“Ma, come and see this. ”
- That was a call from my 14 year old who was watching TV. Knowing very well, what
he was watching and my lost interest in that, I dismissed his call. He called
out again, “ “Amma, don’t miss this historical moment, do come and watch”.
Historical? Or is it hysterical?
I did’nt tell him, but
told that to myself.
As a subscriber to newspaper, newschannel and a few books, I
was annoyed with the media, print and electronic and even the public for building news only about him in the past few days. No other news was given more prominence not even Anand-Carlsen match.
Almost every other media, talked about this so called GOD.
He was brilliant alright, but GOD?!
No ways, mortals like me don’t understand. I too have been a
huge fan of cricket during my school days but don’t understand the love and
adulation by the media and his fans to raise him to the pedestal of god. I have
seen how his fans reacted the moment he came on ground on his 38th
birthday. I was witness to this event. Like I have written in that post, more
than the game, I was watching how crazy the fans were of him. Although it was a
match between MI and DC of hyderabad, the locals supported him .
Since I had no interest in the game anymore, neither was I a
fan of ‘GOD’, god particle or whatever. I was least interested to watch his retirement
, what some call as ‘end of an era’ .
But then, for my son’s sake, I walked over to watch the TV and yes, his
thanksgiving speech moved me and made me emotional too. The crowd reacted the
same way that I saw some 2 years ago on his
38th birthday.
His body language showed what a fine human being he is. The
words struck like genuine . Rare are the people who remember their mentors and
makers. And here was the man who mentioned everyone in his speech and he did’nt
even spare the pitch. The speech struck
an emotional chord with me too.
I was a huge fan of cricket in my teens, not anymore. I won’t
raise Sachin to the pedestal of God but….
he definitely seems like a fine humble human from his
farewell speech.
Put your fan following to good use, Sachin! Happy retirement!!
here I agree with you fully, he is indeed great but the 'God' title is I think, a bit too much. His speech was very moving and so was his emotional farewell, that was just so grand!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ankita. yes, a moving speech and a grand farewell worthy of his achievement.
DeleteI am not a fan of cricket, and I hate when media, keeps on and on about people like Sachin, and they keep showing the same footage again and again. Enough is enough, even cricket lovers would have been bored to death by now.
ReplyDeleteIf i were Sachin, I would request the media to stop this nonsense, and focus on other equally interesting sports news.
It is not his fault, it is the TV, that hypes up everything beyond tolerance level.
True Rama. It is totally media hype perhaps to boost their circulation may be.
DeleteEven I was a cricket fan in my teens.The heroes of those days were Pataudi, Vijay Hazare and Mankad. There was no TV so all the time we were glued to transistors. I can relate to Sachin's hero worshipers.
ReplyDeletePataudi was a charismatic model. Have seen him in advts. vinoo mankad, vijay hazare, and some names like farookh engineer, nari contractor. Not sure, though if they were cricketers have heard them in the same vein. Thank you, ma'am.
DeleteSachin is a great player. Nice human being. That is all. He got paid lot of money for playing great cricket. In the past, tennis players were not allowed to participate on behalf of the country (Davis Cup) or in international tournaments if they become “professionals”. Players like Ramanathan Krishnan and Premjit Lal remained “non-professionals” (and did not make any money) so they can represent the country. Nowadays, cricket players are professionals and paid lot of money. If those old rules still in effect, I want to see how many cricket players will stay “non professionals” in order to play for the motherland.
ReplyDeleteThere is not a single news about Sachin in USA, either in TV or newspapers. However huge coverage for Carlsen-Anand match. Some big names in Wall Street are in Chennai now.
Oh! professionals could not particpate in international tournaments? sad, that it is. Yes, today games have become gambling dens where lot of filthy money is at stake.
DeleteNice to know chess, a game of indian origin is getting coverage in US.
Yes, massive overyhype, but then that is India. Everybody is either a God or a the devil incarnate.
ReplyDeleteTrue but sad. Thank you, Ramesh.
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