwith an aggregate of 863 runs, which was more than 250 runs ahead of second-best KL Rahul (616). The 31-year-old Englishman earned a cheque of Rs 10 lakh along with the cap. Purple cap, along with a cheque of Rs 10 lakh, went to RR's Yuzvendra Chahal, who finished the season with 27 wickets.  Jos Butler backed   multiple awards such as the Most Valuable Player of the Season award, Most sixes in the season award, Game Changer of the Season award, Most Fours in the Season Award, and Powerplayer of the Season award. In total, Buttler grabbed Rs 60 lakh in the season's prize money with each award fetching Rs 10 lakh.

In other individual awards, LSG' Evin Lewis won the Best Catch of the Season award as his one-handed blinder against Kolkata Knight Riders booked their play-off spot. The West Indian received a cheque of Rs 10 lakh.  Umran Malik, won the Emerging Player of the Season award (Rs 10 lakh).RCB's  Dinesh Karthik grabbed the Super Striker Award for finishing the season with a strike rate of 183.33 and won a TATA Punch car in the award ceremony.

We have been so used to watching IPL matches everyday, and what would the Nation do from tonight !! – missing IPL !!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
30^th May 2022. 

Cricket ball delivery capture !

 What a capture !  .. .. John Bracewell delivery way back in 1983 – scanned from a book by Patrick Eagar, Collins Publishers, London.

some excerpts from the speech of HOnble PM Shri Narendra Modiji at Chennai

சென்னையில் 26.5.2022 அன்று  வளர்ச்சித் திட்டங்களுக்கு அடிக்கல் நாட்டிய விழாவில் மாண்புமிகு இந்திய பிரதமர் திரு நரேந்திர மோடி அவர்கள்  ஆற்றிய உரையின் சில சிறப்பு வரிகள்: 

·         இது மிகவும் சிறப்பான பூமி. இந்த மாநிலத்தின் மக்கள், கலாச்சாரம், மொழி என அனைத்துமே மிகச் சிறப்பானவை. சீர்பெருமை நிறைந்த பாரதியார் அவர்கள்,

செந்தமிழ் நாடென்னும் போதினிலே,

இன்பத்தேன் வந்து பாயுது காதினிலே

என்று மிக அழகாகப் பாடியிருக்கிறார்.

·         காதுகேளாதோருக்கான ஒலிம்பிக்ஸ் போட்டிகளில் நாம் வென்ற 16 பதக்கங்களில், தமிழ்நாட்டைச் சேர்ந்த இளைஞர்கள் ஆறு பேர்களுக்கு ஒரு பங்கு இருந்தது என்பது உங்களுக்குத் தெரியுமா? 

·         ஃப்ரான்ஸ் நாட்டின் கான்ஸ் (Cannes) நகரிலே நடைபெற்ற திரைப்பட விழாவில் இந்த மகத்துவம் வாய்ந்த தமிழ்நாட்டின் மைந்தரான எல். முருகன் அவர்கள், தமிழ்நாட்டுக்கே உரிய பாரம்பரியமான ஆடையில் அங்கே, சிவப்புக் கம்பளத்தின் மீது நடந்தார்.   இது உலகெங்கிலும் உள்ள தமிழர்களைப் பெருமிதம் கொள்ளச் செய்தது.

·         31,000 கோடி ரூபாய்க்கும் மேற்பட்ட திட்டங்கள் இங்கே ஒன்று, தொடங்கப்பட இருக்கின்றன அல்லது அவற்றுக்கு அடிக்கல் நாட்டப்பட இருக்கின்றன.  சாலைக் கட்டுமானத்தின் மீது செலுத்தப்பட்டிருக்கும் கவனம் தெளிவாகப் புலப்படுகிறது. இது பொருளாதார வளர்ச்சியோடு நேரடியாக தொடர்புடையது.

·         5 இரயில் நிலையங்கள் புனரமைக்கப்பட இருப்பது எனக்குக் குறிப்பாக உவகையை அளிக்கிறது. எதிர்காலத் தேவைகளைக் கருத்தில் கொண்டு நவீனமயமாக்கலும், மேம்பாடும் செய்யப்படுகின்றன.  அதே நேரத்தில், இது உள்ளூர் கலை, கலாச்சாரம் ஆகியவற்றுக்கு ஏற்றதாகவும் இருக்கும்.

·         பிரதம மந்திரி ஆவாஸ் யோஜனா என்ற பிரதம மந்திரி வீட்டு வசதித் திட்டத்திற்கு உட்பட்டு, வரலாற்று சிறப்புமிக்க சென்னையில் நவீன தொழில் நுட்பத்திலான வீட்டுவசதித் திட்டத்தின்படி வீடுகள் கிடைக்கப் பெறும் அனைவருக்கும் நான் என் வாழ்த்துக்களைத் தெரிவிக்க விரும்புகிறேன்.

