That Killer Instinct

My first post for this year. I remember starting out 2 years back, after watching an Andy Roddick Federer quarterfinal, which was fascinating for me because I discovered ‘ The Federer’ for the first time for myself and boy was I in awe!
2 years later, I’m writing at a time when Federer is at the cusp of taking another huge slice of history and rewriting it as his-story. How much longer will this amazing human continue to enthrall us? Your guess is as good as mine! Anyhow, as my current post will not focus on Federer, I will have to grievously move on.
I will focus my post on certain things that I believe are changing this country...both good and bad…
The Killer Instinct- Part I
Did I write a post a couple of years back on one of the prototypes of the Indian cricket fan lamenting the lack of fire our boys have in their belly’s??? Well, it seems as if they have loads and loads of that ulcer generating stuff nowadays, and I’m not just talking cricket, but in every conceivable sport I turn to, I see an Indian name marching along smartly- Saina in badminton ( mind you, its Saina and not Sania!), the Kumars in boxing, the Joshna’s and deepika’s squashing their opposition if you may ( I couldn’t resist that one), the one and only Abhinav Bindra and of course all these new names that keep popping up in tennis, the latest being Somdev and Yuki ( sounds like a nice Japanese name doesn’t it?). It is as if they just got into the car and started off in fourth gear- but wait a minute, that’s not all true. The Indian sporting authorities continue to be afflicted by the same disease that afflicts our politicians- bureaucracy and zero proactivness, so where did these kids just come up out of- nowehere? I guess that’s the answer- Nowhere!! Most of these kids took to the sport of their choice at a tender age and have basically labored on, away from the limelight, weathering sponsorship hassles, and poor infrastructure and yet emerged winners! That’s something isn’t it? No matter how far these youngsters progress in their career, what they have already achieved is pathbreaking in that they took the risks that will enable generations to follow to follow their sporting dream. Its official now- sports is an official career option! And while there are still many hurdles to face and the old problems persist, we know that a willing heart will certainly find a path!
Coming back to Federer ( I know I said I would move on, but I think this is relevant to the discussion),his killer instinct is beyond doubt, so I wont talk about it, what is amazing me these days is his ability to bounce back. There is alot that these fiery Indian youngsters can learn from the likes of federer and Nadal, starting from their fitness and agility, to their mental toughness, anticipation and most importantly their ability to close things out. Well begun is half done is not a phrase that finds currency in professional sport, its well done that is full done that is more apt. That is what these youngsters are also displaying. I’m beginning to wonder why sportsmen and women in the past have not been able to display this confidence, this assurdness in their own ability before? Was there some linkage between their physical conditioning and their mental toughness or is this just an attitudinal shift? I will place my bets on the latter. Attitude is what separates the great from the good and that is what I suspect many young sports persons have in plenty these days. So, why did this attitudinal shift occur? If you notice, a lot of the youngsters these days, they have all grown up in the post reform era, at a time when our society was increasingly exposed to multitudinal direct and indirect influences- the era of cable tv, the era of growing fitness consciousness, the era of the growing Indian middle class and most importantly the era of the young Indian- we have a lot more teenagers and 20 somethings in this country than in any other country and if half your population is between 13 and 24 and if even 10% of them take up professional sport and stick to it, you certainly have the best shot that any country does at sporting glory.
The growth of the smaller cities and towns and the enormous energy that all this has created has finally opened up the doors for the truly talented in this country- inspite of the geriatric bureaucracy mind you. I only hope that a willing administration will back these youngsters with the financial muscle they require. This is an opportunity, we as a country must not let slip through our hands. I suspect that over the next 40 or so years, we will see the emergence of many such youngsters who display skill, passion, ability and willingness along with the all important fire to win- let us encourage them to cross the threshold and reach the highest echelons in every sport!
The Killer Instinct- Part II
So we have youngsters dancing to the winning tune, but on the other hand we have girls dancing in clubs being mauled at! Now that’s a tune the majority does not want to hear and neither do these shameful acts bring any credit to this country. India, therefore remains this chaotic kaleidoscope where when 10 people push you forward, 15 people will push you back. Even that I will say is not entirely true, as the Indian family in my opinion, is one of the biggest social infrastructure assets anyone could hope to have and will surely play a great role in grooming these wonderful youngsters in their ensuing glory years.
What I am referring to are these fringe organizations that take it upon themselves to prescribe the right and ‘righteous’ medicine to the youth, and more specifically one gender of the youth. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, India is certainly going back to its rich cultural and traditional roots when one sex is beaten up, its definitely up there when the same sex is molested at the work place and dowry deaths- whats that? They go by the name under the carpet incidents these days. This is India at its cultural best! It is these kind of fringe organizations that our gods have sent down to maintain our moral values- another sort of killer instinct developing don’t you think? Killer instincts nursed with a good amount of alchohol I’ll bet ( though not from the pubs!) and a huge injection of male machismo. My advice to ladies in general- lets move on, the more we react, the more these sort of things will occur and remember its election year, so this once in five year morality maintaining cycle is being enacted once again. If we must do something lets all register in some self defense classes, I’m sure they will come in handy some day!

The Killer Instinct – Part III
While the first killer instinct highlights individual acheivment, and the second one created a marauding mob, the third one mourns the death of the individual. Welcome to the India where clichés combined with social prescriptions kill all individuality. Let me start with the fair and lovely ad campaign- how long have we been seeing these advertisements now- 15 years, 20 years, and yet they remain frighteningly the same, its just the list of accomplishments that accompany the use of the product that has increased. You can actually have a job now without applying the cream (thank god for small mercies), but you still cant win a dancing competition or get a guy, but the cream that’s a miracle worker altogether- in 6 weeks you get the 3 in one package of ‘fairness’, ‘confidence’ and that plastic guy or the dance competition- whoppie!!! Individual talent, self belief- zilch. I wont say the company is at fault, after all they reflect the society and a fair face still sells, even if its anemic and ghostly- harking back to our fascination for ‘velaikaarans’ and ‘firangi’s.
Here’s another prized one that never ceases to amaze me- the perfect man campaign- check out the logic of these guys- The way to becoming a perfect man is to wear this company’s suit- if only being perfect were that simple. Somehow, the suit with magical powers ‘vest’ed in it, will make a man a hero to football playing kids and prevent a lost pretty young thing from falling in her own wedding reception- all because he has that suit on, makes me wonder what a wimp he must be otherwise. Once again, it is not the Raymond company which is at fault, so much as the prevailing mindset that says that the Indian man is perfect only if he is this mythical hero and by the same token that the Indian woman is the holy protector of Indian values.
It is this prevailing social killer instinct that kills all individuality and tears apart any semblance of individuality.
Having said that, I will reiterate the point that none of these instincts, save the first one has a remote chance of becoming an established norm or a cemented mindset. For all those media watchdogs, who believe in hyperbolic epithets like ‘India’s 9/11’ or the ‘Talibanization of India’ I have one suggestion- just relax; neither is correct and it isn’t likely to happen, and at the risk of sounding patronizing I will say this- India has survived many invasions, many cultural upheavels, witnessed many battles and yet its still there and is not likely to go anywhere anytime soon, and we absolutely do not need to attach ourselves to western comparisons and phraseology to describe events, which if I may say are uniquely Indian good and bad. Let us all wake up to this invigorating new india, as intoxicating as filter coffee, as fresh as the morning dew and as courageous as the legendary ancestors that have inhabited this land!!!