Tuesday, August 28, 2012

New flowers-new buds

SreeNair | 9:47 PM | | Be the first to comment!

The Indian colts have proved their mettle to announce vociferously that they are in their way of their seniors by lifting the world under 19 title 2012 at Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville, Queensland, on Sunday. The Indians defeated the formidable hosts and defending champions Australia with six wickets and 14 balls left to lift its third World Cup in the final here on Sunday.

The chase was steered around by the captain, Unmukt Chand leading from the front with a magnificent hundred as the India under-19 team steered past the hosts target of 226 on a bouncy strip with 14 balls to spare.He scored 111 not out off 130 balls. With his unbroken partnership of 130 runs with wicketkeeper Smit Patel,the game was wounded up.

After Prashant Chopra was out ,the skipper and the in-form batsman Aparajith (33) took the attack to the opposition camp. The duo added 73 for the second wicket playing the Aussie pace trio of Steketee, Joel Paris and Gurinder Sandhu with ease.Earlier, India frittered away the early advantage as defending champion Australia recovered from a shaky start to post a competitive 225 for eight.

Electing to field after winning the toss, Indians had the Aussies on the mat at 38 for four before skipper William Bosisto (87 not out) rebuilt the innings with the help of some notable contributions down the order from Tavis Head (37) and Turner.

Colts ‘veteran’ Sandeep Sharma who got four for 54 was the most successful bowler.

It was in april last the Indian team under the stewardshp of Dhoni has brought the cup home after a long wait of of 20 years. The truimph of both the modes have proclaimed that the future of cricket is safe in the hands of these youngsters.

"This victory has added another feather in the crown of Indian cricket," Ansari said noting that India now holds both the senior a nd junior world titles. Complimenting the Indian team for winning the Under-19 cricket World Cup in Australia, former captain Sourav Ganguly said the victory was special since it came on Australian soil.

This was the India under-19 team’s third triumph after Mohammed Kaif and Virat Kohli led their respective teams to victory in the 2000 and 2008 editions respectively. India Under-19 skipper Unmukt Chand hit an unbeaten 111 in seamer-friendly conditions to lead India to a six-wicket win over Australia in the final .he displayed exemplary class and returned with an unbeaten 111 to guide India home. In doing that he followed his illustrious Delhi counterpart Virat Kohli, who also led India to victory in the 2008 edition in Kuala Lumpur.

His attacking style of play has also earned him a contract with the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. He found an able ally in wicket keeper Smit Patel, whose winning hit to the boundary saw him remaining unbeaten on 62.It was a dream come true for the Indian colts.

In the semifinals Chopra struck a patient 52 while aparajith scored 44 in Indias 209 for nine.A disciplined bowling effort restricted NewZealand for 200 for nine in the 2nd semifinal at the Tony Ireland stadium.India made the run chase extremely tough for the Kewis with their superiority in the spin department. They chalked out a nine run victory against New Zealand to enter in to the finals for the fourth time.

In the finals luck, too, went India's way. Smit capitalized on Aussie wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson letting go off a regulation chance and didn't look back, and Unmukt himself was dropped by the rival captain Bosisto on 84 with 49 required off 42 balls.The result was reaped after the 2 years of torrid training under the coaching of Bharuth Arun .

India Under-19 coach Bharat Arun said: “I had reminded Unmukt about his knack of playing big knocks in the final stages and he really saved his best for the last. He played a very mature innings. The boys truly deserve this win.”

It was none too easy to chase a mammoth total in a pitch which gave all support for the bowlers where the life of batsmen was at peril. Although Mukth didnot fair well in the debut premier league last season ,he has exhibited the glimps of his talent with which he sailed the team from the staring defeat.The splendid innings in the final testifies that the trust shown by ICC by anointing him as the captain has not been squandered .Padding as the opener he returned back unconquired with the cup exquisitely completing his errant in style.

Though the star of the final was Unmuktha it was more or less a team work.After the early defeat at the hands of WI,the team neve looked back and clinched the final with out any further loss.Apart with him the colective efforts from inform opener Prashanth Chopra,Vijay Soal,Wicket keeper batsman Smith patel, All rounder Baba Aparaajith,Bowlers Sandheep Sharma,Ravikanth Singh,Kamal Passi,Harmeet singh paid rich dividends.Their effors in one or the other game has helped the team to win.

It can be assured that many amongst these young stars will get in to the team in future.Consistant bowling and batting has enabled the team to emerge as the truimphant.Australians had been able to put up a decent target only because of the discoloured bowling department and the mediocre fielding.

