When the sun shines out of Sourav’s posterior…

By John Cheeran
When an outsider points out the flaws and foibles of a section a society, it is quite natural that the critic would be branded as biased. It would not come as a surprise to me if I have been branded by a few as anti-Ganguly and anti-Bengali.
I have been critical of the micro as well the macro in this case. As always it is the right of the readers to blast me. I welcome criticism and love a bit of self-flagellation.
To the Ganguly issue, and the consequent finger salute by coach Greg Chappell at a few professional hecklers outside Eden Gardens, the dominant reaction has been one of injured pride. Bengal and Bengali’s have been insulted, has been the refrain in the MSM.
I was quite amused by the stand taken by the TV Today channels, Headlines Today and Aaj Tak. They were demanding an apology from Chappell for that gesture. There were others also who had taken a similar stand.
If that’s the way to go about, tough luck, indeed.
Then I chanced upon a comment piece by Seema Goswami in the New Delhi edition of Hindustan Times on November 29, 2005. As always the Hindustan Times website remains shoddy hence I’m not able to post the link to that really interesting article.
Let me quote from ‘Finger on the Pulse’ written by Gosawmi.
“Surely, if anyone deserved a rude gesture, it was that abusive mob of fans which seems to think that the sun shines out of Sourav’s posterior even if the runs haven’t exactly been flowing off his bat (and I’m sorry; centuries in tame domestic matches and against the mighty Zimbabwe team don’t quite cut it) and that it is fine to hold the Indian team and cricket itself hostage if they so desire.”
Goswami has been more colourful and damning in her barbs compared to me.
She ends it by saying: “As for Calcutta? Well, at the rate of things are going, it wouldn’t surprise me if Bengal seceded from India even before Kashmir, only on this contentious issue. Except that it would then turn into Bangladesh, and we all know how well that team does in Test cricket. But at least, there could be no doubt that Sourav would be captain of that particular team.”
Well, is Goswami a Dravidian?