History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as
farce.
~ Karl Marx
It was the year 246 AD. A prominent aristocrat in the Roman Empire had his funeral in a few hours. It was to be in a public market of Forum Boarium. A large crowd had gathered for the funeral. Taking advantage of this to bring political prestige to the family name, the first Gladiatorial fight was organised. So the beginning of gladiator history and combat started with a funeral.
This probably changed the whole course of history in the coming years. By the closing years of the politically and socially unstable Roman Empire, Gladiator games provided their sponsors with extravagantly expensive but effective opportunities for self-promotion while offering cheap, exciting entertainment to their consumers. Gladiators became big business for trainers and owners, for politicians on the make and those who had reached the top. An ambitious politician or a private citizen may postpone his deceased father's funeral to the election season, when a generous show might get him votes; those in power and those seeking it needed the support of the common public, whose votes might be won with an exceptionally spectacular show, sometimes even the mere promise of one. Ownership of gladiators or a gladiator school gave muscle and flair to Roman politics.
The scale of the Gladiatorial Games increased from just a small number of participants to the massive numbers of gladiators seen in the spectacles of Roman arenas and the Colosseum.
People were being entertained and they loved it. The Roman Economy was in a financial crisis; but yet the roman kings were their own self, setting up exuberant shows for the common man, which lead to ignorance to handle the crisis in their lives. Betting on the gladiators increased tremendously, making people believe that the gladiator fights were a source of easy money. Thus the gladiator culture destroyed half of the roman empire, making way for others to conquer it.
Jump to 2008 AD. India is in political and economical turmoil as always. But at the same time, The BCCI came out with a brilliant idea of providing the ultimate entertainment to the common man: the INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE.
It is a well known fact that an Indian equates to a cricket maniac. Cricket is not only perceived as a game but as a matter of national pride and honour. Be it the Test cricket format or the ODI format, it is the most popular game in India. And thats what caught the eye of the powerful and those in need of power. They became the sponsors to this project, they put up extravagant shows and "bought" cricket players from around the world, just like the roman kings who selected their gladiators. They made various teams, one allotted to each sponsors, just like each king owned a mini army of gladiators. The cricketers are paid handsomely and are given personal trainers, spectacular training grounds and glamour; the same way as the gladiators.
And at a specific time of the year, they are unleashed in the arena to fight the battle of their lives; that is to play cricket. This form of cricket is short, sweet and very entertaining. With two matches a day, the Indian premier league goes on for eight weeks, throughout the summer. It is the ultimate entertainment of the year. From tickets sale to souvenirs, the sponsors of IPL are making money in everything.
But have we thought about the profits of IPL to the common man other than entertainment? IPL has nothing to offer to the public besides entertainment. But if it is entertainment, then is it paying the entertainment tax to the government? No, IPL is exempted from the entertainment tax by the government on the basis of the argument that it is a sport.
But if it is a mere sporting event, then why the unnecessary glamour and glitz, the before-parties and the after-parties? What would have been a tremendous profit to the government, was subtracted by the government itself; just like the Romans did, 2000 years ago. The Roman Kings wanted more power, the already rich sponsors of IPL are keen on minting more money.
The money coming from the last four Indian premier leagues, has never been declared in public. We never know the real digits and how many zeros accompany them. So it is a blind game in which the public is made the victim. Betting has turned out to be a parallel business in the IPL season, with millions of dollars and rupees being put up on the outcome of these cricket matches. People are being fooled in the name of entertainment, and the problems which need to focus on are ignored, as it happened in the roman empire. Are all the problems in India solved; now that we are having entertainment months in the country? Now think of it in this way: aren't we an entertainment to all those people in power, showing our antics and dancing to their tunes (in the literal sense)!!!
Today, we all are gearing up for the annual entertainment dose of the great Indian circus, the IPL, but we need to rethink our choices before it's too late.
~ Karl Marx
This probably changed the whole course of history in the coming years. By the closing years of the politically and socially unstable Roman Empire, Gladiator games provided their sponsors with extravagantly expensive but effective opportunities for self-promotion while offering cheap, exciting entertainment to their consumers. Gladiators became big business for trainers and owners, for politicians on the make and those who had reached the top. An ambitious politician or a private citizen may postpone his deceased father's funeral to the election season, when a generous show might get him votes; those in power and those seeking it needed the support of the common public, whose votes might be won with an exceptionally spectacular show, sometimes even the mere promise of one. Ownership of gladiators or a gladiator school gave muscle and flair to Roman politics.
Jump to 2008 AD. India is in political and economical turmoil as always. But at the same time, The BCCI came out with a brilliant idea of providing the ultimate entertainment to the common man: the INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE.
It is a well known fact that an Indian equates to a cricket maniac. Cricket is not only perceived as a game but as a matter of national pride and honour. Be it the Test cricket format or the ODI format, it is the most popular game in India. And thats what caught the eye of the powerful and those in need of power. They became the sponsors to this project, they put up extravagant shows and "bought" cricket players from around the world, just like the roman kings who selected their gladiators. They made various teams, one allotted to each sponsors, just like each king owned a mini army of gladiators. The cricketers are paid handsomely and are given personal trainers, spectacular training grounds and glamour; the same way as the gladiators.
But have we thought about the profits of IPL to the common man other than entertainment? IPL has nothing to offer to the public besides entertainment. But if it is entertainment, then is it paying the entertainment tax to the government? No, IPL is exempted from the entertainment tax by the government on the basis of the argument that it is a sport.
But if it is a mere sporting event, then why the unnecessary glamour and glitz, the before-parties and the after-parties? What would have been a tremendous profit to the government, was subtracted by the government itself; just like the Romans did, 2000 years ago. The Roman Kings wanted more power, the already rich sponsors of IPL are keen on minting more money.
The money coming from the last four Indian premier leagues, has never been declared in public. We never know the real digits and how many zeros accompany them. So it is a blind game in which the public is made the victim. Betting has turned out to be a parallel business in the IPL season, with millions of dollars and rupees being put up on the outcome of these cricket matches. People are being fooled in the name of entertainment, and the problems which need to focus on are ignored, as it happened in the roman empire. Are all the problems in India solved; now that we are having entertainment months in the country? Now think of it in this way: aren't we an entertainment to all those people in power, showing our antics and dancing to their tunes (in the literal sense)!!!
Today, we all are gearing up for the annual entertainment dose of the great Indian circus, the IPL, but we need to rethink our choices before it's too late.
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