I feel….
1) Too much criticism doesn’t help: Criticism can worry only those people who are democratically appointed because too much of it can actually pull them down in the next public elections. So, take it from me Gill will not be bothered at all, may what you do! The media tried in 1998 and it’s 2008. Take it from me: Until and unless something happens from outside, he will do what he said,”I will not leave till the time things don’t improve”. You very well it may take years for that and when it improves then one should continue anyway, isn’t it?

2) Talk less and do more: Why not have a “Hunger Strike” on one of the public places in Delhi? Have it like the way Freedom fighters fought it with the British. Have a couple of Hockey players ready to die for the game and sit on hunger strike. Then, let’s see how it doesn’t shake up the Government bodies? It will charge up so much emotion from the country that the ones who come forward will become overnight mega-heros! Do it all states where the game is a cult!

3) The Power of ONE: Get all Hockey Players under one banner and do a Hockey strike in this Country? Don’t touch your sticks till the time the Government doesn’t respond. Go through the agony and freedom shall come your way!

But if you logic is player can only play, then, may be, you are not ready to sacrifice something!

4) Have the alternative ready: Mahatama Gandhi once said, “Resistance should always be to change things for the better. It must not be for anything else.” Think about it! You are fighting for what? Gill or poor state of Hockey. If it is latter, few people should be ready with the alternate arrangement.

5) Last but not the least: Pick up a few books on Gandhian philosophy and take a few ideas and execute it for perfection.

If you believe in God, for his sake stop the empty criticism, do something constructive to move the authorities…

Hockey – Talk show excerpts…

I was watching a talk show on one of private channels. Yes, the topic was, yet again, Hockey. Here are what the panelists said:

“I can get 25 crore to Indian Hockey in 1 year but people are not ready to give saying we don’t want to give till the time Gill is there.”

My Take: I feel it’s a simple political statement – Typical words of a politician. We do have a budding (routine) politician here. Your statement didn’t make much of a difference to me. I didn’t bother to remember your name either.

“Why don’t you (a former player) take up some position in your respective state Hockey association?” The addressed person (former Hockey player) answers: A player knows only to play, he can’t get into adminstration.

My Take: Yes, that’s why you suffer! That is what they said in Chak de India – “aap khiladi log hain .. khel se mutlab rakhiye na!” (you are players, please limit yourself to the game). That is what you are doing as well.

Sometimes when there is a lot of trash right of front of the house and the Municipality doesn’t clean, what do you do? Pained to the core, one fine morning you get up, put on your half pants and broom in your hands you clean it up, don’t you? Now, I agree with total respect that a player can only think of the game but there MUST be ATLEAST one player amongst you who feels really desperately for the game and wants to clean up? After all, leave aside the national pride, you are ones who have suffered the most? .. why not think of one of your own guys to take up the job? .. Can you give us a kick start?

“Whenever police people have headed IHF, it has doomed the whole game altogether. In 1970’s, when a police person took it up .. blah blah .. and now when Gill is there .. blah blah…”

My take: Leave those people in the past. Generalizing things from the past (and that too 35 years back) doesn’t bring anything good to the present. It complicates the situation further. Stereotyping, although, comes from a few factual data but complete stereotyping may make one prejudiced, thereby blocking the mind altogether. But yeah, if that was meant for entertainment, I did get entertained (like the way I get when I watch a discussion in the Parliament)

“8 medals… 8 medals .. 8 medals …”

My take: I feel the load of the pride of 8 Olympics Gold Medals is enormous! For a change, can we leave those medals in the past and concentrate ONLY on the present and the future without even mentioning them? I feel that we should leave that in the past and let it be there only.

“Astro turf spoiled it for India”

My take: Yes, you always wanted the things to go your way because you were champs when it used to be played on mud. You never adapted to change and that is why you feel so. However, it’s been more than 10 years so, with turfs set up all over India, and it’s a very petty excuse to even state on television. Leave mud grounds with the immortals along with their medals and think of today, i.e. Turf. There is no use of thinking of good old times and spoiling the days today!

Last but not the least, I feel there is difference between a talk amongst like minded friends and a talk on Television. Youth (of all generations) is very sensitive to what they hear. If you use your public appearances to voice something really petty that someone did, I am a little worried that the public may retain it for a long time. You may have brought down one individual but no ones’ impression got lifted. That’s where is the irony…

I wouldn’t say the time was wasted because it was nice to hear some positive factual data about International Hockey…