Perfect endings are not scripted in the world of cinema alone. There is poetic justice even in sports. India’s inspiring victory is an amalgamation of events that comprises of a 37 year olds twenty one year grand journey, a 22 year olds first world cup, a supremely gifted batman’s path to self realization and a Man of the tournament recognition and an ex-ticket collector’s genius at leading and delivering the hopes of a billion people.
World Cups in sport is a portal of dreams. The unison of victory and celebration is a breeding ground for the next generation of players who would extend that chain of inspiration. But none more so holds it together through his sheer presence than Sachin Tendulkar. “This is what i played for all these years, not those 99 hundreds. Now we don’t know what else to look forward to,” said a cheerful Tendulkar during a recent interview. It summarised everything; his source of inspiration, his dreams and also his way ahead. In that statement we all felt those dreaded words of his retirement camouflaged in that immense sense of satisfaction. Although most of us will never know or understand what goes inside a genius’head, but the feeling of completion that we sense each time we hear Sachin speak after this sublime win, brings us closer to the end of a blessed period for cricket.
This game never required to push itself to get the kids to pick up a bat and ball in our country. But this triumph will do what it did for Tendulkar 28 years ago, when the Calypso played a whole different tune composed by Kapil Dev’s fighting bunch.
This Cup was not just about that beautiful image of a teary eyed Tendulkar being carried around by the very group he inspired to play the game. It is also about those missed opportunities and heartbreaks that other players went through. Spare a thought for Praveen Kumar who would probably never be a part of a World Cup winning side. Muralidharan retired a champion, but his final goodbye was a match in which he went wicketless. Such are the dynamics of the game that, Yuvraj Singh, who barely made it to the final World Cup squad ended up contributing the most to the side. His acrobatics in the first 10 overs of the finals was testament to his revamped approach to the game, something he aptly attributes to Tendulkar. It isn’t just this World Cup that is a mixed bag for the players who were in it or out of it. In 1983 Sunil Valson became a part of Indian cricketing folklore, yet he never played a match for his country again. Then again a young but mature Kohli shared Tendulkar's greatest moment in his very first World Cup.
For Tendulkar, we all know by now, this achievement is a culmination of that one dream; to win the World Cup. Rarely in history has a sporting legend been able to live such a journey. He was touched by the hand of God or so many amongst us believe. He will always have good will riding by his side, not just because he is a genius, but the fact that he is continues to be a normal human being despite his greatness. That is a wonderful benchmark for the next generation of individuals, sporting or otherwise to begin their lives with.
Chances are that there will not be another one like Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, but for an entire nation, this is their moment and we owe to one man.
A Modern Revolution
Revolutions have a way of stirring the conscience of people who witness its unfurling. It sweeps in as a wave, carrying forward the dissent of a million, the response to which is often bloody, but the conclusion, a soaring victory of ordinary voices.
The flames that literally torched Tunisia’s dictatorship, are now consuming Egypt’s infeasible government. For now, the wildfire seems to have enough energy to power itself through to a historical association with the great revolutions of our times. The magnitude of participation is unprecedented in the Arab world, and the consequences for now remain vaguely describable.
Egypt’s biblical history is possibly the most recorded and re-dramatized of all the ancient civilizations. The Pharaohs and their mummified remains have possessed Hollywood and produced innumerable great documentaries of a period far removed from ours, yet whose ways and methods continue stun our senses. The country has experienced its share of prolonged and dissatisfactory governance earlier. The chants that echo through Tahrir square for the removal Mubarak’s unwelcome, three decade long presence is a path to self-determination for Egypt’s people.
Revolutions usually spawn icons of liberation and new scales of thought. A contrast when compared to the outburst seen here that has exhibited the citizens’ disgust in its respective leaders, but strangely moves ahead with no individual to chart the nations’ future course.
Even India’s journey to independence is a story of mass movements. Obviously the circumstances were different, but certainly the rush and emotion of crowded streets, vein-strained necks and the unifying force of human contact must remain the same.
