THE DUGOUT
"If life is a bowl full of cherries,
what am I doing in the pits?"
-- Erma Bombeck
Yes, too
often, I tend to be too serious about life. And, seriously, so much seriousness
isn’t called for to enjoy life in all its hues. So, there are these checks and
balances in life… Whenever I tend to go too serious, something comes up and
tickles by funny bones… “Hey, there is already enough gloom there out; why do
you add more?”
Yes, I seriously hear this inside my heart… “Why
do you add more?”
As a pucca
Mumbaikar, last night, I was rooting for Mumbai Indians. But then, I am, also,
very fond of Rahul Dravid - ‘The Wall’
as they call him for his stoic composure and grace under pressure. I have
always admired him for his cool. Last night, when he was given out in the very
first over (I do think, quite unfairly that was though not intentionally), we
all witnessed the human side of Rahul Dravid… He reacted instantly, kept
shaking his head in disbelief, kept grumbling in annoyance, and finally, before
he settled in the dugout, he vented out his anger and frustration by throwing
his bat in the air!”
When I witnessed that, I admired Dravid even more…
“Hey, this man behaves exactly the way I do!”… Yes, I said that in my heart. “It
is okay to be annoyed, angry and frustrated, sometimes… In fact, you should!” I
argued.
Dravid’s team lost. At the presentation ceremony,
Ravi Shashtri asked Dravid, “So, have you overcome the ‘shock’?”
“Yes, I have,” said a smiling Rajasthan Royals
skipper.” He continued, “Ravi, it is a game of cricket. In the past, I have
been lucky with several decisions; and, sometimes I have been unlucky. Today,
it went against me… But, I got over it and smiled, ‘Hey, it is cricket.”
For me, the best part of the IPL extravaganza is the show inside the studio: No matter which team wins or loses, these guys have real good time here inside… Every time I listen to them, watch them, I come out with the feeling that every situation in life has two sides to it… One brighter, the other darker… One lighter, the other grimmer.
But, to be able to see these two sides, we need to step aside from the situation and view it with a detached perspective…
Sameer Kochhar and Gaurav Kapur are sheer fun to watch and listen to. But, they are inside the studio… not in the playground. I had never heard a term called ‘Sidduhism’ when Navjot Singh Siddhu was a player in Indian team. It was born only Siddhu got into the studios!
Probably, last night, it was easy for Dravid to see the lighter side of the situation sitting there in the dugout… Like a real sportsman, he quickly got over his seriousness and smiled… shook hands and complimented the winning team…
So, while some say, “Don’t worry, be happy,” I find it difficult to experience happiness without experiencing some dose of worry… yes, every day. It reminds me that I can’t afford to be worried all the time… nor, is it practical to expect happiness all the time…
Worry, often, leads me to happiness… Too often, I just stumble upon happiness when I am dead serious expecting too much from life… too much from me! Yes, yes, whenever I find myself in the pits, I remind myself of the wise words:
"If life is a bowl full of cherries,
what am I doing in the pits?"
Like in
the game of Cricket, the coin called Life is tossed before me. Whether the upside is Heads or Tails... mine or not mine… there is always the flipside…
And, that’s
something beautiful about Life…
Being serious
or light…
Sad or
happy.
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.:Gloria Pinto
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