The 21st Century Puppet Show

A lot has happened in the world of cricket. But this time it’s not about the nation loosing Tri-Series to Srilanka, or Virendra sehwag getting into top-10 ranking. It is much bigger & bitter. The match - fixing scam in the ongoing Pakistan - England series.

News has been spilling over on the involvement of few fellow nation's players in this. And, the cricketing officials, ICC and PCB have been busy trying to sort this out. They eventually will. But who sill solve my dilemma? One that has surfaced out of this act of disgrace.

I am a passionate about this sport. Whether a day and night match, or matches played on foreign grounds, I have been a spectator (a player too) of cricket from childhood. During tournaments, I used to be glued to the television with my brother and cousin. When mother would call for dinner, I wouldn't listen. All my attention was on what would happen on the next ball. There were sleepless nights, casual fights with family members on who would win.

That’s the magic of cricket. But it is fading. The personal desires of some of these stars have gone beyond self esteem, beyond nation's prestige, beyond the spirit of the sport. Otherwise, why would they produce fake show? Being one from the audience, I feel duped. It is we, the audience, the fans, that cheer teams, each one of us has an idol amongst the players. The kids complete their hoemwork fast and run for cricket. Young, old, rich, poor, and housewives; and everyone from paanwala to the polished loves this sport in India. And such a treatment of game not only hurts our sentiments, but beats the trust factor. I watch next match, how do I know it is real?

This is not the first time a match has been fixed in cricket. Remember Hansie Cronje? The talented captain of South Africa? I admired him for his captaincy; he was one of the good game leaders during that time. A major match-fixing scam was unearthed then and he was banned from playing. Further then, matches didn't excite me much. After a dormant period, chord with cricket struck again. The recent ignominy, however, for yet another time, is trying to dampen my love for the game.

Talking about realism, what all is authentic in today's time? The reality shows on the television- dance, music and others are earning big money. There was an enthusiasm initially; it still is in some programs. But there are few where verbal fights are staged to set their TRPs roaring.

God knows what else is wearing the facade. When will a man stop dancing to the tune of money. The audience in this whole picture seems to be looked upon as a puppet.

Blooming at Night

While the sun goes down and stars shine up, silence crawls in. Everyone's asleep. Except me. Have been longing to listen to R D Burman's music (yester)day. Grateful to hubby, he downloaded a few of the music composer's songs. He was charged up too then and added more songs to the playlist.
Its half past twelve at midnight. As they say, " Old is Gold", it is so true. The music is very soothing, light to ears. The lyrics have depth, one likes to hear each word of the song. The music composers have rendered lyrics soulful. I feel as if, the world lay asleep on my command, so I can enjoy silent moments all by myself. And I am savoring each second, minute.
Like others, while travelling, I do, occasionally though, listen to music with headphones plugged into ears. But the joy is more now, than in the daylight which is filled with noise from all sorts of communication channels. Music goes in ears in the day, but in the night, it goes into the heart. And the heart blossoms.

Good bye friends, its two AM. Will catch some sleep!