Sunday, April 3, 2011
Bharat Mata Ki Jai!
If you think it only happens in Rio, think again! I have just returned from what is without a doubt, the biggest street party in the world. And it's happening right now on Marine Drive in Mumbai. Electric!Thousands and thousands of euphoric Indians are on the roads - walking, on bikes, in cars, atop vans. There are more tri-colours on view tonight than ever before in the country's history! And to think a game can unite over a billion people and have their hearts bursting with unadulterated pride... joy... vindication! Dhoni played much more than a captain's innings - he lifted the spirits of an entire nation with one final sixer. When that last ball soared, so did our morale. Never have I witnessed such euphoria - spontaneous, clean and infectious. The Mumbai cops must be congratulated for their stupendous contribution tonight. They were EVERYWHERE - a reassuring and alert presence, ready to tackle any emergency. But the night belonged to just one man - you know who I'm referring to. Dhoni will probably get the nation's highest civilian honour for this feat. And why not? With one stroke, he managed to inspire and win over a billion plus people! As for Sachin - if this was indeed his swan song - what a perfect note on which to say goodbye. He bagged the one honour that was still needed to make him the world's most admired cricketer. To have been a part of the winning team at the World Cup will add the final feather to his cap. The finals saw two world class teams playing world class cricket. That's what a memorable match is all about. And Sanga's speech - it was a class act. As was Afridi's. What a win! What a World Cup!! So glad I'd kept the bubbly on ice! Champagne never tasted better....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
A great win indeed, inspiring over a billion plus people. Alas, but the politicians must be so happy, hoping people forget the big scams in this even bigger euphoria!
A great Win..proud of india and its its people for boosting the morale..!
What a lovely tribute to Dhoni from Shobhaa! Thank you.
————------ ROSGULLAS ————------
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
-------Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy ------
You said it Shobhaa!
The streets are a carnival..its a once in a life time experience!
Finally... Sachin Tendulkar held the world cup in his magical hands... The best gift for our little master... Cheers for Team India!!!
Read : I also feel same
TOI today.
Dhoni deserves more credit than we’re giving him now
By Prasoon Joshi
The celebration had begun. Crackers bursting, confetti blurring the TV screen, guttural whoops of joy that were 28 years in the making, victory laps, tricolor-wrapped pride, elation on faces. Amid all this, I felt, there was something amiss.On one hand,the overflow of emotions and the tears of joy made my eyes well up a bit, but even through that I couldn’t help but notice the absence of our captain from the scene.Not just physically,but missing in the voices that spoke to the camera the thanks that were offered to the mentors, the shoulders on which the victory laps were taken, from the coverage that followed. Couldn’t help but feel that Dhoni should be getting more credit than we are giving him now.
Let us not forget how ruthlessly we sit on judgment when it comes to cricket. No words shall suffice for the meaning this game holds for each of us. The world cup result being different from what it is now would have got a nation of a billion into mourning. But here we are celebrating. Dhoni has been the careful architect of this moment of glory. It’s just seven years of his play and three or four of his captaincy that has made real the dream we nurtured for 28 years. He has gracefully dealt with a gargantuan talent—Sachin Tendulkar—and has managed to lead. I remember recently talking to Kapil Dev at the Economic Times-FedEx forum and he admitted that it was not easy as a young captain to lead the team with someone as legendary as Sunil Gavaskar.
We are unforgiving in cricket. Despite the master cool and calm image, murmurs about Dhoni’s performance, or the lack of it, had started. Yesterday, he did not just let his bat but his attitude, his expertise, say it all. Maturity is not a subset or prerogative of the years of experience on ground. Maturity is what life teaches you much before you don professional gear. The foundation for leadership is laid early in life. Dhoni’s a leader. Much like a symphony conductor who takes everyone—a genius trumpet player, a master violinist, a maverick cellist—to create spellbinding music, and also once in a while take an offkey instrument from the player, tune it and return it. Yesterday, Dhoni did that. He took the violin and showed how to play it. The symphony is India’s victory.
Yes, there will be paeans about his courage, the fact that he locked eyes with pressure, that he let his bat do the talking. But let’s not forget—the making of this moment was the labour of every single moment of his last three years of captaincy. It is not Midas touch, it is toil—the ‘mehnat’. No one can deny the role of luck or destiny but one should not let that take away anything from the hard work. There is no magic ball, no magic bat it’s the beads of sweat that’s real. We as a nation have much to learn from the Indian team and from the man who led it. He has indeed ‘supported the strong, given courage to the timid, reminded the indifferent and warned the opposed’ (Whitney Young) and got all of them to deliver to a nation its sense of reaffirmation. Let not the brilliance of this man be relegated to the background in the din of celebration. Bravo Team India and bravo O Captain, my Captain.
(Prasoon Joshi is a top advertisement agency CEO and lyricist)
http://bajpai.blogspot.com/2011/04/dhoni-contender.html
I agree for yr TOI column : Topic : Superstar MSD, more potent than LSD...
I wish he should get more n more credit , specially from his boyz.
Post a Comment