Title: Notes From a Spanish Diary

Author: Ranjita Biswas

Publisher: Niyogi Books

Pages: 298

Price Rs 850

For some, being a traveler can be a tiring business. Forced by an automatic reflex, they are compelled to record in words everything they see; continuously making little scrolls of descriptions and burying them inside the numerous crevices of the brain, flagged with “stickies” as an aide memoire. The problem arises when he or she decides to make a book of it.

The book under review is a travelogue of Spain and as its author testifies in the preface, it is a “diary of sorts” and, also by her own admission, “insignificant perhaps, compared to great travel books by great travel writers”.

Leave out the “perhaps” and perhaps these are the most convincing words that author Ranjita Biswas writes in the book.

Trinidad-born, Oxford-educated V.S. Naipaul spun his trilogy on India out of a poor, recently-freed country and he had his sensibilities sharply tuned to the borrowed prissiness of the new elite and the nervousness of being left alone (by the British) of everyone else below them.

We have now here a book where the author — third world witnessing first world — finds nothing bad to write about in the country she is visiting, going on and on about how beautiful everything there is and doing it in dazed, arid, unidimensional prose, which never lifts off the page.

The book presents to the reader a series of undistinguished sights, recorded with an uncannily indiscriminating pair of eyes. She describes a church she visits in Barcelona as “beautiful”, another at another place as “fabulous”, a garden as “beautiful”, same garden as “beautifully tiered” in the next line, and so on, alternating between the two adjectives, leaning in favour of the former.

Elsewhere, at a house, she is introduced by a guide to “richly embellished” quarters with “fabulous” tiles in the room, complete with a “richly worked” balcony. The word “white” is seldom allowed without it being stalked by “pristine”. She has a neat way of describing buildings as “renaissance”, “baroque”, and “neo-classical”. If only we all were art history students.

She continues, for most part, in the same pastel-shade monotony — unless when some genuine work of art or nature takes her “breath away”, an occasion which happens often enough for one to notice.

Every time the author begins a new chapter with a new place she has visited — Cordoba, Barcelona, et al — the reader waits like a hungry supplicant at the door; all he gets is a faint echo of clanging promise wafting out as the mistress potters about.

To pad up the text, Biswas has written snatches of local history, peppered with interesting trivia related to local bandits, religious sects, artists (Picasso, Goya) and local cuisine. But while with one hand she laboriously sketches a scene out of the past, with the other she tends to ruin it with what seems like a childhand scrawling, the hard pressing of the pencil or colouring out of lines. Consider:

“In its heyday, Cordoba was the most modern city in Europe. Accounts say that the streets were well-paved, with raised sidewalks for pedestrians. During the night, the main streets were illuminated by lamps. This was much before capitals like Paris or London in Europe had the same privilege. Cordoba also had 900 public baths. The story goes that a Moor would go without bread rather than soap.”

Continuing, she writes, and this is the other hand at work: “All you out there, marketing teams of MNCs and creative teams in ad agencies, think of the market you’d have had those days selling personal products!”

Notice the exclamation sign. Stuck like an epitaph at the end of the paragraph.

The text drips with pop emotion — “call me a sentimental fool” she says once — and clichés and, after a point, one is no more interested in reading what seems like a 200-plus page brochure of a travel company.

The prose trundles on towards the quotidian. The author parades the magnificence of Spain before one’s eyes as cardboard floats on a tableaux, one after another in quick succession, hurling mute adjectives at this building or that statue, and fails to touch even once the viativ nerve of the reader who has spent an evening in the vain hope of eye-touching the hem of the fabled peninsula.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wished U-19 India coach Rahul Dravid on his 44th birthday.

Birthday greetings to cricketing legend Rahul Dravid

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 11, 2018

Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid is also referred as the ‘The wall’ of Indian cricket by the fans. Dravid is often regarded as one of the best batsmen of his time and is remembered for his calm and composure temperament on and off the field.

Rahul Dravid, fondly called ‘Jammy’, is one of those rare breed of batsmen, who never made a headline for the wrong reason. He is arguably the most selfless cricketer having a spotless career. After his retirement from the international cricket, Dravid was offered the position to coach Indian cricket team, but he turned it down and chose to nurture the young cricketers instead. Now, he is the coach of Under-19 Indian cricket team.