·         நண்பர்களே, நீங்கள் வாழ்ந்த வாழ்க்கையின் தரத்தை விடச் சிறப்பான ஒரு வாழ்க்கைத் தரத்தை உங்கள் குழந்தைகள் வாழ வேண்டும் என்று நீங்கள் அனைவரும் விரும்புவீர்கள் என்று நான் உறுதியாக நம்புகிறேன். உங்கள் குழந்தைகளுக்கு ஒரு சிறப்பான எதிர்காலத்தை உருவாக்க நீங்கள் ஒவ்வொருவரும் விரும்புவீர்கள். இதற்கு முக்கியமான அடிப்படைத் தேவைகளில் ஒன்று தான் தலைசிறந்த உள்கட்டமைப்பு வசதிகள்.

·         ஒவ்வொரு இல்லத்திற்கும் குடிநீரைக் கொண்டு சேர்ப்பதை உறுதி செய்ய பணியாற்றிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறோம். இப்படி நாம் செய்யும் போது, பாரபட்சமோ, விடுபட்டுப் போவதற்கான சாத்தியக்கூறோ இருக்காது.

·         செம்மொழி தமிழாய்வு மையத்திற்கு புதிய வளாகம் ஒன்று, இந்த ஆண்டு ஜனவரி மாதம், சென்னையில் தொடங்கப்பட்டது.  இந்தப் புதிய வளாகத்திற்கு முழுக்க முழுக்க மத்திய அரசே நிதி வழங்குகிறது.  இங்கே விசாலமான ஒரு நூலகம், ஒரு மின்னணு நூலகம், கருத்தரங்குக் கூடங்கள், பல்லூடக அரங்கொன்றும் அமைக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறது.

·         இந்திய மொழிகளுக்கு ஊக்கமளிக்கும் வகையில் தேசிய கல்விக் கொள்கை அவற்றுக்குச் சிறப்பு முக்கியத்துவம் அளிக்கிறது. தேசிய கல்விக் கொள்கை காரணமாக, தொழில்நுட்ப, மருத்துவப் படிப்புக்களை உள்ளூர் மொழிகளிலேயே கற்க முடியும்.

·         இலங்கை நெருக்கடியான சூழ்நிலையைக் கடந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறது.   நெருங்கிய நட்பு நாடு என்ற வகையிலும், அண்டை நாடு என்ற முறையிலும், இந்தியா இலங்கைக்கு அனைத்துவிதமான உதவிகளையும் அளித்து வருகிறது. யாழ்ப்பாணத்திற்கு சில ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு நான் சென்றதை என்னால் மறக்க முடியாது.  யாழ்ப்பாணத்திற்கு சென்ற முதல் இந்தியப் பிரதமர் நான் தான். இலங்கைவாழ் தமிழ் மக்களுக்கு உதவும் வகையிலே இந்திய அரசாங்கம் பல்வேறு திட்டங்களை மேற்கொண்டு வருகிறது.  இந்தத் திட்டங்கள் சுகாதாரம், போக்குவரத்து, வீட்டுவசதி மற்றும் கலாச்சாரம் ஆகியவற்றை உள்ளடக்கும்.

நண்பர்களே, சுதந்திரத் திருநாள் அமிர்தப் பெருவிழாவை நாம் இப்போது கொண்டாடி வருகிறோம்.  75 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பாக, ஒரு சுதந்திர நாடு என்ற வகையில் நாம் நமது பயணத்தைத் தொடங்கினோம்.  நமது நாட்டிற்காக நமது சுதந்திரப் போராட்ட வீரர்கள் பல கனவுகளைக் கண்டார்கள். அவற்றை நிறைவேற்றுவது நமது கடமை என்பதோடு, நாமனைவரும் இந்த சந்தர்ப்பத்தில் ஒருங்கிணைந்து செயல்பட்டு கனவை நனவாக்க முயற்சி மேற்கொள்வோம் என்று நான் உறுதியாக நம்புகிறேன். நாமனைவரும் இணைந்து இந்தியாவை வலுவானதாகவும், வளமானதாகவும் ஆக்குவோம்.

மீண்டும் ஒருமுறை, தொடங்கப்பட்டிருக்கும் வளர்ச்சிப் பணிகளுக்கான நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்.

வணக்கம்.

மிக்க நன்றி. 

The original and full text  is available at : https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1828592 

Yasin Malik sentenced - Shahid Afridi rants !!

Engrossed in IPL – a great platform for budding talent of India to rub shoulders with great Indian players, players from Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies, Sri lanka and Afganisthan too .. .. no Pakistan ! – that actually makes me feel happy !  - if you are about to rant, don’t mix Sports with politics !  .. .. dear, this is no politics – but NATIONAL INTERESTS – keep Pakis out of everything !-  do read on !!

