Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Idol Worshipping

Today morning in newspaper, I saw a big photograph of Sania Mirza, with a huge garland containing enough flowers, to cover up the whole tennis court, around her neck and a crown and a big sword in her hand. The caption of the photo was “Burden of a billion”. This picture was snapped at her college at the felicitation program. This picture might have inspired the budding tennis players especially, the court girls. I too appreciate and admire the effort she put in her tennis career and her future plan. Good things must be encouraged but adoring one in such way, leaves some issues unanswered.

It’s nice to see that advertisement agencies come forward to these photogenic and popular faces and help them financially. No wonder if within some days their posters will start appearing on the roadside shops .People will decorate the living room walls with them. Some of them will put them for inspiration and mostly just for decoration.

I have seen many room walls filled with Aishwarya, Hirtik, Sachin, and so on. May these so called fans not put the big poster of their family members among those posters, who do support them in need! And among the fans, most of the time used in discussions, about their performance and so on ends without any net result but killing own time and potential. These Idol worshipping will exist in India with a lot of drama till people have free time.

On the other side of the coin, after so much adoration, the career of those performers will come under strict scanner, the expectations will increase. Some day when they will again leave for some major match abroad, people will wish them good luck with bouquets. By chance if the result is negative there and they will return home barehanded, only family members and very few supporters will be waiting on the airport.

These idols along with appreciation, support and finance need competitors inside the country, such that their performance will increase during the practice sessions. And to create competitors, we need to disseminate the idol worshipping efforts for them who are playing around us. There are many more potential sportswomen/men like Karnam Malleshwari, Milkha Singh, Anju Bobby George and P.T. Usha, Baichung Bhutia, Dhanraj Pillai around us who need moral and financial support, along with competition and they are capable to excel in Olympics.