If you visit any of the Indian national forests, there is a chance that you might come across a young girl carrying a heavy professional camera. Your first concern would be for the girl – what is she doing alone in the forest? Your second concern might be for the camera – it’s obviously an expensive camera. You can rest assured on both counts. You might want to stop and take her autograph though, because she is the runner-up in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award given by the Natural History Museum, UK.
Meet 9-year old Shreyovi Mehta who would be accepting the award on October 8 at the Natural History Museum in London. Shreyovi’s entry called ‘In the spotlight‘ was chosen from 60,000 entries sent from all over the world.
I was watching this interview of Shreyovi and her father Shivang Mehta Ji on the national television channel Doordarshan and several things struck me. Shreyovi has been exposed to wildlife since age two. She first showed an interest in a camera when she was two; Shivang Ji gave her a point-and-shoot camera at age four. She started handling professional camera from age six. Normally, if a young child touches an expensive camera, a parent’s natural reaction is to keep the camera safe. Shivang Ji encouraged his daughter’s interest and created a proper channel to cultivate it. Shivang Ji is a professional photographer and conducts wildlife photography courses. I think he could conduct parenting courses as well.
As a result, Shreyovi is self-motivated. Once when her father was unable to accompany her to the jungle, she went alone in the early morning, leaving a note, “I am going for a safari. Please do not panic.”
Shreyovi now wants her own camera because at crucial moments Papa takes the camera from her. Hey Sony India, how about gifting Shreyovi a nice professional camera to celebrate her achievement? Here’s a idea for an ad – our cameras are so user friendly, even a 9-year old can use it and win awards!
India’s recent Chess Olympiad performance has shown that Indian youth are hungry for success. Shreyovi’s incredible achievement shows that even Indian kids not far behind.
We need a cricket magazine
When I was a kid, we had a neighbor who like everyone else, was a huge cricket fan. The way he expressed this was unique. He would write down the full scorecard of every test match that India has played in a notebook. One day, he proudly showed me a huge pile of notebooks, going back decades, with every match scorecard noted down meticulously. At the time, I did not think much if it. I myself used to collect newspaper cuttings of matches won and centuries scored. Today, I understand what he was doing much better. In those days, once a match was telecast on TV, you could not watch it again. This was his way to relive those moments.
This got me thinking. What are cricket fans doing today when no matches are being played? There is of course the video content. I recently discovered the YouTube channel of Ashwin Bhai and it’s wonderful. Great content for all cricket fans.
I think there is space for a digital cricket magazine that will have in depth analysis of various aspects of the game, articles, cricket history (for instance, achievements of Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji) and so on. The Cricket Monthly from ESPNCricinfo used to be a great read but of late the frequency of new articles getting published has declined quite a bit. Also, there is no coverage on Women’s cricket.
Team India win the test series against Bangladesh
Second test match at Kanpur. At the end of the first day, Bangladesh were 107/3. Next two days were lost to rain. On day four, Bangladesh were all out for 233. A lifelong experience of watching test matches had taught me what to expect next – a draw. It would be nice if we see some shots played and centuries scored.
I was a little late in tuning in and when I did, I saw India 50/0 in 3 overs with Rohit Sharma on 19 and Yashaswi Jaiswal on 30. My first thought was – ‘Oh no, it’s raining again and they are showing some old T20 match.’ Then I realised that it was a live telecast.
Team India broke five records that day. Fastest 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 ever in test cricket. They declared at 285/9. In a couple of hours, the Bangladeshi openers were back at the crease. I think the shock of batting again so soon was partly the reason for the two wickets falling. Match was decided on the last day before Bangladesh got out for 146. India finished the innings in style.
The decision to go with guns blazing was a calculated risk with a small chance of Bangladesh suddenly finding their form. Full credit to Captain Rohit Sharma and Coach Gautam Gambhir for taking the risk in order to force a result. Rohit Bhai started with a six and showed the way. It was a great team effort from both batsmen and bowlers.
In other news, scientists detected a strange signal reflected from the ionosphere. Further investigations revealed that it was due to a billion Indians jumping with joy. 😀
