Columnist Shobha De recently commented on how it was a waste of national resources, money in particular, to send our athletes to the ongoing Rio Olympics,2016.
After reading about this invaluable piece of insight from the celebrated (God only knows why!) columnist, several emotions started clamouring up in my tiny head, making me indecisive on who to offer the stage first. You see I do not possess the sophisticated skills of wording my emotions in measured tone and syllables, like our dear Ms. De here. However, given that it’s equally hard for me to sit on my naïve opinions for a very long time I will try and pen down my crooked emotions in as cohesive a manner as I possibly can.
Firstly, I believe apologies are in order since I have not read a single piece of writing from the lady in question here, since the day I first tried reading a column written by her in TOI(of which she has been a regular Sunday columnist). I say tried because I could not bring myself up to finish it properly. I either folded the paper out of sheer exhaustion or perhaps passed out, I couldn’t really say which. Nor do I care to recall now. Maybe her discourses are for people with way higher intellect than creatures like me who thrive more on the mediocre concept of sense and aesthetics in a piece of writing over heavy vocabulary with an equally haughty opinion of everything in this world. But I assure you ma’am; I keep looking for something, anything¸ that you might have written which would make sense to poor old me and make me want to read more of your pearls of wisdom. Your career graph has been a movement from modelling to writing columns about the high end socialites, for high end socialites to a few scripts for television soap operas (wonder why you moved on from that, it surely was your true calling), and eventually graduating to writing novels about socialites and their sex life. Because, lets face it, as a Country with a gazillion problems to write about, socialites and their bedroom lives are the most pressing concerns. In the end, your entire career boils down to being a celebrated socialite columnist.
Tell me, when was the last time you sincerely wished to represent your country in an international event of a respectable stature, except for the category of “foot in the mouth” contest. A word of advice ma’am (though I am well aware you haven’t asked for it, pretty much like your opinion which wasn’t asked for), speak ill of others only when you’ve had your share of laurels dedicated to your country. You know nothing of patriotism unless it comes to you in the form of personal favours from the elitists running this country. Sitting in your plush apartment, with a balcony overlooking the beach, which of course “encourages writing” does not give you the liberty mock those athletes, most of whom belong to the families which had no idea where their next meal would come from. All because so far, they have not been able to meet your expectations of a Gold in Olympics? (I am tempted to say “how very typically a woman!”)
If you have to criticise, then direct it towards the poor management of athletics, or any other sports in our country other than cricket. Criticise the insufficiency of funds invested in the grooming of our athletes all year round. The lack of basic facilities provided to them in order to train better and harder. As of now, merely representing their country in the Olympics is in itself an achievement most of them have earned from their sheer determination and hard work. If you wish to educate yourself, read about the intense hypnotic training that our boxers go through just so they can perform well under pressure. Or the solitary confinement our athletes subject themselves to for months before the event just so they can avoid any distractions or digressions from their set goals. I wonder when was the last time you did something as intense as, say, shutting up! They are representing our country where it matters and it is something to be proud of. Whether or not they bring a medal back home, a word of encouragement will only be a fuel to their efforts. Rio is not the last Olympics before the Armageddon. There will be more.
So kindly, keep your discouragement to yourself and stick to the pseudo-intellectual things you write about to be consumed by an equally pseudo-intellectual audience, which prefers being influenced by your words and finding one more reason to criticise the country sitting in their cushy arm chairs, far away on a Greek vacation sipping on Ouzito and tch-tching the sorry state of affairs of their country. Ah..pity!
Its people like you misusing the freedom of speech, that make me wish for an implementation of Middle Eastern laws. Go home! Write about the grey, seedy underbelly of the Socialites, make more novels which people frustrated with their lives will buy and read in order to pose a standard higher than they actually possess, intellectually speaking and that my dear lady is true wastage of personal as well as national resources, not just the money but the brains too. Patriotism is clearly not your gig. Leave that to imbeciles like us. When the athletes representing my country come back home, medals or not I will celebrate their efforts, because that’s what people like us do. We celebrate the efforts, for we know its worth.
Sincerely,
An Indian who is glad to have her country represented on an international event.
The post An open letter to Shobha De-The Olympics Fiasco. appeared first on The First Step.
