Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Strike when its hot

IPL is the hottest and most happening event in all of India for the past couple of weeks and as usual politicians have taken this opportunity to grab the headlines. Its always been the case in India where the politicians comment on things which is currently hot in the media to gain fame. This is actually pathetic but for them this is a boon to make a name for themselves.

The recent addition to such attention grabbing comments from the politicians was regarding the Cheerleading squads hired by the IPL franchices to perform in the breaks. Well the accusations from the media and the politicians have been that its offensive and abusive to the Indian culture. The media as we all know has blown it out of proportions since they are frustrated with BCCI shutting them out of IPL. Whoever says that the cheerleaders are affecting Indian culture should just speak for themselves. Being a politician doesnt mean that they are speaking on behalf of the entire nation.

As a person who loves the sport and watch the game just for the action in the middle I dont care who is dancing beyond the boundry line. I dont think that the cheerleaders are affecting or abusing anything in India. Well yeah one thing I agree is that this concept is new for Indian sport and will take time getting adjusted too. India in the past few years has experianced a phenomenal change in its outlook. Take the example of the bollywood movies which we watch with our kids most of times, isnt that affecting Indian culture? One of the comments in the media by a political leader was that Indians respect women as gods, dont we go and see movies in which heroines roam around with skimpy outfits?

So why all of a sudden raise concerns about the cheerleaders in Twenty20? If we are talking about the TV viewing public then wasnt this a part of the Twenty20 worldcup also? Well the reason for all this unnesessary concern about the Indian culture is to make hay when the sun shines. All these politicians know that if we say something while one of most important event in the history of Indian sports is going on they can grab the headlines. They have also used the media’s frustration on the BCCI very cleverly to their advantage.

As a follower of cricket I seriously dont want to be a part of this hypocrisy from the politicians. I dont care if the cheerleaders are dancing or not dancing, covered up or skimpily clothed as long as there is a hard faught cricket match going on. I guess most of the cricket lovers around the world will share my sentiments on this but again this is my opinion I am not speaking for anybody here.

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