Popular Culture in India

This week, Dr. Barot talks about the two "religions" of India - pop culture religions that is - in sports and entertainment.

India’s First Religion:

Cricket is the first religion of India. It is a team sport for two teams of eleven players each. A formal game of cricket can last from few hours to several days. Teams bat in successive innings and attempt to score runs. The opposing team with 11 players fields to bring an end to the batting team's innings either by catch or hitting wickets.

A cricket ball is like a baseball in size and hardness. A cricket bat is made of willow, flat on one side, humped on the other for strength, attached to a sturdy cane handle. The blade has a maximum width of 4.25 inches and the whole bat has a maximum length of 38 inches.

There are two wickets, wooden structures made up of a set of three stumps topped by a pair of bails, which are two wooden crosspieces sitting in grooves atop the adjacent pairs of stumps.

For the last month, the cricket World Cup was played by teams from 12 countries, including Austrailia, Bangladesh, Canada, Carribean countries, England, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It was won by India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumai on April 2, 2011, by beating Sri Lanka.

The sense of euphoria and elation engulfed the whole of India after India won it. The victory was made possible due to unshakable team spirit.  Indian super stars like Sachin Tendulkar have broken all world records. Experience and youth combined brilliantly from Indian players in their early twenty to late thirties.

India was led by captain, MS Dhoni. He has changed the way Indian cricket is played, by taking bold, risky and rewarding decisions. Before the World Cup began, one of the players, Yuvraj Singh, was not in the best of form. But he raised his game by several notches once the tournament began, winning the award of Man of the Tournament award.

India’s Second Religion:

India boasts the largest output of films in the world, more than Hollywood. India has many languages, among them Hindi is the most popular. Hindi is the national language of India and Urdu is the national language of Pakistan. When spoken, they are almost same. But Urdu is written in Arabic script, while Hindi language script is derived from Sanskrit.

Bollywood movies are very popular in Pakistan, too. Bollywood films have won several major prizes at prestigious film festivals worldwide over the years. Bollywood will celebrate its centennial in 2013. With a current output of somewhere between 800 and 1000 films annually, it far exceeds Hollywood in the number of productions as well as tickets.

Some movies are excellent representations of the Bollywood films. This list includes ten of my favorite choice only:

1. Mother India

2. Anand

3. Moghle- Azam

4. Shole

5. Baghban

6. Devdas

7. Pinjar

8. Gaddar

9. Shahid

10. Veer-Zaara.

Most of Bollywood movies are based on myths, legends and fairytales, and fictional books. There are some historical films that provide an overview of the recent history of India’s freedom struggle,  partition or recent war with Pakistan like "Loc Kargil."  Some names of Bollywood stars with international followings include Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan, and Raj Kapoor. Many of the films include songs, dance, and incredible fighting scenes lasting for three hours.