Games and Sports

The adrenalin pump of the final few minuets, the agony of a lost cause, ecstasy of a thrilling win , abject despondency, rabid chauvinism, elation, redemption, consternation, emancipation. Just some of the emotions one associates with sporting contests. Just what is about sports that brings a divided lot together, makes sharing of individual grief or joy with absolute strangers akin to sharing of emotions that are mutual. What is it about sports that makes fully evolved adults of our species behave like the harbingers of human race, tribal loyalties, unwarranted passions, envy, hatred, pride, machismo…you name it you will get it. Surely scenes of brute men pushing and shoving each other to carry an elongated and inflated piece of rubber past a touch line cannot be anybody’s idea of pleasure.
Yet…..

Sports.. people like you and me taking multiple forms of physical exertions to sights of aesthetic beauty. Think of a Roger Fedrer cross-court backhand . Men coming together, their bodies in synchronized motion and writing poetry, think of the Argentine football team that campaigned in 2006 world cup. Men crafting strokes that defy laws of physics, VVS Laxman anyone, demonstration of the might of mind, heard of the that Texan cyclist. Sport has the uncanny knack of challenging the frontiers of human achievements every day. Its not without reason a swimmer would any day take an Olympic gold to a world record, for she knows which one is permanent. You don not see advances made by BMW every week, you see distance runners push the envelope every day. Sport also makes an ass of you like nothing else. So you thought Milan were the European champions after 45 minutes. Yes they didn’t put money on India back in 83 and yes I am as baffled as you are as to how Mr. Bubka missed out on all those Olympic golds. Most of us indulge ourselves in some sport or the other in our formative years. We either get the final touch, for we are right there on the goal line, or we hit that inch perfect cover drive and never repeat it again. If nothing else there is always a catch to remember or that rare victory over a better player in an individual sport. In due course worldly tasks take over and the dream of that one moment when the world is watching and we produce that magical moment remains just that.
For we are conditioned to consider notions of conquering the world as illusions. Lives programmed to attain a semblance of materialistic success. Fighting to survive in our comfort zones. For survival it is. It’s narration varying with the stakes involved. So we live but the instincts have their own lives. And then we hit pay dirt. We either discover a team that plays our beloved game just the way we wanted to or a player living our dreams. If the two do not suffice marketers come along tom - toming sporting success as panacea to all the distress the nation endures. So we are glued to the tele all night and are willing to risk physical harm to be a part of the spectacle. Some of us are lucky for we do not let the glitter of stars and the hype overshadow our love for the game, others succumb to hero worship and pseudo nationalism.
In a world where its tough not be cynical vis-à-vis sports, crass commercialization called IPL being the latest edition, a contest still does it to me. Then there is nothing like taking sides. Roger and Nadal at 07 Wimbledon had me glued to the seat till the last bloody point. Watching Roger hit the till than invisible top gear in the fifth set and make an enthralling contest a once in a life time game was special. Here’s the confession- if Nadal had won the game I would have never bothered to bring up the game ever again. Oh the joy of rooting for the underdog and see them prevail. Add to that the mystery of the process. How does a middle aged blond lead a bunch of nobody’s to a level of success they possibly never thought was possible. How do teams, and individuals, wriggle out of seemingly hopeless situations and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Can the mind consistently beat talent. Why is that some are fearless and bigger the stage better they are while some forget basics and crumble when the stakes go up. Do let me know if you have got answers to any of those.

5 Point someone

Venkant, presently in the land of chocolates, the red cross and sundry bankers and originally from Siwni, Ajmer and Bhopal, comes up with stuff to cogitate. Refer to the comments sections of the third post. Here’s my take on them. Do write in people. More the merrier.
Upmanyu Chatterjee and English August: Serendipity, one match wonder, every dog has his day or the good old Mario Puzo syndrome. Take your pick. Personally I believe what Forrest would say,” It happens…sometimes.” for those of you not aware of the said writer and English August, well… if Chetan Bhagat’s 5 point someone is a tenth standard textbook, English August is from BA English honors syllabus.
A tale of missing passport: People that’s me, still to get a passport. Hmm, procrastination is the word that comes to my mind. But hold on people the dark and murky days are about to get over. Watch this space for more.
B- School grads and comfy jobs: Let me hide my mediocrity for every one else is also screwing up. What if I muck it up, how will I stand up to my friends. I know it’s a rat race but I am winning it.
Social Entrepreneurs and B-Schools: The stakes are just too high; Considering the time, effort and the money that goes in to getting a B-School degree its too much to expect people to leave it all. Leave what promises to be a dream- stable job, a great work environment, acknowledgement of ones work and apt rewards, the dreams just irresistible. To leave all this for an ideal…..if the barometers of success were not pay packages and extravagant lifestyles, if success was about living ones convictions…about taking risks to build something everlasting… perhaps we would not only have more social entrepreneurs but also a world more at peace with itself.

