Kohli fingers the Aussies

V Pattabhi Ram
The Aussie crowd allegedly called Virat Kohli names, and the Indian showed them the finger. Everybody and his uncle, including in India, went up in chorus against the Indian batsman. Now, what were his options?

(a) He could have simply kept quiet.
(b) He could have told them, “Hey I have others at home as well. Name them.” But you see everyone isn't Gandhi or a Christ.
(c) He could have called them monkeys. But you see, the Indians had famously told the Aussies that phonetically it represented a certain choice epithet.
(d) He could have called them b……. That’s a perfectly acceptable word in Australia. That’s what Clarke and Co., informed us the last time around
(e) He could have showed them with the bat. But you see his bat’s width is only as large as his finger.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am not supporting what Kohli did. I would believe he should have simply smiled and kept quiet. But you see Kohli is not me. And we have no business to show righteous indignation about his act when what we see around us is acts similar to his. After all, he learns from what Indian and Indian icons do. Consider these:

(a) Our Parliamentarians scream and shout instead of discussing issues in cool deliberation. Today when kids yell, parents tell, “This is not the Parliament.”
(b) On the roads we use swear words at the drop of a hat; oops at the sound of a horn.
(c) Our newest icon says, “Only one slap?”
(d) We post raw abuses on FB and send in seriously sick mails to celebrities.

Yes, it would have been great had Kohli showed statesmanship. But you see, he would have then been dismissed as a softie.