Sports Diplomacy vs. Feelings of a true Indian.

Earlier this month the schedule for the cricket series between India and Pakistan to be held in India was announced. The said series was approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs despite the fact that our enigmatic neighbour has done nothing but protected the perpetrators involved in the terrorist attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008. The terrorist who was caught red handed is a citizen of Pakistan and he along with all others came to Mumbai with a single point agenda which is very apparent now after their ordeals. Every evidence implies just one thing and that is involvement of Pakistan in some capacity.

While it was very much on the expected lines that the ‘neighbour’ will not respond to the charges made but it was rather frustrating to see our own government submit the way it did. India has not forced or it has not pushed Pak to the wall. And on the top of it the nations join hands for a cricket series; it is like someone killing a member of our family and then we forgive him and join him for a party. Perhaps, I forgot that those running the Central Government are devoid of a body part called ‘Heart’, but what about the people who lost their lives fighting for the safety of the country. They have been dealt a rough hand here. That culprit ‘terrorist’ is still enjoying his life and sad thing is that government has spent crores of rupees for his well being.

I don’t understand this concept of ‘Sports Diplomacy’ for essentially sport is a game played between two teams representing two different nations. And if that nation has hurt the other one by way of terrorist attack you don’t play anything with that nation. Everything comes second to the national interest and the national interest was in not inviting the neighbour for a cricket series. The true Indian in me is deeply disappointed with the actions of government but then this government is notorious for ignoring the interests of people and doing what it does the best i.e. corruption. The apex cricketing body in the country BCCI also did the unthinkable by pushing the talks for an Indo-Pak series. BCCI has been very professional by gliding the questions raised to them to government but some very down the line they need to consider that a thing of national interest or importance is more significant than the revenues generated from cricket. Sunil Gavaskar has been very vocal against this series.

But, all said and done the series will be held as per the said schedule and I can say only one thing that people of Mumbai have been betrayed.  

Nothing like college days !

'Nothing like college days' if one could get a rupee every time one heard or uttered these words, there would be a fortune waiting to be made.
While this may seem a stretch of imagination, especially in those classic college moments - when the only choice is making the deadline, when your crush is now seeing or talking with other boy/girl, or that moment when you discover that your friend chooses someone else's company over your's. In these years, the rest of your life is shaped and making it just about the classrooms and books is demeaning the college experience. In college the canvas is unadorned, the slate bare and life innocent.

These memories last forever and have an everlasting impression on our minds and soul. But since every good or bad thing has to come to an end, these memories become a part of our day to day routine life. The collection of memories especially the good ones bring tears when all the reminiscences of the past are brought out, dusted and shared when you gather with college mates  many years later in warmly lit rooms, after a heart full of joy and laughter.

College life is some where between the energetic childhood and the adventures that adulthood offers. It holds a very small chunk of a human life but it has the power in it to define the person for the rest of their lives. Choices are made and re-negotiated in these few years; not merely about education but about anything in life. It can be about the beliefs one wants to live by. As different as the person making these choices, they tell you not just what kind of profession you will choose but what kind of a friend, lover, spouse and citizen of the world you will be. These choices are embedded in the things you allow into your life during these years.

The adventures and fun during this phase cannot be matched with any other moment in life. Also college life allows you to build your own path and charter your life towards success. Its the excitement of walking in the class with your friends amidst a frenzied atmosphere (for most of the times) that makes it memorable.
'See you tomorrow' or 'Chal kal milte hain yaar' is the best thing about being in college. We say any of those two and head back home thinking about how we are going to spend the next day.

The lessons from outside the classroom also create a room for itself. Observing the opinions and the dressing style of your friends, classmates and teachers, these lessons do help you to mature as a person. The teachers do strike a brilliant chord with students in college than in high school. This bonding helps the students to share their fears and concerns about their careers and life at large.

The College life throws all sorts of people your way. Some of them make you to adore them while many others are not remembered for long. But then the college life gives you the friends whom you want to grow old with and for friends who, no matter how infrequently we meet, give some hours to smile about. Also the teachers who enrich us more through their wisdom and knowledge than anything.

I can say it with all the conviction in the world that college years are a time of excitement, exuberance and many other adjectives that i couldn't think of. It is like all the freedom of adulthood without the responsibility. And yet, this is also the time for self doubt : Will I be able to get good grades? Will I be able to make it big in life?