Blue is the color of the season. With cricket gripping the country tightly in its clutches, young and old alike are glued to television sets and praying for their heroes to emerge victorious. However, I must confess that I am not an ardent fan of cricket. I still fail to understand how two teams after toiling for five long days to outwit each other could shake hands and call it a ‘draw’. Though the game has evolved over the last decade to attract new segments of viewers and move beyond its conventional realms, people like me have not become a convert. In school, I had three games to choose from: football, field hockey and basket ball. I chose football for the simple fact that that the rules were uncomplicated, did not have to invest in expensive gear and could settle my personal scores with classmates the legal way. As I grew up football became my passion and cricket the distant cousin.
When the cricket World Cup got underway last week and with India beginning their hopeful campaign of winning it, the television set at home has been tuned to only one channel 24/7. I have had to literally fight for my right to view my favorite channels. In the end I have managed to get control of the remote not for the valor exhibited but more due to sympathy. In addition the constant ranting of statistics, team strategies and opinions has added salt to the wound. Needless to say the women have had a tougher time and I am sure the TRP ratings of those never ending over dramatized soaps have plummeted. I have also been branded as not being a ‘true’ Indian for not following the game or even trying to understand it. Well that said I have so far managed to hold my ground in whatever little way possible.
Cricket though not being our national sport and having its roots in English history runs in the veins of every Indian. Our forefathers acquired taste for the game during pre Independence era and subsequent generations have embraced it zealously. Surprisingly today the biggest revenue markets for the game are the countries in the sub-continent. Cricket is also the second most popular sport, in terms of viewership, in the world behind football. So yes, the game does unite us and adds to the color of being an Indian. But that said, India is a pluralistic society and other vibrant colors also define who we really are.
Blue – Blue often represents the human emotion of sadness. ‘Monday Blues’ is something we are all well aware off. However in the Indian context Blue signifies happiness and optimism. Most logos of Indian companies would have a touch of a blue in them. Be it any sport, Indian sportsperson turn up in blue and likewise the spectators. The color is synonymous with cricket in the country. However in recent times the Indian blue has been flying high in sports such as tennis, badminton, Formula 1, hockey and athletics. More often than not our prime ministers Pagri is also blue. The color signifies the spirit of India in all its forms.
Saffron – In recent years the color and its band of followers have sent shivers down our spine. Saffron for people in ‘modern’ India is ironic to its mystic roots that symbolized India decades ago. Even the thought of saffron rekindles a sense of hatred and fear and the color metamorphosis itself into red in our minds. Answers to why and how this transformation occurred have been delved into before but have remained unanswered. The common man in India will never understand the layers of complexity weaved by politics, greed, religion and power that the color hides beneath its surface. At the most we can only look at the scars it has left in our lives and hope that the next generation is never lured by Saffron and its predicament.
White – the color symbolizes purity and selflessness. For us though the color is fused with the netas whom we have rightfully (and in most cases wrongly) elected to represent us. Am not sure who they end up representing, but most definitely it is not the people by whom they were elected. The attire they wear is white but it in no way represents their actions or words. Far from being role models to the next generation their every act beings a sense of ‘déjà vu’. We have somehow become immune to the viral ways of our netas and therein lies the impending downfall of our society. Statistics indicate that that less than 40% of the urban population in India vote during elections. As literates are we not responsible for the health of the political system? Well, if we want change to happen then we need to be ‘change agents’ ourselves.
Green – Agriculture accounts for about 18% of India’s GDP and employs over 60% of the population. Contrarily the famed IT industry accounts for about 5% of the GDP and employs less than 1% of the population. And yet we glorify the crumbs and conveniently forget the larger share. We are still an agrarian society and globalization is a non-existent term for over third the population that is tethered by poverty. Green is also the color of money. Money that finds its path through crevices in every public office in the form of bribes; money that is plucked from the hands of deserved and used to fuel the greed of the rich; money that every child deserves for education but never gets; public money that every politician/bureaucrat splash on their whims; money that a family in doldrums of poverty strive for to have one square meal a day; money that creates a vast divide between the haves and have not’s in our country is represented by green.
In spite of the various colors that unite and divide us equally, we march on with great aspirations and hope. The color of a true Indian cannot be signified by just one shade. It’s the unique combination of different colors that makes us who we truly are.
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