I love the Spirit!

I’m here again…and what inspires me…Cricket yet again. This has been happening too often offlate....wonder why...anyways..
We’re having nothing short of a Mela nowadays. What frenzy, what excitement, adrenalin rushing, perspiration rising all packed into 20 overs each side. Pack all that action into such a short capsule, throw in the best of the best, mix them with slightly novice folks, crowds around in a frenzy and what have you got – IPL.
I’m enjoying it and how.
Before I go on any further on the positives and the entertainment factor this format is bringing to us, just a small thought which keeps making me smile when I see Hayden patting the back of a Palani Amarnath OR a Ponting hugging Ishant Sharma. Wow! It’s an amazing sight to watch. You all must’ve noticed that earlier, there was a wee bit of hesitation after a wicket or a catch was taken, in how these people belonging to varied geographies patted each others’ backs and celebrated. But, as time goes by, as the teams get into their second-third matches..they are coming into their own, you can see the sheer camaraderie, the sheer team spirit.
It’s a delight to see that.
Reminds me of a similar wave of feelings I’ve experienced…I was till not so long ago working in Indian Pureplays – in fact have done so for almost 11 years before I moved onto the Big Blue.
The working spirit, will to succeed and all is there, everywhere. That’s the reason all these respected companies have attained the stature that they have.
But, what I want to share here is a little thing about mingling with other cultures.
As I have joined the Big Blue in a solutioning consultant role, I interact with our teams sitting in different geographies day in and day out. Earlier, there was a wee bit of hesitation. I mean, coming from a vast experience with Indian pureplays – you get into a mould where here or overseas – almost all your folks you interact with are all Indians. The one who is firangi is the client. So it’s always we on one side and the firangi on the other.
So, in spite of Indian companies going global and all that, at least for me, it’s always been interacting with fellow country men/women and I did not really work as a team with people from other countries.
But, as I do so now, I realize, we as a team, share the same joys, same anxieties, put in the same hard work, have a common zeal to succeed and when we do – we all feel equally happy. I’m sure folks working overseas will vouch for this.
The IPL teams just go ahead and display that very same spirit. It is so endearing to watch people from different cultures becoming one for a cause and enjoying the team work.
When we go back to our traditional matches like India vs Australia and the like, hopefully, we will have more Friends around and healthy competition. And we may just not feel that interested in Shreesanth’s glares and Hayden’s digs. They may not even happen in the first place. Have you noticed – poor Shreesanth looks so confused nowadays – who does he glare at – Viru or Dhoni?
Let’s not mind the BIG money, the almost silly cheerleaders, the stupid commentators sitting in the studios (why doesn’t Harsha speak!! I only see him in the Mumbai Indians T all the time), the hoopla around all this, Shahrukh with his entourage of filmi folks which gets onto my nerves sometimes, the bid circus which didn’t go down very well with many….let’s just forget all that and look at the brighter, sunny side – the lovely mix of cultures and celebrate the game!