The National Obsession

I had lived under the impression thatCricket with a capital C was the national obsession in India.I have changed my mind lately.The Current national Obsession is theIIT JEE. The very fact that it allows for more success stories makes it a bigger draw. Moreover, one can start late. it also gives a level playing field to limited extent.
Yesterday a preliminary level result of the IIT JEE was to be declared and hundreds students and their anxious parents were queueing outside cybercafes in Khagaria in North Bihar, several had come from remote villages to see their result.Several, though not many made it to the next round.
And it is this huge following that is leading to coaching and tuition industry centrd around IIT JEE.The coaching costs a lot of money and there is a city in Rajasthan which was once famous for cotton Kota saris.When my wife presented a kota sari to a relative in her village, she wanted to know what origin it was of and on being told Kota,she promptly remarked: "Same place where IIT training is given?" Such is the fame of Kota and Bansal classes.People who do not know of MS Dhoni, know about nayan and brilliant Tutorials.
The casualty has been the higher secondary education.

Well Tried India

India, ranked four places below Pakistan managed to win the first two ODIs calls for a celebration of a magnitude slightly lower than the one seen when Bangladesh defeated India, a few months back.The Indian media goes over the top in raising expectations where none or little exists.The Indian Test match team is perhaps its best ever and is justifiably ranked at number 3.The ODI team is as ordinary as any that has represented India.

True,India finished second in the world Cup.But India won the 1983 World Cup and I wonder if the Indian media remembers what happened thereafter.For those who were not following Cricket then,India lost all the ODIs to the west Indies. And those who like to point out our achievement of the 2003 World Cup,may i point out that another of our fellow semi finalis kenya are languishing at number 10. Only Australia and Sri Lanka from amongst the four semi finalist have done well consistently in the two years gone by.
So well done Team India,Zimbabwe shoul be easy.

Opportunity

Opportunity has come for Saurav Ganguly to stay out for a few matches and may be join Bengal in Mumbai for the limited overs tournament.

Cricket is an Indian Sport

From all evidence Cricket has become an entrenched Indian sport. However, as the recent reaction to Wisden's five in the Indian media shows, the understanding of this Indian Sport has been widely off the mark especially among the new followers.Like the English language, another popular legacy of colonial heritage that we are proud of,Cricket is enriched by our culture and enriches it.
To deny that Wisden then and now has any relevance is like having an Eng.Lit. course without Shakespeare or Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark.