Yayati - A Father's Cry!

At the outset I wish 'Happy Father's Day' to all fathers. Fathers are unsung heroes of the world of parenting.  In most of the Indian families with the passage of family stages, mother keeps growing in command and stature, often leading to a feeling of redundancy among fathers!  Moreover fathers by nature are less expressive when compared to mothers, which is not desirable for their physical and emotional health. They become loners. But fathers have their own emotions and desires. All these range of fathers' emotions are well portrayed in the play Yayati, written by Girish Karnad, who passed away recently.

Yayati, the King and ancestor of Pandavas of Mahabharat was married to Devayani, the daughter of asura priest Shukracharya. He had relationship with Sharmistha, the maid-servant of Devayani. This infuriates Shukracharya who curses him with premature old age! Yayati could redeem this curse only if someone was ready to exchange his youth with him. Yayati's son Puru (through Sharmistha) agrees to exchange his youth.  Yayati regains his youth and enjoys family life with his two wives for thousand years.  Finally the King accepts his old age and gifts his youth to his son Puru. Yayati crowns Puru as the King, as a reward for his obedience. Karnad's play examines the moment of crisis that Puru's decision sparks, and the dilemma it presents for Yayati, Puru and Puru's young wife.

Is there a Yayati in every senior father of modern times? Certainly yes! And that is why the character of Yayati has stood as a lovable character although centuries have passed. But can there be an young son who is prepared to exchange his youth with the old age of his father? 'Probably no' may be the instant answer! Let us examine the possibilities from all angles.

Even today there are sons and daughters who are ever ready to take good care of their parents. Modern health facilities have enhanced the longevity of seniors' life. Foreign trips/pilgrimages of seniors sponsored by well placed children are quite common. Children helping parents to exchange their old cars with new ones is also not uncommon.  Moreover modern seniors too are clever enough to build savings and assets during their best earning periods. These factors have made 'yayati moment' a reality for our seniors. Of course, not all seniors may be fortunate this way. 

Mahabharath has more messages for modern fathers. Shantanu, one more ancestor of Pandavas was caught in the web of unconditional love with his sweetheart Ganga.  He married Ganga forfeiting his rights to question any of her acts.  Ganga gave birth to seven children, but she drowned all of them to death. Finally when Shantanu mustered courage to question his wife during the birth of their eighth child, Ganga invokes her writ and goes away with the child deserting him. Even in modern life 'Shantanus' are not uncommon who keep mum even on disgraceful acts of their wives.

Shakespeare's drama King Lear, has a great message for modern fathers.  Old King decides to give away his crown and all assets to his daughters.  He calls his daughters one by one and asks them to express their love for him.  The first two clever daughters, Regan and Goneril profusely express their love to their father. But more balanced youngest daughter Cordelia remains modest and refuses to exaggerate her love to her father.  King Lear becomes furious and gives away his crown and all assets to first two daughters, thereby deserting Cordelia.  King Lear also banishes his faithful friend Kent, for publicly standing up for Cordelia.  King of France impressed by Cordelia's honesty marries her.  Soon Regan and Goneril start acting in their true colors deserting the old King.  Cordelia comes with her army to rescue the King, only to be caught as a prisoner, leading to one more Shakespearean tragedy.

Shakespeare's message is very clear.  Modern parents should never part with their assets as long as they live. They should never be tempted by the emotional plots created by their children and give away their assets. 

Father's Day is an occasion for young children to show their love towards their parents.  But it is also a day of caution for seniors to review the position of harsh realities.  A senior father's best companion is his wife. Even a wife can't be a substitute for an intimate friend.  It is worth having at least one such friend. They should pursue hobbies of their interest to keep themselves engaged and remain creative. Physical activity and controlled diet are certainly going to help. Self-sufficiency and independence are the two best friends of old age.
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(I am thankful to the sources of pictures used here.  I solicit their permission for using them).

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Is Cricket killing Cricket?

Is Cricket killing Cricket?  The question looks strange when we are in midst of ODI world-cup! Are our players and fans suffering from an overdose of cricket? Are cricket players undergoing acute fatigue and burnout owing to crammed schedules? Are we killing the goose that is laying golden eggs? Are our cricket administrators listening?

