Dangal

There are not many days when deep into the night the Country kept staring at the TV set or the Mobile Screen without the prospect of any to-be century from Sachin or Virat. The viewership number at the screen corner continuously crept up as the expectation for a second time gold from Neeraj Chopra kept growing, such has been his impact on recent years. It was Silver this time but was enough for a New Promise, a New Hope.

It is barely two-three decades back when we craved for a single medal at the Olympics ! Time is changing, the numbers are increasing irrespective of the colours. Maybe in another ten years or so things will change further for the better, even if we are not there to witness.

Post 1947, the Himalayan volume of work to be done perhaps never helped us to consider Sports more as a luxury than an opportunity. No blame, a country struggling to find food & earnings for all could rarely look beyond the fittest mode of survival. Hence, Sports were never encouraged and the necessity of literacy found utmost importance to find bread for the bigger family. Poverty, Uncertainty & the Fear for it had built an Invincible Image in the mind

Things have changed then, quality of life has improved substantially in a major part of India. While the debate over BPL (below poverty line) & Free Ration still persists, even then things have improved. There is a large section of middle class affluent in every sense of the term. 

With jobs at MNCs, foreign countries and handsome financial backup they are Safe & Sound. But still they have not yet outgrown the Fear over Uncertainty; serious SPORTS are still not there in the check list of the well-to-do parents.

Yet we want our Athletes at the Olympics to win over all hurdles, uncertainties & bring home buckets of medals of all colours. No defence for the failure, still the Expectation is asking too much. Perhaps we are unable to go through the Uncertainties the Career of Sports involve & we expect 100% success ! 

Till the Parents (specially middle class) have outgrown their Mental Poverty, Sports in India shall continue to be a Minority in the Olympic Games.

Let's not worry about the failures, let's drop the complexity over colours, let's celebrate the numbers, the journey is yet to begin, the battlefield is right inside us ! 

"Maa ke pet se marghat tak Hai

Teri kahaani pag pag pyare

Dangal dangal Dangal dangal

Sooraj tera chadhta dhalta

Gardish mein karte hain taare

Dangal dangal Dangal dangal"

🙏🙏🙏 Thanks to all the Athletes of Paris2024

(Picture Courtesy : Google)

Sunday Morning

Sunday Morning, reminds me of the excitement that centered around the telecast of 'Ramanand Sagar's 'Ramayan' on National Television (Doordarshan). Sooner than later after the TV Series was over, this was followed by 'B.R. Chopra's 'Mahabharat'. 

From a Quality perspective, there can hardly be any denial that the latter was a far more superior product. The Story Telling in 'Mahabharat' was not intended to create a 'Godly Presence', the focus was creating an audio-visual documentation of what was written thousands of years ago.

This was the late 80s, just before the Gulf War, when the Indian Economy was yet to open up and the country was struggling through the past challenges and damages with hardly any significant progress in any field be it Trade & Commerce, Geo-Political position, Science & Technology or Sports. Perhaps, the overall conservative approach of India delayed a Growth where regions like South East Asia & countries like China made galloping progress.

But this was Serious Stuff, the commoners in India hardly had anything to do with it. There was no Cable TV, no Internet, no Smartphone, what were they busy with ?

Beyond cricket & movies it was these 'Doordarshan' epics which created the waves. Along with this came in 'Gulshan Kumar' led 'T-Series' & 'Narendra Chanchal'. Their conversions of Hindi Movie Song tunes to 'Jai Mata Di' products swept all over the Northern belt of India. 

Thus, 'Sagar', 'Chanchal' & 'Kumar' created an atmosphere where a larger than life image was created. Intended or unintended, the image plantation procedure Damaged the Fabric of a Nation, which unknowingly declared itself to be a separatist approach in 'Hinduism', the rest of the 'Hindus' in the country could not feel connected.

As a Traveller, moving across from one state to another like West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, etc being a 'Hindu' was (and is) never visible as a loud assertive approach like the Abrahamic (specifically Islamic) practice of India. But the 'Jai Mata di' infusion changed the mindset for the then & upcoming generations. The effect has reached such to heights that today in the montsh of 'Sravan' (July-August) there are frequently seen groups on trucks & bikes with high decibel boxes howling at DJ Version of 'Jai Mata di'. 

At one time the high decibel Loudspeaker use in Kolkata Durga Puja Pandals was a nuisance for the People. But the laws & the government took care of it with such appreciable efforts that today when the Festival has reached Global Heights, loudspeakers are no longer a concern.

It's always debatable, whether such waves of separatist approaches existed in the past or not. This prolonged loudness has been for quite some time fuelled & used by Political Motives resulting in slow & steady decay of a 'ONE Hindu Society', set aside a 'ONE Society'.

What lies ahead ? We don't know, but surely we don't expect a Messiah to make the changes. 

(Picture Courtesy : Google)