The Rawalpindi express has done it once again...Created enough controversey to dominate sports pages after retirement. By implying that the God of cricket was "scared" of facing him, he has ruffled enough feathers to ensure that his name dominates the "tweets" and "status updates'',our generation's equivalent of "fifteen minutes of fame".
But, is the controversey worth it? Can Sachin Tendulkar not be scared? Not ever? And is the thought of somebody capable of scaring him so unforgivable, that we start treating the "perpetrator of this crime" with disdain and anger which befits a criminal? Well...I don't think so...
For understanding this extreme reaction, I feel we have to dwelve deep into the Indian psyche.We Indians have a tendency to either deitize or demonize our public personalities.And once we do that, any view contrary to our perception has to deal with brickbats. Sachin Tendulkar is one such "God". We ascribe our heroes with such divine qualities, that human inadequancies like fear and doubt, are not only impossible to have for them, but also blasphemous! So the hue and cry when Shoaib as much as hinted that our Little Master felt fear before facing him,
Let me tell you what I think. Fear is not only natural, but also human. And the fact that we admire any hero is because we know that he has accomplished so much inspite of being human. We can not take awy human emotions from them. There is no fun if an invincible "Superman" were to score centuries in front of hapless bowlers. The real fun is when both the parties are human, and therefore falliable. Fear has an undeniable role to play in the entire equation.
Finally, a Cola ad gets it right. Courage is not the absence of fear.Rather it is the ability and resolve to face the fear and conquer it. What we should be talking about is not when Tendulkar feels the butterflies in his tummy before facing Shoaib. But, the conquest of fear when he skillfully sends the ball beyond the boundaries, ever so often.
But, is the controversey worth it? Can Sachin Tendulkar not be scared? Not ever? And is the thought of somebody capable of scaring him so unforgivable, that we start treating the "perpetrator of this crime" with disdain and anger which befits a criminal? Well...I don't think so...
For understanding this extreme reaction, I feel we have to dwelve deep into the Indian psyche.We Indians have a tendency to either deitize or demonize our public personalities.And once we do that, any view contrary to our perception has to deal with brickbats. Sachin Tendulkar is one such "God". We ascribe our heroes with such divine qualities, that human inadequancies like fear and doubt, are not only impossible to have for them, but also blasphemous! So the hue and cry when Shoaib as much as hinted that our Little Master felt fear before facing him,
Let me tell you what I think. Fear is not only natural, but also human. And the fact that we admire any hero is because we know that he has accomplished so much inspite of being human. We can not take awy human emotions from them. There is no fun if an invincible "Superman" were to score centuries in front of hapless bowlers. The real fun is when both the parties are human, and therefore falliable. Fear has an undeniable role to play in the entire equation.
Finally, a Cola ad gets it right. Courage is not the absence of fear.Rather it is the ability and resolve to face the fear and conquer it. What we should be talking about is not when Tendulkar feels the butterflies in his tummy before facing Shoaib. But, the conquest of fear when he skillfully sends the ball beyond the boundaries, ever so often.
