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Muslim Cricketers Of
India
However, this book is as much about individual players as about India's cricketing history. It starts with the pre-Partition days — when Hindus and Muslims played together as "colleagues, if not friends" in the Test team. The author acknowledges, "A Muslim (player in Indian team) is loyal to his side; he is faithful to his colleagues on field of play`85" Along with glimpses of intrigues in various pre and post-Partition Test teams the author gives brief bio-sketches, along with the individual players’ performance statistics. It is the latter that makes for interesting reading. For example, Abbas Ali Baig’s magnificent century at debut during India’s 1959 England tour is etched as much on the connoisseurs’ mindscapes as in the annals of Indian history. There are other Muslim players who are titans of Indian cricket on the basis of sheer merit, like Nissar, Mushtaq, and Iftikar during the pre-Partition days and Azharuddin, Syed Kirmani etc in the post-Partition days. And today Zaheer and the Pathan brothers are already national icons. As "cricket is more than a game — it is an institution," it transcends all socio-economic-ethnic and religious stratifications. Despite the communal tinge to the title the book is a useful addition to the Indian cricket’s ever-evolving history.
Thanks to the free market economy there is a plethora of consumer goods in the market, with a number of brands selling the same/similar product. While this situation delights the consumer — as it gives him a wider choice in terms of quality and price range — the producer/seller is not exactly dancing with delight. He faces a massive problem of brand visibility and acceptance in the market place. After all, in business, it does not pay to be a part of the crowd. But there is no need to despair. As we have self-improvement gurus so there are biz-masters, too — who come up with well thought out solutions for various problems related to commercial products and producers, both at micro as well as macro levels. Kapoor has conceived 24 brand mantras that purport to help a product acquire distinct image in the market. The advice ranges from how to build and sustain a brand name to how to carve out a market share by building relationships with retailers and consumers. The brand name connects producers with potential buyers while the quality of product and service ensures enduring profitable ties.
Barring what trickles through the media occasionally not much is known about Brij Bedi — better known as the supercop Kiran Bedi’s husband. One had a hazy idea that he was a well-off businessman — a skeletal image that needed to be fleshed up. This book does the job quite well. It tells us of Bedi’s attempts at making Amritsar a clean and tidy place — worthy of its status as the holy city. Then there are glimpses
of his philanthropy and various other acts of social service like his
battles against drug addiction in the society, his attempts at
self-improvement by acquiring various skills like photography — which
he employed admirably while documenting rare frescoes at Gurudwara Baba
Atal Rai. In this narrative Brij Bedi comes through as a man of positive
action personifying the motto per ardua ad astra.
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Arun
Jaitley
24
Brand Mantras
On
Fire: Brij Bedi