I could not cover the retirements of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina last week. I needed some time to come to terms with the news. I still haven’t read Raina’s announcement or watched the video shared by Dhoni on instagram. In my mind, I have been avoiding those two announcements because I did not want to believe them. What if I do and it comes true? I lived in denial those first 2-3 days. Then I quickly went through the other stages of anger, bargaining and depression to arrive here at acceptance.
Why the denial you ask? How am I going to watch an ODI and T20 without Dhoni on the field anymore? My frequency with ODIs reduced after Sachin Tendulkar retired. And now, with Dhoni gone, it might come to an end altogether. At best I might (just might, I tell you) watch the World Cup and Champions Trophy.
But what helped me truly in getting here to acceptance was selfishness! Dhoni and Raina will continue to play for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). And as CSK veriyan (fanatic), I would like to gloat over that fact while holding onto that just a little bit longer. It helps me sleep better for now. I am sure to go through the other stages of grief prophesized by Ross and Kessler when Dhoni and Raina retire from IPL as well. Of course, I am under the safe assumption that Dhoni will grace us for at least 3 more seasons before he pulls off another shocker of a final word, here at the Chepauk stadium.
Let’s jump into this week’s mind!
A. Political
We are scared of the cops now. Even a soft contact like a policeman asking for directions to a house on your street, sends jitters down the spine. Growing up, our parents always told us to not mess with police of any kind. ‘Never instigate them or you may feel their wrath’ is something most households believe in. My experiences have been a mixed bag though. This may be owing to the fact that my uncle was a policeman and I have spent a lot of time in his police post in Anna Nagar.
One sweet encounter (the normal meaning) I have had with the police was in Mumbai. Sharon and I got out of the Freeway at Chembur on a bike. The police stopped us and informed that bikes weren’t allowed on the Freeway. We genuinely did not know this. They checked that our papers were in order. But we will have to pay Rs. 100 as penalty at a court in Navi Mumbai. I told him I do not know where Navi Mumbai was and feigned innocence. Our bike was TN registered and they realized that we were not natives of the city. Connecting the dots, they asked us who we believed would win the IPL clash scheduled later that day, between MI and CSK. We were in a dilemma – do we stay true to our love for CSK or ingratiate a couple of policemen by posing as MI paltan. While we were still trying to gauge the situation of fighting loyalty, the policemen offered us sherbets to drown the heat. We told them right there that we bleed yellow! Some cheerful banter followed. We paid the Rs. 100 fine, for which the policemen asked us to collect the receipt the next day. We then resumed our journey back home to Ghatkopar. A couple of months later we met the same policemen at the same junction, this time in a car. CSK had won the IPL. I did not choose to be a bigger man. But we all still had a good laugh.
I wondered if I will ever have such an experience with policemen in any other part of India. Definitely not! They only instill fear in us. May be they inherited the ways of how the British police controlled the Indians before independence. And the ironfisted way to rule over us just followed from there. I still hold the belief that there are good and bad cops, and we encounter (the normal meaning) a lot of bad ones more frequently than not. But, yeah, stay away from them as much as possible!
B. Technology
The messy, secretive reality behind OpenAI’s bid to save theworld, Karen Hao, MIT Technology Review
Once in a while, reading a long form portrait is soul-soothing. And if it is about an organization that can change the way humans behave, it becomes bone-chilling. OpenAI, which started as a non-profit, AI research-focused organization, was backed by Elon Musk, Y Combinator’s Sam Altman and Paypal founder Peter Thiel. The intentions were clear – to research on AI and reach the status of AGI responsibly. The follow-up objective was to ensure that technology is not used for any evil purposes. AGI stands for Artificial General Intelligence which essentially means that a machine is as intelligent as a human being. The point when a machine reaches human level intelligence is called singularity. Now, depending on which side of the debate you are on, this can be a good thing or a disaster. OpenAI started with good intentions, but according to Karen Hao’s account, they are slowly meandering towards a disaster in the making. Read more to find out.
C. Marketing
Nothing interesting here!
D. Economics
The gloomy reality of Gulf returnees, Nidheesh M.K, mint
Gelf, as pronounced by any Malayalee, refers to the Middle East, which has traded economic upliftment for a Malayalee’s sweat and blood. Now, because of the pandemic, there is an economic downturn everywhere. The Middle East is slowly starting to turn their backs on the people who were the main cogs of the wheel that is Middle East. It is a saddening tale that people are returning by scores. It is even scarier to imagine how things will pan out. A riveting read from Nidheesh.
E. Sports
MS Dhoni’s final ODI: An imperfect finish for the perfectfinisher, Boria Majumdar, mint
A must read! Boria Majumdar is a gifted cricket writer, who was at the right place at the right time. This is an imperfect tribute to the perfect finisher. The piece moves you if you are Dhoni fanatic. It is also heart-wrenching to relive the scarcity of two inches of that semi-final match in England. It is worse when you realise that the man with the Midas touch had to bid goodbye to his passion on that note. It might be difficult to read and you may not even complete it. But, that’s ok. Once in a while one needs a good cry. And this is it.
Athletes aren’t products, they’re human, Rohit Brijnath,mint
You set a goal and you achieve it. Then comes the looming question – What’s next? Often times, even someone as ordinary as I have felt it – the emptiness after achieving something monumental like securing a seed fund for a start-up idea or winning a badminton tournament. There is an emptiness after the happy photographs are taken. I would find it difficult to fall asleep later that night and would rely on strain taking over, mostly after a movie. The morning-after is one of the most depressing ones! It is almost as if a purpose is now lost. And to come back from that low point needs enormous mental energy and a lot of counseling. This article made sense since I came to know that even the best of the bests go through similar emotions. It was heartening in a weird way.
And Champions League final tonight. May the best team (Bayern Munich) win!
F. eCommerce
Nothing interesting here!
G. Behaviour
Bosses started spying on remote workers. Now they're fighting back, Alex Christian, Wired
So, companies are doing this. As much as it affects the psyche of the employees, it is sold as a panacea that these software help in improving productivity. Every employee knows the truth and it significantly erodes the questionable trust between the organization and employee. An important factor in retaining good employees is to score high on the trust factor. But, with such software noting down every keystroke, the employee feels violated and starts to put on a show. It is at this point, the ingenuity is lost. Creativity and freedom of expression is hampered. In turn, productivity that cannot be measured objectively plummets. To control a few rotten apples, a truckload of good ones are being set on fire!
H. Books & Cinema
I am still reading The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth. Since I have been doing a fair amount of writing, I had to sacrifice my reading time. Otherwise a spy thriller from Frederick Forsyth would not spill over to the second week.
Sharon and I have finished 5 episodes of The Hunters. So far it’s been riveting for her. Hour long episodes just whizz past us. Hopefully, by the next edition of The Week Mind we should have moved on to watch a movie.
With that, we wrap up this week's musing.
Do share your list of interesting articles that you came across.
Do share your thoughts on what was good and what can be improved.
And that's word no. 1549!
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