Stop posturing, let146;s read the book to know its worth

John Wright8217;s comments on the selection system, obvious and accurate, have caused the secretary of the BCCI to say that selectors are bound to push for players from their zones just as politicians and ministers are bound to push for their states. So then, who does a selector represent, his zone or his nation?

I haven8217;t read John Wright8217;s book on his years in Indian cricket and so find myself incapable of making bold, provocative comments about either the book or the person. I suspect most people who heaped scorn in high decibel levels in the media haven8217;t read it either. Not surprisingly, their comments look shallow, unbecoming of the responsibility that age and experience bestow on most. They seek to do the equivalent of judging a film and the intentions of its director on the basis of a 30-second trailer.

I am intrigued by the intensity of the comments. John Wright is not a threat to anybody anymore, not that he ever was, and nobody is going to lose a job because of what he might have said in his book. This is actually a very nice opportunity for people to be positive about a book from someone who was an integral part of Indian cricket and yet, can present an outsider8217;s perspective. It will be a valuable book, not a dangerous one, irrespective of whether the comments are flattering or otherwise. Sadly, in certain quarters, mostly regressive, praise is mistaken for the truth; he that criticises is an enemy. In confident organisations, introspection is welcome, often demanded.

And so the reactions have come in many hues. His comments on the selection system, obvious and accurate, have caused the secretary of the BCCI to say that selectors are bound to push for players from their zones just as politicians and ministers are bound to push for their states. So then, who does a selector represent, his zone or his nation? Is there a bit of quicksand people are getting caught in here?

Far more hilarious, and disturbing, was another view that Wright, like all foreigners, came to India and now wants to make money out of it. It seems to suggests a modern day Ghazni with his horsemen and swords descending on Indian temples to loot them. Or that Wright carries a visiting card that says he is from the East India Company! If writing a book about Indian cricket is a way of making money out of India I would venture to suggest it is an extremely poor return on investment in time.

There are two very disturbing aspects here. Increasingly, newspapers are surrendering to the instant quote brand of journalism with the very active support of people who will say anything to be in the news. I fail to understand how a one-sentence quote with a minute and-a-half of thought behind it can be useful unless of course the objective is to be provocative. It tells you a thing or two about the sense of perspective going around.

Television sometimes needs to be instant journalism, at other times there is room for more thoughtful opinion. Newspapers have the huge advantage of considered, thought-provoking opinion. But it increasingly seems too much of a burden. I often get calls from people asking for views on matters as far apart as whether Sourav Ganguly should be picked to how Mumbai can be saved. Each time they expect an instant answer, in a line or two. It is an invitation to look foolish the next morning; which is what has happened on the Wright book as indeed it did with some of the reactions to the article that Sanjay Manjrekar wrote about Sachin Tendulkar.

It is a pity this should happen in a week already rendered so gloomy by the passing away of a giant. I have often heard it said that KN Prabhu, who might have used a paragraph of lilting prose to describe a single event, would have no place in today8217;s instant journalism era. What rubbish! Television increasingly fills the role of news provider and analyst but it does so in edited sound-bytes or with another panellist waiting for you to breathe so that he can usurp time. Everyone is in a breathless rush. Prabhu in the morning newspaper wasn8217;t. He had time to enrich a sentence, dwell on a word, make a sequence of play memorable. The more television needs to address the immediate the more a newspaper can present the sublime. The week in which KN Prabhu passed away was also the week in which the need for a KN Prabhu was strengthened.

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My week was enriched though by the sight of visually challenged people playing chess. It was moving and it was uplifting. In two months from now, some of them will have the honour of representing India at the World Championship in Goa. India8217;s blind players are making tremendous progress and a World Championship would be just the encouragement they need. A little bit of corporate help would be very handy and who knows, we might hear some happy news. It will certainly be a lot better than the pathetic posturing we are seeing around a book. Do help.