26th January Republic Day of INDIA

26th January 1950 is one of the most important days in Indian history as it was on this day the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly sovereign state. In this day India became a totally republican unit. The country finally realized the dream of Father of Nation and the numerous freedom fighters who, fought for and sacrificed their lives for the Independence of their country. So, the 26th of January was decreed a national holiday and has been recognized and celebrated as the Republic Day of India, ever since.

Today, the Republic Day is celebrated with much enthusiasm all over the country and especially in the capital, New Delhi where the celebrations start with the Presidential to the nation. The beginning of the occasion is always a solemn reminder of the sacrifice of the martyrs who died for the country in the freedom movement and the succeeding wars for the defense of sovereignty of their country. Then, the President comes forward to award the medals of bravery to the people from the armed forces for their exceptional courage in the field and also the civilians, who have distinguished themselves by their different acts of valour in different situations.
To mark the importance of this occasion, every year a grand parade is held in the capital, from the Rajghat, along the Vijaypath. The different regiments of the army, the Navy and the Air force march past in all their finery and official decorations even the horses of the cavalry are attractively caparisoned to suit the occasion. The crème of N.C.C cadets, selected from all over the country consider it an honour to participate in this event, as do the school children from various schools in the capital. They spend many days preparing for the event and no expense is spared to see that every detail is taken care of, from their practice for the drills, the essential props and their uniforms. The patriotic fervor of the people on this day brings the whole country together even in her essential diversity. Every part of the country is represented in occasion, which makes the Republic Day the most popular of all the national holidays of India.

Jumbos are banned in India's Republic Day parade on 26th January 2009:

India has discontinued a 25-year-old tradition by banning the use of elephants at its Republic Day military parade in New Delhi, officials said.
The Defence Ministry, which organizes the January 26 event, decided to do away with the tradition of parading caparisoned elephants owing to security concerns after some "angry" pachyderms caused a scare at the parade last year.
There have also been protests by animal rights activists to bring to an end the hardships faced by the jumbos.
The elephants, a highlight of the parade, used to carry children-winners of the National Bravery Awards. But from this time onwards, the children will be taken on open military jeeps, defence officials said.
"There were serious security concerns after two agitated elephants were almost uncontrollable and caused a near stampede last year. Keeping this in mind, we decided not to take any chances at the huge gathering this time," defence ministry spokesman D Mohanty said.
"Another reason is that for the last four to five years, animal right activists have been demanding a ban, saying the animals were subjected to cruelty of being made to stand and facing cacophony of bands for long hours during the rehearsals," he added.
Elephants are commonly used in India at various fairs and festivals. Elephants have run amok at some of these festivals, particularly in southern India, causing fatalities.
India celebrates January 26 every year as Republic Day to commemorate the day it adopted its constitution in 1950. The day is marked by flag hoisting ceremonies, military parades and cultural pageants across the country.
(news source: http://www.topnews.in/jumbos-banned-indias-republic-day-parade-2110880)

Coverage of Beijing Olympics 2008 - DD leaves viewers high & angry

A scroll indicating the schedule of daily events starts four days after the coverage of the Beijing Olympics begins. The visual moves to another sport while the audio continues about the previous sport. DD commentator announces wrestler Sushil Kumar as a bronze medal winner even before the repechage round. Argentina's soccer captain, Riquleme, is referred to by his first name, Jose, by which no football fan identifies him.

These are just some of the instances when sports followers, who had tuned in to Doordarshan to watch the Beijing Olympics, sat up and cringed. The most memorable part of the 2008 Games coverage was that it was forgettable. All thanks to DD.

If out of sorts commentators and shoddy coverage of the Olympics by Doordarshan took your mind back to those early days of terrestrial coverage, the reason is that despite all the competition in these covergance era, our national broadcaster just don't believe in professionalism.

Hence you got the commentary that tested your patience, you missed crucial moments to advertisements and were forced to watch some unimportant match or even worse recording of highlights in between live action of key events.

When viewers cursed DD for showing a handball classification match while the engrossing US vs Russia volleyball semifinal got into the fifth and deciding set, the culprit was a DD official sitting in the capital. "The man in charge at the Central Production Centre at Khel Gaon had 18 live feeds to choose from," sources said wondering how DD managed to mess up some of the most anticipated moments including Abhinav Bindra's chat with reporters after he won the historic gold, AL Lakra's boxing bout and Anju Bobby George's first two attempts at the Bird's Nest. Prasar Bharati initially drew up a team of 130 people to be sent to Beijing that was later pruned by the I&B ministry to 74. Of these, 56 are DD staff, including commentators, cameramen, producers and engineers, while the rest are from AIR.

With 27 million viewers (according to TAM) tuned in and an expenditure of Rs 22 crore, including Rs 13 crore for the exclusive coverage rights, the public broadcaster was seen to be squandering public money and floundering its way through the greatest sports extravaganza. Besides, it is learnt that DD even messed up marketing the mega show and is set to end up losing crores.

