Last night was the cricket match between Indian and Pakisthani teams. Its not that India and Pakisthan are playing against each other for the first time. Nor is it that I am cric-craze! However, one thing struck me when India won the match at 11PM last night. Fire-works were cracked in huge quantity. This is not unusual in cities that I have stayed in India. However, currently I am in the North-eastern city of Guwahati. Not many here have ever watched the Republic day parade in the parade ground! Not many kids here have been able to observe Independence day in their schools. And I have never observed fire-works after an Indian victory in any game what-so-ever.
However, thanks to the communication revolution, and thanks to our media-hype, this match became so much advertised that it became fashionable to follow it! And of course while watching a game, you have to become a fan! So suddenly everyone here became Indian-team fans! So much so that even in the remote city of Itanagar, students painted themselves in tri-color to watch the match. Such was the fever. Now I fully realise the power of game. As depicted in the recent movie Invictus, it does have the power to unite people. And I am delighted to note that, like most other developments in India, our own Invictus was not designed by some leader..... it just emerged!
Jai Hind
