Bare Reality

I took this picture from the Reuters India website while reading news today. Here is the link to the full article.

Frankly speaking, I was yet again heartbroken. A kind of sadness overshadowed the joy of triumph I had after reading the article and seeing this picture. An Indian athlete performing at the highest International level for sports (for the disabled) with one bare feet and rubber slippers in the other. No shoes or spikes even for the right foot. I feel ashamed of myself. Not because of the athlete but for the Indian authorities for not even providing the basic and the minimum to a sports person even if he is disabled, for the society we are now living in the shiny India. I feel so guilty and disgusted at myself right now that I cannot explain it in words.

 

Some would argue that maybe it was the athlete's choice of being like that. Maybe he felt more comfortable without any fancy shoes. Maybe this is how he lives his daily life in India. Maybe that led to his triumph. I will bluntly reject all arguments and maybes thrown at me in defense of the authorities or even me. I can also give many maybes in reply.

Maybe, it would have been a gold instead of a silver with the shoes.

Maybe, the shoes would have increased the comfort level.

Maybe, his training over a longer period would have helped him.

Maybe, it simply looks more dignified.

Maybe, I am just over-exaggerating and blowing it out of context and proportion.

This picture bares it all for me and the world to see ... the double standard society that we have developed in the 'India Shining' era.

My heartiest congratulations to him for still achieving this feat beating all odds that laid in his path. May thy tribe increase!

Touched

In continuation of the last post on the 2012 Olympics, I could not help myself posting this video I saw today morning. A rush of emotions went through my body and I was drenched in pure bliss.

The Bigger Games !

I am a sports loving person. I like to stay fit and for that, I indulge myself in various sporting activities. I also do enjoy watching sports but not purely for entertainment or for mindless fan following. I enjoy watching it because I love some games and follow them closely to get amazed by the new feats achieved by the sports-persons involved in them. For Example: I love playing basketball and had been following NBA since a long time. By that I mean since the times of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. I am fascinated to see how the standards of this game have come up over the years.

Without getting much into what I do, let me focus more on the actual topic of this post. The latest buzz word in town right now is the mother of all sporting events, The Olympic Games of 2012 in London. It’s one of the oldest mega-event of sports which is truly international enduring the highest standards. Getting an Olympic gold is the epitome of all competitions for a sportsperson. It’s the holy grail of medals in a sportsperson’s life. There is no doubt that these games have become bigger and grander over the years. One of the reasons is that more and more money has been pumped into these games over the years by sponsors which definitely raises the standards of the games and the participants. Because of the increase in the magnitude of these games, security has also become another issue to be dealt with around the games (both for participants and the audience).

Now, I am neither a socialist nor an idealist. The above mentioned two aspects of these games this time had been disturbing me for a while so I thought of venting it out here.

I totally agree with the need of security around events of such magnitude but at the same time I feel there should be some humanity and sanity involved while arranging for it. On the contrary, the things I had been reading in the news sound much more like tyranny to me. News like deploying a ground-based air missile systems in residential areas, deploying acoustic devices which emits pain inducing tones to disperse a mob, deploying 3,500 extra UK military personnel for Olympic security after a private security firm failed to deliver its agreement. It really makes me sad reading all of this. Are we not perpetrating a culture of fear amongst the masses with all this?

    

I don’t want to compromise the security of anyone but I think there should be a limit to all this. I mean there is even a wiki pagededicated to the security around the games. To me, it looks more like preparing for a battlefield or a military zone than Olympic Games. If we are really living in such a scared world, then it makes me think whether we really need such games? Rather than concentrating on such games why not use our efforts and energy to first make this world a better place to host such events. All this security hoopla makes me think that we are trying to take medicines for a disease without actually diagnosing it properly and hitting the root cause.

