Have you ever wondered how it feels to be old? Really old? Maybe it takes another 20 years to the 40 year old readers to understand that feeling. To the 30 year old’s its almost as long as watching Chennai Express.
A Federer will never feel it. Its as smooth as his game; the coming of age over age. The cut of a sharp knife that the victim never feels. TIME kills one very smoothly. The first cut of the knife is never even felt. Only when the last blood is drawn is when one starts feeling the pain.
A Tendulkar still enjoys his game (so he says). So does Federer. They are men who as Jagjit SIngh says in the album Sajda ‘Mili Havaon mein udne ki woh saza yaaron’ flying over us silly mortals. They sailed over us and we still remember them that way.
The cruel question is; do the spectators still enjoy ‘their’ game? In the ‘He-man’ series an ordinary man turns in to a super hero whenever he takes out his sword and raves and rants. But in the real world its the other side that wins. A super-hero almost turning into an ordinary human being. And he doesn’t even need a sword.
When a Tendulkar gets Out to a Monty Panesar or when a Fed loses to some unknown guy; how does it feel? Pure unadulterated sadness. They were never built to lose.Nor was Schumacher. It is like prime horses getting shot when they hurt their foot. No performance,? You die! It never happens in this race unless someone wants to shoot oneself in his/her foot.
so they continue. A Tendulkar is a phenomenon that I can’t explain to a kid 15 years younger to me. He gave me immense happiness by just being watched. The kid has watched him for the last 5 years and (s)he never will understand the genius of a guy who took India to a WC final on his own in 2003. They still blame him for losing us that finale.
They came, they saw, they conquered. Not any more!!
Not Cricket 