The Poem of Pride...and Shame

Delhi Rape - What a shame, what a shame...

47 mein Angrezo se kar ladai, azaad hua hindustan
Tab tha mera bharat mahaan

83 mein apne khiladiyo ne band kar di West Indies ki dukaan
Tab tha mera bharat mahaan

2008 mein saikdon ki maut ke baad, Mumbai wasiyo ke saath tha poora hindustan
Tab tha mera bharat mahaan

2011 mein Lanka dha ke phir ban gaye hum keertiman
Tab tha mera bharat mahaan

2012 mein Kasab ko de faasi, humne phir kiya insaaf ka elaan
Tab tha mera bharat mahaan

Lekin 2012 mein hi is mahaan desh ke chand ladko ne chalti bus mein dikhaya apne andar ka haivaan
Kya ab bhi hai mera bharat mahaan?

Aryabhatta, Gandhi, Tendulkar aur Amitabh Bacchan ne badhai jis desh ki shaan
Usi desh ne paale hain ye jaanwar, jo sirf dikhte hain insaan
Kya ab bhi hai mera bharat mahaan?

Eh desh chalane walo, lauta do har behen, beti aur bahu ke chehre ki muskaan
Chadha do in badmasho ko faasi par, har lo in shaitano ke praan
Dikha do ki kshama nahi hai in gunehgaaro ke liye, mita do inki mardaangi ke har nishaan

....Tab banega phir mera bharat mahaan.
Tab banega phir mera bharat mahaan.

-- Kunal Jha

Back...after a brief commercial break!

The IPL 2012 season is in full swing and as the pendulum swings between the Delhi Daredevils, the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Mumbai Indians, I ask myself - what, in your heart, governs which team you're going to support.

Do you support the team that plays for the city/state you live in? ( in which case I should be supporting Bangalore) Or do you support your favorite cricketer regardless of the team he is playing for? (Sachin plays for the Mumbai Indians!) Or do you support a team because you're enchanted with the franchise owner? (SRK owns KKR and I bow before his charisma, his acting prowess and his success as a businessman). Or, as Rocky Balboa made people discover, do you support the proverbial underdog just because they're having such a run of bad luck that you feel your prayers may count? (The Deccan Chargers need every little prayer they can garner).

Its an interesting paradox because nearly every team has a reason to support it that tugs at your heart strings - The Rajasthan Royals because of Dravid (whadda playa!), the Pune Warriors because of Dada (the word 'captain' personified), the Chennai Super Kings because of Captain Cool Dhoni (the meteoric rise to the top and the maturity that belies his age) or the Kings XI Punjab because they're Yuvraj Singh's ex franchise (and god knows we all have a soft spot for this Punjabi Munda - his heroics in winning us the world cup and his subsequent fight against lung cancer).

In a nutshell, this is what the IPL is - a celebration of cricket. Never mind the hoopla around how much who is making, the cheerleader attire controversy, the Lalit Modi fiasco or the moral police crying foul over the after match parties of yore, the IPL is the quintessential feel good sports league where, in every match, your team loses and your team wins. My advice? 2 matches a day and 50% completed - the rest of May 2012 will throw up surprises and heartbreaks alike. Stock up on the popcorn and enjoy this spectacle of sport - may the best team win!