If you need it, you got to knead it.

Just read something about how Viren Rasquinha and Gopichand suggest that India needs "public-private partnerships" and "a sports culture" for the development of Indian sports.

You can read some of the blah blah here!

Seems like the two guys are either mincing words, or have really sang a lullaby to their senses. Who in India would want a government office to be it's partner, otherwise!?! The only thing that a public-partnership will bring to a private body is - frustration.

The public-bodies, even if they do show some sense in their functioning and decision making, have a lot of top priority stuff to do before they start using sport as a tool for social development. In other words - sports is not even in the agenda of a sensible government looking at bottom line development of India. All they can, and they should, do is to grant their blessings, and stop being a barrier to people who are trying to make sense of the sports market here. For this, a partnership is not really the need.

On second thoughts ... if that is all what Viren and co. really mean, then I second them!

As far as the culture of sport is concerned - I don't see how that will help either. Instead of me going on and on about it, let me relate an incident to you:

My parents came to visit me in the IITB campus when I was in the 5th year, and before I took them to meet any of my professors in the dept., I arranged a meeting of my volley coach (Dr. Edwin), and the more vociferous football coach (Dr. Jha) with them. My father tried to question them about the status of sports, and how India is an academic nation ... and other such blah. He went on to say, "Tell me Dr. Jha, how many Olympic medals have we won for all the noise about sports?"

Dr. Jha did not require another invitation. He silenced my dad saying, "Sodhaniji, aap itni academics ki baat karte hain. You tell me how many Noble Prizes has India received in the last 100 years?"

That's Dr. Jha ... that's the way he still is ... he's always been!

The point I am trying to drive through is: just a culture doesn't help. We already have a sports culture around us (believe you me - academies and coaches are springing up everywhere) - what we need is people who know how to harness that culture, market it, and popularise it enough to make money - so that the culture sustains itself. If sports won't have it's marketers and innovators, it won't sustain. Today - and this is something I have to admit very, very embarassingly - even the K-serial marketers are way, way better than sports marketers (except for cricket)  in our country.

Like I had mentioned in another write-up of mine (Infrastructure Issues in Indian Sport?), the mantra which will work today is (in true Volkswagen style) "Think Small." The so called sports marketers are so busy thinking big (World Cups and Olympics) that they tend to forget the basic ingredient of sport developement: local players, local competitive games, local sponsors ... all leading to a flourishing local sports micro-industry which will take care of itself. That's when the sports culture becomes rich, that's when the potential sponsors start anticipating their ROI's, and careers are made out of sport.

So why don't I do it - with all my education in sport management education? Let me just say this: very, very soon I will get that proverbial push to do it ... and may be I will start walking this talk!

Hey - what about that picture up there?! The rick I took today had this dashing little keyring (hollow plastic) ... and I could not help but take a picture of it. Just how apt a keyring it is for the rickshaws, and taxis! Absolutely made for the rickshaw-waalah target group, priced at just Rs. 5/-, and something that every rickshaw-waalah would be more than tempted to buy (either out of plain amusements, or even superstition)!