Of Iron woman, Olympics, sports and train heists...

(Disclaimer: After a long break I have used a style of some random incidents tied by a thin thread in a post again.  If you do not find any thread, then it is an unconnected random post.)

Irom Sharmila or the Iron Woman of Manipur is homeless and friendless now that she has decided to give up her fast of 16 years. Apparently the government which was force feeding her through that nasal tube is also no longer interested in looking after her.  For a lady who was deemed as an international icon it is shocking that she is now unwanted. Why did public opinion change so fast? Why can a lady who was selfless not choose to focus on herself? If she has conceded defeat in her fight is this the way losers are treated?

This constant focus on winning and disparaging the losers is now becoming the favourite armchair sport of the day especially since the Olympics is into its 5^th day today. After all the expectations when we see India losing people are now trolling, abusing, mocking the Indian athletes, forgetting for a moment that they are still way better than the majority of the world for having qualified to go so far. Is not the Olympics all about the spirit of competition? These athletes who have qualified despite the abysmal facilities, horrible governing bodies and poor support systems make us proud every time they turn up on the field. There can be only 3 winners with the medals but every athlete or sportsperson is a winner the moment he / she steps into the field.

This Sunday yet another money spinner in the garb of a sporting event happened in the Nehru stadium. This was another edition of the Kidathon, which is a non-competitive race for kids. When you see the crowd that turned up you realize that people here like sports, no matter what their intentions are. A stand-up comic once commented that a marathon these days is probably the only event where people pay good money to make fools of themselves while the organizer laughs at them on the way to the bank. It appears that many more organizers are laughing these days when you say such endurance events happening almost every month. Ask a participant why he / she runs when he / she knows that there is no hope of winning, somewhere you will hear that it’s all about the spirit. Meaning: It’s not the Olympics is it?

I thought the Thiruda Thiruda was an underrated Mani Rathnam movie and a AR Rahman classic that did not get the reception it deserved. One of the highlights of the movie was a train heist where a chest contacting money from the mint will be targeted by some thieves in filmy style. Something similar has happened last night when a train carrying money was robbed by cutting the roof open. As per the last reports people are still clueless how such an audacious theft happened. With so many crimes these days getting inspired by movies, maybe the police must watch that movie among other rain heist movies to get a clue?

 Image Courtesy Google Images

P.S. Anu Agarwal was sensational in the movie.