The problem with sudden unrest, especially political ones, is that without clarity on the future mandate, course correction remains inevitably chaotic. These protests do not have an organised leadership channelling the crowd’s energy. Therein lays the problem for such movements. A surging crowd is magnificent and ominous as it charges in, but science professes that energy tends to gravitate towards a zero energy state equilibrium to minimise chaos and maximize stability. Time is a constraint in these circumstances and optimum use of this dimension is imperative to assure that aspirations of those gathered do not fizzle out.
The images of men atop horses and camels at the Liberation square would have done the great Omar Sharrif proud of his Arab thespian lineage reminiscent of his role in Lawrence of Arabia, but sadly it would be the disillusionment of this reality that would worry him. Clubs and sticks were weapons of our medieval past, while dialogue and peaceful protest should define our present and future.
ElBaradei is the global face of the opposition. He is a Nobel Prize winner and a distinguished diplomat. But is he a leader who feels the pulse of his nation, one who can douse the leaping vigour of discontentment through tangible administrative remedies? Egypts march is not a struggle against tyranny of a foreign rule. This fact compounds the nation’s problems as it pounds its way towards new political aspirations. How will they cope without a rule that has shadowed them for nearly 30 years, adhering themselves as a close Western ally?
What Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.Jr inherently possessed was a sense of timing. They understood the threshold of patience and suffering of their people even while they fought for their God-given rights. Even this sea of humanity that came out to drive out and usher in a new regime will melt away as the days’ progress. The need of the hour is to make the most of this coalescence. There is safety in numbers, but remember a herd is always led by a wise and tempered soul.Till such time, hope prevails for a bloodless Nile.
The flames that literally torched Tunisia’s dictatorship, are now consuming Egypt’s infeasible government. For now, the wildfire seems to have enough energy to power itself through to a historical association with the great revolutions of our times. The magnitude of participation is unprecedented in the Arab world, and the consequences for now remain vaguely describable.
Egypt’s biblical history is possibly the most recorded and re-dramatized of all the ancient civilizations. The Pharaohs and their mummified remains have possessed Hollywood and produced innumerable great documentaries of a period far removed from ours, yet whose ways and methods continue stun our senses. The country has experienced its share of prolonged and dissatisfactory governance earlier. The chants that echo through Tahrir square for the removal Mubarak’s unwelcome, three decade long presence is a path to self-determination for Egypt’s people.
Revolutions usually spawn icons of liberation and new scales of thought. A contrast when compared to the outburst seen here that has exhibited the citizens’ disgust in its respective leaders, but strangely moves ahead with no individual to chart the nations’ future course.
Even India’s journey to independence is a story of mass movements. Obviously the circumstances were different, but certainly the rush and emotion of crowded streets, vein-strained necks and the unifying force of human contact must remain the same.
The problem with sudden unrest, especially political ones, is that without clarity on the future mandate, course correction remains inevitably chaotic. These protests do not have an organised leadership channelling the crowd’s energy. Therein lays the problem for such movements. A surging crowd is magnificent and ominous as it charges in, but science professes that energy tends to gravitate towards a zero energy state equilibrium to minimise chaos and maximize stability. Time is a constraint in these circumstances and optimum use of this dimension is imperative to assure that aspirations of those gathered do not fizzle out.
The images of men atop horses and camels at the Liberation square would have done the great Omar Sharrif proud of his Arab thespian lineage reminiscent of his role in Lawrence of Arabia, but sadly it would be the disillusionment of this reality that would worry him. Clubs and sticks were weapons of our medieval past, while dialogue and peaceful protest should define our present and future.
ElBaradei is the global face of the opposition. He is a Nobel Prize winner and a distinguished diplomat. But is he a leader who feels the pulse of his nation, one who can douse the leaping vigour of discontentment through tangible administrative remedies? Egypts march is not a struggle against tyranny of a foreign rule. This fact compounds the nation’s problems as it pounds its way towards new political aspirations. How will they cope without a rule that has shadowed them for nearly 30 years, adhering themselves as a close Western ally?
What Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.Jr inherently possessed was a sense of timing. They understood the threshold of patience and suffering of their people even while they fought for their God-given rights. Even this sea of humanity that came out to drive out and usher in a new regime will melt away as the days’ progress. The need of the hour is to make the most of this coalescence. There is safety in numbers, but remember a herd is always led by a wise and tempered soul.Till such time, hope prevails for a bloodless Nile.
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