Defying Reason, Defying Purpose!

How do you choose between Eternity and Infinity?  The answer is pretty straightforward; you don’t commit the audacity of choosing one.  

To put the aforementioned into context, the entire hullabaloo concerning the act of bestowing the Bharat Ratna on Sachin Tendulkar before the Hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand seems more of a political ruse than a well thought argument.  But the debate is so enthralling and tempting that I don’t blame anyone for being ensnared by it.

The two men are giants who dwarfed everyone around when they walked on earth, the torch bearers of their own respective eras. One man was incredible and mighty enough to take the game to its pinnacle when there was no media and hype surrounding it, the other one – a demi God – unlocked the realm of riches in the sport and changed the face of it completely.

The two are almost untouchable with nigh impregnable records when it comes to contribution to their sectors of involvement.  They not only indulged themselves in their areas of excellence but engaged hordes of people with them, they never walked alone. And hence when they form the cream of an enticing yet fruitless discussion, it is bound to invoke public emotion.

Does it really matter who should have been the first sportsman to get unrestricted and unquestioned right to the golden Peepul leaf? The debate is nothing short of an artifice by cheap political parties to cash in on the status of the two legends and ride on their success. It’s not at all shocking and surprising and in fact comes out as a great strategy in a country which breeds casteism and groupism in its ranks, and divides people on something as irrelevant as their color. 

As far as the comparison goes, the biggest folly lies in comparing the two men from two different times; what the media and the public have done is that they have essentially pitted the two men against each other. There is no dearth of their fan base and I can see people piling up numbers and stats to prove that their hero is the mightier one. It’s pretty normal to see people getting carried away in such discussions but in one’s quest to prove a point one should not cross the line and belittle the achievements of these iconic figures. One should remember that trying to compare legends across eras is difficult in the same sport and across different sports it is almost impossible.

Clearly it’s the obsession of us Indians at being the first one which has triggered off this endless debate, no wonder it finds its roots in a country where virginity is over rated. It’s our fixation with the number one which instills these minute yet significant biases in our minds.

Keeping myself from digressing further, I would like to emphasize on the point that this is not a race. It’s not about the Gold here, it’s an honor bestowed on an individual for all what he has done for his country. This is the Bharat Ratna and we should just be glad that a sportsman is getting it.

For the anti Sachin audience, had it not been for the clamor generated by his fans, a sportsman would have still remained elusive from the highest civilian award that India has to offer. Do not mistake me here for saying that Sachin has more impact on the public; it’s just that the current generation having seen him bat could connect more with him.

Baseless statements doing the rounds of media like: Sachin is getting it then why not Dhyan Chand, make no sense. They were both great in their own way. Dhyan Chand deserves it doesn't mean Tendulkar doesn't deserve it. The man never campaigned for this award and we should respect him.

Making it out to be like Tendulkar somehow stole the thunder from Dhyan Chand could not be further from the truth. One person’s greatness does not diminish another person’s worth.  Rather than crying foul at the decision, let’s cherish the success of one man at the moment and hope very shortly we will be doing it for the other.