WHY YOUNG-ONES, TODAY, NEED AN ICON LIKE VIRAT KOHLI




My son was watching the last night’s India vs. England ODI. He called me to watch the presentation ceremony. That’s when I learnt what had actually happened!

My son is a massive fan of Virart Kohli. I am particularly happy for that… Call me selfish or call me over-optimistic about one’s children, it’s okay…

Let me reason out as to why young-ones – leave alone my own 24-year-old – yes, let me reason out as to why young-ones, today, need an icon like Virat Kohli, the present Indian Captain in all three formats of cricket…

1.      FOR BEING FAITHFUL TO HIS CHILDHOOD PASSION FOR CRICKET. I find a few young -ones remaining steadfast to their passions. Be it studies, sports, music, acting,  business, politics, writing, teaching, social work, even relationship,  whatever… young ones get distracted very fast, these days… they get carried away by changing fads… the commitment, integrity, dedication, a long-term vision… and, above all, the basic guiding philosophy about life… yes, I find it wanting in a large section of youth. They need badly icons like Tendulkar, Dhoni and Kohli. Yes, for this reason, I am happy; my son treats all of them as his icons.

2.      FOR BEING HUNGRY FOR STELLAR PERFORMANCES ALL THROUGH. Yes, nothing is ‘certain’ in cricket. But, the way Kohli has gone about – and still goes about – his game, and now with additional responsibility as an all-3-format captain – yes, it is something I want all young-ones to emulate… and be hungry for. Hunger for consistency… is the name of the game!


3.      FOR BEING A FAITHFUL LEARNER. I watched one of the latest interviews of Kohli where he talks about the role Dhoni has played in his journey. He says, for him, Dhoni will be still his captain…. Because, he has been groomed and moulded and treated as trustworthy by MS. I don’t find many young men today treating their teachers and mentors the way Kohli does. I am not complaining… I just want our young-ones not to forget their coaches, teachers and mentors… that’s all.

4.      FOR THE SELF-BELIEF AND FOR BEING LEADING FROM THE FRONT. Last night’s match was a proof for that. Asked about his state of mind when India were in a deep hole (chasing 350 runs!), Kohli replied after the gut-wrenching victory: “At 63 for 4, yes, I was still thinking of a win. The only way we could have come out of this was to counterattack. We needed to tell the opposition that we believe we can win.”

“Who is the opposition for our young-ones, today?”… I want them to emulate this mindset from their icon.

‘The Killer instinct’… they used to call it. I want our young-ones to seriously find out what it is…

5.      FOR BEING FAITHFUL TO HIS LADY LOVE. Well, anything can happen there, as well. I love both Virat and Anushka. So, I want them to go all the way. All that I know about their relationship has come from news, social media and grapevine… So, what is the real story, I do not know. But, I am happy for them because they have handled their ‘roller-coaster’ well so far.

I find young ones around me – lots and lots of them – so casual when it comes to their relationships. Maybe, I am yet to get in sync with the attitude and approach to love life which is rampant around me… Maybe, I should simply shut my eyes and mouth… and sentimental heart to this. Let the young- ones be…

Still, I pray our young-ones show more depth, more commitment to their relationships.

So, that was the reason why I felt so nice and elated last night when Kohli, like a gladiator, clinched a ‘victory’ for us…

I said, ‘victory’… And, it is not about ‘Cricket’, you see.

GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Deccan Chronicle/Internet

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or painful that
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How does it matter
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...