In the Race

The score was 3 each, so there had to be penalty shoot outs before either of the teams – India or six-times champion, Australia could be declared the World Champion of Women’s Hockey. Having started as the least favorite, Indian team surged past S. Africa, Argentina, Korea and many others before they demonstrated a very convincing victory over Australia. The entire stadium stood up to applaud their win and many from the audience, including me, cheered them as well from our seats in the 70mm cinema hall.
This is the climax of the recent Shahrukh Khan blockbuster Chak De! India (meaning Go for it! India) for you.

It is no coincidence that this well-crafted movie timed its release during the 60th anniversary of Indian Independence Day; the sport centric theme guarantees to evoke patriotic sentiments. Nor is it any surprise that it portrays the revival of a less popular game of Hockey in a Cricket-crazy nation. But the most prominent theme of the storyline that captures one’s interest is the portrayal of the WOMEN’S hockey team conquering against all odds.

Is there a message here?................But, of course.

In the recent past, Indian women, both closer at home and away, have been making news, and for all the right reasons.
Be it Sania Mirza’s rise to the 26th position in the World Tennis ranking or Kiran Desai’s Booker Prize winning literary work “The Inheritance of Loss” in 2006. Be it the election of Mrs. Pratibha Patil as the first woman President of our nation or Sunita Williams’ successful completion of a 6 months space mission. And how can one forget Ekta Kapoor’s revolutionary, albeit controversial, contribution to the Indian small screen. Or Indra Nooyi, U.P. CM Mayawati and Aishwarya Rai’s recognition as one of the 50 most influential Indians by U.S. based Business Week.

Sports, Politics, Corporate, Media, Literary and Cinema……fields diverse, contributions immense. As somebody rightly said, “This is the century of the women” indeed. So our fellow sisters are very much in the race, and making great strides at that.

Chak De! India………or should I say Chak De! Indian women.