What’s common about these Games?

Our sutradhaars debate over the relevance of the Commonwealth Games in today’s day and age. Amusingly, their origins are a departure from which side they choose to be on

“Are you holding two flags in your hand?” Lady Flora noticed that her friend, Sir PM, had two mini-sized flags in his hand, and was in an unusually chirpy mood as she joined him at their favourite adda inside Horniman Circle Gardens. “Oh yes, I’ve managed to get my hands on an English flag as well as the Indian Tricolour. My ‘odd jobs fellow’ was able to scour Crawford Market inside out to source the English flag as well,” he grinned.

Lady Flora was befuddled at his joyous mood. Was there any major bilateral event between the two nations? Had she missed a big event in the newspapers? “Why aren’t you happier about the great Games? Are you catching any of the updates?” Sir PM was equally surprised to not see any excitement in Lady Flora’s demeanour. “It’s the Commonwealth Games, Lady Flora. It’s our original Games, well before the Olympics and the Asian Games became coveted affairs,” Sir PM rattled off. But there was still no reaction from his friend; of all the people he would have imagined being unenthused about this. After all, her origins were in England. He decided to drop the obvious question, “If I may ask, why are you not gung-ho about the Commonwealth Games? Isn’t it something you ought to be proud of, considering its history?”

Lady Flora was expecting such a query, and replied almost immediately, “Well, if you must know, I was all in favour of this grand celebration of this sporting competition. But that was when the British Empire was still known as the British Empire. With these countries having gained their independence from the Crown, and rightfully so, I see no reason to continue with this kind of pageantry over a dated idea.” Sir PM decided to use the sporting angle, “But isn’t it more about the continuation of an idea, using sport as a binding factor to compete at the highest level? Shouldn’t you be cheering for England, or even Scotland and Wales, considering all three regions always participate separately only for these Games?” Lady Flora wasn’t exactly thrilled at Sir PM’s fixation over her ‘unsporting’ behaviour. “Pheroze, like I said earlier, the idea of the Commonwealth is an obsolete one, according to me. When the Empire was around, I was one of the biggest cheerleaders for England, since my roots are there. But I am not exactly a fan of it in this day and age,” she elaborated.

Even Sir PM’s legal background couldn’t contend with Lady Flora’s argument. She was right, he felt but he’d dare not say it loud. What if she questions him on his own loyalties considering he was at the forefront of the freedom movement and one of the city’s most vocal leaders? It’s best to stay smart about this, he summarised in his head before saying anything, just like his days in the Bombay High Court.

“Oh but surely, I can celebrate each time India wins a medal,” pleaded Sir PM. He was hoping that at least that angle would waive Lady Flora’s stance, at least a bit. “I mean we’ve already done so well. So many medals in weightlifting, and other exciting disciplines where our champions are doing so well towards their goals of winning medals,” he informed his friend, consciously avoiding any mention of his England flag-holding bit. “All the effort that India has put into backing non-cricket sports has paid off as well. Remember Neeraj Chopra, our hockey teams, Mirabai, Lovlina…? We had so many heroes from Tokyo’s Olympics last year,” he tried to reason with his friend. “And this time, it’s in Birmingham, so I was actually hoping that we could catch some of the action together, depending on your favourite disciplines, of course,” Sir PM was trying to use all his charm to defuse the tension. “And even our women’s cricketers will get a wonderful showcase on the world stage; how lovely is that,” he slipped in.

It seemed to have worked. “Well if you put it that way…then yes, the more exposure for India at these international events, the better chance for them to raise their confidence levels, especially how our girls shone so well last year,” smiled Lady Flora. “Okay, so tell me when the next big game with our women’s hockey team is scheduled for?” Sir PM happily shared that it was going to be a toughie – “Oh dear, it’s against England,” he sighed. “Hmmm…now, I wonder who will you support, Pheroze,” she winked.

Sir PM dodged the bullet, “Now if you must excuse me, I need to head to Viegas’s home to catch the rest of tonight’s action. I look forward to watching that game this week.” 

mid-day’s Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city’s sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana
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