Everything Else

Once upon a time in Wimbledon, there lived a king called Roger!

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Wimbledon is a bit like Disneyland – it is a world of make-believe.

Everything about it is far from reality, but once you are taken by the trance, there is no coming back. The magic that the only major still played on green lawns casts – with its white dresses for ‘gentlemen and ladies’, the strawberries and cream, the royalty, the Dukes and Duchesses,  the formal attire of the audience, the ball boys and girls in their greens (now blues), the ‘quiet please, thank you’ takes you into a world of its own. Like Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, you know it is not quite real, but like in Disneyland, you still best enjoy it when you drown yourself in the shows and the parades that transport you into a different world of its own. It is difficult to pin-point what exactly it is about Wimbledon, but it has been doing this to tennis players and fans across the world for over a hundred years now.

And if anything completes this fairy tale of modern times better in today’s era, it is the sublime grace and majesty of Roger Federer in full flow. Like many tennis fans across the world, I witnessed a bit of that magic over the past couple of games at Wimbledon. More so in the semifinal against Djokovic, but partially also in the finals against Murray, Federer gave us glimpses of the sheer genius and astonishing brilliance that he was worshipped for, and which, even at the age of 30, he is still capable of.

fedex-wimbledon-2012In all honesty, till the end of the second set in the finals, we were searching for that flash of genius from Federer. His game till that point reminded me a bit of the knock in the 2011 Cricket World Cup semifinals that Sachin Tendulkar played against Pakistan – an old maestro who knew the importance of the occasion and wanted to give his best, but, in the face of an inspired opponent, was just about surviving and seeing things through – almost lucky to still be in the game. I don’t know what it is about our sporting idols that we expect, that even a slight drop in their invincibility makes us disappointed. But for most of the semifinal and, perhaps, from the end of the second set in the finals, Federer was operating in ‘the zone’, coming up with shots and serves, almost at will and at the right time, that left the audience spellbound and brought back memories of the glorious genius of Federer that we had experienced in the past.

With 16 grand slams in his kitty even before the one he added at Wimbledon this year, Federer was already assured of a place among the all time greats to have played the game. But now, the arguments and discussions about whether he is, indeed, the greatest will probably start all over again. Even when he was at the peak of his game a few years back, there used to be a story of an American and an Australian fan arguing whether Pete Sampras or Rod Laver were the greatest of all time. And how a Swiss gentleman barged into their argument, and said that the greatest is still playing the game and his name is Roger. At that time it was still a prediction, but by the time Federer is done, it is possible that there will be no more discussions – it may well be a foregone conclusion. Who knows what else is in store?

And a few years from now, tennis folklore will have stories of his magic. And those stories will start like this: Once upon a time in Wimbledon, there lived a king called Roger!

Didi’s Comedy Show

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“I remember watching Didi’s comedy show on Doordarshan when we were kids on Saturday afternoons” said my broker friend Jigneshbhai as we were having our coffee yesterday. Swami got excited as he remembered it. “Yes, it was such a hit show. I used to wait for it – that guy made all kinds of faces … Read more

Book Synopsis: The Difficulty of Being Good by Gurcharan Das

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the-difficulty-ofbeinggood“What is here is found elsewhere. What is not here is nowhere.” – Mahabharata

With these words from the epic, Gurcharan Das starts the prelude to his book “The Difficulty of Being Good”, which I had the opportunity to read over the past few days. An output from what he terms as his ‘academic holiday’, this fairly scholarly piece of work by the former CEO of Procter and Gamble and columnist, is a thorough and in-depth examination into the main characters in the Mahabharata, their stories and their moral dilemmas, their relevance and application in today’s day and age, a search for the meaning of dharma, and the eventual conclusion that ‘Dharma is Subtle’.

The book is fairly heavy reading even for regular readers of non-fiction, but is worth the effort. It has loads of wisdom on every page, and content that will take time for even the most patient readers to absorb. Not exactly following the story line of the Mahabharata, the book takes one character at a time and analyzes the major events that happen with the character, and then tries to answer the age-old question “What is dharma?” In the process, it provides the reader a wonderful insight into the human traits of the key characters.

The author argues that while envy drives Duryodhana and he is largely an ‘evil’ character; for someone who is convinced that the throne belongs to him and whose goal is to win, Duryodhana’s singular drive and endless discontent may be something that one can learn from.

In his analysis of the ‘pravritti-oriented’ Draupadi and her courage, there are some really interesting insights from her conversations with the ‘nivritti-oriented’ Yudhishthira on ‘Why be Good?’ and the various explanations for it. A significant part of the book also focuses on the ‘un-hero’ Yudhishthira and his search for ‘dharma’, and how he undergoes a transformation from being a passive, non-violent, strictly moral prince to a more pragmatic, active and balanced righteous king, on realising the inherent conflicts between being a ruler and being good.

While noting that Bheeshma is perhaps the most ideal character in the Mahabharata and that his striking trait is selflessness, the author also questions whether selflessness is always good, especially if, like in Bheeshma’s case, it actually led to the Mahabharata. If his pledge were not taken, perhaps things would have been smooth with Bheeshma taking the throne.

The author also goes on to explain the status anxiety faced by Karna, its relevance in today’s society, and why he is the ‘most lamented’ character in the epic; as well as the despair faced by Arjuna when he refused to take arms. The author finally takes a detailed look at Krishna and his guile and how it was singularly responsible for the Pandava victory, specially due to its use in the death of all the Kaurava commanders-in-chief – namely Bheeshma, Drona, Karna and Duryodhana. He analyses the character of Krishna both as a human and as God, and eventually concludes that the only justification for his actions is that He is God.

All through the book the author constantly provides contemporary parallels to the epic’s events, and tries to answer the question on whether it is possible to be good and still achieve your goals, and why it is so difficult. These examples range from personal dilemmas in day to day life, positions that corporates and administrators are likely to find themselves in, decisions regarding law and policy makers as well as international issues.

Eventually the conclusion is a highly profound piece of writing some of which I quote below:

“Good behaviour is not rewarded generously in the epic; the virtuous suffer banishment and deprivation, while the wicked flourish in their palaces. Nor does the epic seem to explain why ‘good’ persons, who had a strong and persuasive case to make war, could win only by unfair means? And if so, how can we still call them ‘good’? It has told us that dharma is hidden in a cave, but even if it is found, it is so subtle that it slips from our grasp.”

“There is no single definition of dharma, it is matter of a fine balance  and dharma is subtle. Dharma is supposed to uphold a certain cosmic balance and it is expected to help us balance the plural ends of life – desire, material well being and righteousness – when they come into conflict. However, dharma does not do a very good job at it.”

Overall, a wonderful read, if one has the inclination and patience to absorb it.

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