Gandhiji's 3 monkeys are the reflection of HUmanity. Their main messsage being - See no Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil. This famous porcelain paperweight Mahatma Gandhi kept by his bedside, spoke volumes and volumes of how man should conduct himself.
They let neither unhappy word nor evil sight enter in or wander out. Every so often, the real world tries to storm its way past the monkeys. Then, by the simple action of slam shut, the din dies down the monkeys signal the all-clear for life to resume - Truthfully!
But today , the World that surrounds us is a pathetic excuse for the truth. Dont even get me started on topics like corruption, red tapism, corruption and media hype.
Besides all that there's a new evil thats hounding the young and old of our country alike.
Its called "Commercial Cricket".
With the risk of being shouted at, outcast and even hated by most, ive always been against this so called "True Indian"Game. And here's my share to the outburst!
Its slightly demeaning if you tell me that busy indians have nothing to do other than count balls and runs. Its even more untrue if you tell me that unless I like the game im not a true Indian. We all know how bias the media community in India is when it comes to cricket, other games are perpetually overshadowed.
One cannot understand why there is hulabullo over a game that 's no longer a gentleman's game.. or was it ever? Had it been a gentleman's game, we would have seen some sports man ship and not management by bookies. Had it been a gentleman's game, our players would resign rather than acting as victims of circumstances.
It is a game that has broken many homes created severe scuffles, domestic discord and distracted the young from concenterating on their exams and work. Its a game today that has changed the indian diaspora to such an extent that sometimes I wonder if we know our priorities!!
Its not gonna break up my home.. thats for sure. Cuz luckily neither me nor My love AMmu even like the game. We'd rather watch a really bad bollywood movie and be less tortured!! :)
Love for the game, and patriotism in the name of sport is fine by me, But when it converts to mania, mass hysteria and pshycopathic addiction thats when u know its time for an outcry!
And Today my happiness knows no bounds when I know that INDIA isnt goign to be in the world cup anymore! YAY! I am truly thrilled. Simply because now kids will do better in their exams, office goers will go to work on time and husbands will pay attention to their wives!!
Hooray to Gandhiji's MOnkeys - Hooray to Indian Cricket Team who lost the match and came back! Yay!
18 comments:
LOL... I'm no longer a big fan of cricket and so it's easy for me to agree with you. :)
How's the (radio) station been ? :-)
a nice post deriving from what is otherwise an insipid fwd.
personally, i dont find cricket very interesting unless it's a cliffhanger match, and the excitement is very little compared to the entire DAY spent in watching the game, as opposed to watching hockey, or football for an hour and a half, and getting all worked up even if you don't know who is playing who.
India and Pakistan should start playing more exciting games. I think an indo-pak football match might really get the adrenaline rushing, and patriotism overflowing. what say?
Well well well... Finally someone stands up and accepts it. Good work Bro. I am happy you speak for a lot of people who do not like cricket in its current state. People who have, over time, stepped out of watching the game and started looking at all the stuff that goes behind it.
I am sure you will agree that all you speak about are external factors and that they have nothing to do with the sport. The reason you react the way you do is because cricket affected you at sometime. It disappointed you at sometime. It disghusted you at sometime.
But you know what... Its not cricket. Its not the sport. Its the outside elements that are attached to cricket in India. At one time i thought endorsements were the issue. But they are not. The issue is not that our cricketers have too many ad shoots or too many public appearences that they end up not performing. The issue is the under lying and ever expanding control of the politics in the sport. Indian cricket is a victim of the politics that goes on. And if you tell me that our cricketers add to it or are the ones who start the political game then you are mistaken. Its all an outside source.
Why does someone outside the team get to decide which player is to get selected??
There can be a system of selection based on performance for everyone across the country, taking the country as one instead of breaking it up into all the states that players represent and ensuring that the team consists of players from all zones.
Why does someone outside the team decide which player is to be dropped??
There could be a calculated system which decides this.
Why is there a captain if he is to only lead the team on the field??
A capatin can only lead a team which he believes in. Not one which he is asked to believe in.
The outsiders are the ones deciding everything for our team. The ones that matter are not even given a chance. This has been happening for sometime now. And i strongly feel that when people turn negative towards the sport like you have it affects the players and the sport. It doesn't even brush past the ones who are causing harm. The bookies, the so called 'selection committee', the press... Everyone is responsible. Just as i think, you are too. And in some way i am too.
The team that went this time to the world cup was by far the best we could have sent. I also believed that if we didn't make it happen this time then i don't know when we could. I was disappointed. But you know Anjaan... The players did what they could under the given circumstances. The sport was just as it could be under the given circumstances.
