IPL- RESURGENT INDIA'S COLONIAL REVENGE

I have been 'watching' cricket these days like all the cricket-crazy Indians, and there are a few things that strike me- can't resist putting them down:
1) Fabulous tournament-the CB series; some great cricket and a 'David' team beating the Goliaths of cricket at their home despite the habitual sledging and the like. Kudos to Dhoni for spearheading from the front, for placing trust on the freshers and for also being a thinking captain- tough call, for example, to continue with Sreesanth at the end and to give the ball to Praveen at all the right times. Moral victory for Harbhajan- humbling Hayden and Symonds on the cricket field instead of in the 'ring' in both the final matches. Tendulkar's great hits in the two matches when India needed them the most (for a change!). I would like to check though, if Tendul (without taking away any credit from his undisputed greatness) currently holds the record for the greatest 'nineties jinx' in the world- looks like he has as many nineties in ODIs as he has centuries.
2) There is much noise about the IPL, resurgent India's colonial revenge. And honestly I can't understand it. Yes, there is a lot of money involved in it that some would rather, goes to balance the great socio-economic divide we are infested with. Yes, there is a threat that a lot of this money from Indians goes into the coffers of 'outsiders'. And yes, of course, there are a few lucky young guys getting much more than the seasoned senior record-breakers. So, what is the big deal?
Firstly, I am all for a socialistic society, at least as far as the ideal is concerned. But the sad fact is we live in a society which is market-driven. As T.S. Eliot says, "Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act, falls the shadow". You can't suddenly expect Shahrukh Khan to start donating his money to do public good just because he is the highest paid Indian actor and make him feel guilty for not doing such social service. I really believe that a lot of this money that is doing the rounds will settle at various places and in a few years, if the IPL succeeds, things will improve on the lessening-the-gap socialistic ideal. Ditto for the money-going-outside cribbers. It is a global village- you can't expect to take everything from the world outside and fret and fume when it is time to give back to the world. Wait guys!
And as for the 'unfair' pricing of players, it is a MARKET- those who are perceived to be good on the field and off it (for glamour) will be paid more even if the whiners think that some highest paid budding players are merely 'flavours of the month'. With time, things will settle and wherever there is lack of reason- things will be rationalised. Things (oops- that makes three 'things' in two lines!) take time- to make noise even as a great experiment is being made is to be a crybaby. We need to grow up, don't we?

Now, Howzatt!
Now, you know why we’re cricket crazy!
It’s only there that we can decimate
The demonized nation
It’s only there we can feel we won.
With ugly bald-headed monsters blaring
Into our ears an unintelligible blabber
Around this fifth-year festival of ‘democracy’
Leading us to believe what the ‘real issues’ are-
Instructing us about what our priorities should be-
Showing us empty unfinished concrete buildings
Of statistics which seem to show us
We are becoming invincible.
We know they are fooling us but we have no choice
But to throw them back to power for lack of an alternative.
That is why we give our hearts to the exploits of Dravid and Pathan.
We think and believe that here is the true sign of our nation shining.
Now, please don’t tell us they were ‘fixed’ matches.
Our dreams would shatter. Our hearts would break.
Please let us keep our beliefs, however false they may be.
We have got used to living in a make-believe world.
We have reached the Orwellian 1984.