I have this fat crazy friend who is always into making some
quick easy money. One day he comes to me running.
“Dude, you want to make a bet’
‘?!!!’
‘I am into online betting group. You can easily make a cool
thousand bucks every day.’
‘ Yaar I don’t watch cricket much. Leave me out’
‘Come on.... If we bring in more people the stakes increase’
‘Namasthey’
Another day I hit the local swanky coffee shop with the sole
mal intention of staring out at cute chics. That day I’m surprised to see a few
middle aged men sitting alone staring at the large screen playing IPL. Why
sudden interest in cricket and that too in a coffee shop? Soon they were fishing
out their mobiles and making some frantic calls. And you can guess why!
Here’s a large chunk of population indulging in technically
illegal exercise- betting. Then feigning surprise and indignation when the huge
machinery unintentionally spew a little dirt. Every season you have stories ,
arrests and expulsions based on fixing, money laundering and even sexual
adventures. But the evil folklore has only added strength to the game. No
doubt, the grey shades will only furthermore add glamour and glitz to the huge
machinery in the coming days. The reason is not too hard to discover. IPL caters to the basic human fetish of
greed, lust and power. Even when we know it isn’t right, given a choice we
would rather sip on vodka and munch on the cigar with hot women around. The
cash rich urban India wouldn’t mind spending a 6 digit figure a night for a
chance to chase a leg with favourite stars.
One night I find my female friend alive online. I ask her
‘why?’. ‘Watching IPL?’.
‘You watch cricket?’
‘Nah, just because I am a Gilly fan!’
Oh wow. The franchisees have su ecceeded in building a loyal
fan base around a few stars. They couldn’t afford to do so with thnge tradition.
So you have all the white men descending in herds unmindful of heat. The fancy
English commentary, the Ramiz Raja , Siddhu and couple of guystrying to act funny,
some guy reminding everyone he’s going for a party tonight, Sachin getting
suddenly fit, Raina & Jadeja suddenly finding form of their lives, Gayle
getting full tosses, misfields....all these unpredictable acts of destiny which adds to
the beauty