IPL 2008 was the only edition in which 11 Pakistan players took part in the cash rich tournament. From the 2009 edition due to political tensions, Pakistani cricketers were barred from further taking part in the tournament – and that has been a great right move.  There obviously have been rantings and Afirdi was the most vociferous amongst them.  Shahid Afridi displayed his  deep hurt and  appealed to the Indian cricket board that Pakistan players shouldn't be treated as "untouchables" when it comes to including them in the cash-rich Indian Premier League.  Clearly it was no love for the game or for India but for the cash – in fact there have been very many occasions when he had spoken badly against India and against Indian Cricketers too.  

No one needs to tell Afridi that his country is always in turmoil.  PTI supporters who were awaiting party chief Imran Khan's arrival at D-Chowk in Islamabad since Wednesday entered the Red Zone on Thursday morning, police said, after Imran gave a six-day deadline to the government for announcing elections and warned that he would "return" to the capital if the demand was not met.

Back home, Yasin Malik was convicted by a Court of law after due process and after own admission of crimes.  Stating that his crimes “intended to strike at the heart of the idea of India” and were “committed with the assistance of foreign powers and designated terrorists”, an NIA court in Delhi handed life term to Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik in a case related to terrorism and secessionist activities in 2016-17. Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh awarded two life sentences and varying jail terms, which will all run concurrently, and a fine of Rs 10,65,000 for offences under the stringent anti-terror law — Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) — and the IPC.

                 Delhi court categorically  rejected Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik's contention that he was following Gandhian principle of non-violence, saying despite the large scale of violence engulfing the valley, he neither condemned the violence nor withdrew his calendar of protest. Special Judge Praveen Singh also dismissed Malik's contention that he gave up the gun in 1994 and, thereafter, he was recognized as a legitimate political player, observing that "in my opinion, there was no reformation of this convict."  "Rather, betraying the good intentions of government he took a different path to orchestrate violence in the guise of political struggle. The convict claimed that he had followed the Gandhian principle of non-violence and was spearheading a peaceful non-violent struggle. However, the evidence on the basis of which charges were framed and to which convict has pleaded guilty, speaks otherwise," the judge said. The entire movement (led by Malik) was planned to be a violent movement and large-scale violence ensued is a matter of fact, he noted.  

Now some real History :  Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) historically belonged to the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Soon after the partition of India in 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir signed the Instrument of Accession, thereby acceding to the Indian Union. By every account, POK is legitimately an inherent part of India. This territory has been under Pakistan’s unlawful control ever since the Pakistan Army orchestrated the tribal invasion of the territory in Oct 1947. POK comprises the so-called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan and has remained an amorphous entity for six decades now.

With a cryptic tweet, Indian cricketer Amit Mishra retaliated against his Pakistani opponent, asking Afridi to quit misleading people as he did with his birthday. Shahid Afridi, the former Pakistan all-rounder and captain, tried to create yet  another unsavoury stir  with his recent tweet on the Kashmir problem. On Wednesday, Afridi backed Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, and tweeted his support questioning the verdict.  "Dear @safridiofficial he himself has pleaded guilty in court on the record. Not everything is misleading like your birthdate," Mishra tweeted.

This is not the first time Afridi raked up the Kashmir issue. Afridi had written in 2020 that he did not need religious belief to "feel the agony" of the Kashmiri people. "... just a right heart at the right place. Save Kashmir," he had tweeted. The former Pakistani cricketer had also gone to PoK where he made a public speech in which he not only defamed India as a nation.  The backlash that originated from that stunt of his,  led to some of the Indian cricketers including Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh cutting off all ties with him. Both Yuvraj and Harbhajan were helping Afridi promote his foundation right when COVID-19 was at its peak and the Pakistani public needed intervention and aid.

In early May, Malik pled guilty to all counts in a terror funding case, including those under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.  India Today reports that Shahid Afridi's constant rant over Kashmir flows from his family's connection with militancy in the Valley. His cousin was shot dead by the security forces in 2003 in an encounter in Anantnag. Identified as Shaquib, Shahid Afridi's first cousin, was killed in an encounter with the BSF on Sep 7, 2003. The BSF had described Shaquib after the encounter as a battalion commander of the Harkat-ul-Ansar, which later took the name of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, another front of Jamaat-ud-Dawa of Hafiz Saeed, the designated global terrorist. Documents recovered from Shaquib proved his connection with Shahid Afridi's family, the BSF had then said. Shaquib hailed from Peshawar and had been operating in the Anantnag area for about a-year-and-half before he was killed.

Shahid Afridi then, a regular in Pakistan's national cricket team, had denied having any knowledge about his terrorist cousin. "Pathan families are very large and I have literally lost track of the many cousins I have," Afridi was quoted as saying in newspapers. Then there is another connection that primes Shahid Afridi as a supporter of Kashmiri militants. When India was partitioned by the British colonial regime in August 1947, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir decided to stay independent - at least for some time. While New Delhi was dithering about India's claim over Kashmir, Pakistan sent Afridi tribesmen to occupy Kashmir with the intent to annex it. Afridis along with mercenaries from Wazir, Mahsud, Turi, Mohmand and Malakand Yusufzai tribes invaded Kashmir. The leadership was provided by Pakistan Army officer named Major General Akbar Khan. Afridis had been lured to attack Kashmir for "wealth and women". They came in truckloads and were more interested in raping women and looting properties. Unable to fight back on his own the then King of Jammu and Kashmir Hari Singh signed the accession treaty with India, which then sent its troops to push back tribal invaders and Pakistan armymen. These tribesmen, having accumulated enormous property, had to haul all the loot to Peshawar.

