Mumbai Diary page: Monday Musings

Walk, don't ride
The adage ‘health is wealth' could well be changed to ‘health can save wealth' after listening to this little conversation between two amateur golfers at a golf course in Mumbai's central suburbs.
Golfer 1: It's expensive playing golf here in Mumbai, Delhi is a lot cheaper.

And some fresh air, too

Golfer 2: Why do you say so?
Golfer 1: I hired a buggy to take me across the course and they charged me R 500. In Delhi's golf courses, the going rate for a similar ride is approx Rs 300.
Golfer 2: But why take the buggy when you can enjoy a nice walk around the greens en route? You can burn some calories instead of burning a hole in your pocket.

Cycling for a green cause
There isn't a lot of hoopla around this campaign, which itself may be unusual in a world of hype. Pune resident Ashik Jain (22), an architect and town planner, is worried enough about the environment to undertake a campaign, called The Green Lane.

Ashik Jain being felicitated by former state DGP D Sivanandan

It aims to highlight the advantages of sustainable modes of transport such as cycling, walking and public transport, over cars and other automobiles.

Jain, who bicycles 20km to work every day, cycled from Srinagar to Kanyakumari in 44 days (against his targeted 48 days) and was felicitated on Saturday by former director general of Maharashtra Police D Sivanandan.

Jain says, "The current paradigm of more and more new cars and multi-lane freeways as measures of economic prosperity that has penetrated into our society must be questioned.

We need to understand that an alternative to the noise, disruption and automobile pollution is possible." Words that need to be heeded!

Dropped catches, cropped memories
On Saturday, this newspaper reported that as many as 66 catches were dropped in the ongoing World T20 cricket tournament. As per our calculations, the number has gone up by just two at the end of the Pakistan vs Bangladesh game yesterday.

England's Jade Dernbach drops Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene during the ICC World Twenty20 in Chittagong last week. Pic/AFP

It's a stat that probably indicates that there are a lot of butterfingers going around. Not quite, because one has to consider that catches are far harder to pouch under floodlights than it seems on our television sets. The best of catchers have had their share of devastating drops and they seldom forget their moments.

Reminds us of an anecdote related by our columnist Ian Chappell about the inaugural 1975 World Cup final at Lord's where Chappell's Australians lost to Clive Lloyd's West Indies. Lloyd slammed an 85-ball 102 which is an all-time great knock in a World Cup final.

However, Lloyd was dropped by reputed fielder Ross Edwards once which was well documented. What was not, wait... hear it from Chappell courtesy an interview to celebrated commentator Harsha Bhogle done in the build-up to the 1996 World Cup.

Chappell recalled: "Since 1980, I worked with Ross Edwards for many years at Channel Nine. I would walk past him at the car park and I'd yell out, ‘Is that the man who dropped Clive Lloyd for nought in the World Cup final?' Roscoe has a good sense of humour, but that doesn't mean he doesn't fight back.

One day, he stopped me and said, "What you don't seem to realise is that not only did I drop Lloyd at nought, but I also dropped him at 26.' And I said, Crikey, I had forgotten about that, Roscoe." Who says captains remember everything?

Words with muscle
This bookstore simply can't get enough. After stirring up a small storm with its discount based on waist size, now it has announced something similar - with what is probably its idea of a positive spin. On World Health Day, it is offering a discount to men based on the size of their biceps.

We should appreciate the bookstore chain's effort to balance the gender bias shown in its earlier promotion, but we do have to point out that big biceps do not necessarily connote good health. Although they may come in useful when carrying loads of books home from the shop, of course.