-The story of how a bumbayi-ite loves IPL…
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*Wake up . Brush . Bathe .
Have your breakfast . Read Bombay Times . Look in the mirror for 10 exact
seconds (obviously not more , you are going to miss your train then ) . Stuff
your dubba and bottle into the bag . Run to work (because if you are late ,
assignment nai milega ,toh boss respect nai karega ; boss respect nai karega
toh promotion nai milega ; promotion nai milega toh paisa nai milega ; paisa
nai milega toh life kaise jiyenge , how will you fulfil your needs ?) .
Work . Work. Work . Have
lunch . Work . Work. Work . Eat vada pav below office . Run and catch the train
. Reach Home. Have dinner . Watch TV . Use the internet , keep some movies for
downloading (woh toh bas aise hi download karte hai , dekhne ka time kisko hai
? But ,but, it feels nice to say ‘’I have a 100 movies downloaded and kept at
home ‘’ , nai? ) And then sleep .sleep. sleep.
Wake
up...
Are you wondering how i
know about your daily routine ? Did you think i was following you ? Obviously
not ! Looks like ,you too ,are from Bumbai ,my friend .*
So
all the Bumbayi-ites , chalo , lets go back in time ...
2008,April
Cricket you know , is as much
a religion in India , as any other religion is .
So , the Board of Cricket and
Control in India decided to merge cricket and entertainment , and launched
a professional television cricket league
; IPL-Indian Premier League .
Ofcourse , it created a roar of excitement amongst
people world – wide . Bumbiyas were happy too , weren’t you ?
Well , you were , and why not ! It is something
totally out of your daily boring and monotonous schedule , almost free to watch
(since it was shown on a Set Max , which your cable provider provides you with
, at no extra cost ) and above all so entertaining and enthralling !
Back to 2012
Over the years , IPL kept growing . Five years down
the line and we have reached a point where IPL tickets can cost anything from
Rs. 650 to Rs.5000 , or much more ,since , the black market for these tickets
is fast growing . But lots of us Bumbayi-ites are ready to spend that colour of
money , on one single evening – expensive tickets , on buying the jersey of the
team your support , on gathering your friends and tattooing yourself , on
accessories , and merchandise of that team , and most importantly , ont he food
and drinks to celebrate the success of the team .Because for them , an IPL
evening is like breaking free from the daily routine , from the same old work ,
from the herd class sweaty trains and traffic . Its as good as a tequila shot ,when
you have it , it brings a weird happiness , like the one from hallucination ; a
joy beyond expression ,a feeling that this ,is my life ,an utmost desire to remain
there forever , in the same feel , but when you sleep it off , its all gone ;like
it never happened .
Isn’t the Bumbayia life like that ? We work endlessly
each day , and behave as if yesterday did not even happen!
And so ,there are lots of big brands out there in the
market , loads of entrepreneurs , cricketers , who are ready to invest in IPL ,
in terms of money , effort , skill or
talent . Because , hell , its got whopoping return on investments.
Its like this : Even though the team you own or are a
part of , ranks last in the season , you would be making profits , because big
companies are yet going to sponsor your team , yet going to give you
advertisements , people are still going to buy your team merchandise and more
than anything else , people are still going to come and watch your match in the
stadium . Basically , IPL is soon going
to become the Indian Religion .
And , all this , despite the fact , that cricketers
and team owners ; have , in the past , been found fixing matches , bribing
officials , bookies have been found paying players to suit their business needs
, team owners have openly declared that IPL is nothing more than mere business
for them , the sport and its rules are being over looks , tickets are overtly
expensive , vendors , restaurants are over pricing on the criterion of match
screening , youngsters are getting more into the habit of betting , politicians
have found a way to make money , and ; security measures have been diverted to
IPL , and important matters are being overlooked .
The question is ,does this concern us ? Or should IPL
be taken in the spirit of pure business ?But if that is done , isn’t it unfair
?6 To the sport ,to the people who spend their hard earned money on it , to the
very talented cricketers ?Would such commercialism lead to the world losing its
innocence ,the fact that even a game is not taken in a sportsman spirit and
bribing is over powering our thoughts ?
But we,at Bumbayi ,don’t care, or rather , do not have
the time to care . Because here , as someone rightly said , Life is a race ,
and if you don’t run fast , you’ll be like a broken egg !
IPL was , is and will continue to be amongst the most
entertaining event of the year , no matter what !
Think about it .
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