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Ipl, Play India at Your Own Risk

Recently we are experiencing a great sense of exhilaration and excitement on the front pages of all news papers. This whole excitement has produced a vehement amount of attention dominating most of the public discourses. An unprecedented competition has been evoked among the dailies to embellish their leads with mania, what they call Indian Premium League (IPL). There is no doubt about India and its cricketic traditions. Cricket here is parallel to religion. Even lot of scholarship has been already done on the unparalleled impression of cricket in the psyche of Indian masses. Historians like Ramchandra Guha, Boria Majumdar, and Arjun Appadurai, all have attributed this to peculiar traits of Indian masses. Cricket was introduced by British as a tool for civilizing mission, to civilize the barbarians. This was interpreted in a different way by Indians, thus as a means for showing superiority over the British. Cricket was no more seen as a sport. People began to look at cricket as a war, the war that was fought by the young sons to save the valor of their mother. Women were never allowed to join this war as winning the war was the matter of national pride. Cricket over a period arrived at communal tone. Teams were formed on the basis of religion. Even personalities like Jinnah, Nehru showed immense interested in such form of the game. After independence this historical significance of cricket perpetuated with India-Pakistan rivalry.

                  In recent cricket has been commercialized to such an extent that it has led to merger of rivalries. Kudos to Indian Bollywood stars, media moguls, businessmen who have made this to happen. With kedgeree of Bollywood, media and cricket modicum of people can stay away from this million dollar baby called IPL. Cricket and Bollywood are two potent components of Indian cultural life. IPL brings these both together to make unfathomable impression on Indian masses. Media till now has remained brawny ally for promulgation of this impression. Several media organizations like Deccan Chronicle, themselves are taking part in this marathon.

                             Indian premium league as the name itself implies is an association of top class personalities from leading Bollywood stars to business tycoons. ICT is experimented in India with great confidence investing money without thinking twice. No one is pessimistic about the results. Media, common people are going gaga over this huge experimentation. As times of India rightly quote it in one of its features ‘money is oozing like oil in Indore Jalebi”. Millions and millions of billions are being spent by this premium club while their umpire (media) justifying it with that it will give opportunity for budding cricketers. If it is so, why didn’t these philanthropists think of experimenting some of these millions on subaltern classes, earth quake stricken people on the borders of India Pakistan? So even let’s assume that some it will bring out new talent what is big deal. How it will prove beneficial to millions incapacitated people who even don’t posses TV sets in their homes or are homeless? There is no doubt that IPL or million dollar baby machine will succeed in appealing the masses or will pacify them without letting them to question. By experimenting on such huge level this league, it proves itself that Indian audiences are mere seen as cultural dopes. Cricket penetrates into minds of Indian masses like magic bullet; it is easily palatable commodity that gratifies their fantasies. What might be the reason for this peculiar trait of Indian masses should be left for psychoanalysts. Here my point is why not Indian masses don’t take step to do something different this time that will liberate them from tab called cultural dopes.

                      Cricket which was like a war some time back is taking now a different route. Remember when Shoib Akhter bowling to Sehwag, where is that rivalry. Who should now cricket loving audience support Shoib or Sehwag, but remember that they are playing for same country, country of Indian premium league. Money has shown the power in front of which any sport falls to naught. It is obvious that sport is the only name, while actual game is money. Why don’t we call this film as namesake? 

                 The important question is where IPL will take India’s  future, i wonder it should not be like that there will be civilization exposure ( remember British introduced this game to civilize barbarians). There are total 8 teams in IPL, representing eight different cities; lets hope we don’t see any conflict of regionalism and nationalism in future. IPL play India at your own risk.