In the last world cup, India started off similarly. At that time there were people who spoke just like you. But when they began performing well and moved up everything changed. And then it was INDIA all the way. But when they lost the finals the way they did it was all back to normal. A lot of people spoke about our cricketers like they didn't know how to play the sport. If one team wins, the other loses. Its a part of the game. You need to treat the players like how you would treat your son if he did the same. Win some and lose some.
I still support my TEAM INDIA.
I still support the game.
Cudn't agree more with u Anjaan! I too am no BIG fan of cricket!
Rashmi
Love this post. It's so very true..cheers
I swear I had a point to make..But I'm quite overwhelmed at the Bhoo's (whoever he/she is, god bless him/her)oversized comment..It's almost as large as your entry:P
Anyway, will call when I remember what I had to say...
I was so upset when we lost that match to Bangladesh that it took all my courage no to cry.
Yes, i reacted in a similar way to you, Anjaan, at the beginning. Not that i said it isn't a gentleman's game etc etc. I just reacted in disgust.
But never ever will i give up on the game. or our team. Bhoo is right. we have the best team in the world. and there is no point in saying we have an 'old' team. we actually have the youngest avg age. that is 28. did you know that the Australian team averages 34??
No. the problem is inherent in the selection process, and to some extent in the now familair "chaltha hai" attitude that we just ca'nt seem to get rid of.
If anything, I support our team even more now.
I too still support my TEAM INDIA.
I too still support the game.
hey there...how are you? how is life?
i will be going to a Paul Varghese show tonight...will write about it soon...
very well written...
and finally , we all live in peace..without cricket..well me too like football more than cricket..
nice post!! well if it's not cricket.. its some other sport.. which makes the world go crazy :)
Here's my share .. adding to the unending debates on who / why / what .....
The commercial cricket that you see is a creation of mass hysteria. It is the media that has sent thpublic into a tizzy,th the numerous interviews and "Good luck" campaigns. We nver did have a tem that was good enough to win the WC. I distinctly remember Rahul Dravid , in an interview, when asked "If you win ..sorry.. When , not you win the WC, who would you attribute it to ? " ... and he said "I think it would be good to just have a good tournament".
THAT is all the moderates expected the team to do. A gracious win over Pakistan, and the country would've been happy...forgiven for having come back w/o reaching the semis.
I completely agree with Bhoo.. the "denouncers" of commercial cricket are reacting this way because they have felt letdown, by a tm that promised to conquer the world.
The truth is - they did not. We worked ourselves into a frenzy and reated and started believing in the illusion that we had created ourselves, so much that we lost track of reality.
The aftermath has indeed been an eye opener. Theras absolutely NO covereage of Sachin Tendulkar on his b'day .. just a tribute to the great man who has goven us so much o cheer about. There are no ads of cricketers endorsing products that they might never use in their lifetime. Television viewing has gotten a lot more pleasant.
It is NOT the game that is at fault. It is the people ha run it. It is the people that market it. It is the people that watch it.
It is not worth spending so much time on the fortunes of Sachin or Saurav. I'd rather watch malinga take a 4-in4 , or Matty Hayden's blitzkreig.
The game is bigger than individuals. The game is bigger than countries. I STILL love cricket.
I'm So glad This season of cricket madness is finally Over. NO more betting in office cubicles, No more wives cheating on their husbands cuz they dont get enough time with them, NO more kids flunking badly cuz of too much cricket on TV! No more mass hysteria!
(Sigh If only the above was true.. isnt that 20/20 thing coming up sometime soon? lol)
A huge Thanx for everyone for the posts / comments / semi Blogs!
Thanx for dropping by and ur opinons bring about the myriad nature of this topic
Keep visiting! :)
..you don't need to watch a bad bollywood flick. watch spiderman three instead. you'd hanker for some cricket, i guarantee.
and, i know this is a late comment.. but ah well, c'est la vie!
you sounded a little like george orwell- somewhere in between your piece. thank you for not liking the game,i rarely meet people who dont like the game and are bold enough to say it to someone's face. it's irritating, not just sitting through the entire stretch of one game (i think its the game with the longest duration ), but also to sit around people who can talk about it non-stop!
wonderful picture.
Try;u speaks a thousand words.
LOL! Talk about a picture that speaks a thousand words
Does that mean
**the monkey with the ears closed, can speak and see evil, the one speak no evil monkey can look and hear evil, and the last one can hear and talk evil?? **
He didnt say anything about that did he????
Thats the monkey in all of us...reach out to what we dont have...
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