The other aspect of the games which disturbs me is the amount of money involved. Like I mentioned above, I totally accept that it is needed for raising the standards of the game and also the local economy.  But then again, I read some disturbing news around this topic, especially an article on the current state of venues in Beijing prepared forOlympics last time. Except the main stadium much of other venues are almost nonexistent or unusable for the benefits of local people. I mean is it really worth putting in so much money for something which would be discarded at the end?

My major source of concern with the money issue is to see some big sponsors endorsing the games and athletes with businesses which have nothing to do with sports. A big burger company chain and the biggest supplier of aerated sugar drinks are one of the biggest sponsors for these games. I hope you must have figured out the name of the companies yourself. I always used to chuckle after seeing pictures and logos of these companies at sporting events and used to say to myself, oh – what a paradox?! I also used to wonder why the mainstream media never talk about such things. Then finally last week, I read one such article stating how big and paradoxical role these companies are playing to sponsor such sporting events. I mean how you can justify a burger company and a sugar drinks company promoting a sporting event when it has been shown again and again how unhealthy those products are for people. Will those athletes actually consume those products to stay healthy and competitive for such events?

It is not just the immorality showcased around such sponsorships but like the article also states it is way how the Olympic copyright bans are being forcefully imposed on normal people. I also understand that the companies throwing so much money for sponsorship would like to gain the most from it but there should be a limit to the greed. A complete monopoly on even the Olympic logo is quite disheartening for me. Are we really not losing the actual spirit behind such an ancient sporting event by overindulging in sponsorships?  The most appalling for me was this story of banning an 81 year old woman, knitting Olympic jersey for dolls only for charity. I hope that a healthy debate is carried out in the future on such topics by the organizing committees to keep up the spirit of the games. Otherwise, I think we are very close to organizing prelims for the Hunger Games in the future.

Even with all these concerns in mind, I still look forward to the Games in high spirit and hope to see some records slashed! At the same time I would like to wish best of luck to the India Olympic team!

Some jibber jabber and Hunger Games

Many of my friends are of the opinion that I have a decent sense of humor. To the extent, that some of them even asked me to perform standup at couple of informal get-together parties. More than by choice, I do it for being socially accepted. If I talk about serious matters, people think I am boring and anti social. So, I have given up discussing serious matters amongst majority of my friend circle. Of course, there are a few people with whom I share my thoughts on serious matters and always eager to hear their feedback but I can count such people on my fingers. I never try too hard to be humorous but just say my mind aloud about everyday things. And these days, you don't even need to try. Like they say, the satire writes by itself. Another thing I have noticed is that with age, sarcasm has developed upon me automatically. Maybe that is another sign of getting old.

The humor and sarcasm is hardly visible in my posts because here I write what keeps going in my head and which is tough to share with others. This can also explain why most of my blog readers are some random Russian spam algorithms rather than real human beings. On top of that, being anonymous saves me from the prejudices people build up according to someone's social background, education, culture, religion etc.

I have also noticed that blogs with humor are popular by many folds than blogs of any other genre. I myself follow some of those bloggers. I admire their sense of humor but sometimes, some bloggers just try too hard and it is a big turn off. I have noticed that some just pick up the most tweeted subjects/topics of the week/month and try to write up something around it, without having any clue about the topic in the first place. The beauty of such posts is that there cannot be any solid critic around it. The author just gets away saying that it was a light post and not to be taken literally. Anyways, it’s a free world and everyone can have his or her opinion.

So, after enough random beating around the bush, let me come to the post I wanted to write. A couple of weeks back; I saw the most talked about movie of this year so far, “The Hunger Games”. I mean, it was everywhere in news, blogs, twitter and had a lot of hype built around it. It was quite remarkable to see how the marketing team of the movie promoted the film. Even I decided to go and check it out. It turned out to be an OK movie. I hardly found it living up the expectations or maybe it was a movie more for the teenagers. It was a sci-fi movie in which somewhere in future, a competition is organized. From each district/town of a country, two teenagers are picked by lucky draw to participate in this competition. The competition is a no-holds-barred survival contest in which the last living survivor is the winner and allowed to go back home. The goal of this competition? -  To please and entertain the elites living in the capital city. That was all in the story.

