The Death Knell of Pakistan Cricket

Is this true? Is this really happening? Is this new kind of cricket? Am I watching cricketer being shot at or is the news channel playing April fool in March? And how come the gun men have the guts to fire in public area without any fear?

These were just some few questions going in my mind when I switched on the TV to watch Pakistan v/s Sri Lanka 2nd test match. How come human being has stopped so low as to fire upon sportsmen who have come over as guest of the nation? The Sri Lankan players were there because India had pulled out of the tour. After being cajoled and pleaded they had come to Pakistan t a stupid game called cricket. They were not to there take jobs from the Pakistan people nor were they taking running away with their women.

Then why in the gods name were these 12 dumbass morons firing at them with some of the most advanced pieces of killing machinery. I dread to think what they would have brought if it were the Indian cricket team rather than the Lankan. The terrorist might have hijacked F-16 fighters or would have brought an armed tank to blow them up.

Some of my Pakistani friends tell me that these are missionaries. I beg to differ here. Missionaries are in for money and they always have an escape plan. Money is no use to them if they are dead. My view is that these 12 (or more) stupid nitwits were brain-washed kids who would have been educated with totally incorrect Islam knowledge. Neither the Holy Quran nor the teachings of Prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h) ever stated that Muslims need to kill non-Muslims to attain heaven. On the contrary there will be whole loads of questions on such kind of acts on the judgment day. And each one will be meted out treatment based on acts committed in this world.

This is the final straw that has completely killed any Pakistan goodwill. Forget cricket, no other sports person would like to visit this country now. Gone are the days when we will be privilege to watch great Pakistan squash player like Jahangir in action in Pakistan. It is for sure now that our generation will not be watching Pakistan taking on Australia, India, England or any other country in Pakistan. To keep the sanctity of cricket intact Pakistan will have to travel to neutral venues for their home games.

The act has not just killed cricket in Pakistan but the livelihood of most of the players. As it is Pakistan Cricket Board has been having tough time with their finances, with their home matches being played on neutral territories they would end up loosing big bucks from advertisers, grounds, sponsorship and everything that comes with cricket. Revenue flow fall further and it would be almost impossible for them to offer remuneration to cricketer in-line with the international benchmark. Players will look for alternatives to earn money and the probability of most of them join Indian Cricket League is very much n the horizon.

I completely empathize with Younis Khan comments on Cricinfo when stated “If the sport is not there, the children can do silly things.” Even tough my heart and soul belong to Indian cricket I always enjoyed the rivalry we had with Pakistan. Sometimes while watching a cricket match, I felt my adrenalin running at fast pace then the players. Such was the joy of watching these ferocious rivals. Younis pointed out rightly that when youngsters watch their favorite heroes in action they start to emulate them. As the Pakistani kids will not able to watch today stars showing off their great skills, they will loose interest in cricket and a land that has thrown up giant killers like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Inzamam ul Haque, Mohammed Yousuf will no longer be the breeding ground for producing such names again.

And what about the people for earn livelihood due to staging of matches? The groundsmen, the cleaners, the ushers, the transport people, people running canteens in the stadium and many more who are directly or indirectly affected by such a calamity. These are not the rich types who will survive somehow but those who live hand to mouth. They have such low income that it is not always possible to have 3 proper meals daily. What about their families? These low wage earners might be the main bread earners and no income will surely affect their spouse, children, parents, sibling etc.

The 12 psychos might be ruing the fact that no cricketer died (and thank god for that) but indirectly have ensured that their own innocent countrymen lives become more miserable than as it is. I hope the people of Pakistan start demanding safety of their lives, income and security of their children from the corrupt politicians. Or else the day is not far away when this country is isolated from the world and hefty price paid by the general public for their inaction.

Children of Heaven- Innocent emotions in motion

THIS IS A REPRODUCTION OF POST I HAD DONE ON PFC ON 27th FEB 2009
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A month back my friend asked me to join him for a movie at his place. It was an Iranian movie by a director unknown to me. Frankly speaking I am not a big fan of Irani movies. With lots of cajoling and pushing I sat down in his TV room to watch this flick called Children of Heaven.

The next 80 minutes completely blew me off. It was my privilege to spend the next 80 minutes watching a director bring out one of the best in cinema the world has even seen. The movie is in Farsi language and one reads to the subtitles to understand it. The whole movie must have been made on shoe string budget but it can put to shame most of the Bollywood and Hollywood million dollar budget stupid flicks that are neither entertaining nor good value for your money.

Children on Heaven (Bacheha Ye Aseman in Farsi) starts with Ali Mondegar (played by young Amir Hashemian) getting his younger sister Zahra (Bahare Siddiqi) shoe mended at the cobbler. On the way back he pops into a vegetables shop, leaving the shoe bag outside. Unknown to him a garbage collector picks up the bag. He goes back home to his sister and informs her of the misfortune. But asks her not to tell their parents. He understands that being poor their father does not have money to buy a new pair and would need to borrow money for it. Till such time they will make use of Ali’s sneakers. Zahra will wear them to school in the morning and Ali will use them for his school on her return.

This is the basic premise of the whole movie and what follows is just fantastic. You get totally drawn into the whole drama and the close to life resemblance of the situations. Your heart goes out to the siblings when they have verbal arguments and adore them when they support each other. The film has less dialogue and one really does not need to keep reading the subs after understanding the basic issue of lost shoes. Both the children have shown depth in their characters; their smiles, their eyes, the frowns and body language are in sync with the situations that are forced upon them due to the loss. The supporting cast is just as good but don’t have much say in the movie.

The film promotes team work, responsibility, love, trust, sense on honour, politeness, respect for elders, family values and many aspects of life. The story has universal appeal; you can base it anywhere in the world, be it Mumbai or Manila. More than the story it’s the director (Majid Majidi) who should be given credit for showcasing it in a very simple and easy to understand format. Camera works is very simple, no crazy angles here. Music is bare and on need base only. Dialogues are sparse and light. The movie is humorous as well as soul searching. Majidi has ensured that audience are not subjected to heavy douse of emotional outcry that would have been the norm if it were made in Bollywood.

As final credits start rolling in I was left thinking about the movie and how all the situations are related to real life. There was a complete silence between me and my friend and it took good ten minutes to break it. All that while I was thinking about how the sibling dealt with the situation and how I have scream and throw fits when I an under situations that are not to my liking. I have not written any post in a long time but this movie has compelled me to add my two bits and make more of you aware about it.

I recommend all to watch this flick; especially parents should do it with their children. I assure you those will be some of the best 80 minutes of your lives.

Watch out for some of the outstanding scenes. My personal favourites are

1. Exchange of notes by the sibling
2. Zahra being ashamed wearing Ali’s large and dirty sneakers to school
3. Zahra’s facial expression when se finds her shoe being worn by a school mate
4. The sibling going to the other girls house to get the shows but coming back empty handed as they find how poor and helpless the girls father is
5. Zahra’s being upset when she finds out that the other girls mother has thrown her old shoes
6. Ali giving his best to come third in the race as the prize is pair of sneakers for that position

I have become huge fan of Majid Majidi and can’t wait to watch his other movies. May write about them in my next post.

No country for old men.. the state of Indian cricket