Chak de .. India ?!

Dunno why, but the song just clung on during "Chak de India", so decided to name this article differently, prolly during the course of this discourse you'd realise the rationality behind this choice :) But then again .. there's always the "prolly" ! :P Its been eons since I commented on India, or anything prevalent in India, and instead of passing the question as a triviality, I'd go to the extent claiming it was because of the fact that am surrounded by so many issues that just like the ticking of a clock's seconds hand, these all retreated into the background of conscious presence! Yet as I sit here to jot down my lil scribblings during the movie and give them a structure that makes sense, I forget what the purpose of this post is. And then again there arises the question of "why" does everything have to be pondered only when someone shows em in our face ?! Why do we just write about these things, talk a lil, make it a hot topic for fora discussions et al, and eventually let it vanish into thin air! I'm not here to complain about our treatment of such issues, but to elucidate on something that has been outside our comprehension, mostly due to lack of information, however, also due in large to our sheer ignorance!

I do not plan to affect a revolution amongst the Indian public, nor do I want to glorify any particular sport, yet I want to accomplish one thing today - an effort to make people aware of the fact that there is a difference in watching a movie and actually connecting with the movie at a completely different level! Beyond the obvious issues of exploitation and discrimination that have become the inherent mark of Indian administration, there are points of contention eating away like leeches the very core of sportsmanship in India. Place yourselves in the sportsgirls' position in the movie and then ask yourself as to how would you have reacted to such a situation .. do not place her in your shoes and take a judgment call .. instead realise the agony and irritation that ensues from such ignorance and apathy faced by all of them. The subtlety lies in the fact that we fail to see that these players have aspirations too, that the sport means a lot more to them, its their religion! Our beloved Sports ministry both at the state as well as centre ensure that whatever spirit these talented youngsters kindle gets quashed by superficial bureaucracy and uninterested dimwits! But even if such a hollow system exists, you owe them at least a fair chance to take a shot at winning something. However, trust our dear old assholes sitting atop positions of power and control to enforce sub-standard conditions for players like the ones in the Chak De women's team, demoralise the team till their self-cofidence is shredded to the core.

Through all this glim future for Indian sports there shines a silver lining in the face of adversity, and that is the enthusiasm of these young sportsmen (and women of course ;) ) to pursue their dreams, relentlessly tackle the system, coz for them their dreams and aspirations rule supreme. I respect this valour in all of them and hats off to their never-say-die spirit in the face of adversity. There is so much more that still remains to be said in this thread, and am going to elaborate on that only after some more reflection, but for now shall wind up saying that with such disregard for their efforts, it might as well be said what point is there in trying to live your dreams in vain? :(

Ah but therein lies the rub .. and for that rub you hafta wait .. coz that is what forms the concluding second post on this thread! :) Stay curious ;)