With the euphoria over the Formula One
Grand Prix held at the Buddh International Circuit on an October Sunday having
settled down in order to give way to Sachin Tendulkar’s hundredth international
cricket century and yet another milestone having been sculpted in India’s blue
book of shame in the form of a century scored by Manipur and Nagaland with
respect to their economic blockade, I can safely
write about something or the other.
I must confess that I have never been
particularly enthralled by motor cars bedazzling my eyes by racing along at
fifteen score kilometers per hour again and again. Those cars are like the toy
trains that you buy for your children—they run in a loop as many times you want
them to but at least the trains are of some constructive utility. In that children
gain enjoyment. But just spare a moment for these cars and their poor engines.
What function do they perform except for pleasuring certain heavyweight
nuclear-fuelled business barons and some certain ninety-five thousand odd money
machines? (I am talking about my own country here and television viewers are
not to be considered)
I don’t have anything against those whom I
titled ‘money machines’ for going to watch it. After all, why shouldn’t they?
With the money and the time and the will and everything else required (except reason that is), they have every right to enjoy it. Had I been in their place,
I would have done the same.
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| A politically snubbed politician |
Now let us start from the prize distribution
ceremony of the race. Ms. Mayawati, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, was
duly called upon to hand over the winner’s trophy but it strikes me as a
commoner—shouldn’t the father of either Karun Chandhok or Narain Karthikeyan
have done it? Mr. Vicky Chandhok graced the podium in one of the runner up
positions, nevertheless. According to me, this itself proves the underlying
politics behind this entertaining car race.
And then, there are the variety of taxes
some of which were waived, some weren’t. The entertainment tax was waived but the
hundred crore rupees tax was not. The result? The Indian Sports Minister not
being invited to the event. And did that affect the organizers in any way? No,
it did not. While Vettel and Massa raced for three hundred kilometers, the
sports minister kept himself busy in inaugurating a five crore rupees synthetic
track for the legendary P.T. Usha who incidentally is the only sportsperson in
the country to have questioned the need for such a spectacular extravaganza in
a country like India.
The Formula One drivers were themselves
surprised at Indian poverty the levels of which they were completely alien to.
Although they didn’t comment publicly, it is only obvious that their
conscience questioned the need for Formula One in India as well.
Even more spectacular than the actual race
was the scenes before and after it. Only GOD knows the logic behind a Sachin
Tendulkar interview before a motor racing competition and the same goes for
Bollywood stars who make it a point to show the world their face wherever they
spot a profitable camera. The irony of Lady Gaga at the party after the race
added to the comedy show.
In conclusion, the formula one cars raced
along the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida even as the poorest of
paupers slept on the pavement just outside the circuit. That the race was held
in Uttar Pradesh and even so in Noida adds to the contrasting imagery, does it
not? At least, there were no crorepati parks or statues on the circuit.
With full respect to Michael Schumacher‘s
achievements, grace, personality and nonetheless his name (which I use here as
a connection to Formula One), I must declare that the one formula which is used
all over the world is money and India should be awarded the Nobel prize for
constructive research and practical work on it. After all, our Prime Minister
is a leading economist, isn’t he?
But Schumacher or shoe-maker, what is the
difference? All people are same in this race for money. The only difference is
that the Schumacher is used for earning the money and the shoe-maker is not
even cared about. This is all too ironical anyway.
