Today with the culmination of IPL4 auctions I came to the end of a wonderful chapter of my life. The chapter named Cricket. Although the last paragraph in Cricket still remains unread I know that the chapter is pretty much done for me. The last line that I read marked the beginning of the climax of a glorious story in which "God on the Off side" was Crowned as "Prince of a City of Joy". In this story the Prince created a legend of his own quite different from the other Kings who also find glorious truisms through out. The other Kings are Gods in their own Right too and each worth more than the word itself. But I am not going to mention them here for they deserve a separate dedication. I ended reading the chapter as the story got filthier with the God on the offside finding an unceremonious exit.
The God on the off side, the Crown Prince, is famously known as Sourav Ganguly a.k.a Dada. He created his legion of fans who could trump all logical reasoning for a dose of insanity, for he was their ambrosia. They would go to lengths where they could immolate themselves to protect the Prince from being harmed. But then fans are meant to be unreasonable.
I am here to dedicate an ode, for the Prince himself, which reads something like this -
You are the God on the offside, With that glorious cover drive -- { memories of the cricket field}
You are an attitude, Which made the team stand up with pride -- { the Australian tour of India & vice versa }
You saved the game, From a bunch of fixers -- { took over captaincy from Azhar in 2000 }
You made the game look beautiful, With those "dancing down the track" sixers -- { memories of Toronto galore}
You waged a lone war, Standing behind enemy lines -- { the era of Greg "Chappal" }
You made a glorious comeback each time, Defying their sinister designs -- { the SA tour & MoS in Vizag }
You are Sourav Ganguly, A name which no money can buy -- { proved literally true in IPL4 }
You are my (our, Kolkata's, India's) Dada, To see you bat again I am ready to die. -- { Ask me }
With the story's penultimate paragraph I have learnt a valuable lesson. Business & sports can't go hand in hand. Both are wars but of different kinds.
The war of Business is fraught with Greed, Cold emotions & Inglorious Bastards.
The war of Sports is fought with Grit, Killer instincts & Glorious uncertainties.
11 comments:
The end of an era marks the beginning of another. Who knows what lies ahead in the sands of time. "Picture Abhi Baki hai Mere Yaar".....
The Phoenix shall rise again from the ashes.
I can never have enough of this Phoenix.. may your words carry the Midas touch
hahahahahahahaha
@IRC - i couldn't stop myself - also haven't been able to read your post properly.
But seriously - at what stage of being educated or maturity does a person start evaluating decisions in the area one is interested!
fyi - before you guys pounce on me -
I'm a fan of SG. And Rahul Dravid & Brian Lara & Anil Kumble. Definitely these guys have a lot of juice in them still.
But IPL is not cricket. Its pure business being brandished as cricket. And if these business houses do not believe these guys to be sellable, its their call.
Btw why aren't either of these guys playing Ranji? That's too seasonal - they can easily find the time!
@Ninja: I haven't quite made out the reason for your laughter ?? neither could i gather anything out of ur first comment !
Remains the issue of being a fan.. i seriously think u can keep your educated brain at rest for sometime and enjoy being a fan.. and for him not playing Ranji.. in case u followed the game he does still play for the most important game in Ranji..
though i would agree he could have played a little more..
P.S: BTW in case u didn't know even Rahul Dravid & Laxman just managed to be picked up. had single bidders..
its time to be crass... ipl ki maa ki... ipl ki ma ka...
all SG supporters should really come fwd n prove tht there is no interest in kkr/cricket if great dada is not playing...
@#$%@#$^@#$^ to all the bidders...
The bidders are really foolish, many reasons can be given, here is one - if they only worried about returns then they could have easily earned more by recruiting some bollywood sizzlers as the cheer-leaders rather spending on players... so they actually will be earning sub-optimal returns. not a smart move.
- Vipul
Indra: your writing is super esp the verse.
Dada is incomparable. He oozed confidence & a certain attitude that was needed, as if like a right tonic, at a very crucial period of Indian cricket. He built a foundation of an 'Indian cricket attitude' that Dhoni is reaping at present. In cricketing abilities too he was sublime when he get going.
A personality like Dada is rare. Now with such a strong personality, KKR's owner felt that two tigers can't rule the same hill. You know what I'm hinting at. KKR owner wanted KKR to be identified with his name but as long as Dada remained with the team the owner had no chance.
What Dada should've done is like Kumble, hung up his boots and concentrated on the next big thing- i.e to be able to shape the policies of Indian cricket by either joining BCCI or being the Indian coach.
I think Dada's services would be required as a coach of Indian team but somehow there has been a dent in his 'aura' he had built. But I'm sure he will come out even more stronger. Let's hope this is true for Indian cricket needs his brain and attitude.
-Thanks-
The "Other" Dada
Thanks "The Other Dada" :) !
I agree to every point you made.. I also think he should have left us wanting more of him rather than No More of him !
But yes we do need him now as the brain.. Indian cricket still needs his service..
The poetry of cricket, eh ?
Dada khush hogaa.
Anindya
Do one thing.Participate in 'Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipati' (a quiz show in Mahua Bangla.You might have heard about it) and gift Dada this poem. I m sure he will not ask you a single question of the quiz,instead straightway gift you one lakh rupees cheque!!!!
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