Rahul Dravid has played 164 Test matches, 344 One Day Internationals and one T20I for India. Dravid has 48 centuries to his credit and he is among the top 10 international players who have scored maximum number of centuries in all formats of the game.

Remaining cautious before the beginning of the quarterly earnings season, the key Indian equity market indices on Thursday opened flat.

The Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which had closed at 34,433.07 points on Wednesday, opened higher at 34,471.48 points.

Minutes into trading, it was quoting at 34,440.28 points, up by 7.21 points, or 0.02 per cent.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 51-scrip Nifty, which had closed at 10,632.20 points, was quoting at 10,631.15 points, down by 1.05 points or 0.01 per cent.

Two equity indices — Sensex and Nifty50 — slipped into red as investors turned cautious ahead of the start of the quarterly earnings result season on January 11.

According to market observers, broadly negative global cues and heavy selling pressure in consumer durables, auto and banking stocks added to the downward trajectory of the key indices.

The Sensex was down by 10.12 points or 0.03 per cent at the Wednesday’s closing.

In the day’s trade, the barometer 30-scrip sensitive index had touched a high of 34,565.63 points and a low of 34,311.63 points.

The Nifty too, was down by 4.80 points or 0.05 per cent.

On Thursday, Asian indices were mostly showing a negative trend.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading in red, down by 0.34 per cent, Hang Seng down by 0.08 per cent while South Korea’s Kospi was also down by 0.42 per cent.

China’s Shanghai Composite index was quoting in red, down by 0.30 per cent.

Nasdaq closed in red, down by 0.14 per cent while FTSE 100 was up by 0.23 per cent at the closing on Wednesday.

As the New Year is on us, there seems to be an emphasis on back-to-the-basics and healthy gluten-free products. There’ll be a resurgence of superfoods, the emergence of a ‘Better for You’ category of foods and even ingredients like seaweeds. Mixology will take on a whole new complexion.

Chef Shivan Khanna, listed his trends for 2018:

* Increased demand for hyper-local ingredients – guests are keen to try dishes which are made from locally-sourced ingredients because they help achieve superior taste quality, they benefit society at large and are also a sustainable method of procurement.

* Increased focus on health and wellness — there is a growing demand for gluten-free products and peop’e’s desire to cut back on white carbs is changing the way recipes are now being crafted.

* Resurgence of superfood — This trend also finds its way back to the increased focus on health and wellness. People want to consume more and more foods such as carobs or millets which are potent and packed with nutritional benefits.

* Emergence of ‘Better for You’ category of foods. In today’s environmentally conscious world, guests are looking for products which are neither harmful to the environment nor to their individual selves. This category includes ingredients which are cage free, pesticide free, free-range dairy products and the like

* Focus on plant-based protein – there has been a surge in vegetarianism over the past few years. As a result, there is now more interest in food made with plant-based proteins. Chefs are embracing ingredients such as tofu, quinoa, and tempeh (made using soy)

* More advanced methods of mixology – cocktails will see their own set of trends in 2018. We are expecting there to be an increased use of fresh ingredients and homemade mixes, as well as use of different methods of cocktail preparation like smoking and grilling. There is also expected to be a shift from to more flavorful spirits that have greater character like bourbon and rum

For Achal Aggarwal, Executive Chef, Hilton Chennai, the accent will be on green tea and pop-up restaurants

* Hotels may start serving green tea made with leaves. What we get is tea dust.

* Many dishes will have green tea as an ingredient owing to its health benefits.

* Star hotels may go for pop-up restaurants (restaurants that would change its cuisine every month – say Chinese one month, Indian the next and so on). Five star hotels have the infrastructure and manpower for this.

* Hotels will have more live counters as part of their buffet. Two benefits — it gives the customers the satisfaction of having freshly cooked food and hotels in turn can cut waste.

* Vegetarianism will gain further ground amongst people.

* Demand for exotic vegetables and dishes made with such vegetables would go up.

