It started with Shoania and has moved onto IPL. In a year which saw and is still to see a number of much anticipated sporting events, India has been in the news for all kinds of 'unsporting' reasons. the brouhaha over the arrangements for the Commonwealth Games not yet being complete has been sidelined by the games that adults play.
Sample for example the Shoaib - Sania - Ayesha / Maha affair. Confused? So are we. It started with Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza breaking off her engagement with her childhood friend. An uncharitable person may ask if she is a tennis sensation or a media sensation who plays tennis occasionally (and loses quite a lot!)but thats another story. While the media lamented the heartbreak of the nation's heartthrob, quite another match was being played in the background. And lo! in two months it appeared that things were love all for Ms. Mirza when she found her Mr. Right across the border - Pakistan's cricket's eligible bachelor Shoaib Malik, The same uncharitable fellow from before may have a question or two about his eligibility, given his colorful past and somewhat dubious cricketing future. But love conquers all. A grand wedding was promised when all hell broke loose. Shoaib was accused of being married to one Ayesha, over the phone, and then dumping her because of her obesity. What followed were denials from the would-be groom, coupled with counter accusations that the lady in question had tricked him by keeping him in the dark about her actual looks. The news channel went into a frenzy, showing the wronged man and his devoted fiancée braving the allegations together. The daily breaking news items were enough t o make the average man feel like breaking his TV set. Ayesha claimed to have proof, including her semen stained wedding dress from the night of consummating the purported marriage way back in 2002. Finally Shoaib blinked and a deal was struck - a divorce and supposedly a huge amount of money in exchange of peace. Don't know about the happy couple but we Indians sure breathed a sigh of relief as the curtain came down on the Shoania affair culminating in their marriage.
By this time a new scandal erupted, this time with the Indian Premier League (IPL). When the announcement came that two new teams would be a part of IPL from the next season, nobody could have guessed what the coming days would bring. As ten teams were battling it out on the cricketing pitch, murky deals were being made in the background. Politician Shashi Tharoor and IPL chairman Lalit Modi had a tweet war on the ownership and stake in the Kochi team with the latter accusing the former of corruption. The mud slinging caught the eye of the Government and the Opposition leading to hue and cry and the ultimate resignation of Mr. Tharoor from his Cabinet post. Yet the drama was not over. Lalit Modi was also given the same ultimatum as Tharoor as his alleged shady dealings came under the Income Tax scanner - go willingly or be forced out. As of now Modi is fighting back, refuting all claims, even as the I-T department is investigating all the involved franchisees. In a country where millions of people live below the poverty level, the amount of money that is being garnered through IPL is staggerring. One wonders where will this end. Modi might go or stay, Tharoor might be right or wrong, but who suffers? Its the common man, both the one who pays his taxes honestly and the one who barely has any income. Breaking news will come and go but the real issues remain hidden under murky waters.
Sample for example the Shoaib - Sania - Ayesha / Maha affair. Confused? So are we. It started with Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza breaking off her engagement with her childhood friend. An uncharitable person may ask if she is a tennis sensation or a media sensation who plays tennis occasionally (and loses quite a lot!)but thats another story. While the media lamented the heartbreak of the nation's heartthrob, quite another match was being played in the background. And lo! in two months it appeared that things were love all for Ms. Mirza when she found her Mr. Right across the border - Pakistan's cricket's eligible bachelor Shoaib Malik, The same uncharitable fellow from before may have a question or two about his eligibility, given his colorful past and somewhat dubious cricketing future. But love conquers all. A grand wedding was promised when all hell broke loose. Shoaib was accused of being married to one Ayesha, over the phone, and then dumping her because of her obesity. What followed were denials from the would-be groom, coupled with counter accusations that the lady in question had tricked him by keeping him in the dark about her actual looks. The news channel went into a frenzy, showing the wronged man and his devoted fiancée braving the allegations together. The daily breaking news items were enough t o make the average man feel like breaking his TV set. Ayesha claimed to have proof, including her semen stained wedding dress from the night of consummating the purported marriage way back in 2002. Finally Shoaib blinked and a deal was struck - a divorce and supposedly a huge amount of money in exchange of peace. Don't know about the happy couple but we Indians sure breathed a sigh of relief as the curtain came down on the Shoania affair culminating in their marriage.
By this time a new scandal erupted, this time with the Indian Premier League (IPL). When the announcement came that two new teams would be a part of IPL from the next season, nobody could have guessed what the coming days would bring. As ten teams were battling it out on the cricketing pitch, murky deals were being made in the background. Politician Shashi Tharoor and IPL chairman Lalit Modi had a tweet war on the ownership and stake in the Kochi team with the latter accusing the former of corruption. The mud slinging caught the eye of the Government and the Opposition leading to hue and cry and the ultimate resignation of Mr. Tharoor from his Cabinet post. Yet the drama was not over. Lalit Modi was also given the same ultimatum as Tharoor as his alleged shady dealings came under the Income Tax scanner - go willingly or be forced out. As of now Modi is fighting back, refuting all claims, even as the I-T department is investigating all the involved franchisees. In a country where millions of people live below the poverty level, the amount of money that is being garnered through IPL is staggerring. One wonders where will this end. Modi might go or stay, Tharoor might be right or wrong, but who suffers? Its the common man, both the one who pays his taxes honestly and the one who barely has any income. Breaking news will come and go but the real issues remain hidden under murky waters.
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