Look at our Indian team.  They are 'number 1' in Test cricket and 
quite dominant in ODIs and T20s too. Since last year they are undergoing a gruelling schedule which started with an away-Test-series against the mighty South Africans. It was followed by intense twin  away-Test-clashes against England and Australia.  In between there were innumerable ODIs and T20s.  How could our players resist the temptation of 'grabbing' the IPL-2019 opportunity

with both hands?And to top all that now is the ODI world-cup.  Rightly our players preferred to rest and relax after IPL instead of a coaching camp for the world-cup. 

Fatigue and burnout is taking its toll on our players. They are allowed to ignore our domestic cricket.  Who cares if it becomes poorer?  Key players like Dhoni have earlier taken breaks from ODI series and even Test cricket.  But not many players can afford to take such costly risks.  Often they try hiding injuries too! Uncertainty haunts our players.  Nobody can blame them if they prefer to make quick money by playing IPL instead of getting exhausted by playing Test cricket. Even spectators prefer IPL to Tests. Is Test cricket dying?

Test cricket has a history of more than 140 years and has survived in spite of  changes like ODIs and T20s. For connoisseurs of cricket, even today 'Test' is the real test! World's top-most modern 

batsman, our own Virat Kohli too has said that 'Test cricket is the most beautiful format'. What makes Test cricket so special?

The stage for Test cricket is set with the 'conditions, the toss and the team combination'. Test cricket needs specialist batsmen and bowlers whereas all-rounders are enough to win shorter formats. Our own test-giant Sunil Gavaskar used to say that 'give first hour to bowlers and the next five hours will be yours'! Perseverance is the watch-word for a Test batsman to excel. 

Experts have rated our Rahul Dravid a better Test batsman in overseas conditions even when compared to Tendulkar.  So often we see our best batsmen struggling against pace and swing in England and Australia. Same way overseas players struggle against our spinners in Sub-continent conditions. This problem is not there for batsmen in shorter formats.  This underlines the challenge of Test cricket.

Who says 'cricket is a batsman's game'? One can't win a Test match unless his team has bowlers who can take 20 wickets.  Test bowlers have to bowl long spells, both in new and old balls to outwit the batsman. 

'Test captaincy is 90% luck and 10% skill, but you should never try if you don't have that 10% skill', used to say Richie Benaud. 

Test cricket has its own glorious history.  Memories of the first ever 'tied-Test' of 1960 played between Australia and West Indies in Brisbane (pic above) is still green in our minds.  It was only a poetic justice to our Country's progress in the world of 

cricket that  we were involved in the only 'second tied-Test' played against Australia during 1986 in Chennai (see Pic above).

ICC's World Test Championship being launched from July 2019 to April 2021 is a step in the right direction. Although experts are against, 'tinkering with Test cricket', day-night play is worth trying which can help increasing viewership of Tests. Cricket can't survive unless Test cricket keeps thriving.

'Cricketainment' is the modern buzz word which has given rise to the concept of IPL. Despite the devil of 'betting' haunting IPL, even luring players, support staff and administrators,  IPL is now India's top sports-brand and it is growing in strength year after year.  It's a matter of our pride that top players from all over the world vie with each other to get a berth in IPL. IPL has now shown the way to globalize cricket! 

Thus while Test cricket is for serious students of cricket, T20 is for entertainment and taking the game forward.  In between ODI looks redundant and is causing strain on both players and fans. Changes in ODI like two balls for 50-overs and fielding restrictions have made it predominantly a batsman's game, further robbing the charm of cricket.  Scores of 350 are chased with disdainful ease!

ODI neither has the classical charm of Tests, nor the speed and thrill of T20s.  Scrapping of Champions Trophy of ODI by ICC is in the right direction.  What if ODI is scrapped? Will it provide relief to players and spectators from fatigue and burnout? I leave it to the judgment of our readers.

Last but not the least, our national cricket body BCCI, is probably the richest in the world.  They have a responsibility to patronize other sports and games in our country.  They can contribute at least 20% of their revenue for the betterment of others sports and sportsmen. Will they do?

Long live Indian Cricket

 Long live Indian Sports and Games

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(Thanks to the sources of various pictures used here.  I solicit their permission through this blog.)