 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
26^th May 2022. 

speed of delivery - the doppler test !!

"Über das farbige Licht der Doppelsterne und einiger anderer Gestirne des Himmels” .. .. .. can you decipher what this is about ??

On the coloured light of the binary stars and some other stars of the heavens -  a treatise by Doppler (1842) in which he postulated his principle that the observed frequency changes if either the source or the observer is moving, which later was termed  the Doppler effect.

At MV Diabetics – every time, I go for full check-up, besides blood tests, there are checks on retina, leg, kidney and more .. .. one of them is Doppler test ! - Doppler ultrasound is a noninvasive test  used to estimate the blood flow through the  blood vessels by bouncing high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) off circulating red blood cells. A Doppler ultrasound may help diagnose many conditions, including: blood clots, poor functioning of valves in leg veins, heart valve defects, blocked artery, decreased blood circulation in legs, bulging arteries and more.

IPL is drawing to a close and what a engrossing match it was between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB had a big surge with a partnersnip of 92 off a mere  41 balls – but it could well have been 0 off 2 balls! – LSG was without luck !

It was - 13.3 – Ravi Bishnoi was bowling a good spell, Dinesh Karthik who had just come, was sort of struggling to read him.  A wrong’un turning so much, left DK bamboozled – while everyone thought it was clear LBW, Umpire had different view !  - Hardik Pandya reviewed,  it was marginally pitching outside (Umpire’s call) but clipped leg – had it been given out by Umpire earlier, he would have stayed with the decision but Karthik getting a reprieve went on to score more !

Balls later 18.1 – Chameera to DK- it was reverse. The ball struck the pads, DK was given out and he went to review.  He had shuffled across expecting a wide yorker – Chameera bowled straight and hit the boot on the full.  But this time, Ultra edge scored scratches though to the naked eye, there appeared some gap between bat and pad.  

LSG had an organized chase but close to finish line came back Harshal Patel who had given just 8 off 2 – started off badly with two wides, one of which went for four too, beating DK.  But came back strongly with mix of short and slower ones, frustrating Stoinis, who hit correctly and powerfully but straight to deep throat – Patidar standing there.   The man can do nothing wrong, destined to perform.   Rajat Patidar, a Royal Challengers regular was left out this year, went unsold but came in mid-season as cover for an injury to Luvnith Sisodia – today he scored a sensational unbeaten 112 off 54 to propel the team into the second Qualifier.  He had his share of luck too -   dropped in the 16th over, he scored 40 off 14 balls.  

Amid all the carnage, Super Giants' Mohsin Khan and Royal Challengers' Harshal Patel returned identical and remarkable figures of 4-0-25-1.  IPL stirs controversies every now and then – this time it was technology.  Ultra-Edge have picked edges that didn't exist and vice-versa while on one instance.  It was shambolic when CSK played MI when there was no DRS available due to a power failure. Then came this bloomer – when in the Qualifier between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals, speedometer showed R Ashwin bowling a delivery at 131.6 kph.  It was the eight over of  the Titans innings, Ashwin bowled a ball at his normal speed, which must have been around the 85-95 kph-mark. But surprisingly, the speedometer showed the ball to be bowled at over 130 kph, which Matthew Wade glided away for a single. Sure enough, users on Twitter were quick to spot the glaring error and expressed their opinions on the gaffe. This wasn't the first time at the speedometer messed up. During the match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, the piece of technology reported a delivery from Kuldeep Yadav to be at 116 kph. Kuldeep has often varied his pace and added speed to his deliveries, but the maximum he has stretched it is in the early 100s.

Measuring the velocity of the ball through Radar Guns or Speed Guns is like measuring the speed of the moving car. This technique was discovered in 1947 by "John Baker".  Speed gun works on the principle of Doppler Effect. This Speed Gun has a receiver and a transmitter. The Speed Gun is placed on a high pillar near the Sight screen, from which Speed Gun sends radio wave in the direction of the pitch and calculates the speed of any object on the pitch.  The gun basically captures the speed by measuring the speed of the ball without error.  As the ball passes the radar gun, the speed is recorded and speed details are flashed on screen, not only in Cricket but also in Tennis. 

Technology at best is technology and can be interpreted differently.  There are some different correlations on how the delivery could be faster than it is.  Batsman are brought up on a diet of right-arm-over bowling that is released from high-on the same area, ball after ball after ball. Remove that familiarity, and the feeling of speed goes up. In the Caribbean in 2019, TV showed Jasprit Bumrah's release point was half a metre closer to the batter than Kemar Roach's. This gave Bumrah the effect of bowling 3.7mph faster than the speed gun was showing.  To read it differently, if every other bowler bowls from 22 yards, Bumrah release makes it only   21.5.