But, it gave me a kind of an unsettling feeling after the movie. It made me feel, are we not living already in a toned down version of the “Hunger Games” era? I found some striking similarities between both worlds. Of course, the movie portrays a more extreme scenario. But, just think of it in today’s time. We have these mega sports events around us, not matter which country or continent. In the US we have all these national leagues, NFL for football, NBA for basketball, NHL for ice hockey, MLB for baseball etc. In Europe, we have this out of the world UEFA Champions League where the footballers are sometimes even portrayed as gladiators in the media. I am not even getting into each country’s football league clubs. Even India is catching up with its IPL for cricket. Of course, these events do not involve matters of life and death but is the idea and goal not the same? To please the crowd, just like that in the movie? 

I was quite baffled when I thought about the similarities after watching the movie. After picking up the players in the movie, they are groomed and trained for the event. The big players of sporting events after being picked up by clubs also do the same. The players are then presented in the best possible way to the audience to attract their attention. The sporting clubs do the same by making videos of those players to create a fan following. When the players in the movie perform well, they get perks from sponsors. The same happen with clubs when players are offered big perks when they outperform themselves. I can go on and on presenting the similarities but let me stop here.

Also, only the people who can afford the tickets can go and watch these games. On TV, you have to pay membership fees to channels to see these events live. No doubt, all this has lead to improving the sporting levels. But there is a limit and after that, it is all show, entertainment and business. How else would you explain something like SuperBowl advertising? Sometimes, I feel that consciously or unconsciously these events and games keep us away from thinking about matters of real concern to us which could really help make the world a better place.

I would confess that I am also no saint. Sometimes, I also fall in the trap. I also start following these events. The reasons can be anything from peer pressure, society, keeping up with the world. But, time and again something get to my senses and show me the truth right in my face. It was this movie this time which made think again. With the growing number of haves and have-nots and that gap which is ever increasing, I won’t be surprised if I see “Hunger Games” in reality in this life.

Paan Singh Tomar and Dad

I would admit that I am not a big fan of today's Bollywood. I hardly see the new Bollywood movies. I am kind of an old school and still stuck with the films from 50s and 60s. So usually, I see selected new releases only after a lot of recommendations from my friend circle. This past weekend, after repeated urges from a good friend of mine, I happened to see Paan Singh Tomar. Since I like Irfan Khan as an actor, it further persuaded me to see it. And I can say that I was not disappointed. First of all, I congratulate the director for being bold enough to make a film on such a topic. It was not just the theme of the movie which struck a chord with me but it was also well made. The rawness with which the movie was made won over my critique. And once again, Irfan Khan delivered the goods.

I liked the movie more because I could relate to it like very few would have done. My father "was" an athlete. And not just any regular athlete but an athlete who at the peak of his career, came second in India in 100 m sprint. I still have a cutting from a b/w newspaper of him in a photo finish. He had won so many competitions in his heydays that my grandmother had to collect the cups he used to win in baskets; I mean literally baskets of cups. Since there used to be less place in the house to accommodate all cups, there was no other choice. Same was the case with shields, medals and the certificates. There were just too many of them. I still remember that there was a special store room in our house where all of them were kept. But one fine day, my father cleared that room by giving away all his prized possessions to a random kabadiwala (scrap collector) roaming in our locality, for pennies.

Let me start from the beginning. My father comes from a very modest and humble family background. He had always excelled in sports as a kid. As he grew, he was groomed and trained by his coach to compete in national championships. He did pretty well as per the times with limited facilities back then in the late 60s, early 70s. He told me once how tough it was for the athletes of his time to adapt to spiked shoes since for a long time Indian athletes used to run with bare feet [REF.]. My father also used to play football for clubs. He used to tell me how back then, football was treated with a lot of more respect than now.  Now, to be an athlete is no child's play. One needs a lot of dedication, strict discipline, lots of training and a rigorous diet. Speaking of diet, the incident relating to Paan Singh changing his department for the sake of better eating facilities reminded me of my grandmother. She used to tell me sometimes how my father used to 'drink' desi ghee (white butter). I never used to believe her since my dad always looked too skinny in the old pictures I had seen of him. From here, one can calculate the magnitude of diet in olden times, especially for athletes.

