We might've recently seen news bytes involving a certain 'power-play' by a leading cricket team to a very important person as far as Indian cricket concerned. Lets just call the team Z and the person A.
There has been a whole lot of brouhaha over this, what with leading media personalities and sportsmen alike coming forward and stating that this is very irresponsible behaviour on part of the Z team and they should show more respect for Indian cricket, especially for its top brass.
By showing disrespect and literally pushing off Mr A, they feel, the Z team acted like a bunch of ruffians with no idea of class. The media attached a colonial angle to this, taking it is a post-independence domination of the fair skin and it became a matter of national pride. Certain sections were even quoted as saying, that the Z team has offended Indian pride as a whole.
I've been to places where people push each other for very important reasons... some of these include,
1) The local cinema hall, where people don't know about the idea of a queue and promptly push each other all for the idea of purchasing a ticket worth in most cases 3- 40 rupees. I've learnt a lot about shear forces from these queues.
2) Our cycle stand, where (in the good old days when I really did own a cycle) cycles would keep getting pushed down because someone decided to stuff his/her own transport machine between two more trying as best as possible to stretch the definition of the phrase 'cycle gap'.
3) In super market halls where I simply fail to understand how waiting in a few queue for five minutes longer will spoil the day of certain people. I mean, everyone else is there to buy things too. If there were really in trouble, they should've come early or asked someone else to come in their place.
4) Our very own cafeteria right opposite my hostel when at certain times of the day, it is almost impossible to buy a cup of coffee because seven or eight more people are breathing down your neck, running their hands through odd regions of your body in a effort to reach the front desk and show the shop keeper that they have 5 rupees and hence deserve purchase rights for the world's most addictive beverage. A queue in this area? If I were to suggest to my friend's they would laugh at me, but thats just how our psyche is I guess, we laugh at this basic habit. Such a queue would be compulsory where I used to live in the Gulf
And so on.
It is indeed sad that we play into the hands of the media. The media in addition, in keeping with its policies keeps sensationalising every single news item, ordinary or extra-ordinary. Alright, granted, Mr A is a very important person and its a matter of pride that he is not pushed. But seriously though, about 12 countries in the world actually play cricket. In the 150 odd, most people wouldnt even know who the captain of Z is. And even most people in the 12 countries wouldnt know who Mr A is! So is it really important?
I understand the team acted badly. But they did apologise. Let's leave it at that.
We might argue that our national pride is at stake. I'm very happy we have pride in our country. But, let us ask ourselves, we push in cinema halls, throw down vehicles, don't stop in the road when a vehicle attempts to cross in the perpendicular lane, push and jostle each other in metro rails and a plethora of other places. Will our pride be lowered if we follow some ettiquette and try to avoid these things within ourselves instead of harping on about how some foreign team players pushed one of our own.
Mr A has said the right thing by being a sport, saying its a small matter and that the media is simply blowing up an honest mistake. The Z team has apologised personally saying it was a brash break of protocol and they should have been more responsible. That was good. Let's hope they don't repeat it. However, I have to say that I was honestly disappointed when I saw pictures of the 'followers' of Z burning effigies of the team and portraying them as species of the asinine variety. Made me feel real bad that THIS is where we are after 60 odd years of independence. Still I dont know the full story and am young so I probably have to learn.
>> Berhael
powered by performancing firefox
powered by performancing firefox
Posts
