Telescope

Sachin de do, paise ley loThey were weeping. Uncontrollably. They were raving. Mad. They were tearing Azhar. Apart. Indeed, people were d...

Sachin de do, paise ley lo

They were weeping. Uncontrollably. They were raving. Mad. They were tearing Azhar. Apart. Indeed, people were doing everything conceivable to ensure that ICUs in hospitals across the nation had more patients than beds. The one thing the people of India did not do last Wednesday night, was to switch off their television sets as Zimbabwe zipped, ripped and then pipped the Indian cricket team to the post.

By 11 pm, they wished they had. Switched. Switched off. Been in bed. Been any where but in front of the TV, hopeful but helpless as a man whose name sounds like a particularly exotic fruit, singlehandedly and with the able assistance of Azhar8217;s Army all but ensured that haar ke aayenge, haar ke aayenge8230;

If India does not reach the round of the Super Six 8212; as indeed an entire nation fears it will not 8212; the media madness of the last few months will have left this cricket-crazed country, well, demented. As Renuka Shahane told Mohinder Amarnath CloseUp Antakshari, Zee 8212; there has never been such a hysterical build-up ever before. Why, the sports channels are still running promos, shot before the World Cup, which are now a bad joke. Worse, a terrible omen: the likes of Manoj Bajpai, Pritish Nandy extol the virtues of the Indian team, damning it with high praise. Then there are the Sachin T-Shah Rukh K Pepsi ads in which the Khan pretends to be the Master: such exquisite irony 8212; such sick-making, nauseating prescience? There are guided tours of England, Ireland and Scotland; there are many special programmes specifically designed for the World Cup, to whet and satisfy our appetite because yeh dil maange more.8217;

But all of this makes sense only if India wins matches, latches onto catches and snatches victory from the jaws of defeat instead of defeating sure victories. If only.There8217;s a show on STAR News, The Turning Point, in which Misha Grewal and Bishen Singh Bedi look at one game and decide8230; the turning point. Viewers call inwith their opinions. Which is beautiful and balmy so long as India is victorious or involved; but on Thursday, when India was not playing, there were few phonecalls and some of those who did dial in wanted to discuss India8217;s prospects only to be rebuked by Bedi for straying from the day8217;s game. But c8217;mon Bishen, have a heart: which Indian could possibly care about whether the decisive moment in the New Zealand-Australia match was the opening spell by Allot or the partnership between Twose and Cairns, when India are stuck between sharp teeth, unable to escape the jaws of death?

Makes you wonder: so much money, so much attention has been lavished on this World Cup that if India comes home with their captain between their legs in early June, what will happen? To all the advertising, the Apple Singh jokes, the specials, the live coverage, the contests8230; everything was based on India reaching the Super Six round and with a bit of Sachin Tendulkar, the semi-finals. Now, as we appear perilously close toelimination in the preliminary round, you8217;re forced to think: what a colossal waste of money, time and effort 8212; in that order. Why, DD8217;s decision to telecast 11 matches may well prove to be a masterstroke. Everyone else may look a little foolish: as if their noses were being rubbed into their own armpits.

Which is why it is so crucial, so absolutely necessary that Tendulkar play the last three first round matches for India. Or at least the last two. At a time when any other person would be allowed a decent period of privacy and mourning, Tendulkar has to set aside personal grief, convert sorrow into sixes with a wave of his broad bat. Not only because he is a true patriot, not only because a billion people have lost their hearts to him 8212; dil meine thujko diya 8212; but because he has to prop up the World Cup.

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Sports, unfortunately is not about playing the game; it isn8217;t even about winning and loosing. Or national pride. No, it is far more prosaic than any of those. It is about money, honey; it isabout selling the game; about selling the game through stars; about selling television rights worth millions and millions of dollars; about filling stadiums; about sponsorships, advertising, spin-offs, viewership ratings, media coverage. A great deal of this will collapse under its own weight, if Tendulkar is missing.

In that sense the World Cup is about winning and losing; what is at stake however, is not the game but money. And Sachin spins it more prodigiously than Warne does a cricket ball.