Captain Courageous' Mahi-Way!

Mahatma Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Ratan Tata, Barack Obama, Arnab Goswami, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, … One common thread running through all these names is that they all are (were) courageous! Besides, of course, being legends & leaders! And, as you must have guessed it by now, I am a great fan of them all! …

These are just a few names that I have mentioned here but there are many more – many many many more! - from India and rest of the world, contemporary and historical, spanning the entire spectrum of Life who have stood apart from the crowd - but always with the crowd; they all have been bold and brave and, thus, true leaders!

And I salute each of these leaders! And I also salute all those nameless and faceless people – commonly called ‘common man’ / ‘aam-aadmi’ – who have displayed courage in their life and have stood for their ideology and along the way have inspired themselves and others in their sphere to do just what they had always wanted to do – just like the way the world leaders from all walks of life, sports included, have motivated people since the time immemorial!

Watching Mahendra Singh Dhoni lead India to lift the most prized possession in the world of cricket, famously called The Cup That Counts and bring back the most coveted of the silverware in a trophies-chest after 28 long years with his masterstroke of an innings of 91n.o. when India looked shaky from the early exit of stalwarts like Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar said a lot about the man! In spite of so-called not being in his “true form” during the tournament with bat – I say, he was in full form with his captaincy! – he took that bold step of coming out at No.4 when the chips were down for India – and the stakes were pretty high. I cannot imagine any other captain being his ‘natural’ courageous self when India’s possible monumental loss could have got pinned on his shoulders for ever if his strategy had backfired! He looked his usual self i.e. calm and determined from the first go; he remained focused even under intense pressure; and he set out to play the much needed “Captain’s Knock” and steered India the Mahi-way to the victory! And when he hit that huge winning SIX, the nation cheered and cried simultaneously! And then like a true leader he slipped out of the glare and let his team savour the moment! (In no photograph taken on the ground with the cup you will see him clearly.) His ability to handle such momentous moments is supremely humble which is simply awesome!

It was an enormous emotional moment for the entire country. To see a super cool captain Dhoni trying to hide his tears from the cameras was indeed overwhelming! (I couldn’t control my tears.) And who can ever forget tears rolling freely out of legendary Sachin’s eyes (I can hear Sachin say: “I had a dream…!”) and Yuvraj’s, Bhajji’s and almost every member of the winning team adding to the collective pool. Those “Tears of Joy” made the entire country cry with happiness and relief and the satisfaction of getting to hold the Ultimate Cup, again, and being crowned as the Cricket Superpower! … Let the Celebrations continue! …

The most remarkable dimensions of his personality – character is the most apt word – are his trademark brutal honesty and straightforward streak! His beautiful smile on his handsome face (long hair/short hair/no hair: he looks as admirable as always!) radiates his core the best! His ability to stick to his principles and values and beliefs even under trying circumstances is almost unprecedented and infectious; and, his greatness to be able to remain rooted in spite of being a “super successful” and a “super rich” sporting icon in today’s times of glamour and glitz is incredible; remember, he is Indian cricket’s favourite poster boy! His leadership of guts and gutsy decisions – gut instincts! – are aspects of his being that are hugely inspirational! His unshakeable inner calmness with an equally strong confident exterior which he reflects is amazing! He commands respect from all, to say the least. Let us not forget that most of the members of the present team have played under erstwhile captain; it was Dhoni becoming the captain which made them perform at their best.

Let us not forget that he doesn’t come from any “cricketing nursery” – the so-called big towns – where cricket is considered a serious career option and have necessary cricketing ambiance and facilities. What is extraordinary about his constitution is that in spite of this he has been able to carry his team and its individual egos – comprising of seniors and juniors and contemporaries - forward as the most successful captain – and a formidable cricketer - of the most successful Indian cricket team ever! Mahi is a magical leader! 20-20; 50-50; ODI No.1; Tests No1; what next, Mahi?!

Today, if MSD is called Midas Singh Dhoni, then let’s accept the fact “fortune favours the brave”!

(Keep up your courage, Captain MSD! And, a huge THANKS, Mahi and your formidable team (especially Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvi, Bhajji, Zaheer, Kohli, Nehra, and …) along with Guru Gary and the entire support staff, for bringing the Cricket World Cup back to India!)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a study in himself! …

May God be with MSD, as always J

………………….

Honi ko anhoni karde, anhoni ko honi!...

Aur kaun, but our Captain Courageous Dhoni! J

…………………..

Besides cricket per se, another highlight of the just concluded – and conquered! – cricket world cup has been the transformation of Sonia Gandhi. After Uncle Rajiv’s death, she seemed to have gone into her cocoon in spite of being in the public life as a political leader. It was a pure delight to see her enjoy India’s win over Pakistan in Chandigarh! She looked living her life, finally! And, yesterday night, watching her come out in an open jeep to be amongst the celebrating crowd cemented her “coming of”! … Keep it up, Sonia Aunty :)

THANK YOU, Captain MSD! We LOVE YOU :)

THANK YOU, Captain MSD! For making India the Cricket Champion, again! And, we LOVE YOU! ...