Christian Andreas Doppler (1803- 1853)  was an Austrian mathematician and physicist. He is celebrated for his principle – known as the Doppler effect – that the observed frequency of a wave depends on the relative speed of the source and the observer. He used this concept to explain the colour of binary stars. At the age of 38, Doppler gave a lecture to the Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences and subsequently published his most notable work, Über das farbige Licht der Doppelsterne und einiger anderer Gestirne des Himmels ("On the coloured light of the binary stars and some other stars of the heavens").  The Doppler effect is the change in frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the wave source.  A common example of Doppler shift is the change of pitch heard when a vehicle sounding a horn approaches and recedes from an observer. Compared to the emitted frequency, the received frequency is higher during the approach, identical at the instant of passing by, and lower during the recession.

Interesting ! – confusing !!

 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
26^th May 2022. 

Yellow roses !!

  

அன்றொரு நாள் அதிகாலை !  - மொட்டை மாடியில் சுட்டெரிக்கும் வெய்யில் வரும் முன் .. .. அன்றலர்ந்த ரோசா மலர்கள் தம் -  குணம், மணம், மென்மை, வண்ணம், தூய்மை,  எழில், போன்றவற்றால் கவர்ந்தன !! 

செந்நாப்போதார் அன்பு மனைவியின் குணமாக, சற்று கோபத்தையும், பொறுமையும் வெளிப்படுத்துவதாக சொல்லும் திருக்குறள் :  

கோட்டுப்பூச் சூடினும் காயும் ஒருத்தியைக்

காட்டிய சூடினீர் என்று. 

கிளைகளில் மலர்ந்த மலர்களைச் சூடினாலும், நீர் இந்த அழகை யாரோ ஒருத்திக்கு காட்டுவதற்காகச் சூடினீர் என்று சினம் கொள்வாளாம். 

இதோ இங்கே சில மஞ்சள் ரோஜாக்கள். 

 

S. Sampathkumar

25.5.2022

Kangaroo in Kolkatta

For sure, you have watched Cricket matches downunder .. .. observed their logo ? -  A Kangaroo depiction also features on The Australian Cricket Brand Logo on their Baggy Green Caps which The Australians wear with pride.  

  

The animal Kangaroo is special to Australia – understand that the word kangaroo derives from the *Guugu Yimithirr word gangurru, referring to eastern grey kangaroos. The name was first recorded as "kanguru" on 12 July 1770 in an entry in the diary of Sir Joseph Banks; this occurred at the site of modern Cooktown, on the banks of the Endeavour River, where HMS Endeavour under the command of Lieutenant James Cook was beached for almost seven weeks to repair damage sustained on the Great Barrier Reef.  Cook first referred to kangaroos in his diary entry of 4 August.

A common myth about the kangaroo's English name is that it was a Guugu Yimithirr phrase for "I don't know" or "I don't understand".  According to this legend, Cook and Banks were exploring the area when they happened upon the animal. They asked a nearby local what the creatures were called. The local responded "kangaroo", said to mean "I don't know/understand", which Cook then took to be the name of the creature.   

This peculiar animal “Kangaroo” is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo.  Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. The Australian government estimates that 42.8 million kangaroos lived within the commercial harvest areas of Australia in 2019, down from 53.2 million in 2013.

In general they are not found elsewhere  - not even in the nearest country New Zealand, where too, it can be found only in Zoos.  .. .. so it was a big surprise when some villagers  walking along a road on the edge of a forested village in eastern India first saw three confused, weak and hungry animals, they couldn't believe what they were witnessing.

The animals looked nothing like anything they had seen before. They alerted West Bengal state's forest officials, who told them that the animals were kangaroos - native to Australia but not found in India. The animals were rescued and sent to a wildlife park to be treated. One died later. The villagers were still confused and surprised with what they had seen. Soon, videos of the kangaroos in India went viral. According to Wildlife Warden of West Bengal,   the animals were most likely left in the open during an anti-smuggling operation by his team.

When he received a tip-off that some exotic animals were being smuggled into the state, he immediately alerted his team. Acting quickly, the officers started checking vehicles along one of the main routes to enter the state. "The smugglers probably got wind of it, and abandoned the animals on the highway," Mr Ray said. "They probably ended up here from private breeding farms in southeast Asia," Agni Mitra, deputy director of the regional Wildlife Control Bureau, told the BBC, adding that smugglers often bring non-native, exotic animals to India's border states through Myanmar.

