And the frail looking lady began to smile ...!

What was the most endearing image in India’s sensational win yesterday? No, there was no fat lady to sing at the end of the game, but there she was, a frail looking lady – must have been part of the ground staff, running in to just touch Sachin. She was there for a moment, gone the next. She was all smiles; the sort of smile that is pure and comes from the bottom of one’s heart. For all you know, she may not have known the game of cricket at all. Yet, something there made her joy know no bounds. I am sure; she would be telling her grand children that she had the good fortune of congratulating the master after he completed one of his finest innings, that, hold your breath, took India to victory in a test, and that too while chasing a mammoth score! So was the rest of the ground staff, who came and congratulated the man of the moment.

For a country and her people traumatized with the goings-on in Mumbai over the past few days, these smiles of unmitigated joy are needed in truckloads. Not to overcome the grief – it cannot be overcome, period. But then, to take our minds away from the fear psychosis and concern generated by the gruesome and brutal nature that a human mind can be turned into, to something that is nice, happy and endearing to a lot of people.

But then, not everyone is so fortunate. They do not know what they seem to be missing! Please God, help them understand that in this nation of under achievers, at least the cricket team is there as a pressure valve for so many of us!