Chef Mangesh Hinge  had a rather different take.

* Seaweed: Seaweed is low in calories and is filled with nutrients, you can buy packaged seaweed and enjoy with your favorite dish.

* Goat meat, since it is much leaner than chicken and is lower in calories, saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol. A 100-gram portion of goat meat has about 122 calories, which is considerably less than pork’s 179 and chicken’s 162.

* Floral flavours: Edible petals is the upcoming trend which is making its way to common people’s kitchen from the high-end eateries. When infused in or cocktails, they have implausible health benefits, lowering high blood pressure, easing stomach aches, and potential to aid in weight loss.

Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang on Wednesday called on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here and briefed him on the demand of various state groups to defer the assembly elections in order to facilitate a solution to the seven-decade-old Naga insurgency.

The term of the 60-member Nagaland assembly expires on March 13, 2018, but at least nine pressure groups, including the powerful Naga Mother’s Association and Naga Hoho have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to defer the elections and impose President’s Rule in order to facilitate a peaceful solution to the insurgency.

Briefing Rajnath Singh on the popular demand for “Solution before Election” and postponement of the assembly elections, Zeliang noted that the central government was engaged with different Naga political groups – the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-I-M) and Working Committee of six Naga National Political Groups for early solution.

“It was the desire of the Naga people for a solution to be arrive at before the ensuing election,” Zeliang told the Home Minister.

In support of the groups demand, he submitted the resolution adopted by Nagaland Legislators Forum and parliamentarians and ex-parliamentarians on December 7, 2017 along with a copy of Nagaland Assembly resolution urging the central government to take emergent and extraordinary steps for an “honourable and acceptable solution” before the assembly election.

Rajnath Singh, meanwhile, reiterated that the government of India was serious on solving the Naga political issue.

He also promised Zeliang that he would convene a meeting on the demand of the Naga people and convey the outcome of the meeting to Nagaland government.

On August 3, 2015, the central government and the separatist group, the NSCN-IM signed the Framework Agreement to end the insurgency.

Last year, the government had also signed an agreement with a Working Committee comprising six Naga National Political Groups.

The NSCN-IM has been in talks with the government since 1997 after the signing of a ceasefire agreement.

An Indian-American investment banker has announced his plan to run for the US House of Representatives from a Congressional seat in Connecticut.

Harry Arora, 48, seeks to oust Democratic incumbent Jim Himes, who has represented the 4th Congressional District since January 2009.

Arora wants to have a Republican voice in the so called ‘Samosa Caucus’ — the informal group of Indian-Americans in the US House of Representatives.

Currently four Indian-Americans in the US House of Representatives — Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Pramila Jayapal — are from Democratic party.

Since 2012 Arora, who was born in India, has been a partner in Northlander Commodity Advisors, a London-based firm that specialises in energy trading. In 2006 he founded his own energy fund, ARCIM Advisors, after more than a decade on Wall Street including seven years at Enron, where he rose to the rank of vice president.

“My understanding of economics and policy framework will allow me to propose thoughtful policies to reverse the harm being inflicted by current policies. After a successful business career, I want to serve the public cause. I consider that my duty,” Arora said in a statement.

The Republican primary for the seat is scheduled for August 14. So far he is the only candidate from the party to enter the fray.

This would be Arora’s maiden attempt into electoral politics.

A month after the IOC banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics over doping concerns, hackers have released a set of emails related to the games set for February in South Korea.

The new leaks might be a retaliation for the decision taken in December 2017, to bar Russia from participating in the Games in Pyeongchang by the International Olympic Committee, online news portal BuzzFeed News said.

Hackers, reported to be associated with the Russian government, were calling themselves “Fancy Bears” – a trolling reference to the Games’ mascots.

On Wednesday, they published a handful of emails which date from late 2016 to spring 2017 and appear to be among IOC employees and third parties discussing the Russian doping conspiracy.

“These emails and documents point to the fact that the Europeans and the Anglo-Saxons are fighting for power and cash in the sports world,” the Fancy Bears posted. Some of the emails’ contents are encrypted.