In April, two men were arrested when a red kangaroo was found in their truck during a routine police check on a highway close to West Bengal's border with the north-eastern state of Assam. The men told forest officials that they had been handed these kangaroos at a farm in Mizoram, another state in the north-east, to be taken to a zoo in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. "They produced a supply order from the zoo, and the zoo even confirmed it," Mr Mitra said. The zoo's curator told a news website that they had been "offered the consignment as a gift". "Clearly this is a case of smuggling - the supply order was in the name of a farm in Mizoram, which does not even exist," Mr Ghosh said, explaining that under CITES provisions, protected animals have to be declared on a government website.

"There is no declaration of any kangaroos from any farm in Mizoram in government records," Mr Mitra said. Meanwhile, the two kangaroos, rescued by forest officials are being treated in the Bengal Safari Park, and are making good progress. "They have some muscle atrophy, which is common in kangaroos when they are squeezed into small spaces while being smuggled," Mr Ray explained. "If they feel at home, maybe we can display them [to the zoo-going public]. But they have to spend their life in a zoo. We cannot release them into the wild as India is not their natural habitat."

Interesting and what a pity of life for those animals, which otherwise would have lived happily with their expanded family in Australia, ending up thousands of mile elsewhere !! 

Guugu Yimithirr,   is an Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Guugu Yimithirr people of Far North Queensland. It belongs to the Pama-Nyungan language family. Most of the speakers today live at the community of Hope Vale, about 46 kilometres (29 mi) from Cooktown.  As such, efforts are being made to teach it to children of the tribe. Guugu Yimithirr is the source language of the word kangaroo.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

24.5.2022.

How do you pronounce the new Australian PM's Name ??

Albania is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares land borders with Montenegro,  Kosovo, North Macedoniaand Greece.  Tirana is its capital and largest city.   The term Albania is the medieval Latin name of the country. It may be derived from the Illyrian tribe of Albani, from  the city of Albanopolis located northeast of Durrës. During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country Arbëri or Arbëni and referred to themselves as Arbëreshë or Arbëneshë.Likely that today there would be so many searches in the web on ‘Albania’ !!  (I did !!)

Labour has won 72 seats but needs 76 to govern without relying on the Greens or independents for confidence and supply - voting for the government’s budget legislation… .. .. following !! 

The 2022 Australian federal election was held on 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National coalition government led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison sought to win a fourth consecutive term in office. It was challenged by the opposition, the Labor Party led by Anthony Albanese. The Greens, United Australia, One Nation, other minor parties, and independents also contested the election.  Late on election night, Morrison conceded the election and announced his forthcoming resignation as Liberal leader and  Albanese was sworn in as Prime Minister today.

Anthony Albanese has officially been sworn in as Australia’s 31st prime minister, marking the first time a person with a non-Anglo surname has held the office.How do you pronounce the new Australian Prime Minister ? It’s been hypothesised the prime minister may feel a sense of conflict about fully embracing his Italian surname as he was brought up by his mother and only met his Italian father, Carlo, after his mother’s death in 2002.  Italian isn’t an inflexible language and has various regional differences and dialects. According to ancestry.com, the title Albanese hails from southern Italy and is an ethnic name for “an Albanian”, describing someone from Albania or one of the Albanian settlements in Italy.

The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the principles of responsible government. Formally appointed by the governor-general, the office of the prime minister is governed by Westminster system convention as it is not described in the Australian constitution. To become prime minister, a politician should be able to command the confidence of the House of Representatives. As such, the prime minister is typically the leader of the majority party or coalition. Prime ministers do not have a set duration or number of terms, but an individual's term generally ends when their political party loses a federal election, or they lose or relinquish the leadership of their party.

Thirty-one people have served as prime minister, the first of whom was Edmund Barton taking office on 1 January 1901 following federation. The longest-serving prime minister was Robert Menzies, who served over 18 years, and the shortest-serving was Frank Forde, who served one week.

The incoming parliament will be the most diverse in the nation’s history, and comes at a time when half of Australia’s six state premiers have non-Anglo surnames. Despite more than three decades in public life, the pronunciation of Albanese’s Italian surname remains a thing of controversy. In short, Albanese has used, and answers to, multiple variations of his surname. In interviews, he’s told reporters it’s easier to just call him Albo. Early in his parliamentary career, Albanese pronounced his surname “Al-ba-neez”, rhyming with cheese. In her 2016 biography of Albanese, the Saturday Paper journalist Karen Middleton said that gradually the pronunciation of his name became “more flexible”, as a form of political convenience. Speaking on Channel 10’s The Project in 2019, Albanese was played a clip of politicians pronouncing his surname in alternate ways, including members of his own party.

“So I’m not terribly precious about it, which is why Albo is a lot easier; you can’t get that wrong.” – said the new Prime Minister.

Interesting ! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
23.5.2022. 

Conch dollar in neck !

It was triggered by a photo of a cow taken by me at Triplicane this evening – you may read something on Sachaa Jhutha /  a MGR movie / health tip / a farm in Puerto Rico  .. . and more .. wonder what ?? –  please read on !!

Sachaa Jhutha ("Honest and Liar")  has Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz and Vinod Khanna and revolved  around a simple villager (Bhola), who has a look-alike, a crook (Ranjeet Kumar), who takes advantage of the former's simplicity and mirror-image. 

