Ind vs Pak match is back with a BANG

Anushri Sahu
BAMC II SEM,
Bhopal, 29 march 2011


The house no more echoes with the sarcastic remarks of the saas to the bahu in the daily sops. The privilege of holding the remote in their hands is back to the male members of the family. Another 10 year old falling in a bore well hole or a new fictitious ghost story are no more the prime time stories of the news channels. From metro cities to slums, from airplanes to autorickshaws, from the policeman to the watchman, all pairs of eyes are now glued to the television sets.
Yes, the much awaited Ind vs Pak match is back with a BANG! Whatever may be the condition around the world, Indians surely have taken a break from their hustle and bustle filled life. Wait! Did I say Indians have taken a break? This seems to be the busiest time in their lives, not to forget the Gods too.
All the 33 crore Gods and Goddesses are busy collecting prayers. Even the western culture influenced youths who earlier remembered the Gods only during exams have started taking notice of the strength of the Almighty.”Please God! Just let Sachin complete his 100th century in Ind-Pak match. I’ll offer Prasad at your temple tomorrow, I promise.” The Babus, usually seen loading their pockets with bribe or taking occasional naps in some corner of the office are now busy chewing paan in front of the TV and predicting the possibility of a 4 or 6 in the next over. Bidders are struggling hard guessing and betting on a team’s loss or victory. Poor board exam  stricken students who were earlier busy spending their preparation leaves sleeping, are now juggling hard to catch a glimpse of the scores without being caught by their parents. Ramu chaiwala has found a new opportunity of enhancing business, and has shifted his tea-stall to a crowded location jam packed with people watching TV with folded hands, open mouth and hungry stomach.”Who wants a chai?” Just one sentence is enough to drag the crowd to his stall. Hmm...That’s called business management. Ravi paperwala too has started selling his newspaper with additional updates about the previous match scores. Radio Jockeys with scarcity of content to speak finally heave a sigh of relief. So when Raj of My FM has nothing left to say, he starts muttering out the score updates and the people are nothing but glad to hear them.
So, did I say India has taken a break from work? In a country where cricket is religion, Sachin and Dhoni are Gods and the opponent team holds the position of devils in the eyes of the common man, this is the right time to get back to work. If not now, then when are we supposed to preach the love for work to the countrymen? The cricket mania is powerful enough to bring the whole snoring nation back on their toes. This season is the perfect one to promote the notion of ‘work is worship.’ Let’s make the best use of this time. If cricket has played the alarm clock of the nation, why not make an effort to keep this alarm ringing so that the country doesn’t fall into another slumber? Team India is doing a pretty good and noble job. Hope they continue their breath-taking and motivating performance, at least for the welfare of their loving nation.