http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070328/edit.htm#5

Andhernagri Chowpat Raja
by I. S. Chadha

ONCE upon a time there was a king. He was known more for the speed with which he dispensed justice than for its quality.

One day a poor man came to his court with a complaint that his neighbour’s wall had collapsed, killing his goat. The neighbour was promptly summoned and ordered to be hanged. He, however, pleaded that the fault was not his but that of the builder who had constructed the house.

The builder in turn argued that the real culprit was the mason; the mason blamed his helper for adding too much water to the mortar and the helper passed on the blame to a fat man who happened to be passing by and had scared him so much that he had lost his balance. The death sentence was thus pronounced in turn on the builder, the mason and the helper, all of whom managed to escape punishment by shifting the blame to someone else.

The fat man, who was eventually held responsible, however could not be traced. But a crime had been committed and someone had to be hanged for it. The king, therefore, ordered that the fattest man in his kingdom be found and hanged. The order was duly carried out, but a problem arose when it was discovered that the neck of the fat man who was taken to the gallows was too big for the noose.

The only logical next step for the king was to order the execution of a thin man. An unexpected problem arose when the search began for a thin man as too many thin men turned up, vying with one another, asking to be hanged. The explanation given to the king was that it happened to be an auspicious day and anyone who died on that day would go straight to heaven. On hearing this, the king naturally decided to hang himself!

A similar process of instant justice seems to be under way as the men-in-blue lick their wounds following their premature exit from the World Cup. The process has been characterised by indiscriminate finger pointing and irresponsible suggestions. Some have called for “sweeping changes” in the composition of the team. Others put the blame squarely on the captain and the coach — whose tenures have abruptly ended anyway — and have called for their immediate replacement.

Yet others say that it is really the fault of the selectors. But then who appointed the selectors? Shouldn’t the board be held responsible? Where does the buck stop?

What about the Chairman himself? Will the problem be solved if there are wholesale dismissals? What is the guarantee that those who are chosen to replace them will be any better? What we really need is a radical change in the way sport is managed in this country. Otherwise cricket is doomed to go the hockey way.

Let us hope that those who are engaged in the current search for scapegoats for India’s debacle in the Caribbean will display better judgment than the proverbial Chowpat Raja of Andhernagri.

So that it does not became Andheri Nagri, what do you suggest guys for Indian Cricket Team?

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A Proud Indian Canadian

So that it does not became Andheri Nagri, what do you suggest guys for Indian Cricket Team?

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A Proud Indian Canadian