நான் பார்த்த படங்கள் மிக குறைவு - சிறு வயதில் சென்ற ஊர்களோ இன்னமும் குறைவு !  .. .. 1975ல் ஹோகேனேக்கல் சென்று குளித்து, தர்மபுரியில் தங்கி - ஏதோ திரையரங்கில் பார்த்த படம் : நினைத்தை முடிப்பவன்" - MGR படம்.  கதாநாயகன் ஒரு சாதாரணன் ! - திருமண ஊர்வலத்தில் இசைக்கருவி வாசிப்பது மட்டுமே தெரிந்தவன்.  அவன் லட்சியமே, தங்கையின் திருமணச் செலவுகளுக்காகப் பணம் சேர்ப்பது - தன சொந்த ஊரை விட்டு,  பட்டணத்திற்கு வந்து நாட்கள் பலவாகியும் வேலை கிடைக்காமல் சுற்றியலைகிறான்.  

திரு எம்.எஸ். விஸ்வநாதன் இசையில் - திரு  TM சௌந்தர்ராஜன் இசையில் பட்டி தொட்டியெல்லாம் ஒலித்த பாடல் :  

பூ மழைத் தூவி வசந்தங்கள் வாழ்த்த - ஊர்வலம் நடக்கின்றது

எழில் பொங்கிடும் அன்பு தங்கையின் - நெற்றியில் குங்குமம் சிரிக்கின்றது

மங்கள குங்குமம் சிரிக்கின்றது 

ஜவ்வரிசியைப் பொடித்து, முல்தானிமிட்டியுடன் கலந்து, அந்தக் கலவை இறுக்கமாவதற்குள் கழுத்தில் அப்ளை செய்யுங்கள். அப்படிச் செய்யும்போது, கீழிருந்து மேல் நோக்கிச் செய்துவிட்டு, கழுத்தைச் சற்று தூக்கியபடி வைத்துக்கொண்டு நாற்காலியில் உட்கார்ந்துகொள்ளுங்கள்.  எங்கோ படித்த அழகு குறிப்பு !!  .. ..  இந்த பேக் தடவிக்கொண்ட பிறகு, பேசவோ, சிரிக்கவே, நடக்கவோ கூடாது. அப்படிச் செய்தால், கழுத்துச் சுருக்கம் அதிகமாகிவிடும். பேக் போட்டதும் அமைதியாக உட்கார்ந்துகொள்ளவும். ஜவ்வரிசி பேக் காய்ந்து இறுக்கமானதும், குளிர்ந்த நீரால் கழுத்தை கழுவுங்கள். இந்த பேக், கழுத்தின் தோல் மற்றும் தசையை இறுக்கமாக்கும்.  பெண்களின் வயதைக் காட்டிக்கொடுக்கும், பல சமயங்களில் வயதை அதிகப்படுத்திக் காட்டும் ஒரு பாகம், கழுத்து.

 நான் முன்பு கூறிய நினைத்ததை முடிப்பவன் படத்து பாடலில் காதில் ரீங்காரமிடும் புலமைப்பித்தன்  வரிகள் :

வெண்சங்கு கழுத்தோடு பொன்மாலை அசைந்தாட - நான் கண்ட பொருள் கூறவா!

அது என்ன வெண்சங்கு கழுத்து .. .. பளீர் என்ற நிறம் !  - சங்கின் வளைவு போன்ற அமைப்புள்ளதாலும்,  மிருதுவான தொடுஉணர்வைக் கைகளுக்கு அளிப்பதாலும், சங்கைப் போன்றே மங்கலச் சின்னமான தாலி, தழையப்பெற்றிருப்பதாலும்,  பெண்களின் கழுத்திற்கு சங்கு உவமையாகக் கூறப்படுகிறது. !!! 

Conch (Sanghu) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). 

In North America, a conch is often identified as a queen conch, indigenous to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Queen conches are valued for seafood and are also used as fish bait. A queen conch shell can grow as big as a football. Its handle-like cavity gives it a similarly satisfying grip, though it weighs closer to a brick. That heft makes queen conchs easy to spot and catch—so easy that overharvesting for their meat and shells has collapsed populations throughout their habitat in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. The United States was the first to lose its queens, which once thrived at the southern tip of Florida. They have not rebounded despite Florida’s ban on commercial conch fishing since 1975 and all harvesting since 1986.   

Now there is a lab for conservation of this conch at Puerto Rico.  Half indoor lab, half open-air courtyard, the Naguabo Queen Conch Hatchery burbles in an orderly network of pipes and filters, deep tanks and shallow basins, beakers and carboys swirling with algae. In the lab  under the keen eye of  marine research professor research is on for growing, preserving Queen conch,    to tackle poverty as a means to long-term marine conservation. 

