Ok, I watched a match after a long time, and India lost. Terribly.
India-Pakistan matches used to be evenly balanced – our batting vs their bowling prowess. These matches used to be fought inch-to-inch, with the tide turning many times during the battle.
Then, they started to get one sided. Usually on our side. India started to win these encounters pretty easily, with Pakistan folding on multiple occasions.
Not today though. They breezed through the match without losing a single wicket. Yeah, so this was one-sided too. Only this time, not on our side.
They say sports are successful in evoking our emotions because the brain does not know the difference between watching a match and playing one. The senses are nearly the same, and hence the sentiment as well.
The brain actually is the most intriguing part of nature – sitting pretty in a dark skull, with no contact to the outside world except through the senses, yet making us see, smell, taste, touch and hear the world, and engage with it too. It not only gives us information on the world and other people, it also makes us feel.
The same feeling goes with another occasion today – Karwa Chauth.
I had written about it earlier (you can read it here). There are strong sentiments both sides – with the conservatives wanting to celebrate it in all it’s glory and the liberals panning it as regressive. What do I think? Read the blogpost to find out!
For now, let it suffice to say that we are humans because of our emotions. That is what makes us feel for others, care about others, love or hate…emotions make us bond with a community, a family, or a country…
So emote, and emote well. India may have lost the match, but it doesn’t matter. That you went through a wide range of emotions while watching it, accomplishes a task in itself. In the middle of all the technology that the world can offer, a match could still stir our emotions, and that is cause for a little celebration in itself.
See you tomorrow!