The IOC neither commented on the post nor verified the authenticity of the emails but said: “we do not comment on leaked documents”.

According to cybersecurity firm ThreatConnect, a group with the same name “Fancy Bear” had used the same website and the same format to publish documents in 2016 that had been hacked from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in response to that agency’s finding that hundreds of Russian athletes had taken banned substances.

The group is said to be associated with Russian military intelligence.

WADA has not disputed the validity of any of the hacked documents previously attributed to the organisation, the report said.

In December 2017, citing evidence that the Russian government had created a state-sponsored doping scheme, the IOC banned the country from participating in the Winter Olympic Games.

However, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) had cleared national athletes for participation in the Games under the neutral status.

Japanese automakers Toyota and Mazda have announced an investment of $1.6 billion for their new joint manufacturing plant in US state of Alabama.

The plant, to be built in the city of Huntsville, is expected to open in 2021 and is capable of making 300,000 cars a year while creating up to 4,000 jobs, the two companies said on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corp., said he was confident that the plant would be a “built-in-America success story”.

The joint plant will be the company’s 11th US manufacturing facility and represents its continued commitment to the country.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey noted that the two companies’ plan “will expand innovative automotive manufacturing,” adding that “We are proud that this partnership puts Alabama on the forefront of technology in this dynamic global industry.”

Alabama is the fifth largest producer of cars and light trucks in the US. With more than 150 Tier one and two automotive suppliers as well as automakers, there are approximately 57,000 automotive manufacturing jobs in the state.

The two Japanese automakers announced in August that they would build a new joint plant in the US. In the fall out of the announcement, about a dozen of US states were in hot pursuit to win the project.

Toyota said the new plant had nothing to do with pressure from US President Donald Trump, who criticized the automaker in January last year for setting up a new plant in Mexico to make cars for the North American market.

Leading pugilists from 25 countries will be seen in action in the inaugural $100,000 Indian Open of Boxing to be held at the Thyagaraj Stadium New Delhi, from January 28 to February 1, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) announced on Wednesday.

Talking to media persons, at the launch of the Indian Open of Boxing along with the cast of upcoming Bollywood movie ‘Mukkabaaz’. in Delhi BFI president Ajay Singh said “We have the India Open for the first time in which 25 countries will take part t.” adding that four Indian teams across all 10 categories will take part in it.

“All the leading boxing nations like Cuba, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia have confirmed their participation “ he added

The gold medallists in the Indian Open will get $2,500 as prize money , the silver medallists will earn $1,000. The two bronze medallists in each category will receive by $500 each.

About the much awaited World Series of Boxing (WSB), ,the BFI chief said “We also have the World Series of Boxing (WSB) where India will be participating after a long gap. The home matches will be held on March 23 while the away matches will be in early February. We will be announcing the team very soon,” he said.

“We are also going to host the Elite women World Championships in November this year. Before that, we will have the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games,” he added.

Asked about the performance of Indian pugilists since the BFI took charge in September 2016,he admitted that there is still a lot to be achieved to turn the country into a boxing power house.”Boxing did not have an elected sports federation for many years. We have just had the BFI for the last one year. In this last one year, a lot of progress has been made. Indian boxers are winning medals across the world,” .

“We have coaching camps going on throughout the year in every category. We have an incredibly large number of championships that are being conducted.

“Recently, for the first time in our history, India conducted the Youth Women World Championship in Guwahati where our girls impressed with five gold and two bronze medals. Before this, India had just one bronze in the previous Women Youth Worlds. The world body AIBA said this was the best ever conducted championship, which was an incredible experience for us,”

The BFI president also made an passionate appeal to separate politics of every hue from sports as it has ruined many promising careers. Politics does not always means political inference, but playing politics with the careers of promising youngsters has different connotation”

Further elaborating he said “There is a lot of politics in sports… politics does keep a lot of sportspersons down and I think it’s a great shame and pity that in a country with 1.3 billion people we return from the Olympics with only two medals. This is a situation that really needs to be addressed and it can be done only when administrators are actually going to focus on the sports persons and not on themselves or the politics of the sport.”

