The Game of Life...

So cricket… yes cricket was always my favourite sport, but till now I was focused on mostly the batsmen and the bowlers and at times the fielders (especially if it happened to be Azharuddin at 2nd slip). Well, today I can’t help wondering about the umpire: the neglected, third party who incidentally plays a very important role in the outcome of the match, whose good work is overshadowed by the brilliance of the players, but who gets all the flak for one wrong decision.

Hypothetically speaking, let’s imagine life as a game of cricket; at times you are the batsman, the cynosure of all eyes, ruthlessly murdering your opponents, when you feel on top of the world with the ground beneath your feet, capable of achieving anything you want; at other times you are the disgraced bowler under the hammer, when nothing seems to go right no matter how hard you try. And on most occasions, you are the hapless fielder, running after something which is annoyingly just out of your reach, and well, just running, because most of the others around you are also doing the same…

So it makes me wonder, how about if I can be none of the above: the batsman, the bowler or the fielder? How about if I can be just the umpire: the behind-the-scenes matured guy, quietly, dispassionately watching the action; estranged yet passionate about the game; not getting too involved in the outcome and just doing his job; not caring who wins and who loses as long as it’s fair; and most of all, appreciating that it is after all, just a game, where you are the winner one day and the loser the next, and the next and the next… But yes, that elderly man in black has it all and I would do anything to be like him- to not care, to be cool, to just watch as a bystander as the game of life goes on…