The Profession of Politics

Politics has never been a noble profession. Politicians as a class have always been despised , ridiculed and sniggered at. Even to this day no school boy aspires to become a politician. The educated middle classes - except in the case of our freedom struggle - have generally kept out of politics and views it as a dirty business. Even the great epic Mahabharatha at the end of a Pyrrhic victory abhorred the profession of politics.

No, do not imagine the crooked politician of your locality while reading this - the negative perception cuts across eras and countries. If you were to open the newspapers of days gone by for instance, you will notice that the leaders we revere today were also jeered upon exactly as it is today. Even the great Abraham Lincoln was not spared as some critics at the time shockingly called him a despot even as we now consider him as the ideal democrat! The point is that we have always tended to view politicians in a negative light. So why this almost inherent negative attitude towards politics and politicians?

We tend to see politics as just another profession - just like the ones each of us have - and tend to judge the politician by the same rules of ethics and morality that we associate with our own professions. This is the starting point of the mistake because politics is really an entirely different kind of 'indulgence', very different from mine and your professions. Let me explain.

Firstly, politics really at it core stripped of all the perceptions is a profession where one selflessly executes the power bestowed on him for the betterment of the society. But this is a huge burden to carry as man is inherently a selfish being thinking only about himself. If a common man is given such powers his natural instinct will be to misuse it in his favour, its human nature and politics demands us to suppress that instinct. Hence when we judge the profession of politics we forget the onerous task assigned to it and fail to empathise with it in the first place and view it critically.

Secondly, politics has to answer all the tough questions in our society most of which divide the society down the middle. These of not comfortable questions like 'who is your favourite actor?' , 'what food do you like?', in fact be it reservations, religious issues , nuclear proliferation or minority rights all the tough questions fall on the politician who will become unpopular which ever way he tends to bend. Hence the political questions of the day and our views on them tend to color our perception of politics and results in politics being despised.

Thirdly, politics unlike other professions is a zero-sum game. Unlike in our professions where you invariably get another chance or post, there is just a limited number of positions, only one vacancy for the post of Prime Minister for example so either you get it or don't , there is no middle way. Hence politics tends to side step idealism in favour of practicality and when we judge this behaviour against our steadfast idealism when it comes to morality and ethics we become angry at the politician's lack of them. We use our yardstick to judge them which makes us despise them even more. This does not mean we discount professional ethics entirely when judging politicians but we need to flavour it with a tinge of practicality too.

Lastly, as the saying goes 'we get the politicians we deserve'. Hence, the politicians a society gets is a reflection of the good and bad of the society itself. For instance, a caste-based society will get politicians who play the caste card and on the other hand a society which has implemented gender rights will get a polity that is equal in terms of gender. Hence instead of blaming the politicians we should reflect upon the current state of our society and try to correct it, which in turn will have a ripple effect and give us better politicians.

The above arguments may give an impression of being sympathetic to the crooked politicians. But its not, all forms of malfeasance should be exposed and punished and its imperative for the politician to do his duty and strive for the betterment of the society. However - in this age of politician-bashing - it is just an attempt to really understand the broader profession of politics and show the side that evades us so that we do not become cynical about it and view it in a more positive light.

Slipping into Action

Few things in cricket are as compelling and graceful to watch as watching a great slip fielder in action. He may not be called into duty every ball. In fact he may be kept out of action for an entire day even, only to leap into motion when the ball heads towards him trying its best to evade its way through. Maybe that's the beauty of it all, the wait makes the catch - if taken - all the more enjoyable.

Couple of weeks ago one of cricket's little known records - most catches by an outfielder - fell to Rahul Dravid. His record breaking catch was typical of the trade too as he just got his fingers underneath the ball to complete the catch millimeters from the ground. He may not be the best slip fielder ever but his sheer persistence and longevity in the position has enabled him to capture the record. The record gives followers of the game a great excuse to celebrate the lesser known art of slip fielding.

Jonty Rhodes and One day cricket may have made the 'Point' fielding position a glamorous one what with his athletic displays but according to me the toughest place to field is the Slips. So much so that it has given rise to the cricketing aphorism that 'there is nothing called an easy slip catch'! This fact gets reinforced when one sees a test match especially on seamer friendly conditions. Here the 'Slips' are the bowler's best friend as he tries to latch onto whatever his bowler-friend might have strived to induce. In fact there is no great team in the history of the game which does not have a great slip squadron. Be it the great Australian sides of the 40s or the fierce West Indians of the 80s or for that matter the Australians of the last decade. Even the current successful Indian team has great slips fieldsmen. All great teams have great Slips.

The uniqueness of the position is due to the fact that it is a position to which the ball just flies off the bat giving the fielder very little time to react to it. Add to it the fact that the ball generally comes at very awkward heights ranging from above the head to just inches from the ground. One more reason is the fact that the position has super-specializations too, for fielding at first slip requires a different technique from the one needed for the second slip which is again different from the other slips. Add to it the fact that fielding in slips for the spinners is an entirely different proposition makes slips a very challenging position indeed. Slip catching has been mostly a preserve of the batsmen who are adept at concentrating for long periods of time and have quick reflexes which are key ingredients for a slips fielder.

There have been a lot of slip fieldsmen i have liked over the years. But clearly the best has to be Mark Waugh whose record Dravid broke. He was good with fielding for the fast bowlers and also to Warne. His concentration powers, soft hands and great anticipation made him an all time great in the slips. This catch here shows why he is rated as the best ever. I also liked Mark Taylor who was just great while fielding for Warne. Warne himself was a great slips fielder proving to be an exception in a largely batsman dominated fielding postion. India too has produced great slips fielders. Sunil Gavaskar was great at slips apart from raking up the runs. My favourite though was Azharuddin who was just inspiring in that position right through the nineties producing some remarkable catches. In the current Indian side Dravid and Laxman are fantastic and have contributed to Indian victories especially overseas.

With increasing ODI and T20 matches and also the flattening of pitches around the world has forced the slips to be confined to a mere guest role for the first few overs of the matches. Sill every now and then the slip fielders provide great viewing for the lovers of the game whenever they slip into action on the field.