‘Don't you think people are over-celebrating?’
I was in particularly good spirits. Maybe the consumption of spirits had something to do with it. Well, not entirely. The reason I was feeling lighter, the reason I had a spring in my step, and the reason I was swimming in dopamine was : India had just defeated Pakistan in the ICC World Cup. 8 times in a row. And which is when my son lobbed this Socratic hand grenade at me.
Jordan Peterson is right. This whole theory of treating your child as your friend is rubbish. Parent and child is the relationship, and both the parties should honour that. Otherwise, they become too cocky and start asking questions. Such as this one:
‘Don't you think people are over-celebrating?’
Is he invoking the theory of 'proportionate response'? I must stop him in his tracks before things get out of hand.
He is too young to understand the importance of Ind-Pak cricket match. There was a time when Pak used to routinely beat us in cricket. Overall stats are still in favour of Pakistan after so many World Cup defeats.
Don't be fooled by my fresh, daisy-like youthful looks. I am old enough to remember the 1996 match. First ball. Waqar Younus came charging in and bowled the first ball of the match. My young heart was pounding watching it on Tele. A few months before that, I had seen Waqar Younus in action for the first time. It was a match against the West Indies. His slowest ball in the entire spell was at 146 kh/hr. I watched the non-proverbial curve ball for the first time. Yorkers were so fast and accurate that batters tripped. And few landed on their faces. I saw stumps doing a cartwheel.
Waqar Younus and Wasim Akram would routinely appear in the newspapers with terrifying stats. Yes, again, don't be fooled by my boyish charm; I am old enough to remember the days when people used to read newspapers first thing in the morning.
I remember reading about the hattrick by Aqib Javed at Sharjah. When these guys walked into sunset (or kicked into oblivion, difficult to tell with the Pak cricket team) came Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq. Shoaib Akhtar's heroics are littered everywhere on the internet. Otherwise, you will find him somewhere sharing the stories of his achievements himself with a Trumpian humility. Saqlain Mushtaq, the inventor of the dusra, was as impactful as Shane Warne, if not more. My self-imposed limit on word count will not let me bring up the skills of 3 Mohammads (Asif, Amir, and Sami). But I am sure you got the drift.
In the current team, do they have even one bowler, even one, who can hold a candle to them? What chance they had against the well-oiled machine that the current Team India is.
Was there a big contest? So why such a big celebration? Maybe people are over-celebrating. Maybe my son is right. (And children should really be smacked from time to time.)
1996, I did not think Team India would put up a fight, but they did. In 1999, Pakistan had the best team in generations, but Team India held the nerves. 2003, second-inning chase against that kind of attack was unthinkable, but Tendulkar changed the course of the match with sheer determination and, of course, skill. It felt exhilarating. Terrific beyond description. I reminisce those days, like yesterday. Just thinking about them makes me feel giddy like a Japanese schoolgirl.
Don't be fooled by my supple, gazelle-like physique; I am old enough to remember the movie Anjaam. The SRK and Madhuri Dikshit starrer. The movie starts as a love story, but towards the middle it takes a darker turn, and by the end it becomes a full-blown revenge drama. Madhuri's character exacts revenge on SRK. In the story, at one point, SRK suffers from a disability and memory loss. He goes completely blank. Madhuri nurses him. Memory comes back, and when he can clearly remember his wrongdoing, she takes revenge. She ensures that he knows why he is being killed. That's proper justice. Almost Corleone-esque.
This is what I would like to see. Current Pak team is like the paralysed SRK’s in Anjaam. And he should be revived. Otherwise story will not end. Justice will not be served.
Revive the team, and once the team revived, bring on your 2 Ws, Saqlains, and 3 Mohammed's, and we will again put up a valiant fight, and that, ladies and gentlemen, would be a worthy win. Justice. Just like Madhuri of Anjaam.
If you are a Pak supporter, remember, next time, bring your A game. Let there be a fierce contest. And we will ensure it is 9–0. And that deserves a proportionate response. A big celebration.
¬ End.
Excellent narration and love the comparison to Anjaam movie. Even though I don’t watch cricket I felt like I was viewing the events you described in front of me. Did the little one really ask the question why India was celebrating? Wow he certainly has grown up to be a very thoughtful kiddo 👶
Good One, Sachin!
We never got fooled by your looks… I am sure you look even more charming now 😜