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BURNING BRAIN NEWSLETTER - November 2005 BURNING BRAIN
The dogs and the human puppies If the abundantly available energies of the youngsters can be directed towards productive activities we can prevent them from getting into anti-social activities and/or aberrations like alcohol, tobacco, drugs, etc. I always believed this but am guilty of not exploring all the options available to the youngsters. I always though that sports is one such activity which not only provide a positive outlet but can also teach one to lead a healthy lifestyle. India is expected to have highest number of deaths because of lifestyle diseases in near future. In such a scenario sporting is one of the best available option. This is what I thought until I explored further. In a city like Chandigarh, the sports complexes, stadiums and other infrastructures costs the Government a monthly recurring expenditure of a minimum of Rs. 10 lakh. The value of the assets under the control of the sports department is estimated at around 200 crores (the commercial value is much higher). It's all our money. After all we are the public and it's public property. I thought so until I read the entrance board of the first stadium I visited. It read, "Kids under 12 years and Dogs are not allowed." Presumably Dogs can't read and they don't require a sports complex. So then who is using these facilities? The general public is not allowed to use the facilities. The human puppies (read kids under 12) are specifically prohibited from entering into the stadium. According to the manager of one of the stadium (Sector 46) ladies are also not allowed inside the stadium. On asking the reason we were told that there is nothing productive or constructive which they can achieve by coming to the stadium (We are in possession of recorded conversation).
And why are the youngsters prohibited? By the age of 12 or 13 many youngsters in foreign countries win championships then why are they restricted entry in our stadiums? We are told that since an average Indian family can not provide nutritious diet to the youngsters so it won't be useful if the young people come to the stadium, as in any case they will remain unfit to compete with the foreigners. So it's better that they play indoor games or easy games in their houses; a reason we fail to comprehend. But still, the sports department is serious in what ever they do. At the entrance of each stadium the sports department has employed a private security guard to restrict the entry of "unauthorized" visitors. Unlike the foolish education department which is providing free education in government schools, the sports department is quite wisely charging a monthly fee of Rs. 20/ 30 for using the stadium ground (besides the registration fee ranging from Rs. 50 to 200). Sports is a kingly past time and only those who can afford to pay should come. Understandably. It's a separate matter that the cost of keeping people out of the stadium is at least four times higher than the revenue generated by the novel idea of charging usage fee by the Chandigarh sports department. And what about the timings for visiting the sports complexes? The board outside reads that the stadium is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and all Gazetted holidays. It opens for four hours in a day (2 hours in the morning and 2 in the evening), some like the "Skating Complex" opens for only two hours in the day. We had utterly failed to understand the logic until it was told to us that the coaches refuse to work 8 hours a day and many do not come regularly to the stadium but draw the salary and other facilities. "After all they work with the Government." We understand. Other than this if the stadium is opened to everyone, it would mean more people will come and hence, more work, which no one likes. If this the attitude of the Government then why on this earth should we have a separate Sports Ministry and separate departments to deal with the youth, sports and their development? Why should we waste our scarce funds if no one is keen to do anything productive. "Oh sorry, we just seem to forgot about the employment exchange and the unemployment problem." Every year various state governments make lame ducks compete among themselves and make everyone happy by distributing the medals but when most of these winning lame ducks visit the international arena, the handicap becomes apparent. But who cares? After all they do win in national games and then we do have some International champions in sports like Chess, Billiards, Squash, Lawn Tennis, Golf, etc. Thank God, the Government didn't do much to promote these sports. But is there something wrong with the Indian Government, if its officials can't see the difference between Dogs and Children? On a second thought. No. After all they are similar in at least one respect. Both can't vote. And, about you and me. We give a damn. We are not fool enough to evaluate the sporting facilities or their accessibility before giving our vote and believe me they know it. Who wins at International event is immaterial; It's a clear conspiracy of the west, they didn't allow Kabbadi and Kho-Kho to be a part of International Sports. We have many more such games. Ah.. about Hockey? They are cheats? They changed the rules after we taught them how to play and now they cunningly win all the medals in International competitions. There are many other important things to think about. Many other important things to do. Who cares about such petty matters. Without thinking much we at BBS committed the mistake of writing to the sports minister (who also happens to be our Prime Minister), the sports secretary, the administrator, etc. thinking it to be a serious issue. They had quite wisely not wasted their time in replying to our useless concerns. Sorry..... sorry.. I am guilty of wasting your time too. The whole sporting thing is after all BULLSHIT. Absolute Bullshit? I should have realized this earlier. Well our puppies (sorry again) will become engineers, doctors and managers. Who want them to become sports persons. As for inculcating the spirit of fitness; if you have the money you can always join a fitness club and buy gadgets when your doctor asks you to do so. And about preventing our youngsters from getting into aberrations or utilizing their spare energies; well they can always watch the television and the movies. Plenty of them. And am I forgetting the live telecast of cricket matches? How foolish of me, I didn't realize. Sorry. Yours
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