The IPL Bonanza

It’s the 2nd of June – a Monday – I wake up in the morning and everything looks blue…I try to diagnose the cause like an able doctor and yes it's “Monday blues” – though the symptoms are far more stronger this time - I ponder hard and go through the activities planned for today and realize that something is surely missing in my life today – “I don’t have the cricket mania hitting my idiot box this evening”…Its all over now!!! The great 'Indian Primetime Love' has come to an end after an intoxicating 44 days of cricket.

I think it all started when Lalit Modi’s business mind decided to hit the jackpot by bringing the Indian religion to the household..where all would watch irrespective of the religion they belonged to..everybody cashed on - from movie stars to Big-wigs of the industrial sector. The common Indian man (and few uncommon Indian women) succumbed to the pressure of enjoying non-stop game watching – what started as a skepticism soon became a fever…Everyday, I would look forward to going home and switching on the TV set – weekends had a bonanza of back to back matches and I was no longer scared of Mondays…
The official-coffee gossip echoed enthusiastic voices – even though namma Bangalore started at the bottom…no longer did we have coffee breaks to ward off the ever gripping sleep after lunch hours…we had an agenda to discuss now…

I have never followed much of cricket (except bits and pieces here and there) but my disinterested mind was not ready for the attack of cricket in this fast paced, nerve-gripping form…and I totally surrendered to the adrenaline rush. It was a test of reflexes and how one can perform under pressure of time and limited resources (overs, batsmen and bowlers).., quite common in our daily work routine of IT life. Of course strategy was still important, but it was proven that human mind cannot always strategize well under too much stress – the courageous hearts emerged as winners. Then again, it was not just cricket, the youngsters could now see their 70 mm hero-heroines cheering for their team....not to forget the official “firangi” cheerleaders! So the fringe benefits were enough to pull in those who were not motivated by their love of the game.

The effect has been slow but strong..I remember that after a couple of games it was written off by most as just another bunch of matches with not the same fervor as an an India-Aus or India-Pak series could generate and sustain. But they had all forgotten: it was business plus cricket plus entertainment - everything being offered in the right amounts at the right time – the critics eventually gave up and the game took over. Since then, for Indian cricket addicts, it has been served like several ecstatic shots of their favorite dope with each ‘dum’ being more intoxicating than the last one…Now, even though the last high has been savored, but the taste lingers on – for all – the viewers, the cricketers and the IPL owners. Cheers to IPL for giving new life to cricket and to the Indian television at prime time!!