Considering the kind of negative publicity being received by Sourav Ganguly over the last few weeks it seems amazing at the speed in which the Indian public and press seem to have forgotten the achievements of the most successfull skipper in Indian History.

To present the contra-view I shall be focussing on the important learnings that one can learn from Ganguly's stint as a leader,which include things he has done and could have done. In what is the first in a series of writings I shall be focussing on what I feel are the essential traits of an effective leader. I believe that a good leader has to be blessed with certain inherent qualities as well as be the one with an open mind which will allow him to learn from the environment.

I shall not go into a theoritical detailing of the traits. I shall merely trace out certain integral aspects that made Ganguly an effective leader. I choose to call it 'THE GANGULY PRINCIPLES'. It is a collection of principles in no particular order. To start with a strong leader needs to have all of the following: wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness (Sun Tzu). In today's world this roughly translates into experience, honesty, the ability to bestow faith in youngsters, guts to stand up and speak for teammates and not hesitating to weild the axe if the situation comes to that. While some of these are inherent the others have to be inculcated from the environment at hand.

Principle 1

What we thus learn from Mr.Ganguly is that a leader must initially begin from a position of trust in the ability of all his teammates. He must give all of them an equal chance to prove their worth. This will essentially have two outcomes- either they will succeed or they will fail. In the event of them succeeding the leader's job then becomes harnessing their capabilities to use it to complete the task at hand in the best possible manner. In the event they fail, the leader's job then becomes to coach them and guide them on a point-by-point basis and monitor their performance. The advantage of this system is that your teammates have no choice but to obey the leader and his commands because he has already given them the initial leeway to do it their way, which they were not able to achieve. However the time horizon given to the teammates may differ under different situations keeping in mind the urgency of the task in hand.

Principle 2

The leader is essentially a paradox of virtues, which makes life miserable for him. It is often said that 'uneasy lies the head on which rests the crown' and this couldnt be more appropriate. On  one hand the leader has to have a steely resolve and a strong task focus. On the other hand he also has to take into account that he is dealing with humans, each of whom are dealing with their own personal monsters. This is where principle 2 comes in. A good leader realises that it is almost impossible to carry everyone along everywhere if a task has to be completed. The leader has to tread very delicately and not eject people unless it is absolutely necessary. Ejecting people is always a tough job and this is where personal courage and charisma comes into the picture. The person (s) being ejected or rested should realise that it is being done keeping in mind the task at hand.

Why is courage required? Courage is required so that the leader can ignore personal likes and dislikes in taking these decisions. And Charisma? Charisma and stature is required so that the person (s) who are at the receiving end have enough faith in the leader to know that they are not being victimised against and are genuinely not in fit with the goals of the team.       

Principle 3

The leader has to also exhibit personal dignity in the face of crisis and criticism. One may recall that Douglas Jardine, the English captain during the Bodyline series had once offered to drop himself from the team for a test match owing to lack of form. Such personal conviction is rarely seen. The important lesson to be learnt is that a leader is not above mistakes. A great leader is one who accepts mistakes and assumes responsibility for his actions, something that is missing in most leaders today. It is also important to convey to the teammates that a leader is not god, nor is he invincible. If not anything it helps in rallying the team around the leader.

However there is an important corollary attached to this principle. On no account should a leader fall victim to hypocrisy and lack of courage. He must do what he preaches, even if it means sentencing himself to death. Moreover he should be brave enough to accept responsibilities for failures, only then will success illuminate him.The true leader does not look for excuses and scapegoats. If anything he tries to ensure that others are not made scapegoats in the event that something goes wrong. If a fall guy has to be selected and if the leader realises that he is accountable, then he should volunteer to be the fall guy.

It is tough, but not impossible to follow principle 3. However it can only be followed by those with a brave heart, people who will ultimately realise that failures are nothing but pillars on which eventual success is built up.

To conclude the first part I shall leave you with a verse from Rudyard Kipling's If, something that justly sums up what I have tried to explain

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

The first person I want in my life is you
In case you're wondering who's second, its again you
Third is a foregone conclusion, its once more you
Right till the end the person I want is you

I look for you in every song
In every street however long
Stuck in traffic, or walking home
I remember who else but you

I remember you in every drop of fleeting rain
I know you sit somewhere and shed tears
I remember you in every stab of pain
And want to dismiss all your fears

You remind me of the song I asked for
On a long forgotten request show
You remind me of the poem I wrote for
Tiding over an all time low

You remind me of the picture I drew
Sitting one night out in the cold
You remind me of the headiest brew
That made me feel like a petal of gold

You're my evening sun
My morning serenity
My precious one
My pillar of divinity

The rustle of the leaves
Seems to be your words coming to me
The mystery it successfully weaves
Makes me the lover I want to be

I am not above mistakes
I am not a saint
But yet I know what it takes
To absolve myself of taint

I know I am not perfect
But this is all I can be
I know you dont want me to be perfect
But always be the man you thought I could be

I pray for you everyday
Wishing you all the good in life
I hope for myself in every way
That someday I can proudly call you my wife.

The independence weekend was spent away from New Delhi at a place called Lansdowne. For the benefit of people I am providing a brief account of the place, with details that should help a lot of people who are planning to get away the next time a long holiday comes.

Lansdowne is in the Garhwal region of Uttaranchal. It is also home to the Veer Garhwalis, in other words the famous regiment of the Indian Army called The Garhwal Rifles. We chose to visit this place because one supposedly cannot find a more peaceful and quiet inhabited place than Lansdowne in the entire Himalayas. A perfect place for rest, relaxation and rejuvenation.

