After his explosive century against NZ in 1987 world cup, Sunny Gavaskar is supposed to have said that he, at times, wished that he could have batted like Chika. Well, these two gentlemen were indeed a study in contrast. While one was a purist and stickler to perfection and the other was unorthodox and impulsive. They had different attitude, cricketing and otherwise, in their playing days. When you consider these characteristics the wish would indeed have sounded a little wishful in thought and farfetched. In normal circumstances one would have dismissed the thought as preposterous. Or could they have? If we give the matter a little thought it would at once look very prosaic.
Hasn’t every one of us, at one time or the other, entertained a wish or two on similar lines as Sunny had expressed? You are attending a party and you see a person who with his gregarious nature and easy manners is attracting all the attention. Wouldn’t you for a second feel you were more like that person and be the cynosure of the gathering?
“Wish I could have let my hair down and enjoyed the evening like Ms. Free Soul” or “I too should learn to dance like Mr. Care Free” are some of the frequently felt feelings of a sizable number of people. Why do we refrain ourselves from doing any of these wild or bizarre things? Is it because these acts are ludicrous and we may look foolish indulging in them? If they are indeed so weird we should not be thinking of indulging in them. But our wisdom tells us otherwise. They are indeed fun filled, we know that, and the demeanor of the person lost in the act bears testimony to that. Think of the silliest and the craziest thing you have ever done. That thought alone is enough to make you feel a rush of excitement come over you. You are sure to have a hearty laugh at your madness just recounting it.
Then, what is it that stops us from plunging headlong into a seemingly playful jig or join in a joyous chorus? We know it can be fun, yet we deny ourselves. We are worried that we may look downright silly. We are worried that others may poke fun at us. We are prisoners of our inhibitions. On rare occasions we manage to slip out of the prison by locking these inhibitions in the same prison, we are greeted by some strange observations. Such as, “What was wrong with you?” or “Have you had a drink too many?” Spirit of consumable kind being given credit for your spirited effort to banish the inhibitions can be the most uncharitable comment. These unkind remarks can throw us back in the prison and set free the inhibitions. So, what shall we do? We shall lose the key to the prison. The key can only be thrown away if we can ignore these comments the first time we hear them and prove to our detractors that the spirit is from within, not imbibed from without. So, go ahead and indulge, you may not regret it. You sure will, if you do not.
Now there are exceptions to it. Let us say you see your boss charging down the aisle like a rampaging bull to give you or one of your dear friends a piece of his/her mind, what would your thoughts be? Wouldn’t the idea of trading places with your boss and paying back him/her in (more than) their own coin not cross your mind ever? Well, indulgence here can immensely be gratifying. However, that will be transient and you may regret the momentary rush of adrenalin. So, indulge by all means, but at your own peril.
I wonder if Chika hadn’t entertained the thoughts of playing like Gavaskar. He sure would have. Who in this world wouldn’t like staking claim to the title “Mr. Perfectionist”? Perfection is the ability to consistently produce that something extraordinaire in adversity too. It is one attribute that can face any challenge thrown at you. Perfection is a quality or trait that cannot be aped. It is a quality to be admired and emulated. Now, that said, it is the exuberance and aggression of characters like Chika that enhances the entertainment quotient of any event and make it exciting. Though people like Gavaskar bring perfection into anything they do, it is people like Chika who add color and breathe life into the whole act. Wouldn’t you agree that life would be dull and dreary if it were perfect?
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