Americans as individuals remember their history by political events. If you ask any middle aged American about the most important events of his personal life, JFK's death would be one of them. Some might even remember what they were doing when Armstrong landed on the moon...
An American's life is entangled with the political events of the nation itself. [I am sure iPod Generation will surely remember "Obama's Victory" as one of the most important events in their personal life]
But I found this feature missing in India. Rajeev Gandhi's death or Sonia declining to become PM never impacted our lives. Comparing to USA, I used to feel bad that our nation lacked these minor things. Oldies can still define their life with respect to major events of freedom struggle. But the post-independent bunch never had such great moments. But yesterday's piece by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Cricinfo - Losing my Religion made me to realize what I have failed to notice..
"I remember Ganguly and Dravid soaring in Taunton, mainly because it was the day I got my board-exam results. And boy, did that provide some much-needed relief. I remember Tendulkar's blitz against Australia in Bombay because my dad, who thought cricket was a waste of time, sat through every ball. So connected were these cricketers to my growing up."
Though we are separated by our religion, our language, our culture, etc. , our nation is united by Cricket. Whichever part of you may be in, we cheer when Tendulkar scores a century or Sehwag blasts the opposition into pieces. Both our nation's history and our individual history are defined by cricket. While Dhoni's team is linked with economic prosperity of the nation, our lives would be forever defined by World T20 win. If you still doubt this, try to recall a few of the important matches
- Ganguly & Dravid scoring in Taunton
- two young men - Kaif & Yuvaraj ensured a victory from the brink of a defeat
- Tendulkar's blitz @ Sharjah...
Hmm.. Cricket defined us.. And Cricket has united us.. :)