The BCCI on Sunday announced a cash prize of Rs 20 lakh each for members of the Indian team which lifted its third Under-19 World Cup title.

Parliament today congratulated the under-19 Indian cricket team for winning the World Cup in Australia.

"The Indian Cricket Team achieved this incredible feat during the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup beating Australia in Townsville, Austr alia," Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said amid thumping of desks by members.

The 2nd chapter of the cup took 10 years since the first show of junior world cup in 1988 .Now the cup will be staged once in every 2 years. This was India's under-19 team’s third triumph after Mohammed Kaif and Virat Kohli led their teams to victory in the 2000 and 2008 editions respectively. Indians share the glory of winning the cup for the maximum number of times(3 times) with Australia .In 2000 the cup was brought home under the captaincy of Kaif and in 2008 under Kohli. There are emerging players who could fill the vacum left by Saurav,dravid and VVS.The draught in pace bowling will be filled up by the playeres from this team.Some of them will essentially come to the surface in the years to come.

Ganguly expressed confidence that the pool of young players would provide the base for the Indian cricket in the years to come."It is still early days. Indian cricket is always strong. But Under-19 is the base from which future generation players are developed. You see Virat Kohli, three or four years ago, he was the Under-19 captain who won the World Cup also.

"It is the base from which future players come in," he said, when asked how he saw the road ahead for the players who won the World Cup.


Monday, August 27, 2012

A giant leep for mankind

SreeNair | 11:35 PM | | | Be the first to comment!

             The legendary US astronaut described himself as a "white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer."-the first human to set foot on the moon- Neil Armstrong, has died following complications from a cardiovascular surgery. Armstrong underwent cardiac bypass surgery earlier this month in Cincinnati, for  blockages in his coronary .He had celebrated his birthday on Aug 5.

                 Giving accolades to Armstrong as a "reluctant American hero" his family said :"We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away.Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend."

This was the most daring and “a tender moment” of the 20th century’s scientific expeditions where “he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten.

Unlike other hard-partying matinee idols -astronauts of the time-Armstrong was "a spiritual neuter." He did not revel in his accomplishment. He believed that a man should be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work . Like an avadhootha he said " We're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream." .He remained largely retreated from the limelight to the tranquility of his 19th-century farmhouse. He raised cattle and corn and enjoyed his grandchildren ,shying away from the press-men.

As commander of the Apollo 11 mission Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the rock-strewn plain near the south-western shore of the Sea of Tranquility with his fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin following, on July 20, 1969. Apollo 11 took four days to complete the nearly 250,000-mile (400,000 kms) journey. The moonwalk in the fine and powdery surface where lunar gravity is one sixth that of Earth’s, lasted two hours and 19 minutes-collecting samples, conducting experiments and taking photographs while, Michael Collins, piloted the command ship in the orbit about 60 miles above. During two and a quarter hours on the surface, the two astronauts collected almost 48lb [21.75kg] of rock and soil samples and planted the US flag.

The Soviet-American space war that began on Oct. 4, 1957, with the launch of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1 culminated in the Apollo 11 mission. In the turbulent 60’s ,both domestically and internationally, President John F. Kennedy had committed the nation “to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.” True to his words it was accomplished with more than five months to spare.

Armstrong was born Aug. 5, 1930, in the small town of Wapakoneta, on a farm in Ohio. His father was a state auditor and they moved every few years to a new Ohio town while Neil was growing up.He took his first airplane ride at age 6 and took a passion with aviation . He was licensed to fly at 16, before he got his driver's license.

                   He finished high school at Wapakoneta. He went to Purdue University as an engineering student on a Navy scholarship. His college years were interrupted by the Korean War, in which Mr. Armstrong was a Navy fighter pilot who flew 78 combat missions, He took his master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. Soon after his graduation, He married Janet , a student in home economics from Evanston whom he met earlier , in January 1956.The newlyweds moved to California, where Mr. Armstrong had been hired as an experimental test pilot for the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, the forerunner of the NASA. They had two sons, Eric and Mark, who survive. A daughter, Karen, died of an inoperable brain tumor in 1962. The couple were divorced in 1994. In 1999, Mr. Armstrong married Carol Knight, a widow 15 years his junior. They lived in Indian Hill, a suburb of Cincinnati.

A veteran of the Korean War, he joined the Nasa astronaut corps in 1962. and his first space flight was as command pilot of the Gemini 8 mission in 1966. Apollo 11 was Armstrong's last trip to space, and he left NASA in 1971 to become a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He kept a low profile after his astronaut years and remained heavily indoor.