To be truthful the place has nothing...absolutely nothing. Its this nothingness that is attractive. There are very few hotels,even fewer restaurants, not a single bar, a movie theatre showing C grade films and the entire place is so small that it can be covered on foot in less than 3 hours (our walking standards).I mean, people can really feel lost and it took me some time to believe that a place like this existed only 7 hours (or make it 7 1/2 hrs) away from Delhi.

What takes one's breath away is the scenery. One word to describe the place would be 'fresh'. The place is virtually unspoilt. Lansdowne is right on top of a hill around 5000 ft high. It provides a breathtaking view of the valley on one side and the Western Himalayas on the other side. The topmost point in Lansdowne is the Santoshi Maa temple which made us feel like we had reached heaven. That truly was the kind of atmosphere created by the cold wind and the descending clouds. It made us feel like actors in some sort a heavenly play.

Two other places from where one could catch excellent views of the higher mountains were Tip-N-Top and Snow View Point (beside the SBI). In fact Snow View has a covered place where one can sit and spend nearly the whole day relaxing. Yeah, the place is that good! What was amazing was the cloud clouds spraying little droplets of rain whenever they passed over. It was probably the closest distance in which the cloud and the rain droplets could be seen and felt together. Sometimes the clouds passing at the same level at which we were standing gave an eerie feeling and reminded one of a Ramsay horror film. There were times in the day when visibiltiy dropped to less than 5 feet and it was an awesome experience, always read about but never felt.The green cover of the place added to its mystique. As much as we went to relax we couldnt help but take a few walks through the dense woods. It was natural beauty at its best.

Lansdowne also has a lot of history behind it. Apparently the place was discovered by a few British officers on a field visit. They were so impressed that at the end of the 19th Century the British decided to shift the entire Garhwal Rifles to this heavenly abode. There is a museum that tracks the entire journey of the Garhwal Rifles since their inception, their achievements and serving history in places like Sri Lanka and The Western Front (post Independence) and Turkey, Afghanistan and the World Wars (pre Independence). There is an impressive collection of arms and medals. The museum also briefly tracks the history of Garhwal itself. Across the road, is the martyr's monument, overlooking the parade ground, where the names of each and every solidier of the regiment who has sacrificed his life for the country is mentioned. It is a truly moving sight and the solemnity grows on you. Today the army has a dominant presence in this town and the maintenance of the town is in their hands. Perhaps that is the reason why the town is still unspoilt. Tree cutting is banned and the roads are cleaned everyday by the army. Most importantly the residents take good care of their town. Tourism is quite restricted which is evident from the low number of hotels (3 at last count including the GMVN tourist complex). 

But the place that took our heart away was the St.Mary's church. We always knew that regimental towns had beautiful churches but this was a church with a difference. This church has actually been converted into a reading room. So while the altar is still intact and prayers still take place, the area where the pews are supposed to be have been replaced by long tables where one can read books or periodicals (as recent as the same day's Times of India). A quaint place where one can sit and let history seep into him or her. We cant tell you how far it is from the town centre. This is because people there dont measure distance by kilometres, they measure it by minutes. Simple calcualtion is: when a person from the hills says 2 minutes rest assured it is at least 10 mins keeping in mind our walking capabilities. in other words a 1:5 ratio. This is from personal experience.

The best place to stay in Lansdowne is definitely Fairydale Resort. At 900 bucks a day it is well worth the money. Potential visitors be warned on two counts. Point 1: The place tends to be heavily booked throughout the year so book in advance. I am being a nice boy and providing you the phone number of the place (01386-262237/262599).Point 2: The resort is so beautiful that if you land up there you may be tempted not to go out of there and visit the other places in Lansdowne. Other places include Hotel Mayur (01386-262311) which provides good rooms at Rs.800 a day and not-so-good rooms for Rs.300 a day Suit yourself. There is also the GMVN Tourist Lodge (01386-262509) which is always full (dont ask why). Though people there also said that March to October is the best time to visit Lansdowne I plan to be brave and visit it once again during heavy snowfall.

I wanted to be naughty and tell you everything about the place and not tell you how to get there. But had a change of heart while writing so here goes......from Kashmere Gate ISBT - take a bus to Kotdwar (Fare:Rs.113). You will reach Kotdwar in around 6 hours. From Kotdwar there are buses to Lansdowne (Fare:Rs.31) or Sumos (Fare: Rs.35). It is probably one of the most beautiful road trips of my life (Kotdwar to Lansdowne).Throughout the journey the river keeps flowing beside the road till you reach the hill where the climb is steep and exciting. Remember to carry warm clothes on this journey.

One can reach Kashmere Gate ISBT by taking a Yellow Line Metro from Connaught Place (Rajiv Chowk) station (Fare:Rs.8).

Its a trip worth its weight in gold for people wanting to relax.

For bad boys: Kindly carry your booze from Delhi a we didnt find a single FL shop in Lansdowne.

For good boys: Dont forget monkey caps.

 In the dead of the night, when the world plunges into nether depths
 I sit in silence and shed tears in your lasting memory's steps
 The mind refuses to accept, imagines your presence in every corner
 Its retribution turns me into an arbitrary mourner

 I long to find the day again when I shall be with you again
 When the sun stops beating and gifts us with eternal rain
 I long to be there when you wake up to reality 
 When your very thought projects a world of surreality
         
 I miss the warmth that I felt every time you strolled past me
 The coldness of lonely surroundings makes me want to flee
 I long to hear your voice, even if it means you are curt
 I long for your touch, even if it means I am hurt

 The darkness pushes me even further into desperation
 When shall I once again be ensconed in the arms of your passion
 You are my morning calm, my afternoon relaxtion
 My evening's star and nights' salvation

 I miss you, miss you and miss you
 Perhaps I should say it more often to you
 Till I realised that even if I whispered, or thought in dark silence
 You my love would hear it, notwithstanding the immense distance.