Industry professionals are critical of the indifference that has been shown by the I&B ministry and Prasar Bharati towards the Games. Instead of seeing it as an opportunity that comes once in four years, insiders say that people were busy ensuring their acolytes managed a berth on the foreign tour.

Says a disgruntled Prasar Bharati official, "The people who are involved in sports coverage on a day-to-day basis have been left behind while those who know nothing about it have managed to go."

The official said that no time had been spent on planning how the event would be covered and marketed. For instance, as the exclusive rights holder for India, DD should be getting about 16 feeds but there has been little planning on how best to use these feeds.

Sports commentator Charu Sharma says that the pubcaster suffers the constraints of any government department. "While there is no standard basis for what should be shown, there are certain critical decisions based on timing. The decisions taken by DD are inexplicable at times," he says.

A simple solution Sharma says is to hire professional producers and commentators whose expertise lies in handling multidiscipline sports for the event. "If you are spending crores on the feed, it makes sense to get pros," he said.

According to industry sources, a little tweaking in the presentation could have made a world of difference. "I did not see a timer counting down boxer Vijender Kumar's bout. He was India's last medal hope and there was tremendous interest in that. Nor were there expert opinions from say a Prakash Padukone while Saina Nehwal was playing," one source says.

Former DD DG Bhaskar Ghose says that the Olympic fiasco could be because the decision makers have no knowledge or desire to know the sport. "This very often leads to cut-aways at the wrong time."

How will they manage the coverage of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi is anyone's guess.

Even I felt why DD took interview of the Indian Boxers at the Beijing DD studio,they should have let them concentrate on their bouts.After they have won medals after that DD could have took the inteview.

India at Beijing Olympics 2008: The Opening Ceremony

The Olympics kicked of today the 8th of August, 2008 at Beijing with it's Grand Opening Ceremony.

India's small contingent of 98 including 56 athletes and a support-staff of 42 officials led by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore carrying the tri-colour looked a bit shoddy with their mis-matched outfits. The Indian Olympic Squad looked good from far, as the male members decked out in off-white sherwanis. But as they came closer, things looked hardly impressive with the female members of the contingent making it a veritable go-as-you-like with their contrasting outfits that made them look completely misfit for the occasion.
The tennis duo of Sania Mirza and Sunitha Rao, attired in black trousers and practice jackets, looked completely out of sorts and the contrast was even more jarring to the eyes as going side by side was Delhi paddler, Neha Aggarwal who chose a greenish saree for the occasion.

While the crowd roared with excitement to greet them, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, one can only feel that they should have been better organized and more formal in their setting and presentation.

While I have the utmost respect for each and every sports person at Beijing for getting as far as they did, judging from the carefree and laid back attitude at the opening ceremony...it make's me wonder whether we really stand a chance at winning any medals this year or are we just there for the ride. Let's just keep our fingers crossed and pray the players performances in their respective events isn't as boring, unorganized and sloppy as their entrance today.

Photo Gallery of the Indian Contingent at the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

The Golden Day

Hindus believe in the theory of “mahurats” or auspicious timings in every step in life - be it to begin a new venture or making an important purchase. Akshaya Tritiya is one such momentous occasion, which is considered one of the most auspicious days of the Vedic Calendar. It is believed, any meaningful activity started on this day would be fruitful.
Once a YearAkshaya Tritiya falls on the third day of the bright half of Vaishakh month (April-May), when the Sun and Moon are in exaltation; they are simultaneously at their peak of brightness, which happens only once every year.
Holy DayAkshaya Tritiya, also known as “Akha Teej”, is traditionally the birthday of Lord Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. People conduct special Pujas on this day, bathe in holy rivers, make a charity, offer barley in a sacred fire, and worship Lord Ganesha & Devi Lakshmi on this day.
The Golden LinkThe word “Akshaya” means imperishable or eternal - that which never diminishes. Initiations made or valuables bought on this day are considered to bring success or good fortune. Buying gold is a popular activity on Akshaya Tritiya, as it is the ultimate symbol of wealth and prosperity. Gold and gold jewelry bought and worn on this day signify never diminishing good fortune. Indians celebrate weddings, begin new business ventures, and even plan long journeys on this day.
Myths & LegendsThe day also marks the beginning of the “SatyaYug” or the Golden Age - the first of the four Yugas. In the “Puranas”, the holy Hindu scriptures, there is a story that says that on this day of Akshay Tritiya Vedavyas along with Lord Ganesha started writing the great epic Mahabharata. Ganga Devi or Mother Ganges also descended to earth on this day.
Bright BirthsIt is also believed that people born during this time shine bright in life. Many luminaries were born during this period: Basaveshwara born on May 4, Ramanujacharya and Adi Shankaracharya on May 6, Swami Chinmayananda on May 8 and Lord Buddha on May 16.