His family called him “a reluctant hero who always believed he was just doing his job.”Aldrin said he and Armstrong were not prone to free exchanges of sentiment.

              Armstrong came out from the hermitage and waded into the public eye in 2010, voicing sharp disagreement with President Obama for cancelling NASA’s programme taking up moon sojourn.

He remained an advocate of aviation and exploration throughout his life and never lost his boyhood wonder of these pursuits,” his family said in the statement.

President Obama, in a statement from the White House, said, “Neil was among the greatest of American heroes.”

Amstrong believed that the important achievement of Apollo was a demonstration that humanity is not forever chained to this planet, and our visions go rather further than that, and our opportunities are unlimited.

The moonwalk ended several myths about the moon worship and also raised several eyebrows on its legitimacy.

"The next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink," the family said.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Onam-The Kerala festival of opulance

SreeNair | 5:01 AM | | Be the first to comment!
               Onam the festival of secular Kerala which otherwise would evoke wistful memories of flower-decked-yards,family confluence,enchanting feasts has now given way to another "Grand Kerala Shopping Festival". The lingo,the rhythm and symbols have nuanced to a quiet unfamiliar tinge of alienation,to a new cult altogether and in to a whole different ball game.Onam has now meta morphed in to a despicable,intriguing and a much hyped video game of the media.

                The ever shrinking membership in the family have done much harm to the pleasure of the festivity. Many spunky and fabulous mansions have now turned in to a much-too-spacy sleeping bags for the sequestered and desolate new grandmas and grandpas glued to the sedate interiors. Onam greetings have confined to a short phonic-hello to the grand children ,the diaspora in Arabia. Sadly a lot of Malayalees have long lost Onam in his homestead.                    Yet Onam is a daunting presence in the Keralites conscience.With all the intimidating transformations in the changing world ,where ever he is, Onam is a fond binding to his family.It is the sentiment woven in to his persona with the strands of anxiety,aspiration,expectations and exaltation's.
                   Onam is an occasion to reclaim the lost virtues of life. Though quixotic,yet It is the exposure of the subconscious desire to re-enact the bygone saga of agathism depicted in the myth bound to the festival.
                The festivity reads out aloud the malayalee psyche which bemoans the yester years that lived in the folklore in which Mahabali was the emperor of the region. In that golden era all were equal and one.There were no adultery, no deceit ,not an iota of perjury,no high handedness,no polemics.Everyone lived in perfect harmony, peace and equanimity.The myth goes that the Devas who were antagonised by the way Mahabali ,the Asura king ruled the land ,felt insane and smelt a potential adversary in him,connived with the Mahavishnu and finally Mahabali was sent to the other world by Vamana the avatar of MahaVishnu. However he was allowed with a one-day parole to visit his land once in a year.The yearly visit of Mahabali to his beloved citizens brings in fervent excitement and is a family get together by the Keralites. The visit is celebrated as Thiru Onam where ever Malayalee is there.
              The perception that the"inequality between the haves and have nots is unethical"was inane in the blood of Keralites. The ideology of aligning with the politics of the poor was not forced on to them.Sri.Jayakumar the noted poet-writer cum top bureaucrat of Kerala writes that "the cognizance that was inherent was only redoubled by the ideologies migrated from foreign countries. We have bequeathed the progressive idea that ' education,property and shelter are the basic rights of all' from this historic precinct." The principles of equality were generic and can be traced back to the mythical era and is engraved in the Malayalle psyche.
               The ruler is central to the definition of the welfare state.The experience of a glaring administrator who lived up to his people is inveterate in every Keralites mind.This had emboldened him to finger wag on every slight aberrations and frailties of those in power.That is why transparency in governance,unlike in any other state , has attracted much attention in Kerala.
                   Onam has its life in the opulence.In other words it is a festival of harvest. It is in this season  the granaries are welled up, repositories get filled.There is an ecological idea ingrained in it. Life will be meaningful when the nature propitiates.We can sea   our predecessors who stood with their hands clasped with thankful hearts before the wast kindness of nature.
                  Onam is not just a festival to a Keralite.This is not a celebration in the captivity of new fads and familiar patterns.Onam shapes the conscious and unconscious mind, the social persona of the Keralite , his daily attitudes to life. It in effect formulates his political values. Onam defines him.

Monday, August 20, 2012

To get Lakshman out is a miracle.....

