It’s now been a week since IPL. For those of you who completely missed out on it (do email me on how that was possible), it stands for Indian Premier League. Or rather India’s Powerful Lobby. After all, BCCI did manage to get all cricket playing countries to participate – Cricket Australia gave in eventually, the English Cricket Board too is succumbing to it!!
Everything that had to be said about it has been said. But not by everyone. I had refined from commenting on it during the tournament – partly because I was too engrossed watching it – so I shall state it now.
It is said that societal behavioral habits take years to change. I defer on that statement. These are the societal changes I have observed take place in our country in flat 45 days!!
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TV Remote is with the man again. Yes, it’s true in case of Bengali men too!! In fact they might hold on to it longer considering that Euro has started off.
- Short and ‘Instant Delivery’ are buzz words. Most of the good things in today’s life are short and instant; SMS, Relationships, Sachin Tendulkar…… As a matter of fact, Twenty 20 was very much like the cheerleader’s skirt – short and instant enough to grab everyone by their eyeballs. This format is perfect representation of our changing patience levels. Instant gratification!!
- Cheerleaders will be used more often. With every saas-bahu serial completing it’s 100th episode, or political party completing its 5 years, or MET department being successful in predicting India’s monsoon, we will see them do the jig. As a nation, we now want to celebrate our victories.
- We, like British, love our royalty. Why else would 4 out of 8 teams have some mention about it. (Rajasthan Royals, Super Kings Chennai, Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers). Out of the remaining four, Mumbai Indians is the only name that appears creatively challenged. After a complete cycle, we have started taking pride in our royalty again. One more thing. Money can’t buy everything (read creativity) – but then that’s more for Mukesh Ambani.
The reason for success of IPL lies elsewhere. Inherently, we always wanted to ‘openly’ cheer performing sports person from competing teams but swallowed it to nurse our national, patriotic pride. It’s not that we are any less democratic as a country, but it’s our own jingoist fervour that stopped us from doing so.
As IPL was not about any nationality, it liberated us from that moral restriction. It was acceptable to cheer Shaun Marsh or Shane Watson beat the s&%t out of Indian bowlers. Admit it you had always wanted to openly cheer Shoaib Akhtar bowl out the batting line up. It is only post IPL that we have really started enjoying cricket more as a sport!!!
And It’s my opinion that IPL now socially stands for India Patriotically Liberated.
1 Comment
Thursday, June, 19, 2008 at 8:51 pm
To me IPL was a commercial ballgame (no pun intended on ball)… amazing to see a country churn out that kind of money in that timeframe and yet, the common man (or shoudl I say woman) have to live with pot holes, lack of social security, pollution, poverty, what not….
It was a drama… not forgetting the bollywood connection.. so, whether it was Shah rukh khan and knight riders branding in a Reebok outlet (you could hardly see the Reebok branding) ….. or whether it was Preeti Zinta’s huge sunglasses that covered her tears as her team lost… or whether it was Mandira Bedi’s new commentator hairdo… IPL was one huge cinema which was a ‘critic’ flop though may have done fabulously in the box office ..
It was a ridiculour advertising machine…
IPL has just reaffirmed my dislike (hatred would be harsh) for the game…
PS: It would be cruel if I did not mention 1 positive – Thank god it was 20 overs and not 50. That would have been suicide.