Sindhu — Pure Gold That Won A Proud Silver

The night of 19th August, 2016. For two minutes every Indian may have felt terribly disappointed. The Telugu people a tad more. We may have sat immobile in front of the TV. But it didn’t take even half that time for Sindhu to recover. She moved across to the opposite side of the net. She placed her arm across Carolina Marin who was prone on the ground sobbing from the sheer joy of being the first European girl to win an Olympic Gold in Badminton. And probably, a few of those tears were a release from the fright that Sindhu gave her in the first game and half-way through the decider. Marin got up and hugged Sindhu in return. Then she rushed towards her coach, leaving her racket on the court.

Sindhu picked up the racket of her opponent and placed it near her kit bag. Like an uncomplaining mother quietly cleaning up after a playful child. This is culture. This is gold. Something that comes from the upbringing of parents and instructions of teachers. Something no ministries of culture or departments of government can dare presume to imbue. In a contrarian way, may be it’s good she lost. How else could we have seen her nature, a mettle more valuable than any precious metal. It is of little consequence to which nation or which state Sindhu belongs; we should be happy that this silver-coated gold is of this world. Let’s salute Ramana, Vijayalakshmi, and guru Gopichand for forging it and dazzling us.