Mahi, you led from the front, as always! Indian Team is indeed immensely fortunate to have you as their Captain! And you kept your team absolutely determined throughout! Yuvraj Singh’s peaking during the crucial time of the World Cup tournament was one of the most extraordinary blessings! And, not to forget, Sachin Tendulkar’s trophies-chest will now have this prized and the most coveted of all silver wares, The Cricket World Cup, and his thrill is understandable! …

28 years later, after Kapil Dev’s team’s 1983 victory at the Lords, India finally brought back The Cup That Counts! 2^nd April 2011 will be a date which India and the world will remember forever! … Your keeping your Cool even after achieving this historic feat was incredible! … Great; keep it up!

Mahi, my belief – like billions Indians’ – was unshakeable from the beginning itself that we will win! And, my belief was based on you, Dhoni! … You will always remain India’s most beloved & respected Captain! We love you J …

And, I Thank God for being there with you & your team throughout! May God be with you, always J …

MSD and Hounds of Mediavilles

(My younger sister is a big fan of Mahender Singh Dhoni and she has him on “Google alert”. She forwarded me the necessary links on Media coverage of MSD’s marriage based on which I am making my opinion here. Also, out of curiosity I made special efforts to watch some of that drama on various channels. Otherwise, I completely stay away from Hindi news channels. Though I understand a couple of regional languages but I don’t torture myself by watching any of them.)

..............................................

Even if – I’m simply making an assumption here - MSD hasn’t read Sherlock Holmes’ spy adventure in Baskervilles, yet he would have easily identified the surrounding hounds of Mediavilles during his marriage! In those “Doon” days the Indian paparazzi phenomenon acquired a new proportion the face of which was pretty ugly. Thankfully the English News channels (I vouch for Times Now, NDTV and CNN-IBN only) maintained their balance otherwise the Hindi ones resembled one big consortium all out on a big game safari! Not that the print was any far behind in the crazy game! And, crazy it was - to use a mild expression!

MSD “faulted” in wanting to have some peaceful and personal moments with his immediate family and close friends during his marriage. Media’s “fault” was it could not digest the fact that in today’s 24x7 news environment it had to lose out on “live” coverage of a “big ticket” event like marriage of the Indian cricket team’s captain. After all, Media is used to getting all-details-provided “special invites” to such celebrities’ weddings.

The funniest part – which was not funny at all - of the whole drama during MSD’s marriage days was the erroneous reporting being indulged into by the Media. Every reporter seemed to have manufactured on-the-spot his or her own version of MSD-Sakshi love story – their childhood, their meeting, their dating and their marriage – their life in totality. Nobody seemed to have any knowledge about most of the things. Still every channel was trying to outdo others by resorting to never-seen-before tactics on television. The “surround scribes effect” was quite hilarious!

I am sure no other “Breaking News” – the “real” ones of big magnitude - would have succeeded in “Breaking” the series of “Breaking News” on MSD’s marriage rituals. The “accuracy” of ritual timings being flashed – ‘broken’ – on the television screen gave an impression as if one was witnessing Olympics sporting events! So what if every channel had a different timing for the same ritual! Every channel was claiming precision of the timings as if they were being fed with updated tweets by MSD himself!

But the biggest problem I had with Media’s “intrusive” journalism – at its worst, I must say! – in those “Doon” days was the “divisive” reportage they had adopted plainly out of revenge. The Media was unabashedly trying to forge a permanent divide between MSD and his team members – all those “unfortunate” and “uninvited” ones. Media’s “divide & rule” policy was certainly unpardonable. The arrogance of the Media was repulsive.

Also laughable was the “response” of a few cricketers to Media’s bait i.e. provocative questioning – Gautam Gambhir in particular. Sadly, though our national cricket team members are exposed to the international sporting ambience, they are yet to graduate to being truly international – global – in their attitude. They are yet to break free from their “Indian” mentality – of being Deewana in Begani shaadi!

Our esteemed cricketers and the esteemed Media need to be made to understand the difference between “personal” and “professional” aspects of one’s life, even if it involves a fellow cricketer or a celebrity. They also need to be regularly updated on the international stature personalities’ weddings: that how those are held, who all are invited and “not” invited, and how the rest of the world – Media included – reacts to a particular occasion.

In fact, today is a big learning day for our Media, and cricketers: The only daughter of the ex-president of the United States of America is getting married. And not every president/prime minister – ex-/current – of all countries, UN officials included, and every diplomat he probably shook hands with on this earth has been invited for Chelsea’s marriage; the entire bunch of current US senators perhaps has also not been invited. And, all hell is not going to break loose on Bill and Hillary Clinton for keeping their daughter’s wedding a private affair and away from the prying eyes of the omnipresent Media.

Even if the western media paparazzi is quite infamous for their extreme brand of “intrusive” journalism, by tomorrow morning the world will know that the “reaction” of the world Media hasn’t been over-the-board even if they were not invited in full numbers: in contrast to the Indian Media’s outrage and outrageous behaviour during and post MSD’s marriage.

In conclusion: Even though the Indian news market and thus the news channels (I have same advice for the print media) have evolved but in numbers only; the Indian Media has to evolve in its conduct as well: from being “hounds” to “humble and sensible”.

Till then: MSD, you did the right thing by keeping the intrusive elements out of your personal celebrations. You are a “public” figure but you are fully entitled to a “private” life and your “personal” life is nobody’s business. Hopefully other celebrities will learn from you. … Congratulations, to you and Sakshi :)