Dhoni Biography youtube video

Dhoni M S introduction

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, sometimes abbreviated as MS Dhoni (born 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar) is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian team. Initially recognized as an extravagantly flamboyant and destructive batsman, Dhoni has come to be regarded as one of the coolest heads to captain the Indian ODI side. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007-08 and the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008 in which they beat Australia 2-0. He also lead the team to their first ever bilateral ODI series wins in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Dhoni has also been the recipient of many awards including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 (the first Indian player to achieve this feat), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and thePadma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor in 2009. Currently, Dhoni is the highest ranked ODI batsmen on the ICC Rankings List. Also Dhoni named as Skipper of Wisden's first-ever Dream Test XI Team in 2009.

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Five Indians in Dhoni led Wisden Dream Team

The prestigious Wisden Cricketers' Almanac named Mahendra Singh Dhoni as skipper of a Dream Test XI that includes Indians Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.

Sehwag was chosen as the 'Leading Cricketer in the World for 2008'.

The explosive opener became the sixth player to be honoured with the award instituted in 2004.

Dhoni has taken India to the threshold of world's best, leading India to three series wins on trot -- against world champions Australia, England and New Zealand. He has won five of his first seven Tests and drawn two.

India's recent success in Tests was recognised by the prestigious publication with as many as five players making the cut.

Australia's Ponting and Mitchell Johnson, South African Graeme Smith and Dale Steyn, West Indies' Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and England's Kevin Pietersen are the other players of the Dream Test XI selected by former cricketers Ravi Shastri (India), Ian Bishop (West Indies) and Ian Smith (New Zealand).

The three former players picked the best eleven taking into consideration the opposition, performances in 2008, the amount of Test cricket they played in the year, the quality of their opponents, and that indefinable blend of class and form.

"The 146th edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanac has nominated an elite team. The team which has been selected with Test match cricket - the sport's ultimate format," according to Wisden editor, Scyld Berry.

Berry said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the "unanimous choice as wicketkeeper and No. 7."

"He won the votes of Bishop and Shastri as captain. Smith, however, gave his vote as captain to Graeme Smith who led South Africa to victory over Australia in Australia sealed the deal," Berry said.

"Bishop selected him because of his charisma, which seems to permeate the Indian dressing-room and bring the best out of his team. The former West Indian pacer also noted that India lost in Sri Lanka when Dhoni sat out the series.

"Among other reasons, Shastri liked the way he handles the media in a media-frenzied country, and is immensely composed," Berry was quoted as saying in Cricinfo.

Smith was chosen as the vice-captain of the team.

The opening pair were unanimously agreed to be Sehwag and Smith, the two leading Test run-scorers of 2008.

Gautam Gambhir, Sehwag's opening partner, who averaged 70 against formidable opposition, was also a strong candidate along with other left-handed openers, Chris Gayle, Simon Katich and Andrew Strauss. But Smith was the pick.

Wisden said that Sehwag has taken opening Test innings to a "new level."

"Virender Sehwag had to beat off the strongest of challenges by Graeme Smith to become the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2008. He sought, and often achieved, mental domination from the first ball by scoring faster than any other opening batsman has ever done on a regular basis in Test cricket," it said.

Tendulkar secured the votes of Shastri and Smith to be No. 4. Bishop went for the promise (and all-round fielding) of A.B. de Villiers.

Harbhajan won a three-way tie on the convener's casting vote. He took 63 wickets in the year and played an important role in two hard-fought series against Australia.

Zaheer pipped Ryan Sidebottom and Ishant Sharma for the new-ball slot.

The left-handed seamer has been architect of India's recent win at home and abroad. Zaheer can use either a new or old ball to full effect and can also bowl long spells.

The Wisden Test XI:

Virender Sehwag (India), Graeme Smith (South Africa, vice-captain), Ricky Ponting (Australia), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Kevin Pietersen (England), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies), Mahendra Sing Dhoni (India, captain), Harbhajan Singh (India), Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Dale Steyn (South Africa) and Zaheer Khan (India)

Navratri: Are these the only days to bestow your love on a girl child?

Chaitra Navratri, also known as Chait Navratras, is observed during the Chaitra month (March – April) in a traditional Hindu calendar followed in North India. The festival is dedicated to Goddess Shakti and three of her most popular forms– Goddess Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati – are worshipped during this period.

