Behind the Mike

The first time i saw a live cricket match was the memorable quarter final between India and Pakistan in Bangalore in 1996. In spite of the vociferous crowd what caught my attention was the deafening silence in the middle, sans the commentary i was used to while watching on the television. The players seemed to be in their own world doing their own thing and the voices i was used to were missing. No voice to enthuse me when a wicket fell or a boundary was hit, no voice to tell me the excitement that wrapped the stadium. It was then that i truly understood the role of the voice behind the mike.

Cricket more than any other sport is played between silences. A canny silence creeps between a bowler's deliveries, in between overs, in between wickets. So it presents a commentator with a good opportunity to fill in these silences with descriptions of the goings on, anecdotes of bygone days or plain old banter. For an avid viewer of the game its simply fascinating. Before the advent of the IPL which reduced commentary to buffoonery and made sane looking commentators into cheap salesmen it was and sometimes is a serious business.

Me and others of my generation in India have not been exposed to radio commentary which was and still is popular in England and Australia. Hence I sometimes regret missing out on radio as its a different and more engaging medium than television. However the flip side of being in India is that you get to witness cricket and hence television commentators from around the world.

I always thought that the Australian Channel Nine commentary crew was a benchmark in terms of bringing cricket to the television viewer. Maybe its the impact of the Kerry Packer era or the fact that Cricket is always facing stiff competition from rival sports or plain old Aussie stubbornness to succeed they have managed to be the best commentary team in the world for a long time. Two of my favourite commentators of all time are present there - Richie Benaud and Bill Lawry. Benaud is most economical in his words in an increasingly verbose profession and always seems to have the right word for the occasion. Bill Lawry on the other hand - unlike his dour batting in the 60s - is very excitable and brings a sense of occasion every time he's on air. In fact the best piece of commentary i ever heard was delivered by him along with Mike Procter in the memorable climax of the tied semifinals between Australia and South Africa in the 1999 world cup .

The English Sky Sports team over the past decade have made huge improvements. They have moved away from the dry English commentary of the past and have infused excitement. With new faces likes David Lloyd, Michael Holding and Nasser Hussein they have turned the corner and are more entertaining than ever before. Sample this years Ashes for a sneak into the Sky sports team.

The Indian Commentary scene has also come up in the past decade with the emergence of India as a true global power with a billion eyes. Like everywhere it has been dominated by former players like Sunil Gavaskar , Ravi Shastri et al. Ironically the best Indian commentator is a non-cricketer : Harsha Bhogle. He brings a certain artistic touch to commentary and is a great user of words. It was very disappointing though to see him fooling around in the IPL all for the sake of money. Anyway that does not make him any less a commentator. The most promising voice over the past few years has been Sanjay Manjrekar. He has real potential and has joined the ESPN-Star Team recently. He is one to look out for in the coming days.

Apart from commentators from these three major countries there others whom i like. Tony Cozier of Barbados is one that comes to mind instantly. He is almost Benaud-like in his commentary and seems to be around forever and is a true representative of West Indian Cricket. Ian Smith and Jeremy Conney from New Zealand are quiet good on occasions. The South Africans Mike Proctor and Robin Jackman are good too.

However in an era where cricket has become a 'product' and the fans 'consumers' and commentators forced to belt out 'Citi moments of success' and 'DLF Maximums' I don't know how far cricket commentary will be affected by rabid commercialization. For the sake of sanity lets hope Cricket commentary will remain as it has always been and enthrall fans the world over.

The Magic that was Michael

The last quarter of the 20th century saw America usurp the rest of the world to become the most dominant country in the world. This domination was both material as well as psychological. By psychological i mean, even people thousands of miles away from American shores felt its domination. Three brands especially led to this impression of American dominance. The ace basketball star Michael Jordan who brought basketball to millions around the world, the IT giant Microsoft which revolutionised the Personal computer and Michael Jackson.

The death of pop icon Michael Jackson breaks a link America had with the rest of the world. A link that connected America and the rest of the world for four decades. No matter how unpopular America became people still acknowledged it as being the home of the greatest entertainer on earth. When MJ danced , people felt America was not such a bad place after all. He in a way took America to millions of homes around the world. He became a unit of measuring dance and entertainment.

When i heard the news it shocked me as it must have done for millions of his fans. I personally am not into Western pop music but the aura and talent of MJ broke all barriers and he was the only artist i admired and followed closely. I felt sad on his death but not too much, because a man who had lost himself was half dead anyway. So the feeling was more remorse than sadness. Like a fan said on radio that morning, it was the day Music lost its 'M'.

The death of the great is paradoxical in a way. They go away from us on a physical level but they remain immortal in our collective consciousness through their legacy. That is the reason great men are lucky as they live even after their deaths. Hence even though MJ has died he will live on because of the great legacy he has left behind. He will be a testament to the extent of talent humankind is capable of possessing.

MJ revolutionised pop music and gave a new definition to dancing. He was the ultimate entertainer who had a hold over his audience though his voice and dance steps. His dance moves - the 'moonwalk', the 'robot', the 'lean' - were trend setting and were and are being copied all over the world. Every bollywood star worth his salt has been influenced by his dancing in some way or the other.

He changed the business of the music industry by changing the way music videos were filmed. No more were they used for promotions alone but they became works of art. Anyone who witnessed his videos could sense a story in each of them, a plot with real characters who brought out the essence of the song. The jazzy, slick videos we see today are a legacy that MJ left behind. He was also a consummate performer who started the trend of world tours which thrilled his audiences the world over and which allowed him to emerge as the first truly global icon.

The life of MJ is a great mirror to the good and bad of American society. An admirable society that gives opportunity to its minority so that one among them will raise to the very top of pop culture not just in that country but the world over. A society where talent gets rewarded irrespective of which color it is. A society where an individual can dream of world fame. But it also highlights a society which is overtly seeped in materialism so much so that material pursuits overrule basic happiness. A society where family values are constantly under threat. A society which over-commercialises every aspect of existence making its people lose touch with reality. Yes his life mirrored American society, warts and all.

Even though in his later years MJ turned himself into a public joke, the world will remember him for the talent he possessed and the joy he provided to his fans the world over. The world will remember the magic that was Michael.