Yes it is freakish, grim...shattering; because it happened where it was never supposed to...
Suddenly everybody is jolted, halted, Gavaskar was naive enough to call for the suspension of the first test, which is 'just' 10 days away...
Is there anything left for me to write...on this!? "Sports can seep into life, but when the reverse happens it is frightening. When real life breaks through and enters a sporting activity bringing with it death, it is unfair. Real life has no business entering a purely artificial situation and jerking us awake...." Suresh Menon wrote in The Hindu concluding with the words of John Donne, "Death be not proud".
"Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so:
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death; not yet canst thou kill me.
From Rest and Sleep, which but thy picture be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow;
And soonest our best men with thee do go---
Rest of their bones and souls' delivery!
Thou'rt slave to fate, change, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke. Why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die!
- John Donne
Well, I have a perspective...and hence....
Such incidents stops time and makes one wonder what if we reverse back the time....just before the ball hitting Phil and what if he manages to duck under...after all, you never associate death with sport.
Well, death is a death, whether it happens on Sydney Cricket ground or on the streets of Gaza...how different is this death from the death of a small kid shot dead by a stray bullet, while walking innocently....in search of some food...some safety...
You don't associate life with the streets of Gaza and that hapless child, like you don't associate death with a Cricket ground and the . Therefore, a natural walk by a child in the streets of Gaza is treated with contempt of having trespassed into....and hence that death becomes insignificant...irrelevant....rather cheap...
Imagine a situation where a batsman hits a glorious six and the ball hits a man on his temple and he dies on the spot...will it evoke similar sentiments...attention of the entire world...suspension of matches...!?
Is that death any different?
Cricket is a sport and definitely a pass time; but only for those who watch...spend their money and time and watch; and not for the one who is playing. It is played by someone for money, fame, popularity...let us face it: and the death happened while on pursuit of all the above and not while fighting a war for the country. Don't glorify the death, for heaven sake!
The moment we step out of the "safe haven" of our homes, we are stepping into uncertainty...and death is the greatest of all uncertainty which follows us like a shadow.
Till thirty years back, batsmen were facing and fending-off barrage of bouncers from far more lethal bowlers with a mere hat and for far less stake and attention! If you still go back, there were times when the players had to put their money take leave from their livelihood for representing their country and risking their lives and livelihood in real sense! There was even a series when a side purposefully went for head hunting in quest of....
Do you think this event will make even one Australian bowler bowl less lethally...in consideration for the few Indian batsmen who haven't learnt the art of dealing with the bouncers yet...? Never!
When Sandeep Patil was hit seriously on his head and was fortunate to recover; to live and play again; he was greeted with a bouncer by Dennis Lillee.
It is all about winning...fame, money, and there is no place for considerations.
This incident is not going to stop people from allowing their children to take up cricket...for the money, fame will loom larger than this solitary death!
Call it a death, a sad event, unfortunate, untimely and be done with it.
Like every other death, this one will also bring us back to this earth and the reality...for the moment and soon death and Phil Hughes will fade from the minds and the sixes and fours will adore the pages...
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