The Beautiful Game

Sunday, June 20: From Ambattur to Alaska it’s mostly football fever. A few die-hards (like my mom) still switch on to watch the India Pak 50 over contest for the Asia Cup, the news of which has been relegated (many would say rightly so) to a smallish 2 columns in the sports section. But at a mall near you, lines of mostly besura public excitedly taking turns while clawing the mike out of the hands of a young wannabe RJ at an impromptu Karaoke contest, belie the fact that the world’s most beautiful game is going on. Judging them is a (must be) brave judge who quite unlike Simon Cowell encourages the more nervous by humming the first few lines along with them. Adoring friends and family watch as do other onlookers who basically need some time-pass for the evening and complete this circle of joy. On another note though it is a carnival atmosphere that truly seems to recreate the general sense of happiness and joy that recent surveys have claimed viz. that Indians are a far happier lot that most. If shopping to this din doesn’t work for you, there is always the multiplex or more importantly, for us this time, the food stalls that court your taste buds with an amazing variety of food, entertainment via LCD screens and a buzz of conversation that could rival the vuvuzelas at the games. This then really is the beautiful game being played out so well by the arrival of the great Indian mall, after all who really cares whether we produce a decent sports team in anything (didn’t count cricket since it’s a religion and not a sport here) in the next fifty years. Cheers, we are next in line to order.