Superstitions: A Hidden Issue

What does superstition mean? As per the conventional definition, it's a belief which says that events are influenced by our behavior in some 'magical' way. In simple words we can say it’s “An extension of our blind beliefs”.

Do you know why auspicious days are chosen by the leaders for their oath taking ceremony,as they assume office? Why that cricketer kisses his locket on scoring a perfect 100? Why he keeps a special colored handkerchief? A simple reason answers all these questions; it’s the satisfaction and confidence they gain with their lucky charms.But the question I intend on asking is: Are these superstitious acts all positive? In most cases, not so.

Today when we give stress to science and modernization, we are advising children to condemn superstitions ; but deep inside we still support these superstitions and follow them and thus knowingly or unknowingly, we are transferring a kind of 'evil' to our children.

In rural areas especially- where we have illiterate masses, the practice of witchcraft, sacrificing lives of animals and men to please god and goddesses, is very common. Even a snake bite is considered as an evil omen. Whether it’s their daily life problems or a big fight, they have faith in  malpractices to work as a weapon against their enemies or to jeopardize them.

People spend a lot of money on blind faith in superstition, just with the hope that these things will work and do wonders for them. The people even refuse to take allopathic and homeopathic tablets due to this misconception and at the time of misery they rely on different stones rather than scientific or practical solutions. Thus, majority of people suffer or die helplessly.

People believe that when light rain falls during a religious ceremony, it indicates a good luck and God is pleased with the ceremony. A simple bath in the river Ganges makes them free from all the evils.

But we have scientific proofs for many of  our beliefs. If we take  the example of Ganges: It has been discovered that a virus called bacteriophage kills the harmful bacteria of human being, is present in the river water, and makes the water pure. But my friends. have you ever given a thought about this virus factor before dipping into the Ganges?

We believe things blindly and later they are supported by scientitific reasoning.Sometimes it even happens the other way round. In many universities when scientists are not able to prove any phenomena, they simply escape by involving the  supernatural power factor.

Few weeks back, three eclipses occurred back to back and it was declared by astrologers that three eclipses in a year are very inauspicious and will bring bad luck. All  caesarian cases were taken before the solar eclipse just to have the baby safe and healthy.

These superstitions are not only responsible for deaths in rural areas, but also are the main reason for anxiety and depression of  people in all parts of our country and even abroad. Many Nigerian women travel to Europe to work as prostitutes. They obtain special charms from juju priest and other purveyors of the paranormal in the hope that they will attract many customers.

In order to bring back the mental stability and vaporize their worries and anxieties, we need to create proper awareness regarding the same .We need to inculcate  in their academic syllabus that which teaches us against blind beliefs. Special seminars should be conducted otherwise we will keep on suffering and this curse will be carried from generation to generation.

Impregnable bond: Fans and Sports

To analyze the link between the two, let me take you to the World cup stadium. What is the most entertaining thing we could point out –The fans!!People wearing florescent multicolored shorts, with their body painted and what more can you expect from these sports fanatics other than screams and shouts with the hope to get inside their favorite player's head.

Believe me; you can expect all insane acts from these craps. From screaming and booing opposing team to sonorous chants, just to keep their team in the game.

The crowd is not all that makes up the fans community. There are many crazy people whose eyeballs are stuck to their TV sets. And those who don't get time to catch the action either on television or live on stadium, Internet comes as a rescue.

Any team good or bad can have die-hard fans, it just depends on how patriotic people are, love for the sport or for the player.

These freaks may seem as jobless people (considering them only as fans), good for nothing but to discuss about performance of players after seeing even a part of the game. Predicting and debating over whether Sachin will make a half century or not and whether he should be the opener or not are the topics on which they can spend hours and hours.

But then what’s the matter of discussing about them .Instead of pointing out the fans we could have discussed about the players or the pitch. The reason for this is that fans play such an important part in all the sports activities indirectly.

Knowing more about fans will help us develop better opportunities for our sponsors. The sale of the products reaches unexpected heights as soon as a famous player becomes its brand ambassador.

Also the players get motivated and filled with the feeling of patriotism and perform better.

But good generally comes with something bad. Sports fans have more to worry than to make a balance between their  work and  mania. Researches show that the anxiety and excitement due to sports not only weaken their heart but also make them more prone to heart attacks and depressions. The deaths at the stadiums due to unexpected performances of the teams show that the fans are so much into the game that they lose their senses to think about anything else. Also they tend to eat more and consume more alcohol while watching the match, thus deteriorating their health.

Moreover if the team for which they are cheering fails to perform to their expectations, they are flooded with abuses by the fans. Security people really have to strive hard to save the players from fans aggression. This not only disappoints the players but also dilutes the spirit of sports.Moreover the players sometimes get so much involved into making money through endorsements that these advertisements take a place over their real priorities and they spend more time in shooting in comparison to exercises and practice sessions.

There are some minute things which should be taken into consideration, both by the fans as well as by the players and soon we will have sports more spirit full and safe. We just need to trust our players and the players need to put their hundred percent to reach up to their fans expectations.

We know world's sports fanatics will never do away with this mania. The traffic jam just after and before the match, sleepless nights, ceaseless discussions, this is what shapes up our lives; I wish we could have better.