Emotions rule!

The huge hype about the Amitabh illness, the de-glorification of the one-time hero Saurav Ganguly, the sudden rise of Rahul-Greg duo & similar events around compels me to vent out the feelings I’ve developed about the “over-emotional” Indian, over a period of time.

The day when India lost the one-dayer in Eden Gardens, I got a sms from sum1 in Kolkata who told me-“ hey mate I’d been to Eden & look we have defeated Chappell at last !”, shocked at this mentality I quickly replied- “Oh yes! u definitely have but oops! Even India lost along with him”. I waited eagerly for a reply but it never came. Either he got my point or he was too angry to reply. At a point I really felt that the Kolkatans really deserved that middle finger gesture from Greg Chappell, but certainly the coach of a national side isn’t expected to do so.

The ouster of Ganguly was a real delight for a large faction of Indians, the sad thing though was that this was the same faction which had taken Ganguly to the zenith of popularity when he’d been doing well. From the most influential man in Indian cricket to the most hated man in Indian cricket must not have been a journey which Sourav would like to remember. But what I have to talk about is the people who made this journey possible. The ever-so-fluctuating Indian junta is driven by only one fuel & that is emotion! No wonder in India it takes a few seconds to reach the height of fame & a fraction of it to come back to void. I believe that India is the most emotional country of the world & the only group of people who aren’t emotional enough is the media. But media have started cashing in, on this fuel called ‘emotion’ & are serving it with garnish, to the public. The media all over the country turned Ganguly into a villain by various ways, the result – mass discontent over Ganguly being in the team. On the other hand the Bengali media which cud feel the nerves of the Bengalis, supported Ganguly by living in the past!(by telling what all he’d done & clichéd stuff like-“look at his records!”) Result –Bengal Vs. Rest of India war over Ganguly.

Being a Bengali myself & having been in contact with a number of Kolkatans I can tell for sure that Kolkatans are the most passionate sport followers of the country, be it cricket, football or even carrom! But when I say this I can’t say that I’m proud of it coz this is what makes the Bengalis a bit more emotional than the rest of the country. So much so that they may at times even forget about everything else. The Sourav thing had a similar effect on them. The man who had become a matter of pride for everyone suddenly was made to bite the dust & this was given ample air by the local media which made these people feel that the team should pay a price for this grossly unjust act to their hero! Now the big question that arises is that, is it the media who are to judge this act as just or unjust?

I am not an ardent supporter of the ex- captain of India neither am I telling that he deserved such a rough deal! I also don’t oppose the Indian public of being emotional but I strictly oppose of everything & everyone involved in generating opinions in public which can endanger the careers of many, peep into the privacy of those people who don’t deserve it, take someone up(& down) in no time ! Taking things to their bitter extremity is what many a forces around us are trying to do & more often than not we are riding along with them! No-one on this earth is capable enough to make me agree that the Indians are emotional-fools. Yes, just that, they are emotional to a higher degree. For this belief of mine I really dream of a time when the people draw all this emotion by themselves & not from external sources which are often manipulative. This would be the time when we could safely say that emotions & weaknesses are two entirely unrelated terms!