SreeNair | 1:18 AM | Be the first to comment!
                    Lachu Bhai has retired from active Indian Cricket.Not waiting for the not-too-hard 2 test serious at home ,the man with the 'very very special' prefixed to his name , has hung his boot from the international cricket.The retirement has come out of blue ,from the man who has altered many a script on the crease due to his stubborn thirst for the win and a dogged perseverance to get lodged on the pitch when India needed it most.
                    Laxman stood tall on the ground. The spunky innings with elegant glances,soft -touch artistry laced with the clinical approach to each delivery shall be a nostalgic object of beauty and a joy for ever for those redolent of the glorious days of the ebullient quartet of Indian cricket. Many an innings went ,a one man show against ,be it England or the mighty Aussies.Enthralling as they were ,each unique in its way,as the austere Ricky Ponting has to lament “I hope his back is pretty sore for the next week as well and he can’t play” in October 2010. The fiendishly fast Brett Lee remembers Steve Waugh , “If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it’s a miracle.”
                     VVS Lakshman has carved out a space in the world cricket by himself.
                 Speculations are rife in Cricketing India that the maverick righthander has walked into sun set being anguished with the fulsome snubs of the BCCI and the selection committee in India. The governing committees of cricket in India has failed to let him know well in time that his induction in the team for the incoming series with the Kiwis was to pave way for his exit from the team. The message was served to him only after including him in the test series.Lakshman was pained by the slight and the injustice which prompted him to declare the innings even with out waiting to play in the home ground.
                    The written note in the valedictory press conference brimmed with emotions ,read out by the cricketer did not carry any inkling of a controversy. Although the backdrop of the events that led to his bow out is not fully made public ,speculations are rife that the seemingly obliterating fusillades from the ex-players ,in the couple of weeks proceeded , dented deep in his morale and doused his thirst to pad further. It was a known fact that senior players in the world famed quartet was under scanner ever since they came a cropper from the Australia and England tour.

                     "Maybe some negative comments in columns by former cricketers hurt him and it could be that the BCCI did not defend him which could have added to his hurt," said Board Secretary Sanjay Jagdale.

                  Kapil Devan in a syndicated column was abrasive and iniquitous in the commend that the veteran should have announced his retirement when Ganguly did. The former captain and the legend in himself must perhaps have forgotten that he also bluntly stuck on for two years despite being out-of-form simply because he wanted to surpass the record of 431 test wickets set by Sir Richard Hadley. It is a pity that such devastating polemics should have come from people like Kapil and Srikanth.
                      Chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who will lay down office in September also has thrown his hat in the ring.Ganguly says: “Srikkanth has a big problem in communicating. A player like Laxman would not train so hard just to keep himself fit for two Tests.”
                      Laxman sweated hard in the nets during the past 3 months for the big games ahead . When it rained at Hyderbad ,he flew to Bangalore for the practice. He was very arduous and engaged in tiring calisthenics to stay fit for a few more years. The harsh equipage for a couple of matches and that too against a depleted and low keyed opponent at home grounds would not explain itself.
                  ” If they (selectors) conveyed their opinion to Laxman earlier, this situation would not have surfaced. Why they stretched till August? Probably, the selectors' judgement has hurt him (Laxman) the most," Ganguly was quoted as saying.
                        Ganguly believes not with out sufficient grounds that the ,selectors have informed Lakshman that this could be his valedictory series after his inclusion in the team ,would have hurt him leading into a hasty announcement.
                        The BCCI, on its part, plays a poor-soul-role and wants to absolve itself."The BCCI President was aware of Laxman's decision to quit before the two-Test series. He took the decision after talking to the BCCI President," said Board Secretary Sanjay Jagdale.
                        This has not been the first time the selection committee is brushing shoulders with the senior players.Earlier the in-form Dravid was called back to play in ODI (at the time when he was an outcast in one day version of the game )when he was playing well against England in the tests. He was recalled only to be d served with the clue that they plan to extend a ceremonious opportunity to retire .VVS Lakshman was even not served with that poetic justice.
                        Lakshman steps down when retirement was not in his remotest dreams raising the philosophical question that should leaders quit for the youngsters. Or it raises a doubt that a berth in games is to be waited up till others retire or to be snatched by sweating it out.
                     The thoroughbred and pleasant-tongued man does not want to drop a brick and said that he listened to his metaphoric "inner voice" to come to the decision that it was time to bow out.
                          Dravid testifies that his performance on the field and personality off it were always of a high standard and has played many crucial knocks that helped India. Dhoni though was in incommunicado in the final hours before the announcement to the world of the retirement , paid rich tributes to the veteran batsman, saying that his absence would be felt by the entire team. “Will miss him whenever the team cuts cake, personally I will really miss u LACHU BHAI,” Dhoni tweeted.
                 VVS ,the legendary cricketer  leaves the crease visibly hurt.



