A nation intoxicated by Cricket - God bless India!

When I was watching Gladiator, which was an excellent
movie, I felt deja-vu for the first time.
Though mainly an action drama, one of the facts portrayed
in a very subtle manner was how the entire Roman population
was intoxicated to the fights in the colossium. A petty sport
became the life-blood for a people who had no socio-economic
existence in a dwindling economy plagued by the ill-rule of a power-hungry and incompetent ruler.
It's interesting to see how hungry, downtrodden people can remain satisfied and happy under the influence of the love for a sport!As if it was the only high point in their lives.This was interesting to note but in a sordid vein.It reminded me of a similar thought thet had crossed my mind a few days back. It was when I saw a beggar jumping with joy while watching cricket from outside a TV showroom - Tendulkar had just hit a six! All this, while the beggar's two-foot child, naked and dirty, was crying out of hunger.

I must say that a poverty-struck nation like India cannot
afford the luxury of indulging in "The gentleman's game" considering the amount of money ,resources and time that goes for a Total Waste.
It may sound a bit odd but if you start thinking on these lines you would concur that ECONOMY RULES CULTURE AND SPORTS.This will be evident if you look back in history.The Indian culture spread far-and-wide during the early ages because India was prosperous.A society cannot evolve culturally unless it has economic freedom and peace.A sculptor can't sculpt if he's had no food since 4 days.
That's excatly what the British took away from India : prosperity.
And you see the result:We have borrowed the western culture and long-forgotten our own.Still we are smart enough to catch-up on those aspects of Indian culture which the West has picked up like YOGA and Ayurveda.
Looking in perspective, I feel Cricket serves as a perfect
dope for the teeming millions who can just enjoy life without
caring about the corruption, politics, population-outburst
and poverty that affects their life directly or indirectly.
You might skip voting, a fundamental responsibility of people belonging to democracy, but not a one-day Indo-Pak encounter.
All this is pathetic in a strangely funny manner.