Last week, I was forced to watch an IPL match Bangalore vs Kolkata (since my hubby was in town and the remote in his hand) Chris Gayle was batting sixes and fours against Brett Lee and the crowd was squealing in ectasy. Vijay Mallya and Shah Rukh sat in the Chinnaswamy stadium with different expressions.. one with content and the other with contempt.
(Related - "Who let the dogs out?" was a popular song by a group called Baha Men in 2000)
My thoughts drifted off to something different. Cricket is an amazing game, no doubt. To get the ball to make contact with the bat is itself a feat and to hit off over 100 meters is truly clap worthy or in the ‘whistle podu’ category. Hats off to the British. Amongst the few good things they left behind, cricket is surely one of them. I would say the second best.
Now for the other things - The ubiquitous English language, without which we would have been another Babel. How would a Mallu have communicated with a Delhite or a Bengali with a Gujarati? We would have needed a lot of interpreters. (As far as the Oriyas are concerned, we would still require interpreters for their English) I don’t think Hindi would have ever become a pan-Indian tongue.The regional languages would have, in fact, become stronger, since we would have studied our Math and science in the regional dialect. It feels nightmarish to think we would have read the Gravitation constant as ‘ஈர்ப்பின்பொதுமாறிலி’ (Tamil). And how about this आइन्सटाइन का सापेक्षता सिद्धांत (Aensataen ka sapekshata siddhant) ? - that’s Einstein’s theory of relativity!
Among the other goodies in the legacy basket are roads, railways,clubs and monogamy. Not sure whether to classify monogamy as good or bad. Our ancestors deserve a bow for having had many wives ... and managing them well 'cos I don't remember having read about any complaining wife in our history books. Wonder what went wrong down the line. But, going by the number of Infertility clinics and the sale of performance enhancing drugs, something definitely has. Did you guys hear of the latest product - Viagra coated condoms. Kya invention Sirji..err 3G .. Protection against
1. Pregnancy
2. HIV and
3. Erectile Dysfunction.
Well, we are a part of the British Commonwealth, one among the 54 countries which were part of the British Empire. As a commoner I didn't understand the significance of common wealth, till Suresh Kalmadi did the honours. I still don't understand why Mozambique, a former Portugese colony is a member of Commonwealth. But I am happy that India is a part of an organization where there is no China and America. How else would you see India among the top of a Medal Table?
1. Pregnancy
2. HIV and
3. Erectile Dysfunction.
Well, we are a part of the British Commonwealth, one among the 54 countries which were part of the British Empire. As a commoner I didn't understand the significance of common wealth, till Suresh Kalmadi did the honours. I still don't understand why Mozambique, a former Portugese colony is a member of Commonwealth. But I am happy that India is a part of an organization where there is no China and America. How else would you see India among the top of a Medal Table?
In my opinion, topping the list of 'Best things the Brits did to India' is - Partitioning the region.
Thank God for a PAkIstaN-less India
Who let the .... out? woof woof .... the Brit Men
Thank God for a PAkIstaN-less India
(Related - "Who let the dogs out?" was a popular song by a group called Baha Men in 2000)
Hi Sadhna, I must admit I have become a big fan of your blogs and trust me its simply fun reading them. It never fails to bring a smile on my face with all the simple truths you bring into your blogging. Keep up the excellent work and all the very best and also looking forward to many more blogs for the years to come. :-)
ReplyDeleteFun read, beg to differ on cricket though, a stupid game that requires no real athletic prowess (no wonder we Indians still play a significant part in it)
ReplyDeleteYep that’s why we excel at chess and cricket….lost the lead on hockey and soccer no show….lately its marksmanship …we are just genetically not endowed enough or could be a reflection of affluence and interest or lack therof until now…maybe in a few decades or generations we will also develop some physical prowess..until then its cricket being showed down our throats
ReplyDeleteHi Sadna, u r getting better n better with ur blogs who would hv known this .... of urs but for the net, we wouldnt hv known u are so ...... at this , may be with 3G(not the 3Gs u mentioned) already here u shud try creating a ...... AV clip with loads of ..... in it.
ReplyDeletePS. with ur blogging skills , i m sure u can fill in the blanks :)
By far the best one according to me...loved every bit of it..way to go!!!
ReplyDeleteu need 2 publish a book....too good way 2 go vj.....
ReplyDeleteGood one VJ... keep going :))))
ReplyDeleteHey Sadhna..that was excellent...sure brings smiles on to the face and at the same time something to think about..great going..keep it up..
ReplyDeletesquealing in laughter
ReplyDelete