Issue April 15 – 30

Here’s something worth much more than the World Cup itself

Strange how the human mind likes to push things that trouble it under the carpet. Even as war clouds loom, and the US and Iraq are kicking up dust that threatens to blot out the sky, most of us are keeping our minds fixed on cricket.

The World Cup has taken pride of place in newspaper headlines, and in the electronic media, and as far as mind space is concerned, it has created a nice corner to which we can retreat when stresses beyond our control threaten our peace of mind.

Whatever the reasons, what the performance of the Indian team has done for us as a nation is that it has bolstered our self esteem, given us a massive feel-good shot in the arm, and almost, if you don’t listen to the carping of politicians, made us one nation. Personally, I don’t think we have felt such pride in ourselves as a country, since the time Sush and Ash won their crowns, and turned the admiring eyes of the rest of the world towards us.

But even as I watched the matches and watched the Indian team play, the thought nagged incessantly at me... what was it that had turned the tide? We were always the kind to surprise when least expected, disappoint when it mattered most.

What (and I keep my fingers crossed for the next two matches as I write this) I wondered, had turned things round so beautifully? It could be the coaching, one good teacher can change the face of a team, just as a good general could change the face of a war.

But surely, there was more to it than that.

The clue unravelled gradually as the matches continued. As with any match, there were inconsistencies in performance. Till he played, it was uncertain how a player would perform. And yet, it was clear that there was something that held them together, smoothing over the disappointment or the panic that must be inevitable when catches were missed, or wickets fell...

This, I thought to myself, is the secret. The fact that each of the players had decided to put his team before himself. To do what he could, and move on... and put aside glory of self for the success of the team.

Paradoxically, it worked towards getting each of them glory. Dogged determination is a strong enemy to quell, and by turn, each one stepped in and saved the match, sometimes by blazing through like a knight in shining armour, at other times, by being there quietly and doggedly like the boy on the burning deck. And at the end of it all, making body contact to keep the brotherhood intact.

How simple! The lesson towards successful teamwork stared us in the face... whether it was a country divided, the workplace riddled with politics, or a home torn by divided loyalties. All we need to do, I thought, is to play the individual down and keep the spirit of enterprise burning to show us the way to getting where we want to go.

No recriminations, no putting others down to climb on their backs and reach over the top of the crab hole... And regardless of what TV soaps and gossip pages tell us, we can find peace and the joy of being, working and living together.

Simple? Try it, it’s tougher than you think... but the boys in blue have shown it can be done.

And that, I think, is something they have given us that is way more valuable than the World Cup. Cheers!

PS: The World Cup matches have made me turn to the sports section. I must say some of the best writing in journalism today is to be found here. Great lessons in style and content can be learnt off the cricket field, as on it.

The Editor