IPL : wholesome entertainment

May 19, 2008 

A month and half has passed since the glittering opening ceremony at Bangalore. But the IPL mania is far from dying. Well into its 43rd day, the matches attract the same number of people everyday and sometimes more. The TV remote is inevitably pressed at the stroke of 20:00 hrs to tune into Set Max. I’m not a cricket fan. Not at all. Totally ignorant of the Test Series when played with only a slight interest in the One Days. I find the game in either format too long to hold my attention. I like games in the fast track - soccer and Formula 1 for instance. In that respect, Twenty-20 is a great format to watch for a few hours and the timings of IPL matches doesn’t get in the way of one’s daily schedule either. Switch in at dinner time and it’e done by the time you turn in for the night.

All these years we never had an equivalent of NBA or Baseball or American Football that offer wholesome entertainment for the entire family. IPL has done just that. Nothing in India comes without its set of controversies or the whole thing would be incomplete. Bhajji slapping Sreesanth episode, furore over the cheerleaders revealing attire - there’s always something going on to keep the mercury rising and hold the viewers’ attention. Let’s be honest. If it were just another game without all the glamour thrown in did you really expect the game to be such a hit ? Alright, well maybe for one season given what a cricket fanatic country we are. But for 2 months in a row every single day you’d expect the crowds to come out season after season?

What drove me to write this post on IPL was Shobha Narayan’s weekly column on Mint about the cheerleaders. A regular reader of her columns, I find her highly opinionated with most stories woven around her extensive travels, influenced by personal beliefs and comparisons often drawn between the life in US and India. Her stand on the cheerleader controversy is far more convincing and the arguments favoring the politicians with examples of contradictions drawn from other developed societies does not strengthen her stand. We’re talking about India here where moral policing is at its highest and is more often politically motivated - be it the bar girls, item numbers, selection of the censorship chairman, advertisements, adult movies on TV or cosying couples in the park.

Shobha talks about how cheerleaders can adulterate the minds of youngsters and distract the boys appearing for class X exams. Give me a break here! If you were so concerned about your children studying, you wouldn’t let them watch a 3 hour match if the exams were on, would you? And do you know what they are watching on TV otherwise? Are you censoring Rakhi Sawant sizzling to a Krazzy4 song that is shown a minimum 20 times during a day on MTV and Zoom or the numerous other Bollywood numbers ? The lesser said the better about their attire. Talking of adulteration, it can happen even while watching Malaika Arora judge a reality show or Mandira Bedi commentating the cricket matches. She cites the possibility of a young lad in some remote town in India taping the IPL show to give him a high. Really you’d think he would take so much of an effort for this when every shady by-lane in India has porn easily accessible. To think of the effort in taping the show on a Royal Challengers’ match would be hilarious - the cheerleaders for one would be mute spectators with no action.  Alright, I agree that maybe the moves could have been toned down a bit if that was a little over the top. Here’s an idea - maybe we should have sari clad cheerleaders to suit the bhartiya nari image. Shobha, on a closing note it’s not the cheerleaders who will confuse our youth but it’s the radical policies and irrational stand of our very own that is confusing.

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Comments

5 Responses to “IPL : wholesome entertainment”

  1. Vivek Nath on May 19th, 2008 8:22 am

    Masssssst da, I mean really mast googu.. I love the critique ….he he he may be you shud comment the same on her site :))

  2. Rhea on May 19th, 2008 11:50 am

    Absolutely! IPL is a runaway hit.Though there were initial aspersions being cast on the team compositions and the format, today it appears as if ODI, tet matches and countries playing against each other was history and this is cricket in the true spirit,here to stay.It is wonderful to see an Aussie player hug and pat a Srilankan teammate when he fetches a wicket and how the boundaries are forgotten on the cricket ground; what could be a better demonstration of international harmony. As for the cheerleeders, ah!it is fun and adds a zing to the sport. You are totally right in turning down Ms. Narayan’s point. Probably she doesn’t know that students from decent familes are trained in cheerleeding in schools and it is a feather in the cap to be in the cheerleading team, nothing obscene or misguiding in that. This is unnecessary conservatism to criticise cheerleading and the like. I think today’s generation is much more aware about whats good for them and as for adulterating the minds of youngsters and causing distraction, OMG! I can only laugh at that.This is hilarious!

  3. Lakshmi on May 20th, 2008 4:22 am

    Rhea : So true! It’s funny to see in some matches one side’s cheerleaders fully clad while the other side sticks to the original format. Wonder what they are getting out of it.

  4. Nita on May 21st, 2008 1:18 pm

    I was never a lover of cricket but am hooked to the IPL. At last there is something to watch on TV. I cannot bear to watch the serials.
    About what you mentioned about Shobha’s columns…I am shocked! I cannot believe that any thinking person can write such nonsense!

  5. Weingard on November 18th, 2010 3:23 am

    Hey There I am having a problem seeing your sidebar on my ipad machine.
    Just wanted you to know.
    Thanks

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