I am 33. Over the last two decades, I have been suffering silently in shame and agony. Make no mistake, I have had the greatest parents one can ever dream to have, and have had the good fortune to receive a decent education too. I made a fairly successful career and have a great family. Despite all the good times that I have spent in this life, there is a terrible secret that I have kept. A secret so devastating, that if revealed, can ostracize me in the Indian society in a matter of minutes. A secret so terrible, that even my closest family members won't support me once I tell them about it. A secret so scary, that ever since I discovered this strange aspect of my existence more than 20 years ago, I have shuddered to think of its consequences.
But, the world today, as we know it, is much more welcoming and liberalized, as compared to what it was 20 years back. People have become more sensitive to personal choices, and aberrations in preferences. "Normal" is a word that is very carefully used these days. People are cautious not to hurt anyone's sentiments. There are focus groups who help traumatized people like me. It is with the faith that perhaps my family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances will at least make an attempt to understand my situation that I have decided to come out in the open today. Needless to say, I could not gather the courage to talk about it, so I decided to write about it. I hope...no, 'hope' is not the right word...I pray to anyone reading this - please, oh please, try to put yourself in my shoes before you judge me. I, like you, am a human being, God's child. If God has created me with this aberration, am I to be blamed for this? Think about it for a moment before you come to any conclusion. This is not easy for me, as you can imagine. I need your support to walk through the rest of my life with this burden. I am now going to tell you my secret, with all the courage I can muster: I don't like Cricket.
There, I have said it, and I'm feeling quite light already. Coming out into the open with a statement like that is no easy task, especially in India, where fanatics may stab me in the chest tomorrow morning, when I'm walking in the park. But it's the truth. I just don't like Cricket. I think it is overhyped, and it has had such a terrible influence on some of my friends, that it's sad to see that people can't reach out and switch off the TV. People spend unwarranted amounts of time on this 'sport'. Work stops when play commences. Doctors don't go to work. My friends, who are otherwise very talented and logic-loving individuals, change their stances on players with every passing day, idolizing them one day, and crucifying them the next. Somehow, apologetically, I just don't get it. I know it's an aberration, but God, which is a nickname we use in this country for a certain player, will perhaps understand what I mean.
What will happen to me now, depends on how you react to my shameless admittance. If you were expecting something else and are now too busy laughing, perhaps you will comment and show me your support, telling me that you understand my plight and will stand by me, despite your personal choices. If, on the other hand, you are frothing in the mouth and baying for my blood, please comment and say so, and I will try and keep away from you for the next month and a half. If you are neutral about what I just said, just write "No Hablos Ingles" in the comments and we will forget this ever happened. But whatever you may be feeling right now, please tell me what you think about what you read, coz it's my first blog after all.