Chaitra Navratri begins on the first day of the Chaitra month and ends with Ram Navami. It is known by different names like Ram Navaratri, Vasant Navratri, Basant Navrathri and some people also refer it as Spring Navaratras.

Chaitra Navratri is observed when Mother Nature undergoes an important climate change. It also marks the beginning of the summer season. There is a popular belief that the fasting during Chaitra Navrati is to prepare the body for the ensuing summer season.

The festival of Navratri culminates in Mahanavami. On this day Kanya Puja is performed. Nine young girls representing the nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshiped. The little girls who are invited to be worshipped are known as ‘kanjaks.’

This ritual is held mostly in Punjab and Haryana – two states famous for female foeticide. Since last few years, many household in these states are finding it difficult to get girl children to worship as Goddess Durga.

Is is not an ironical situation where girls are treated as Goddess on one hand and killed on the other?
And it is not the uneducated class that is practicing female foeticide. The act of female foeticide prevails more in the educated and affluent society.

It is a disgrace for the Indian society which considers the birth of a girl child as a bad investment in future. This narrow viewpoint of the Indian patriarchal society has led to horrid practices like female infanticide and female foeticide. A present study reveals that Punjab has one of the lowest sex ratios in the country.

Escalating demands of dowry are cited as the main reason for this heinous crime. And what are we doing in return, instead of removing the root of the problem – the dowry--, we are killing innocent girls for no fault of their's.

I need you to answer some questions. Do we now have a right to celebrate Navratri? Do girls hold importance for just nine days in a year? What is the use of worshipping a Goddess when you cannot protect her children? Do you think Goddess Durga will forgive you for such an act and accept your prayers?

I feel it's high time to curb the practices of female foeticide. The government has already declared January 24, 2009 as the national girl child day that focuses on targeting the scourges of female foeticide, domestic violence, and malnutrition.

Men without women are not human. This transformation of the male into animal if the world were to become womanless is the theme of "Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women". The movie is not imaginative (fact: over 35 million girls have gone missing in our country in the last decade; killed while still foetuses, executed soon after they were born, or murdered because of sheer neglect) but depicts what our future will be if we do not curb the practices of female infanticide and female foeticide.

The movie shows that in a village without women, confused and sex-starved men hanker for release, through pornography, bestiality, homosexuality, and violence. And when they find a girl then begin exercising their physical rights over her, turn by turn by turn! It's time we take some action.

Gudi Padwa: New Year Wishes to All of You

Gudi Padwa is celebrated on the first day of the Chaitra month as the New Year day by Maharashtrians. Also known as Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, this festival marks the beginning of the spring season. People celebrate this festival with great spirit and joy.

Houses are cleaned prior to the festival. Colorful rangoli are designed at the entrance and people wear new clothes on this day. Maharashtrian delicacies like puran poli or sweet rotis, soonth pak, and usal are prepared.

On this day, gudis are hung outside the houses or in the localities. A 'gudi' is a pole on top of which an upturned brass or silver pot called a kalash is placed. The gudi is then covered with a colorful silk cloth. It is decorated with marigold flowers, mango leaves, and coconuts. The gudi is a symbol of nature's bounty. It is worshipped by offering sandalwood paste, turmeric, and vermilion. Then, boys and young men of the locality form a pyramid and the person on top of the pyramid breaks the coconut which is in the kalash.

My neighbors are Maharashtrians and every year on Gudi Padwa, they bring sweets or some kind of goodies to our house. Even though I am not staying in Maharashtra, my neighbors give me a feel of the Maharashtrian culture. I am very glad that my five year old child, who knew January 1^st as the New Year, has learned that New Year according to Hindu calendar is different. It is celebrated on the first day of the Chaitra month.

Traditionally, families are supposed to begin the festivities by eating the leaves of the neem tree. Sometimes, a paste of neem leaves is prepared and mixed with ajwain, jaggery, and tamarind. All the members of the family consume this paste, which is believed to purify the blood and strengthen the body’s immune system against diseases.

Taking Gudi Padwa to be the suitable occasion to sensitize people towards trees and environment, the Maharashtra State Social Forestry Department has planned to sell saplings of Neem trees through 300 stalls across the state on this auspicious day.