Sunday, August 19, 2012

A Very Very Special Salute....

SreeNair | 5:25 AM | Be the first to comment!
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One more stalwarts on the bow out.The classy VVS Lakshman ,the largely unsung mega star amidst contemporary superstars has called it a day.

The 37-year-old veteran batsman, the mainstay of India's most famed batting quartet that had the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in the roll ,has hung up his boots after a sprawling 16 years of international presence for the country.He was a champion batsman and one of the all-time- greatests of the game with abundant elegance and prowess.

"we were expecting him to play till Australia series. It was quite a surprise," a teary-eyed Sailaja his wife said at the press conference ."Definitely. Like other well wishers, we were expecting him to play till the Australian series. His aim was to beat Australia and England in the home series. " She added.

I announce my retirement from international cricket with immediate effect,” the champion batsman declared at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. He bid adieu when he already had his berth secure in the squad for the Test series against low profiled and depleted New Zealand starting on August 23.

He is the second to be lined up in the same year to retire after Rahul Dravid."It was a tough decision to take, I have always listened to my inner conscience. The inner voice is a divine voice, I have always done that right through my career", the sober man announced before the crowd.

VVS Lakshman always kept away from controversies and the one-up

manship congenital in the game.In fact he kept himself ahead of it and his bat made all the talking .He played,enthused and rejoiced in the game as a manifestation of his love for the country and took pride in being part of the game ."I have always kept my country's success and needs ahead of my personal aspirations".He told the audience.

His test debut as International test cricketer was against South Africa at Ahmedabad in 1996 scoring 51 in the second innings as India won by 64 runs. He wore Indian cap in 134 Tests, garnered 8,781 runs at an average of 45.97,hammering 17 hundreds and 56 half-tons. He had his debut in ODI against Zimbabwe at Cuttack, in 1998 and though a truant has played 81 matches with a total of 2,338 runs with an average of 30.76 .He made six 100s with top s core at 131.He played 265 First-Class matches amassing 19,520 runs with an average of 51.5 which included 54 centuries top scoring at 353 runs.

His fielding prowess were mediocre and quiet often came under the radar of cricket pundits.Though not acrobatic and an acclaimed fielder he had a squeaky clean pair of safe hands that pouched on everything that came in ts way.He has 135 Test catches to his credit.

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BCCI president N. Srinivasan rightly says"If a cricketer’s greatness is to be measured in terms of his performances against the best opposition of his time, then Laxman stands right at the top. His record against Australia,the world’s no. 1 team for the better part of his career, speaks for itself."A batsman's mettle is seen when playing against formidable challenges under heavy odds.Against Australia ,he made 2434 runs at an average of 49.67. His indomitable form against the No1 Test teams like Australia ,put India on top in the world ranking of the test playing countries.He made his first test in 2000, when he made 167 against Australia in Sydney. Laxman also scored four of his six ODI tons against the Aussies, although he was casual in the shorter versions of the game. He took out best talents against the Aussies in 2000s, also scoring two hundreds in the 2003-04 series.

VVS excelled in his resilience to strike back under heavy duress to snatch away unforeseen victory from the opponents .At times he acted both as a crisis manager and a match winner. In March 2001, he made a stupendous 281 at Ethen Gardens,in Kolkota amidst the cry for the blood and put on 376 with Rahul Dravid to force an unexpected win against Australia, India having followed on. The Hindu writes "His 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens is a stuff of legends and that majestic knock has now become a part of cricketing folklore."

This fete was adjudged by Wisden as the sixth greatest Test match innings of all time.
Laxman’s 148 at Adelaide in 2003-04 series came at a crucial juncture and his partnership with Rahul Dravid kept India’s chances alive and the team finally won the Test series.

He glided India to an unimaginable triumph alone, on the wings of his unbeaten 73, sailing home with the No 10 and 11 batsmen at Mohali against Australia in October 2010. in an exemplary show of fortitude and sheer grit,he together with the tail ends showcased a remarkable innings to be indelibly imprinted in the annals of the cricketing history.Chasing 216, when India were 124 for eight, Laxman added 81 runs with Ishant Sharma and then battled for good 20 hearty-wrenching minutes with No.11 Pragyan Ojha to carry home the coveted Test match.

