The day the IPL fixing reports came out, I had my heart broken. There was something wrong with the world at that moment and faith in humanity was waning. I tuned in to watch the news. As usual, Arnab was reaching his crescendo and the noise was unbearable. My favorite TV personality Rajdeep Sardesai was running a very clean debate and as much as it hurt me, I keenly listened to the details. The cricket world was entering its darkest hour.
I thought I was fortunate to see some of India's greatest cricket moments. Sachin lifting the World Cup; that day I knew the whole country celebrated with me. Dravid and Laxman outplayed the Aussies on one of the finest Indian cricketing days; I know the whole world applauded along with me. Then now I am seeing this as well. All this only reenforces my belief that we don't deserve the likes of Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and many others. Well, that discussion is for another day!
What interested me the other day was Harsha Bhogle's excellent insight into this that got me thinking. He said "IPL is just a microcosm of the world outside". So true, isn't it? After all, IPL is nothing but a mirror image of the world outside. Money, girls and a farce. And people keep cheering, year after year. Therefore, some people might question why concentrate on the IPL fiasco when there are 'important' things (read government,economy etc.) to worry about. IPL is afterall a tamasha isn't it?
But why is it so personal for us?
Think about all the factors which can possible unite a nation. Government? Ok, no jokes. Religion? That is the last thing it would do. It is Sport which does that. Cricket does that for India. When Sachin drives one through the covers, every Indian celebrates. When Dravid slowly but surely kills a bowling attack, every Indian thanks the higher spirit. Every Hindu, Muslim and Christian does it. Then there is Laxman who toyed around with the world's best bowling attack for a whole day. Caste, creed, age did not get matter during the celebration. If you look at this, an entire nation is captivated by the sport. In India especially, cricket is a religion and this scandal has hit our gods.
It is a known fact that a sport can life the spirit of an entire nation. Like in the movie Cinderella Man where James J. Braddock lifts an entire nation deep in economic depression, cricket is more than just a television event for most of Indians. When Sachin walks into bat, he is not just living his dream. He is walking in to bat for a billion souls. When Ganguly dances down the pitch, it is not just him who lofts the bowler for a six. Somewhere in Bengal, a thousand hearts dance at the same time.
Amidst all the rot in the society, cricket was one thing which was sacred where the fairy tale could still be lived. India winning the World Cup was indeed a fairy tale. Your life might be bad, you salary might be a joke and you a joke to your wife. But the sport always gives you hope. It gives you the belief that dreams can be achieved no matter what. And this has been hit. A sword dipped in the poison called greed has been plunged deep into the heart of this nation, and I don't know how we will recover. This might be a few crores which has exchanged hands, but for me this is worse than all the other scams. You have taken away something sacred from us. This is nothing but sacrilegious.
But some may say, the writing was on the wall. Well, hearts are always broken in love stories.
I thought I was fortunate to see some of India's greatest cricket moments. Sachin lifting the World Cup; that day I knew the whole country celebrated with me. Dravid and Laxman outplayed the Aussies on one of the finest Indian cricketing days; I know the whole world applauded along with me. Then now I am seeing this as well. All this only reenforces my belief that we don't deserve the likes of Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and many others. Well, that discussion is for another day!
What interested me the other day was Harsha Bhogle's excellent insight into this that got me thinking. He said "IPL is just a microcosm of the world outside". So true, isn't it? After all, IPL is nothing but a mirror image of the world outside. Money, girls and a farce. And people keep cheering, year after year. Therefore, some people might question why concentrate on the IPL fiasco when there are 'important' things (read government,economy etc.) to worry about. IPL is afterall a tamasha isn't it?
But why is it so personal for us?
Think about all the factors which can possible unite a nation. Government? Ok, no jokes. Religion? That is the last thing it would do. It is Sport which does that. Cricket does that for India. When Sachin drives one through the covers, every Indian celebrates. When Dravid slowly but surely kills a bowling attack, every Indian thanks the higher spirit. Every Hindu, Muslim and Christian does it. Then there is Laxman who toyed around with the world's best bowling attack for a whole day. Caste, creed, age did not get matter during the celebration. If you look at this, an entire nation is captivated by the sport. In India especially, cricket is a religion and this scandal has hit our gods.
It is a known fact that a sport can life the spirit of an entire nation. Like in the movie Cinderella Man where James J. Braddock lifts an entire nation deep in economic depression, cricket is more than just a television event for most of Indians. When Sachin walks into bat, he is not just living his dream. He is walking in to bat for a billion souls. When Ganguly dances down the pitch, it is not just him who lofts the bowler for a six. Somewhere in Bengal, a thousand hearts dance at the same time.
Amidst all the rot in the society, cricket was one thing which was sacred where the fairy tale could still be lived. India winning the World Cup was indeed a fairy tale. Your life might be bad, you salary might be a joke and you a joke to your wife. But the sport always gives you hope. It gives you the belief that dreams can be achieved no matter what. And this has been hit. A sword dipped in the poison called greed has been plunged deep into the heart of this nation, and I don't know how we will recover. This might be a few crores which has exchanged hands, but for me this is worse than all the other scams. You have taken away something sacred from us. This is nothing but sacrilegious.
But some may say, the writing was on the wall. Well, hearts are always broken in love stories.
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