51. I have switched to watching women cricket!

After almost a lifetime of following cricket, first on radio and later on television, I have switched on to watching women cricket in the last couple of years. While I have started skipping few of the men's matches, I try not to miss any international match that feature our young girls. While my friends and family wonder at my new-found obsession, I have compelling reason for shifting my alliance from the men's world of cricket. The turning point of my cricket-watching career must not remain unsaid.   

When asked by a reporter 'who her favourite men’s cricketer was', the world's leading run scorer and India's captain Mithali Raj had responded, 'do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? do you ask them who their favourite female cricketer is?' Emphatic! Confident! Bravo! It not only signaled the coming of age of women cricket in India, but the sheer confidence with these words were hurled had left the scribe speechless. Nothing more was needed for me to back our own girls in the game.      

Mithali, Harmanpreet, Smrithi and Jhoolan are some of the household names, their batting and bowling is doing most of the talking though! Mithali has the world's highest 6,700 runs on one-day games; Jhulan's 271 wickets are the most in the same format; Harmanpreet is the first woman to score a century in T20 cricket; and Smrithi has been the ICC Cricketer of the Year for 2018. Given their grit and determination, more records will be theirs in the years ahead. Mark my words, these girls are making themselves count on world cricket circuit.

For those who still imagine that women cricket isn't as exciting should get that impression corrected at the earliest. Harmanpreet's 171 not out against Australia in the ICC Women's World Cup in 2017 will remain etched in cricket history like Kapil Dev's 175 not out against Zimbabwe during 1983 Men's World Cup. Kapil Dev had hit 16 fours and 6 sixes in his 138-balls innings. In comparison, Harmanpreet's 171 runs in just 115 balls were studded with 20 fours and 7 huge sixes. No comparison, but it was power hitting at its best!

Women's cricket is a sport in itself, and I agree with Mithali when she says that 'it should not be compared to men's cricket'. It is evolving as a game, and is building its own fan following. Although most of the current players learnt the basics of the game while playing with boys and have even been coached by men, the likes of bowler Ekta Bisht and batter Poonam Raut have edged themselves to establish their distinct identity in the game. The inspiring stories of current women players is fast attracting young talent.

Hailing from humble non-cricketing backgrounds, the girls are doing well to breach the male bastion. In fact, they have already done it to some extent. With live telecasts of most women matches now available, they are not only being watched but are attracting revenue from sponsors to keep them in the hunt. With women cricket league on IPL format in the offing in the country, the game of cricket will open a new avenue for talented girls to make it as their career option. 

Women may have been cheer-leaders for men's cricket, it is now time for men to cheer women cricketers. The sooner it is done, the better for the game. The scream for a leg-before; the call for a quick single, the holler for a catch, and the boisterous victory hugs add the missing glamour quotient to cricket. There are any number of reasons for avid cricket fans to switch to the feminine version of the game. Don't miss out!

First published in The Tribune, issue dated March 8, 2019.

50. Social beverage of our times

German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck's 19th century remarks 'people never lie as much during a war or before an election' have come to life in recent times. Perhaps, it is the most convenient thing to do, and more so in a situation wherein a war (or a warlike situation) precedes elections! How does one fake the facts holds the key? With 'lie' having outlived its relevance, both as a noun and a verb, its less offensive and universally acceptable avatar - fake - has replaced it. In fact, fake is a potent currency in the market which earns rich dividends in a short time as it travels faster than the speed of light.

A lie may need to be told often enough times to become the truth, but fake has become a one-time wonder. You release it once, and what returns to your inbox is nothing but fake coated in the guise of the truth. It will earn you mass following on Twitter, help you receive unprecedented number of likes on Facebook, and inundate you with innumerable compliments on WhatsApp. You begin to wonder if the world was waiting out their to lap it up, and give it a cooperative legitimacy. I am beginning to learn that fake is fast becoming euphemism for instant fame! Is it the new normal lurking around?            

Had Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn been alive he would have rephrased his remarks by replacing lie with fake to read: 'fake has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the state'. To rally along fake is considered an act of cooperation, that politicians use for projecting so-called public good in the guise of justifying vested interests/entrenched violence. Far from being challenged, the enduring qualities of fake engage the social media and the public like never before. Like milk, the more you churn it the better it is. Utterly butterly fake-cious!