My thoughts on your thoughts: Dude just the kind of stuff I am looking for through blog…bring it on..how about sharing your thoughts on stuff you have brought up…

The Times of our times…

Its almost four years now. Four years from the day I decided to let go of The Times of India. India’s No. 1 broadsheet, the largest selling newspaper in the world, the paper- people who matter read. With that ended an affair that lasted almost ten years. The Indian Express gets the credit for making me fall in love with the print media, those days I skimmed through the India Today strictly for the photographs, it was nurtured and the marriage consummated by the TOI. It started with the Bombay edition, Dad loved the edition enough for us to get it a day later. It use to have articles from The Economist and USA Today next to its Open-ed page, the editorials were right of the center and liberal. The two main editorial leads were followed by an abstract piece of writing that brought together an unusual event to the notice of the reader with the help of literary parallels and slapstick humor. The letters to the editor were not the lengths of obituary announcements and a center piece from the readers was how the readers fulfilled their desire of sharing with the world their experiences, from the mundane to the exotic. The written word had primacy over imagery and then there was R K laxman.
Far cry from the TOI of today. I wonder how many of you reading this even recall a TOI like that. The signs were all too ominous, Madhuri Dixit’s marriage ended as the main editorial and the page next to the leader was taken over by advertisements, that if I recall correctly promoted the best music system in town. The dot com boom of the late nineties saw ads of ISP’s and sundry dot com’s hijack pages of the paper. It also was the time when the marketing guys finally prevailed over the journos and the paper became a medium for B& C to make money, or make an effort to make some , from every word that appeared on every inch of column space. The edit went up for sale, don’t take my word just ask anyone of your friends in the media buying agencies, SRK , at god only knows for what consideration, was promoted as the best thing to have happened to the Indian Cinema and mood of the nation was akin to Sachin Tendulakar’s form.
The fall to the bottom of unwarranted sensationalism, the trivial over -ruling the serious and media as means of encouraging blatant consumerism and the agenda of the select few has been achieved with unabashed arrogance and self promotion. All the while pandering to the lowest common denominator .
Hell I could well be talking of the present state of the media in this country.
Where has the fall taken us. Where is the media in this country headed. Dumbing down of news is actually making a dumb ass of the reader and the viewer as the case may be. Every day I see the envelop pushed further. Put on a news channel and you are more likely to get the anatomy of Khali. If its not lessons in a PYT’s biology or her antics, then it’s the latest on a crime next door. All to either cater to voyeuristic desires or make a mockery of a tragedy or to cook up something out of nothing. All for those eye-balls. At this rate where are we headed. How am I know to now more about NREG or RTI. If the BBC and the CNN are to be the torch bearers of the neo-con agenda, how do I get the right facts on Iraq. Who is to present the right facts, bring a sense a proportion to covering issues and who is to bring to attention issues of national concern. How is this democracy to survive if the fourth estate abdicates its responsibility. If the likes of TOI are to Lead the Nation, we have had it.

The Anthem

My dear friend Arun, aka Unni, has just won himself a life time of trivia. The first guy to post a comment. Good show Arun...how does it feel? Point about the anthem of this blog. Hmmm.. well like the title of blog says. Seek Simplicity and Then Suspect it. I am convinced there is a hidden agenda behind everything that goes around this world. What seems obvious is meant to be obvious, for earthlings to quibble. "Exercise in the morning" because Nike and Adidas have to sell stuff. The Morning newspaper, tell me a better way to fine tune people. Healthy breakfast, yes Mr. Kellogg. I can go on but the point is I believe the worlds stuck. We are all running not knowing for what or where to. There is something, or someone, out there making us do stuff without questioning it. Its like the whole world is a Truman Show and about time the world was asked, "Is that air you are breathing". If the premise is that everything in the world is a manipulation where does this blog fit in? Fair point. I guess at some point in time or the other we have all asked ourselves-Why am I doing this and where will this lead to? But before the answer comes and the import of the answer hits us the Matrix has already pulled us back:) This blog is my way of staying outside the Matrix as long as I can. This blog will question everything. It will question the existence of Free Market as much as The Communist Party of India. The marketing machinery of Man Utd. as much as the big money of Chelsea, a Lalit Modi of the IPL and Ram Guha of the test crciket club. A RGV or Anurag Kashyap movie will not be good just because its not a Yash Raj or a Karan Jo movie. Anything going around that's supposed to be good, great, success, failure or a disaster will be questioned. This blog will be an attempt, to figure out the real stuff underneath the hype. The blog will also be bulletin board. No more e- mails to the gang. All the stuff I keep writing to you guys will be here. Like I said in my invite do consider this blog as democracy at its best. We will get from this blog what we deserve.