ARVIND SWAMINATHAN writes from Madras: India’s win in Perth will prove many things to many people—the experience of our middle order, the effervescence of our youth, and the power of lip service. But after listening to Anil Kumble‘s tough-as-nails post-match comments, what it chiefly proves is how different our sportsmen are from the rest of their countrymen.
Barely a week ago, all India was shaking its head in mock disbelief that one of their own could have been labelled a racist. From the people on the street to the representatives of the people on the street (Navjot Sidhu, Lalu Yadav, Farooq Abdullah), there seemed to be just one “heroic” response to the disgrace in Sydney: call off the tour and recall the team.
It seemed such a typical, classical, karmic Indian response: jo hua so hua. We did what we could. The stars were aligned against us.
“Don’t take the shit. Come back.”
Contrast that “heroism” with the heroism of the team which: a) manfully suffered the ignominy and the scrutiny in the glare of the cameras, b) pulled up its socks in alien conditions in an alien country, c) looked the aggressor in the eye and did not wince, and d) showed that the series is being played between two teams, not just by one team.
It could still go wrong in Adelaide; it could to you and me.
What the victory in Perth shows, after you have peeled away the cliches of “backing your instincts”, is the true essence of sport and sportsmen. As Simon Hughes, the sports writer of The Times, London, put it so well long ago: Sport is the only profession where the practitioner exposes every cell and every inch of himself in his every act and action, in his pursuit of success and victory.
Politicians, doctors, engineers, carpenters, painters, auditors, journalists, prostitutes, software engineers… you name it, all of us build our lives away from the limelight, away from the public glare. We reveal, yes, but we hide, conceal, twist a lot more in our careers in our pursuit of success and victory.
Contrast that with Kumble & Co today in Perth, after what happened in Sydney.
In their response, Kumble & Co have shown what they are made of.
In our response, all the rest of us showed what we are made of.
Absolutely! Perhaps the only churumuri post I have agreed with every word of !!;)
Nicely summed up. Resounding truth in every sentence.
OK, now calm down Aravind.You will need some energy to throw bricks or boquetes at the poor lads after Adelaide. So there I suggest pour yourself a stiff scotch raise a toast and get back to work:)
Aravind – And while you enjoy your stiff scotch, think about the kannadiganess of Kumble’s decision to magnanimously remove charges against Hogg, reminiscent of that other cricketer typyfing Kannadiganess called GRV, and brood whether Kumble could have been the captain, the fighter and the leader that he has been without his kannadiganess.
Achieve something substantial, but keep a low profile.That’s a Kannadiga thing or Kannadiga for you.Examples? Sunny Gavaskar called’The gretaest living sportsman of India – Prakash Padukone , a quiet unassuming genius.The man who called back Taylor in Golden Jubilee test-That’s G.R. Vishwanath, who withdrew an appeal and lost the match. But is remembered for that till now.That’s what Kumble did for Rodney Hogg. G.R. Gopinath brought flying to the realm of poorer people with Deccan Airways.In fact both Mallya and Gopinath, at both ends of aviation are Kannadigas, not much is heard of them.S.R. Rao, a Kannadiga tacked Plague in Surat and was a hero in Gujarath, WHO and other countries. Not many in Karanataka have heard of him.It’s a trait Play it cool.Keep the profile low. Let your work do the talking.