The creator of the “Common Man” was anything but common! In an age of noise, R. K. Laxman could, in the words of William Blake “see the world in a grain of sand” and let his work do the talking, and what a statement it made! Through his cartoons, he stripped bare the hypocrisy of the government and the society with his quiet but observant Common Man becoming the “voice of the nation” (a master stroke of irony) and its conscience keeper. The country owes a huge debt of gratitude to Laxman for giving it a healthy and much needed dose of humour during seemingly hopeless times.
Archive | January, 2015
Cricket’s foul play
19 JanThe phrase “it’s not cricket” is a nod to the spirit of the game carried out in the best gentlemanly tradition. What happened yesterday at the Melbourne Cricketing Ground is one of a series of incidents dismissed under the boilerplate of sledging. No, this should not be a routine and therefore, acceptable cricketing tactic. When Aussie opener David Warner asked the Indian batsman Rohit Sharma to “speak English” in a slanging match, the implicit racist slur seemed to be the only thing that came from his mouth that could be repeated. That speaks a lot about Aussie coach Darren Lehhmann’s airy dismissal of the incident as “just our aggressive style of play”. Indian cricketers in trying to beat the Aussies and the English at their own game, have also resorted to sledging. Now to ask them to pick one language in which to curse back when the country offers the choicest of options from 122 major languages and 1599 minor ones is to expect a bit too much from them. Can’t we expect both parties to forego this catchpenny version of the game and not curse? The World Cup is round the corner. Let the gentleman’s game begin.
Sangeeta Mahapatra 