Hunting is an inhuman sport, they say. So many Maneka Gandhis are actively trying to save various species the world over! So many big names in the corporate world are spending fortune for the cause and earning goodwill of countless people!
When I came out of the cinema hall after watching ‘Zindagi Milegi na Dobara’, I was wondering about the psyche of participants in the bull-run.. What does life mean to them? What do their parents, their near and dear ones mean to them? Do they think they have the sole-proprietorship of their lives? Do their parents or guardians, who raised them, have nothing to do with their lives?
We find on roads, motor-cyclists and even plush-car drivers doing adventures on roads! They sure, do not have regard for the lives of others on the road; but do they have any value for their own lives? Or any consideration of how their near and dear ones will cry after their unceremonious death on road?
I often wonder if we need some Maneka Gandhis to raise this issue too!
I sure sound like an oldie having few fans these days! But those who have suffered losses due to such incidents will readily find value in my lines! They call it adventure, which looks misplaced to the people like me!
When my son insisted and I accompanied him to witness Formula-1 final race on 30th October, 2011 to Greater NOIDA near Delhi, I was wondering if it was not somewhat similar to the ‘Bull Run’! People deliberately endangering their lives in the name of adventure sports! Apprehensive of a fatal accident in the race, I was feeling responsible for a possible mishap, as these events take place only because spectators are there to cheer them and pay for the show!
The event can, however, be summarised in one word – “spectacular”! About a lac of spectators thronging the huge stadium after buying expensive tickets. There were fans, as reported by media, who were ready to pay premium on tickets as all the tickets were sold out.
The weather was good. The arrangement within the stadium was excellent and the excitement among predominantly the young crowd was difficult to fathom. The final practice by the participants in the race was going on. A car came screeching and the spectators standing up shouting! I wonder how many of them knew which car it was, from which sponsor and with which driver! But it was a treat to watch a real car on road in front of you speeding like this though I found it monotonous to watch 24 cars taking 60 laps on the circuit which meant watching cars passing and shrieking 1440 times in front of you in about 90 minutes!
Formula 1 is a very noisy sport. Speeding cars, blowing horns and screeching like hell! The young and educated crowd, so concerned about the pollution, seemed averse to any talk about the sound pollution! Even the ear-buds proved useless to stop the deafening noise giving you an unforgettable headache!
Each car participating in the race uses about 2,00,000 litres of petrol every season for testing and racing. And there are scores of cars involved in the race and scores of others vying to be in! These too must be practicing and using fuel somewhere! Add to it the fuel used in frequent transportation! I am carefully using the word ‘using’ and not ‘wasting’, because I cannot risk offending many including the youngsters in my own family! It is not difficult to imagine the carbon emission adding to the air-pollution by these cars racing at the speed exceeding 300 kms per hours despite measures to reduce these emissions.
I swear I did not want to be a spoil-sport. I wished to write a balanced post. But what can I do about the logic in what I have already written?
But, it is nice to find India on international map for presumably a good reason.
Almost all the leading sports-persons of the country have given a thumbs up to Formula One coming to India except former sprint queen PT Usha calling it a criminal waste of money as the sport has not got anything to do with more than 99% of Indians!
About Rs.2000 crore were spent by jaypee on building the state-of-the-art Buddh International Circuit and getting the F1 licence to host the race. The infrastructural development in the area is not seen in others parts of India which is sure to get further boost by the event.
Media from different parts of the world has praised the organisation of the event. After the bad name we earned owing to the State-managed Commonwealth Games in India, the praise seems like music to ears!
If asked to sum up my experience, I would say that Formula-1 was a life-time experience for me, never to be repeated in life!