I don't know if it worries you that fake is fast gaining public recognition, as an essential aspect of our collective existence. George Bush Jr. must be credited for setting up the stage for it. By virtue of having stayed in the White House for almost a decade, the former US President had inadvertently become fond of telling white lies. Else, he could not have convinced the world that there were 'weapons of mass destruction' hidden in Iraq? The fact remains that no such weapons were ever found. The shocking truth is that it led to writing a new history, rather a bloody history, in the middle-east on a rather fake edifice.  

One problem with fake news is that it works, and the message that 'fake it till you make it' is loud and clear. I checked with my intellectual buddies who are as much awe-struck as anybody else is. On the other hand, psycho-analysts are still juggling on their diagnosis, almost close to arguing that fake is but an evolved form of lie which has got a short-time therapeutic value too. Nor surprise, for every thing real there is an equivalent fake too! Not only are goods fake, but fake facts are being produced too. 

My conclusion on the subject is that we have come a along way - it could easily be called a 'fake yug'. While truth could be 'half-truth' or even a 'quarter', fake is the new truth that we may have to live with for the rest of our lives. I hope I am not too early with my judgement, but as of now fake seems essential to humanity but not truth. While truth is desirable, fake is inevitable! 

Isn't it a social beverage that most of us are getting addicted to?

First published in Deccan Herald, issue dated July 25, 2019. 

49. The race of a lifetime

Beating each other on slush track
(Pic: Luke Metelerkemp)

It was a race of a lifetime I was witness to. It neither involved horses nor cars but a pair of buffaloes racing on a slushy track with a determined athlete in toe. Much like the sturdy pair of bovine, the six-pack athlete was no less determined to win the race either. With hundreds of villagers cheering the racing duo, it has been a long-held tradition of celebrating the man-animal co-existence for a bountiful harvest in coastal Karnataka. And, there were any number of teams from different coastal villages vying for the coveted title.      

I had my first brush with this cultural extravaganza, called Kambala, few years ago in village Venur in the coastal region of Mangalore. It was a pleasant wintry evening in January 2011, the well-lit arena was decked up in celebration with people in all hues thronging the racing track. What had begun as a thanksgiving event for protecting the cattle against diseases, the annual racing event has grown into a competitive sport that enthralls and entertains. The animal rights activists may continue to think otherwise!  

Keeping pace with raging buffaloes on the slush track was indeed testing, as if bovines were running for their life. Racing at an incredible speed, it was a perfect test for human endurance against incredible bovine power. For the fear of running over, half a dozen villagers had to herd together to take control of the animals at the finish line. They would calm the animals by giving it a hug, make it eat and rest before the next race. Each of the racing pairs looked well groomed and healthy, as did the accompanying athletes.

Were the animals tortured during training? Were these creatures intoxicated to run the way they did? The organizers had led me to the animal resting places to find for myself if that was the case. 'These are no ordinary cattle, they bring laurels to the village', quipped a team member. These are treated like sportsmen, nurtured and trained in the art of racing from early years. No wonder, there were no marks of external injury on any of the participating animals. So much is at stake that some owners train their buffaloes in separate swimming pool for getting them used to conditions before every race.

That these are special animals, treated like children and selected for their sturdy features including disease resistance, make me think that this annual cultural event is more than just an occasion for fun and frolic. It promotes the process of natural selection in disguise. The best among buffaloes get selected, nurtured and tested. The animals people race are the animals that help breed the next generation of calves, sturdy to withstand adverse conditions. That such a valuable process is conducted by the communities at their own initiative, and for the benefit of the society at large surely calls for a celebration!      

With hardly anything worth celebrating in the countryside these days, the assent for re-conduct of Kambala by the first citizen of the country has given something for the last citizens to cheer about.

Let the race continue!

Kambala was banned in 2014, but the President of India gave his assent for (re)conducting the sporting event from July 3, 2017.  

First published in Deccan Herald, issue dated March 1, 2019.