So, all along his school and college life, my father kept winning competitions. Finally, he found a good coach for himself who groomed him well to win national competitions. He has a lot of respect for that man even till today. Eventually, my father came second in India. But unfortunately, at the peak of his athletic career, my father got a medical condition. The bone in his ankle started to grow more than usual. He could still run but was rejected from international competitions. Things with his leg deteriorated further and one day he was asked by his doctor not to run for his own sake. It broke his heart. Suddenly, his hopes for competing and winning for India went up in flames. Running was his life. But, it was kind of a dead end for him. There was no plan B that he had thought of before. He tried getting some help from the government but there were no special provisions back then for national athletes. There are hardly any even till today. It further dampened his spirits.

Now, people who dedicate their lives to sports usually do not give special attention to academics. He was no exception and was an average student. But after all that happened, he had to start afresh. He pulled up and kept his head high. He started concentrating more towards studies. After successfully completing his graduation and he was then employed by a company for whom he continued playing football as part time. With marriage and kids, his responsibilities grew further but he kept managing them well. We had all the necessities but life was never lavish. But my parents made sure that their kids get the best possible education. I remember while changing school in grade 6, my family went through a tough time. They wanted me to study in the best school in town. Now, it was pretty hard to get into it even if one had good grades and it was an expensive place to study. One needed good contacts and/or money to get through in addition to grades. I had good grades in my previous schools, but my parents did not had high contacts or money for donations. Still, both of them tried hard, really hard to get me through. They tried everything from getting recommendations from teachers of my previous school to meeting people who could refer my case to the new school. Finally, their efforts did not go in vain and I got admission in that school. I wonder sometimes when I think about how our parents sometimes go to strange lengths for their kids. I mean my parents could have spent money on themselves and could have had a good time going on vacation twice a year. My father could have bought and maintained a car instead of driving a Bajaj Chetak for 20 years of his life. But no, they wanted their kids to get the best education possible instead. They sacrificed for their kids by providing them the best. I have always wondered why, but never got the answer. Maybe when I have kids myself, then I might also understand.

I have always been interested in sports. Long before even knowing about my father's past. I think it was in the genes. I used to play football and basketball at school and towards my last couple of years in school, it was all basketball. Our school team won the championship for the best team in our state. I continued playing basketball for my college at various competitions during my graduation studies. But, I was never encouraged to play. My father never coached me or gave me any tips. I was always asked to concentrate on studies. Maybe deep down, I knew the reason but never accepted it. The movie reminded me of the pathetic state of sportsman in India even till this date. My father experienced it on himself. And me and my family are the witnesses.

Though my father is sentimental at heart, I have seldom seen him crying. In fact the only time I think I have seen him cry was at my grandfather’s funeral and then once again when his coach died. I still remember that evening when my father came home from work, sat on his chair and started sobbing. My mother got anxious and asked him the reason. He told that his coach is no more. A person whom he cherished all his life and was second to his father was dead. The coach of once a national athlete was dead and no one cared. He kept saying, that he deserved better because he did not die a peaceful death. He was dead broke with no work, living with his wife in a one room half broken apartment; his kids had also deserted him. My father used to take me to his place every Diwali when I was a kid but his situation was so bad that he asked my father once not to bring me with him. The names and conditions of other famous sports people rolled out at the end of the movie took me to the same apartment of my father’s coach. It was that day when my father told me never to take sports professionally in India. The next day he cleared his room which was once full with cups, shields and medals.

Since I keep my blog anonymous, I don't think my dad will ever be reading this but I would like to dedicate this post to him. This one is for you, dad!