Interview 3: Y D Rama Rao, Vice-President of AP LSP

Y.D. Rama Rao garu is the Vice-President of the AP State unit of Lok Satta Party. He has been in active public life for more than 30 years.

I interviewed him in November 2011 for the lspleaders site. Here is his profile:

http://lspleaders.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/y-d-ramarao-kakinada-east-godavari-profile/

Here is his interview:

http://lspleaders.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/y-d-ramarao-kakinada-east-godavari-interview/

Opium of the Indian Masses

People give so much importance to movie actors and cricket players. If cricket and movies are only seen as entertainment, there is no harm. But people take it to the extreme.

With the white noise of useless information, it has been getting increasingly difficult for social activists, organizations and political parties with good intentions to make an impact and bring about change.

The remedy is to educate people to respect and give importance to the right role models and the real issues. We need to give importance to who really matter in public life - good politicians, scientists, social activists, and eminent people in many other fields.

 

Cricket and movies have become the opium of the Indian masses. Youngsters are ending up knowing every useless detail about celebrities, but nothing about what and who really matter in public life. With so much stupid information floating around, they are oblivious to the issues that matter, like:

• The government policies
• What one's locality needs from the local representative in the assembly and parliament
• Whether the local MLA and MP are doing any useful work or are they indulging in corruption
• Any social movements going on to change the status quo
• What the government is doing about pressing issues like education and healthcare

 

The media is just pandering to the low tastes of people instead of educating them. We see movie news and meaningless sensational tidbits encroaching upon and getting equal if not more importance and air time on TV channels. Newspapers give so much importance to celebrity trivia.... that it is getting increasingly difficult for us to differentiate between actual news and trivia.

 

We need a change in the attitudes of people and the media if we hope to bring about any positive change in India.

Appreciating Music

Chuck your existing phone and buy a Nokia Asha phone.

I did it. The best thing is, you can download music from Nokia Music Store free for three months. Apart from downloading my favorite albums - film songs mostly by AR Rahman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, and very few others - I got to download all the albums of Lucky Ali.

I got to download many of the music albums of the movies of Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna (thanks to Doordarshan's Rangoli, I only know a song by the actors and not by their singers. I don't know or don't care if a song is a Mohammad Rafee or Kishore Kumar. Probably I dont' have that good a music ear). Now, I can listen to "Gunguna rahe hain banwre" on demand! That's the best song in Rajesh Khanna's Aradhana according to me.

I guess in Telugu, if you go by actors, the number of good songs that Nagarjuna has is a lot more than any other contemporary actor. Geetanjali, Nirnayam, Ninne Pelladutha, Rakshana, Rakshakudu, Manmadudu....

Apart from downloading the albums that I already know of, this gives me an opportunity to widen my music appreciation horizons. Bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Beatles are only names to me so far. I have only heard that they made great music. Rock, Reggae, Jazz - I have only limited knowledge about these phenomena and no idea what differentiates them. I have a chance now to experience their magic. I got to download albums of Abba that I already know of, appreciate and love - now, I can play Dancing Queen, Chiquitita, Mamma Mia any time! And Michael Jackson, whose "Dangerous" is one of my favorite albums. Now, I can check if his Bad, History, and Thriller stand true to their reputation as well.

Individuals, I heard of John Lennon who was shot dead by his fan who wanted to see if his hero would die of a mere gun shot. I heard of Bob Marley and admired his Rastafarianism. Jim Morrison, who died at 27 and who was famous for his (feigned) antipathy and derision for his live audience (made famous by the movie Rockstar). Now, I can see for myself what all the fuss was about.  I will know if their music agrees with my sensibilities and taste.

However, I am a bit disappointed when I could not find a few classics on the Nokia Music Store. And when I finally downloaded some albums of the famous bands of 70s, I could not find anything special...... yet. Probably, the music grows on you and it takes time to appreciate it. I am hopeful. Also, I am astonished how many Rahman albums found themselves into my phone. Easily, he is the best and the most prolific music director the world has seen or heard!

Creativity and IPL Team Naming

Even with so many millions of dollars running on IPL and with so many millions of crazy supporters, it is amusing to see how unimaginatively most of the teams are named.

It seems Deccan Chargers came up trumps with the name. Mumbai Indians too shows some traces of imagination.

For Deccan Chargers, it matches the initials of their flagship newspaper, the Deccan Chronicle (fondly called DC by Hyderabadis). The Mumbai team came up with a name that transcends the regional constraints of the city. It shows some spirit of nationalism. The presence of Sachin Tendulkar in the team is a straw for fans all over India to support the Mumbai team. And the name just gives one more reason for fans from other cities to support MI.

For Royal Challengers Bangalore, the name is an opportunity for advertising their beverage.

The team that is now barred - Kochi Tuskers - showed some imagination too with naming. They drew from one of the aspects of the region that is part of the identity of Kerala - the presence of elephants in droves in the region.

Pune tried to use the same logic as MI and appended India to the team's name.

But apart from the above, the naming is pedestrian and clearly not much thought has gone into it.

Kings XI Punjab ---------------- ????
Chennai Super Kings ---------- ????
Delhi Daredevils -----------????
Pune Warriors India -----------????
Kolkata Knight Riders -----------????
Rajasthan Royals ------------????

As can be expected, the teams did not try to be provincial or chauvinistic with their names. The Pune team could easily have been Maratha Warriors. Of course, they can't name it so as the team comprises of not only the local players but also other Indian players and a few foreigners as well.

While naming, the teams could have drawn from what forms the identity of the city - it's culture, geography, history, or any unique aspect. With so much support and so much money riding, they could certainly have done better!