Memories of the Austral-Asia Cup Final Match on 18th April, 1986 between India And Pakistan .... The last ball by Chetan Sharma Was Hit For A Six By Javed Miandad And India Was Denied A Most Certain Victory ....
Cricket is very popular in India. This poem describes how cricket taught some important lessons on Sportsman Spirit & Patriotism ...
CRICKETOSOPHY
The last ball
Of the last over –
Decisive.
High excitement –
Held breathes,
Coldened palms
And soles ….
Statistics and History
Pointing to victory
Of the bowling side ….
Off goes the ball –
Full toss !!??
Ooops !!!
What a hit –
High and long –
A huge six !!!
Oooh !!!
India lose,
Pakistan win !
No, no !
Unbelivable !
Millions of eyes see
The silken folds
Of victory
Slipping helplessly past
Stretched winning hands,
Creating history.
The loss looms –
Hard and heavy –
Such a folly !
Or lapsed concentration !
Or uncertainty ascertained ?!
….
Thus, wondered, perhaps
The wordless,
Wandering minds,
Numb and thoughtless ….
“Stop sulking
(Unnecessarily)
And get back
To your study ….”
Quipped
My concerned mother,
Reading the unsaid
On my swollen face,
As I slowly
Strolled out ….
My eyes met
Those of
The gazing blue sky.
“Their joy is
Our sorrow;
Our joy,
Their sorrow.
How much
Importance
Do such
Joys and sorrows
Deserve …. ?”
The shackles
Of grief
Shattered
And
The humming calls
Of duty
Led the
Ninth standard student
In me
Back to my books,
My Study.
- Vanita Thakkar (30.08.2015)
Cricket - A very Popular Sport of India ....
My Brother - A Wonderful Sportsperson ....
Cricket is one of the most popular sports of India. My brother, Prashant had a great aptitude for sports. He was good at cricket, football, table tennis, badminton, chess .... Whichever sport he took up, he was found to learn it fast and fare amazingly well in it. When he was in primary school, he used to defeat our seniors, who were representing our region at national level, in table tennis ....
Like most people around us, Prashant was also very fond of cricket. He played very well for our school teams and our community teams.
He was also very good at cricket commentary. Among friends and relatives, he would be sought to give a little demonstration of his commentating skills ....
I was good at cultural activities and Prashant was outstanding in sports activities.
Pappa and Prashant used to follow cricket closely. Earlier, it was through radio commentary. I remember, when Sunil Gavaskar had made double century at Madras (now, Chennai) against the West Indies, in December, 1983, we were travelling by train and we were listening to the radio commentary ....
Some Important Lessons of Life through Cricket ....
Pappa and Prashant's love for cricket introduced me to the world of cricket. I still love watching cricket matches. There are phases when I am unable to follow cricket, due to more important and urgent priorities, but I love the sport and I have learnt some important lessons of life through it.
This poem tells about one such incident in a cricket match between India and Pakistan which taught me good lessons on sportsman spirit as well as patriotism ....
Not that I never get excited about victory and defeat in matches I watch, but I learnt to overcome the sense of loss easily and completely .... there is difference between a cricket match and a war ....
Sport And Patriotism ....
Cricket matches between India and Pakistan trigger a different kind of excitement. I have seen them ignite violence, as in India, most unfortunately, there are people who celebrate the victory of Pakistan and cannot tolerate Indian victory being celebrated. Such mindsets are a great challenge and a matter of serious concern for those who love India and the great heritage of knowledge, value systems and philosophy of life that has evolved and flourished here.
Also, about patriotism - I understand that one who loves ones own mother, respects every other mother. So it is with motherland. One who respects one's own motherland and Her dignity respects others' feelings towards his / her motherland .... I feel proud of India and being Indian in that sense. We have never invaded any country out of greed for land and wealth and rulership ....
Motherland is a very beautiful and meaningful word. Why do we respect our Land of birth as Mother ? The Land, the resources of which nurture the very Life in us is truly Mother to us, in a very subtle and extensive sense. The soil of the Motherland provides food and shelter to all Her children, Her inhabitants; the water nurtures Life; the air and atmosphere enveloping Her, breathe Life into us; the sunshine falling on Her, the fire lighting and warming Her Being help us survive and grow; the sky over Her connects us to the eternal infinity of our existence .... So, love for Motherland and Patriotism are very natural human emotions, that commend mutual appreciation as well as respect.
Ubuntu - Humanity Principle - I am what I am because of who we all are ....
This also reminds me of Ubuntu, about which I had read some time back.
There is a story related to this ....
An Anthropologist proposed a game for some African Tribal children. He placed a basket of sweets below a tree asked the children to run and grab it. The one who reaches first would be the winner and would get to eat all the sweets.
The children held each others' hands and ran together. They reached to tree together and happily shared all sweets equally among themselves.
The Anthropologist asked the children as to why they ran together like this. The kids replied - "Ubuntu !!"
When asked what it meant, the kids told, they felt, how one could be happy having all the sweets when the others are sad ?
It was found that Ubuntu is a South African ethical ideology related to human allegiances and relations. The word comes from Zulu and Xhosa languages and is one of the founding principles of the new Republic of South Africa.
A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.” — Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Sports as well as the arts help us grow and progress as better human beings.
- Vanita Thakkar (03-12-2021)
From HubPages .... Published on 30th July, 2020.