As with all geniuses ,he too was not without his shadowy times. Along with the great contemporaries he also had to take the brunt of the debacles in England and Australia which came in quick succession.

He was a' maverick in the mission 'and won accolades for his on drives with 'supple wrists' endowed and is renowned as a 'touch-artist' of the game.

The hasty decision though not aired aloud so reflects the relationship between the team and its captain .VVS feared that Dhoni was difficult to reach. As Ganguli has remarked;"A skipper should be available for all his players 24 Hours." Yes: we don 't Know "why Dhoni does that".

Perhaps a cricketing irony is that this man has not played the world cup in his long and arduous carrier spanned 16 years.To quote Hindu:"Probably, Laxman was destined to be the ‘George Best of world cricket’ — the finest cricketer of his generation never to have played a World Cup."

The artistic glance of the ball and the innocuous flick of the wrist may not be executed in such ease and elegance.The illustrious player has left back a void which might take long to be filled up.Sachin Tendulkar tweeted: 'When I walk out to play in Hyderabad I will feel a deep void. A void that can never be fulfilled."

The Goliath walks back to the pavilion to unpad ,unhurt, with great degree of satisfaction of having played for his country ,his full youth and potential placed at its alter ,in a very very special way.



Thursday, August 9, 2012

Security for a larger tomorrow

SreeNair | 6:35 AM | Be the first to comment!

The most complex but flawless touch down of ‘Curiosity’, the inter planetary mission of US on Martian surface, heralded as ‘the engineering miracle’ marks ,a fete of outstanding achievement in robotic spaceflight and is a matter of pride for the whole world. The car-sized, one-ton, six-wheeled rover has descended at its targeted destination about 6.2 miles from the foot of Mount Sharp, three miles from the floor of Gale Crater located near the planet's equator in its southern hemisphere, shortly after 10.30pm Pacific time on Sunday (0530 GMT) .

The landing moments were tortuous for the NASA staff and were christened as the ‘seven minutes of terror’mission control engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles were greatly relieved as the nuclear-powered rover fulfilled its eight-month journey traversing more than 350 million miles (57 crore km) with a speed of 13,200 miles per-hour (21,243 kilometers per hour), ie 17 times the speed of sound.

"I can't believe this. This is unbelievable," Allen Chen, the deputy leader of the rover's descent and landing team was quoted as saying. The blue shirts at NASA believe that the feat stands out unique in the history of robotic spaceflight, and is the harbinger of a new era in inter planetary exploration. President Barack Obama hailed the accomplishment as a historic "point of national pride."

The landing was a major initial hurdle for the project. In the final stage of the wheels down, the spacecraft fired up eight retrorockets to slow its descent, before its "sky crane" lowered the 900kg (1,984lb), to the ground on nylon ropes. Close to the ground, the vessel was slowed down further by a giant supersonic parachute. The rover was grounded at 1.5mph landing on its six wheels. Within seconds the rover beamed its first images back to Earth, greatly relieving the engineers at the mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.

The two-year and $2.5 billion Curiosity project is NASA's first astrobiology mission since the Viking probes of 1970s. Rover, the one-ton, six-wheeled, nuclear powered vehicle cost Rs.13,750 crores and is regarded as the first full-fledged mobile science lab sent to another planet. After the excruciating “seven minutes of terror “the rover transmitted a picture, relayed by another Mars orbiter called Odyssey, showing one of Curiosity's wheels on the planet's surface.

It all went squeaky clean ,perfectly timed and exquisitely executed.
Curiosity is the mission to find the presence of life on the pink planet. Curiosity powered by radioactive plutonium and lithium-ion batteries will over the next 687 Earth days(98 weeks) – or one Martian year –scout around the 154 Km wide ancient Gale crater lying close to the Mars equator .It will collect rocks and soil from the shallow sides of the mountain with its robotic arm having a scoop and drill and examine for the geological tips that could establish that the planet was once habituated.

Five years back on the triumph of ‘Phinix’ ,the NASA scientists proclaimed that the mission was the forerunner for the human footing on Mars. This triumph is also to be viewed in the same vein. Recently India had great strides in the Chandrayan mission. India also aims at missions for Mars. This NASA victory shall be an impetus for the Indian scientists. As such this victory is a great leap forward by mankind which will accentuate the efforts to frame a new world order based on collectivism and peace.