Actress Kajol feels that the entertainment industry should be made tax free, however, she wants to leave the judgment on the government.

During the launch of Hindustan Unilever’s ‘Swachh Aadat Swachh Bharat’ campaign as a brand ambassador on Wednesday in Mumbai, Kajol was asked about her expectation from the Union Budget, which will be presented on February 1.

“That’s a very complicated question which I don’t know whether I have the expertise to discuss it. However, if you ask me, I ideally want entertainment industry to be completely tax-free. But, as it is not going to happen in my foreseeable future, I will leave it to the government to do what they see best,” said Kajol.

Asked about the 12 per cent tax levied by the government on sanitary napkins, the actor said the administration would decide what was best and she would refrain from commenting.

“As far as women’s sanitary napkins are concerned, there is a tax on milk, rice… So, I think the government will know what’s best and how it should be,” she said.

Nowadays, many top celebrities are coming forward to lend their support for various social causes and campaigns and Kajol feels that its a good move.

“I feel people need to stand up and talk about things. I don’t think that it would be a cause if there was no need for it,” she said.

“As far as celebrities are concerned, I think when I switch on television as a layman then I would definitely listen to what a celebrity is talking about and that is what I feel is the strong point of a celebrity that we easily get recognized and people admire us.

“That’s why people sometime listen to what we are saying and that’s why I also involved myself in this cause,” she added.

Kajol, who was last seen in “VIP 2”, will soon be back with a new project with her husband Ajay Devgn’s production.

At least five persons were injured in a fire that broke out at a plastic toy warehouse here in Usmanpur area on Thursday, a fire official said. The fire has been put out.

According to the Fire office, a call was received at 4.56 a.m. Four fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

“The fire that started from the ground floor soon spread to the first and second floor of the building,” he said, adding the fire was doused within one-and-a-half hours.

Five persons with minor burn injuries were shifted to Jag Prakash Hospital. The cause of the fire was yet known.

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday paid tributes to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 52nd death anniversary and said building up unity and solidarity among people is a major task.

“My tributes to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastriji on his death anniversary. Among the major tasks before us, none is of greater importance for our strength and stability than the task of building up the unity and solidarity of our people,” Gandhi tweeted.

“Among the major tasks before us, none is of greater importance for our strength and stability than the task of building up the unity and solidarity of our people.”

My tributes to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri ji on his death anniversary. pic.x.com/5SYvcA6sWP

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) January 11, 2018

Shastri, who was India’s second Prime Minister, was born in 1904 in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and served in the office between June 1964 and January 1966.

He died on January 11, 1966 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a day after signing the Tashkent Declaration, reportedly due to cardiac arrest.

Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, whose achievements on the field are no less than a legend, turned 45 on Thursday (January 11). Dravid is also referred as the ‘The wall’ of Indian cricket by the fans. Dravid is often regarded as one of the best batsmen of his time. He is also equally appreciated for his calm and temperament on and off the field.

Rahul Dravid is one of those rare breed of batsmen, who never made a headline for the wrong reason. He is arguably the most selfless cricketer having a spotless career. After his retirement from the international cricket, Dravid was offered the position to coach Indian cricket team, but he turned it down and chose to nurture the young cricketers instead. Now, he is the coach of Under-19 Indian cricket team.

Rahul Dravid had played 164 Test matches, 344 One Day Internationals and one T20I. Dravid has 48 centuries to his credit and he is among the top 10 international players who have scored maximum number of centuries in all formats of the game.

Here are some of the Tweets that depicts people’s love for Rahul Dravid:

13,288 Test runs
10,889 ODI runs
48 international centuries
1 legendary career

Happy Birthday Rahul Dravid! pic.x.com/R1kdkFQH5w

— ICC (@ICC) January 11, 2018

Commitment, Consistency, Class. Here’s wishing a very Happy Birthday to Former #TeamIndia Skipper Rahul Dravid #HappyBirthdayDravid pic.x.com/FTgk1SjdT9

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 11, 2018

Happy birthday, Rahul Bhai. A thorough gentleman who taught us the meaning of commitment and sacrifices. Getting my ODI and Test caps from you will always hold a special place in my heart.
Hope the boys make you proud in the upcoming U-19 World Cup. #HappyBirthdayDravid pic.x.com/f9JqYvhn82

