I have a love and hate affair with cricket – no, I do not hate it when India looses unlike the cricket fanatics in a cricket-mad country, where cricket is a religion. And Sachin Tendulkar is not a demi-god, but “god” himself. Ya right, you also have temples for both Rajnikant and Amitabh Bacchan so this should not come as a surprise.
So yesterday when I reached home and completed with my office work at home, I switched on the Hotstar to check for some movies when I saw the news that India was stunned by the Kiwis (New Zealand for the unintended), beating India by 49 runs. I said wow… That result for a team that won the Asia Cup is going to create an impact on the fans.
There is another cricket that all Indians know and hear everyday, but not by its name but this insect that shares the name. And there are other things that are called “Cricket“. But in India, nothing much that game of cricket. You have companies organizing cricket matches for their employees, you have housing societies doing that for fun. And then you have the streets of India, where children and young adults (sometimes even adults) indulge in a game of cricket.
If you are in India, the game of cricket happens to you!
If you read my first paragraph, I said I have a love and hate affair with cricket – and I am not only talking about the game. Back in the day, Ajay Jadeja and Mohd. Azharuddin were my favorite cricketers. Both of them got in the net for match-fixing. That day, I sort of lost the craze of following cricket, though I still enjoy playing it. Let us just say that I hate being a fanatic, actually. It also pains me to the reactions of Indians in general (including my own Dad) who get super pissed at the men in blue for a bad day in office – wish only if they reflect on their own personal lives and relate a bad day in their office. Worst still, people hardly react to Indian Women’s cricket team winning or loosing!
When life gives you lemons, you actually reflect back to life’s good moments and wish to relive the days that are gone past.
The other love I have is the cricket’s song – the chirping one sung by the insect. It gives me this nostalgic feeling of being in my home town or the 3 months I spent in US in an apartment next to woods and a cargo railway line in Delaware. It takes me back to those days and the moments I had and helps me derive the pleasure I miss in the fast lane in Mumbai. When life gives you lemons, you actually reflect back to life’s good moments and wish to relive the days that are gone past.
I still hope that Indian cricket team wins, but I do not react too much if they loose. I too loose at work, and pull my socks and get back in the game the day next – that is how you do it.
India