Welcome to India!
A multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-multi country with 28 states and counting, the Indian subcontinent is a nation which is as diverse as anything can get. Yes, we have a national language, a national animal, a national bird, a national sport, a national this, that and everything like every other nation but these are not very national or common. If there is anything that binds this disparate nation, then that is cinema and cricket. Cinema is not merely Indian but a global phenomenon. Motion pictures are globally made as a source of entertainment, education and is also a powerful mode of communication. Acknowledging and appreciating cinema is a ceremony that has been existing for a long time and one of the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony is the Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars.
The Oscars, the American Academy Awards ceremony which recognizes excellence in film making in the whole wide world!! (Whole wide?? ). This reminds me of the Baseball World Series, a championship series played between the American League of one part of the world and National League of probably the same part of the world. (World Series??, whole wide world??) The Oscars belong to the whole wide world of America where the small, insignificant rest of the world is invited to bask in the american glory. Indian cinema at the Oscars can be compared to a child, awestruck and mouth agape peeping through a window the ostentatious display of whole wide american excellence in cinema, when its talent is being admired and acclaimed globally. But the child only wants a small piece of the american pie, like aamir khan who only goes to Oscars and is never seen at a Filmfare event, like the disappointment we see whenever an Indian Film does not make it to the Oscars even if it does, it does not win the coveted award. Let us hope the child get its share of glory in the coming years.
That being said, cricket is one uniting religion in this country which has sachin, dravid, ganguly, dhoni treated as Gods and demigods.. Though the number of cricket playing nations are less, cricket is loved as a universal sport. Unlike the Baseball world series, cricket is soon to witness its once in four years carnival, the ICC World Cup. World cup has always been a spectacular event since its inception in 1975. But lately this event is losing its charm with the increasing number of teams. This year world cup is hosting an unbearable 16 teams and the period is being inflated to 47 days, three weeks more than the soccer world cup. Though the event begins on march 13th, there isn't a single match of real excitement until the super-8 series which starts on march 27th. Unlike soccer, cricket is not a game where we can expect major upsets, a kenya surprising the westindies or a bangladesh numbing pakistan is a rarity in cricket. Cricket is a long game and the gap is too wide for an upset. I feel a India versus Bermuda match is like a boxer warming up by practising his punches on a meat bag before the main event. Its all in the game and like every Indian even I am eagerly waiting for the world cup and hope that Team India wins the world cup!! Good luck India.. Good luck for Cricket, Cinema, world cup, Oscars and everything that unites us!!
A multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-multi country with 28 states and counting, the Indian subcontinent is a nation which is as diverse as anything can get. Yes, we have a national language, a national animal, a national bird, a national sport, a national this, that and everything like every other nation but these are not very national or common. If there is anything that binds this disparate nation, then that is cinema and cricket. Cinema is not merely Indian but a global phenomenon. Motion pictures are globally made as a source of entertainment, education and is also a powerful mode of communication. Acknowledging and appreciating cinema is a ceremony that has been existing for a long time and one of the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony is the Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars.
The Oscars, the American Academy Awards ceremony which recognizes excellence in film making in the whole wide world!! (Whole wide?? ). This reminds me of the Baseball World Series, a championship series played between the American League of one part of the world and National League of probably the same part of the world. (World Series??, whole wide world??) The Oscars belong to the whole wide world of America where the small, insignificant rest of the world is invited to bask in the american glory. Indian cinema at the Oscars can be compared to a child, awestruck and mouth agape peeping through a window the ostentatious display of whole wide american excellence in cinema, when its talent is being admired and acclaimed globally. But the child only wants a small piece of the american pie, like aamir khan who only goes to Oscars and is never seen at a Filmfare event, like the disappointment we see whenever an Indian Film does not make it to the Oscars even if it does, it does not win the coveted award. Let us hope the child get its share of glory in the coming years.
That being said, cricket is one uniting religion in this country which has sachin, dravid, ganguly, dhoni treated as Gods and demigods.. Though the number of cricket playing nations are less, cricket is loved as a universal sport. Unlike the Baseball world series, cricket is soon to witness its once in four years carnival, the ICC World Cup. World cup has always been a spectacular event since its inception in 1975. But lately this event is losing its charm with the increasing number of teams. This year world cup is hosting an unbearable 16 teams and the period is being inflated to 47 days, three weeks more than the soccer world cup. Though the event begins on march 13th, there isn't a single match of real excitement until the super-8 series which starts on march 27th. Unlike soccer, cricket is not a game where we can expect major upsets, a kenya surprising the westindies or a bangladesh numbing pakistan is a rarity in cricket. Cricket is a long game and the gap is too wide for an upset. I feel a India versus Bermuda match is like a boxer warming up by practising his punches on a meat bag before the main event. Its all in the game and like every Indian even I am eagerly waiting for the world cup and hope that Team India wins the world cup!! Good luck India.. Good luck for Cricket, Cinema, world cup, Oscars and everything that unites us!!