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) January 11, 2018

To my all time favourite , #HappyBirthdayDravid ! The perfect gentleman on and off the game! pic.x.com/vwxG9jbgCK

— Karishma Singh (@karishmasingh22) January 11, 2018

A former #Indian cricketer & a former captain, #RahulDravid is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. Hailed as #TheWall, best wishes to @Im_Dravid on his birthday today.#HappyBirthdayDravid pic.x.com/cywx6x3TSP

— Dr. C.P. Joshi (@drcpjoshi) January 11, 2018

13288 Test , 10899 ODI runs.
Often overlooked 2 overseas Test series wins as captain: WI (2006), Eng (2007).
Class & steel. #HappyBirthdayDravid pic.x.com/VRNUtFqeXj

— LoGaN (@itzhari24) January 10, 2018

Some of the great quotes of @bhogleharsha on Rahul Dravid #HappyBirthdayDravid pic.x.com/Bo0p2VYWvY

— BOBBEY (@iamsrktheking) January 10, 2018

Go minimalistic when shopping for a jewellery piece as a gift for daughters or brides. Go for American diamond earrings so that they don’t just end up in a locker and consider customised pieces, suggest experts.

Radhika Jain, designer at MiRa and Aakash Barmecha, CEO, Yoube Jewellery have listed a few ideas:

* Material: Daughters and brides of this age have ditched the old jewellery trend of buying gold. They prefer more of silver lining like diamonds or platinum or the new trend of rose gold. Now they are choosing the kind of material which looks elegant, can be worn on regular basis and not just kept in lockers.

* Earrings: Diamond earrings with some metals used will look good on the daughter/ bride of all age. Brides today are opting for imitation jewellery or going for American diamonds for the wedding season, as they can be worn for the different occasions rather than being kept in locker.

* Rings: Thin-layered rings or multi-layer rings fit best for any occasion. Rings can be worn on a daily basis which can remind the daughter/bride about you always.

* Bracelets: Customise bracelets with an initial or small design showcasing love is another best gifting option. Bracelets which are minimal in look are gaining a lot of popularity. They look classy and stylish which can go with traditional as well as western attire for any occasion.

* Necklace: Women are increasingly wearing artificial jewellery or costume jewellery. They prefer going for choker-style necklaces.

Former South African allrounder Lance Klusener says Hardik Pandya has the makings of a fantastic all-round asset for India.

Pandya had scored 93 off 95 balls and took 2-27 in the Proteas’ second innings to single-handedly keep India in contention on day two of the first Test here.

“I thought his knock in India’s first innings was fantastic. His batting was excellent in the way he reversed pressure and put it back on South Africa. He is going to be fantastic for India. He is still developing and I think if he could add another yard of pace to his bowling, he would become a truly amazing all-rounder,” Klusener told PTI.

In a short span of time in international cricket, Pandya has established himself as a regular in the team. His record in limited-overs cricket has been excellent with both the bat and the ball. In Tests, he now has a century and two fifties.

“All the signs are there that he is developing into a fantastic all-round prospect. Sure, he is bound to fail a few times the way he plays, but it is better to encourage that positive approach than reel him in.

“So, he is in good company, whether he plays for Mumbai Indians in IPL or in this Indian team, he is surrounded by a lot of good people. It is their responsibility to nurture him,” he added.

The all-rounder’s heroics though couldn’t save India from a disappointing loss at Newlands. Despite triggering a South African collapse in the second innings, the visitors failed to chase down a paltry 208-run target.

It is to be noted that India opted out of the solitary practice game before this Test series. Klusener didn’t agree with this approach.

“Look, it is always good to have a practice game under your belt. If India were touring in the sub-continent, then it wouldn’t be the end-of-the-world if they didn’t play a practice game before the tour. But for them to come to South Africa, it would have been nice for them to have the practice game in foreign conditions.

“If the shoe was on the other foot, and South Africa were touring India, they would have played at least one practice game to get used to sub-continental conditions,” he said.

