This is a rant about a couple of recent events that deeply moved me.
It started off on a lazy afternoon at work when I found a colleague nervously looking at his laptop screen and frantically refreshing the browser. I asked him what was going on, and he said - "Dude, I'm really excited. Sachin's on fire today. He's already hit 150, and I have a strong feeling he's going to get 200 today!"
I replied, "What the hell are we doing here then? Let's head to the Cafeteria!" So we went and got ourselves good seats in front of the TV in the Cafeteria. There was already a small crowd there that included amongst others, the CIO of our company. Looking at him, I thought, 'If he's here, no one's going to question us about not being at work!'
Slowly the crowd built up as Sachin inched closer to the magic figure, the excitement in the air was growing. Our small cafeteria was already bulging with over 60 people watching earnestly. Every Sachin run was cheered and one of the loudest cheers was when he crossed 194, offering redemption for a lot of us who still have nightmares of that day when Saeed Anwar went ballistic. No surprise when every Dhoni six was booed, I'm sure the Indian captain was having a little fun being the footnote of one of the greatest innings ever.
As Sachin knocked a single to reach his 200, the collective cheer in our little cafeteria was echoed around the country as millions of people celebrated this occasion. I am not a big fan of cricket nowadays but I was proud to have witnessed this great innings by the one of the greatest sportsmen of our generation.
Fast forward a few days, I was at the Dhyanchand stadium for the Hockey world cup. I watched 3 matches - Australia vs Spain, Pakistan vs South Africa, and finally India vs England. After an entertaining couple of matches, we all waited eagerly for the Indian match to start.
The stadium which was half empty half an hour before the match quickly filled up and more than 20000 fans eagerly waited for the match to commence. The line-ups were announced, and the players strode on to the pitch for the pre-match ceremony. First the English anthem was played as all the fans stood up to pay respect. Then, one of the most goose-bumpy (if that's a word!) incidents happened to me that day.
As the Indian national anthem was played, 20000 fans sang along creating one of the memorable experiences I've ever had. Singing along to the national anthem with full pride in our great nation and total support for our boys on the field, I felt a thrill that I have experienced very few times before. As the national anthem ended and we all took our seats, I could not stop smiling at the fantastic moment that I had just experienced.
The downside to the match was that India lost, but that day, I'm sure that every one of the 20000 fans in the stadium were fully behind the Indian team cheering every play of the match.
The point to this rant is that Sport gives you such moments, when despite all the differences in our nation - religion, language, caste, creed - we get behind our national team. We cheer whole-heartedly for our nation. We celebrate sporting greatness no matter which background or from where the person playing the sport belongs to.
We love Leander Paes, a Christian, for all his grand slams. We cheer Sania Mirza, a Muslim, every time she steps on to the tennis court. We celebrated Harbhajan Singh, a Sikh's hat-trick because he is an Indian. The little master, Sachin is loved by every person in the country, be it a Hindu, Muslim, Punjabi, Telugu, Brahmin, or any of the other castes in the country.
Recently when Sachin Tendulkar had the gall to take on the MNS and say that Mumbai belongs to everyone, he had to face the ire of these ill-informed activists. But little did they realize that as much as Sachin thinks Mumbai belongs to everyone in the country, the country believes that Sachin belongs to us all. If you take on Sachin, we will take you on. You better be prepared to face our wrath!
A lot of people worry about the differences of the nation hampering our growth. But I ask, what differences? When India plays any sport, do we not support every person of the team? Aren't we all behind the team no matter if a Hindu/Muslim/Christian is the captain?
I recently told a friend that although I am not a big fan of cricket, I am grateful for it. It plays a great role in doing what the best of politicians have struggled to do.
Sport has this effect. It unites people.
If I had a say in this government, I would greatly increase the budget for all sports in the country. Not just cricket, but football, hockey, tennis, badminton.... heck, even croquet and logrolling!
It'll definitely do our nation a world of good :-)
3 comments:
amen to that! wish i was there for that hockey match "inside" the stadium!
Very true bro.... Sports will def do out nation a world of good !!!!!
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