Sachaa Jhutha was directed by Manmohan Desai and produced by Vinod Doshi. The film written by Desai's wife Jeevanprabha, was edited by Kamlakar Kamkhanis. The film starring Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz and Vinod Khanna revolved around a simple villager (Bhola), who has a look-alike, a crook (Ranjeet Kumar), who takes advantage of the former's simplicity and mirror-image.  The music of the film was composed by Kalyanji-Anandji. Ninithathai Mudippavan starring MGR, Latha, MN Nambiar was a remake of this film. 

-      If you are wondering, what this is all about ?  - evening saw a cow in Triplicane wearing a conch-dollar, yes – a real white conch around its neck.

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
19.5.2022
  

the rich world of modelling !

In life, what is easy for some – could be too difficult for somebody else !  - Social media is ripe with people doing domestic work – one of my friends used to put daily household chores like cutting of vegetables.  The advts during IPL of dream X1 showing – Cricketers trying to replace what fans are doing, asking them to go and play dream X1 is a hit, though not exactly proper in promoting gambling in this manner.  Life is all about earning and .. .. some are big earners (for those of us who count in 1000s – the life of modelling is in few crores !) 

Covid 19 – the Corona virus played havoc with some lives – destroyed livelihood of some –  way back in 1939, at the beginning of World War II, a high-profile model  closed her shops, maintaining her apartment situated above the couture house at 31 Rue de Cambon. She said that it was not a time for fashion;  as a result of her action, 4,000 female employees lost their jobs. Her biographer Hal Vaughan suggested that she used the outbreak of war as an opportunity to retaliate against those workers who had struck for higher wages and shorter work hours in the French general labor strike of 1936. In closing her couture house, she made a definitive statement of her political views. Her dislike of Jews, reportedly sharpened by her association with society elites, had solidified her beliefs.  

The internet has proven time and again that celebrities and their bizarre antics will never go unnoticed.  People tend to feel happy and criticize when celebrities fail.  Whether it is a slip-up, a fumble or faux pas or even anything else that celebrities are doing wrong - internet users promptly sit up and take notice. A video of American model Kendall Jenner cutting a cucumber surfaced on social media, and it has left the internet utterly bewildered. Kendal Jenner's video was from the OTT series 'The Kardashians'  surfaced on Twitter on 13 May. In a section of the episode, the American model wanted to make a snack for herself. Her mother Kris Jenner offered to call the chef to help her out with it. However, she refused and said that she would make it herself as it was pretty easy. She then started to cut the cucumber in the most bizarre fashion possible. Clearly struggling with it, Kendall said that she was 'not a professional' and the camera shouldn't zoom in on her. Her mother Kris watched and warned her not to cut herself and offered to call the chef again. But Kendall refused and kept at it.

Twitter users could not fathom how she was unable to complete such a simple and basic task. Several users shared their reactions and responses to the bizarre video. Jenner made her debut at No. 16 on Forbes magazine's 2015 list of top-earning models, with an estimated annual income of US$4 million. In 2017, Jenner was named the world's highest-paid model by Forbes, ousting model Gisele Bündchen, who had been leading the list for more than 14 years since 2002. 

Modelling has been a fancy career for many, as with the right agency, one gets to be the face of high-end fashion brands. The highest paid models started their careers while still teenagers. Some were spotted by modelling scouts, while others participated in local beauty pageants and thus got recognition. Famous models like Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks are some of the success stories many young girls who want to venture into modelling look up to.  

Kendall Nicole Jenner is an American model, media personality, and socialite. She rose to fame in the reality television show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Jenner began modelling at the age of 14. After working in commercial print ad campaigns and photoshoots, Jenner has appeared in campaigns, editorials, and cover shoots for LOVE and various international Vogue editions, and is a brand ambassador for Estée Lauder. Jenner made her debut at No. 16 on Forbes magazine's 2015 list of top-earning models, with an estimated annual income of US$4 million. In 2017 Jenner was named the world's highest-paid model by Forbes.

Decades ago, there was Coco Chanel – described in para 2.  Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel [1883 – 1971] was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, casual chic as the feminine standard of style. This replaced the "corseted silhouette" that was dominant beforehand with a style that was simpler, far less time consuming to put on and remove, more comfortable, and less expensive, all without sacrificing elegance. She is the only fashion designer listed on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.  A prolific fashion creator, Chanel extended her influence beyond couture clothing, realizing her aesthetic design in jewellery, handbags, and fragrance. Her signature scent, Chanel No. 5, has become an iconic product, and Chanel herself designed her famed interlocked-CC monogram, which has been in use since the 1920s.

Her couture house closed in 1939, when the German occupation of France during World War II began; Chanel stayed in France, and was criticized during the war for being too close to the German occupiers to boost her professional career. After the war, Chanel was interrogated about her relationship with von Dincklage, but she was not charged as a collaborator due to intervention by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.   

Chanel Solitaire is a 1981 British-French-American historical drama film directed by George Kaczender – the film's subject was Coco Chanel at a budget of  around £7 million.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
17^th May 2022.