He said there were lessons to be learnt from the defeat in the series opener.

“India can take a lot of learning from that first Test loss. It could have been a lot worse to be honest if Pandya didn’t play that excellent knock and scored those 90-odd runs.

I think that is a learning point for India in how they can turn this around. They need to be pro-active and take the pacers’ challenge head on,” he added.

Vernon Philander picked up career-best 6-42 in India’s second innings, and the visitors struggled in seaming conditions. South African coach Ottis Gibson has further thrown the gauntlet stating that Centurion and Wanderers (venues for next two Tests) will present greater challenges despite Dale Steyn’s absence.

“You expect to be battered with pace when you come to South Africa. Look at their team selection they played four pacers that in itself is a message from the Proteas. It was always going to be a challenge for India especially after they had just played Sri Lanka.

“That series went by in home conditions without the Indian batsmen playing any real fast bowling. Yes, they fought hard in this Test but lost chasing a small total, and this should be extremely disappointing for them,” said Klusener.

He was full of praise for the Indian bowling though.

“When you compare them to South Africa’s pace attack, they do lack a bit of pace, bowling in the mid-130s. But what I found remarkable was that they immediately hit the perfect length for South African conditions. It was similar to the lengths Philander was bowling.

“In the past, we have seen Indian pacers come here and get carried away with bounce and carry. This time they have obviously spoken about bowling fuller lengths and it was excellent to see them executing their plans very well,” said the Man of the tournament in the 1999 World Cup.

When asked about how the Indian batsmen should play Philander going ahead, the Zimbabwean batting coach said, “To a bowler of that pace, you have to stand out of the crease and force him to alter his lengths.

“You need to stand at least half a meter outside the crease, if not a full meter, and force Vernon Philander to bowl shorter lengths at you. You have to take the game to him and be proactive. If you stay in your crease and try to play him, you will be in trouble all day.”

The visitors have only ever won 2 out of 18 Tests on South Africa soil, so they have their work cut out if Kohli aspires to win a series here.

“I will be honest with you. I don’t see India winning this Test series. I don’t see them winning two Tests on the bounce. Maybe they can win and draw. Coming from 1-0 down, 1-1 will be a good result for them. But to do that, they need to work to a plan.

“South Africa are a good team with good pacers. India’s only chance is if they can get a big score on the board,” Klusener signed off.

Working with countries like India, Russia and China is a good not bad thing, US President Donald Trump said today.

He was responding to criticism of his desire to improve relationship with Moscow.

“Working with countries, whether it’s Russia or China or India, or any of the countries that surround this world and encompass this world, is a very good thing. That’s not a bad thing,” he told reporters at a joint White House news conference with Prime Minister, Norway, Erna Solberg.

Trump said he was for strongest military, massive oil and gas and a lot of energy. “Putin (Russian President Vladimir Putin) can’t love that,” he added.

Trump said it was “very much better” having to do with North Korea where the US currently has a problem.

“That should have never been my problem. It should have been a problem solved many years ago when it was much less dangerous. But it was given to him, along with a big mess of other things,” he noted.

He blamed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his presidential rival in 2016 elections, saying she “was not was not for a strong military”.

“Hillary, my opponent, was for windmills, and she was for other types of energy that don’t have the same capacities at this moment certainly,” he said.

Trump said it was a “lot better” to work with other countries.

“We’re working with China on North Korea. We’re working with various other countries, and I think we’re doing very well. We had a great talk, as you know and as you reported.

“We had a great talk this morning with President Moon (of South Korea), and I think that a lot of good things are happening. We’re going to see what happens,” the US president said.

Solberg said Norway has a “very good” relationship with Russia.

“As a neighbouring country we do day-to-day work on things that we have to solve for the people and the economic activity that is in that area, which is a fragile area for the whole world,” she said.

Norway share border with Russia.

Responding to a question on allegations of Russian interference in elections in European countries, Solberg said her government has found no such evidence in Norway.

“I think that it’s up to every political system and countries to scrutinise and discuss their own political agenda in their countries. And I respect that very much and that this is an issue for American politics,” she said.