Dhoni: Putting His Best Foot Forward

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has his way of doing things, be it leading the Team India from the front, or his marriage that was kept in wraps till the last moment or the jaw-dropping Rs 210 crore ad contract that he recently inked. While talking of his latest feat, it must be admitted that Dhoni, at the stroke of a pen, firmly ablished himself as the most expensive cricketer in the world. And no mean feat, this is. Ketan Mistry in the latest cover story in Chitralekha unravels the mystery that is Mahendra Singh Dhoni and analyses the factors that led to his astounding success.

The legendary leader of South Africa Nelson Mandela who sought solutions to problems from Rugby had once famously said, ‘sports have the power to change the world’. We are not sure of the world but we can vouch for the fact that it has changed the world of one player, for sure: Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The flamboyant captain is an exceedingly popular player on the field so his clandestine marriage that was kept a secret all this while sent the electronic media into tizzy. And the fat ad contract for a whopping Rs 210 crore stunned the ad world. How it happened?

Rhiti Sports Management, a not-much-heard-about company joined hands with Mindscapes to sign Mahendra Singh Dhoni for a 3-year contract that ensures an annual income of Rs 70 crore. So if you are interested in making Dhoni a Brand Ambassador for your products, you have to first approach this company for negotiation before inking contract with him.

Having signed this excusive contract, Dhoni ended up being the most expensive cricketer in the world. Three years ago, Sachin had signed a similar 3-year contract for Rs 180 crore contract that got over in 2009. Now with the Rs 210 crore- contract in his kitty, Dhoni clearly surpassed the Master Blaster.

There were as many as nine companies vying to sign Dhoni, including Professional Management Group, Percept, World Sports, Purple People, but finally it was Dhoni’s long time buddy and founder of Rhiti Sports Management Arun Pandey who grabbed the award. Arun Pandey is an old pal and business associate of Dhoni and has played cricket with him in Bihar. Incidentally, it is the same Arun Pandey who is handling the portfolios of R P Singh, Harbhajan Singh and John Abraham.

The record-breaking ad contract was signed three days after Dhoni’s marriage on 4 July. So within a span of three days, the skipper and wicket keeper of Team India signed two life changing contracts.  However, as the contract was being formalized, one also heard an unconfirmed story that in fact it is Dhoni who has collaborated with Pandey to set up this venture so that he may not have to pay the mandatory commission to a contracting agency. Often, besides the commission, the agency also pockets the amount received in excess of what is contracted with the players. But if the company is your own, you have your cake and eat it too, without having to part with any share.

How the ad industry has reacted to Dhoni having walked away with such a fat contract? One of the experts says it all has to do with principle of demand and supply. The greater the demand, the greater the price one can extract. Dhoni is in exceptional demand of late and this explains the jaw-dropping price tag attached to him.

Elaborating this point, the industry watcher says that earlier there were quite a few players like Sachin, Dhoni, Saurav Ganguly, Dravid, Irfan Pathan, Yuvraaj Singh and so on and so forth. But gradually the long list was reduced to just two players: Sachin and Dhoni with others having been edged out either because of lackluster performance or perennial injury problem. There is one player who could have been in the reckoning and that is Gautam Gambhir but either because of his boyish looks, or lack of what is called mass appeal or for some inexplicable reasons, he is out of the race despite being a great player.

The story further peels off layer after layer from the enigmatic success called Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The story reads like any exciting and nail-biting ODI

Kings sans Kingdoms

One often wonders what do the kings of yesteryears do. What is their lifestyle? Do they live like the kings they once were? Can they live like the commoners they once ruled? Chitralekha offers an answer to this question through the story written by Bimal Maheshwari, Prakash Bambhrolia and Jignesh Kotecha.

Intriguingly, the recent suicide by a member of a royal family formed the basis of this story. What could have led the erstwhile royal member of Gondal to end his life? They say he suffered from depression. This king of the yesteryears was in possession of a plot of land which is said to have led to untimely deaths of whoever bought it. Ultimately, the controversial and ‘cursed’ piece of land may have cost its owner his life but this is all hearsay. There is however no denying that the unfortunate incident has fuelled rumours about the lifestyles of these kings, who have long ago lost their kingdoms.

There were 222 kingdoms in Saurastra and the story then traces the ancestors of the kings who ruled these kingdoms. It offers an interesting insight into the lifestyles of people about whom we know very little. And this is what makes the story worth a read.

The Deceptive World of Inspirational Books

We come across scores of self-motivational or positive thinking books and readers all over the world lap up whatever is offered by them. Kanti Bhatt in this perceptive story debunks the popular myth that these books can change one’s life. The author emphatically says that all such books flooding the market dupe the readers and it is highly unlikely that one can achieve success reading these books.

Describing this as a great American trap, the author says that if The Law of Success was as effective as it was advertised to be, how come the American soldiers had to beat the retreat from Vietnam? How come the Americans got trapped in the recession that has gripped America and greater parts of Europe? Ripping apart these books, the story convincingly makes its point that one can be successful but not necessarily by reading this stuff.

Apart from the above, the issue carries two more stories which deal with contemporary and interesting issues. As is now known, Rupee has finally got a symbol. This brief write up by Hiren Mehta tells us about Uday Kumar, who is the creator of the unique symbol of our money. The second story is about one Naranbhai Karangia who is so crazy and protective about peacocks that he takes extraordinary measures to protect this species.

The issue also carries Zalak, Cardiogram, Political & Humour columns, fresh chapter of serialized novel, Priyadarshini Section, Health Helpline, Jalsaghar and Mukhwas

Ishita’s Elchi

‘One who suffers from toothache can never be a philosopher....’ noted humorist Vinod Bhatt while consoling Ishita having an unbearable toothache.