The festival of Gudi Padwa is considered very auspicious. People begin new ventures and also choose to buy gold, silver, or property on this day. With the launch of Tata Motor's Nano, auto dealers are all excited and are looking forward to a huge demand for the product. They expect a number of inquiries for bookings to come in on this day.

Celebrate Holi in Its True Essence

As a child, I took a special delight in the festival of Holi. Going out with friends with pichkaris in hand filled with different hues of gulal (or aabeer, as called in Bengali), it was indeed great fun. It all used to get started in the morning and continued till afternoon (although we wanted to continue it till the evening). After coming back home, completely drenched in colored water, we used to get a good bath. My mother had a tough time bathing me. Today, I do not play Holi anymore. In fact, I find it as one of those festivals which are celebrated in complete contrast to their significance.

Holi is a festival to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. However, today I find every bit of Holi celebration no less than an evil. To elucidate, I can begin with the use of colors in today's time. In most cases, we find people celebrating it with colors having strong chemical base. These chemicals can simply ruin somebody's life by causing strong allergies on skin and even, in the eyes. These colors can also destroy your hair. Some colors are so strong that your skin and scalp bear them for many days. We all know that there is an alternative to these chemical rich colors in the form of herbal colors. But, how many us really buy them. However, we are not alone to be blamed. This is because there are many shops that charge exorbitant price for the herbal colors, making them out of reach for the common man. So, if you have a sensitive skin, playing Holi is completely a “no”.

Let us now talk about the second evil that you witness every year during this festival. Holi, for many, is simply a festival where you can drink openly with your friends. Perhaps this is the reason why I could find a huge rush in every liquor shop, while on my way back home from work, just two days before Holi. The shops were flocked by men of every age- young, middle aged and old. No wonder, we get to read so many cases of drunken driving around the time of Holi. The cases of eve teasing are also on rise during Holi. In fact, drinking and misbehaving with women and young girls can be seen as a favorite way of celebrating Holi for many. However, molesting girls in the name of Holi has become quite a trend for many years now. Whether you are drunk or not, who wants to miss the opportunity of being close to girls and touch them? The countless number of television reports on all major news channels depicting the stories of helpless girls just after Holi simply brings tears into my eyes. This is the prime reason why girls stop playing it after attaining an age. They rather enjoy being at home with their parents and feel safe.

Holi is a festival that signifies truth, goodness and bravery. Can't we celebrate it in its true essence?

Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked This Holi

The slogan which says`Bura Na Maano Holi hai' is being completely misused by people nowadays. This slogan is being treated as an excuse to do anything like playing Holi forcibly with girls, molesting girls, throwing water balloons and stuff like that. It’s both sad and ridiculous that all our festivals are being celebrated in the wrong way.

When the festival of Holi began, it was meant to be celebrated with safe colors, but now it has become a sadist festival where people are deriving pleasure out of troubling others. Instead of good wishes and harmless colors, bad behavior and stuff like rotten tomatoes and eggs, grease, and permanent colors have come into the scheme of things.

Most of us have forgotten the first rule about Holi: Don’t play Holi with the unwilling. I remember the incident that took place with one of my friends after which she completely stopped playing Holi. Just like any other excited kid, my friend was out with her pichkaari to play Holi, when a big bully came and covered her entire face with grease. She went back home crying because there was no possible way to take it off. Finally, her mother had to resort to petrol to wash her face off. It was a complete nightmare for her and she never plays Holi after that. This is just one incident. Hundreds of such incidents take place every year during Holi.

Not only this, rowdy elements treat Holi as an appropriate time to get close to girls, some even trying to molest them. They indulge in all sorts of dirty acts like forcibly rubbing color on the faces of girls and misbehaving with them. The same thing was depicted in a serial where two girls from an NGO-house were shown walking when a group of guys forcibly rubbed colours on their faces. One of the girls slapped one of the guys. In retaliation, the group surrounded and forcibly molested her. It was broad daylight. The girl’s companion asked for help from the passerby, but none paid heed. This is not just a reel life incident, such incidences happen every year during Holi.

Adding to the woes is the trend of throwing water balloons. You will find groups of young boys at every nook and crevice of a road throwing balloons, full of water, weeks before the festival. They are not even bothered of the consequences it would lead to. So, when Holi approaching, you have to think twice before going out of your house.

Is this the kind of Holi we want? Just think. Are we not losing on the significance of the festival. If you agree with me, just watch yourself before taking any step and the result will be good for all.