Zidane

The latest Zidane joke:

Where is Zidane now?

He is in a rock concert - head-banging to the music!!!

Well, now that the tone has been set, let me tell you one lil' secret - There is a Zidane in all of us!!!

I have seen and heard of so many people who have lost their cool when they should not have. They should have ideally retained their composure and carried on with their good work. But, then, where is the fun if everything is so idyllic?

I vividly remember two cricketing incidents that have changed not only the course of that particular match but also the face of that particular sport.

At a certain match in Toronto, Inzamam ul Huq went up to the stands and beat up one spectator because he called him "aloo".

At a World Cup match in Bangalore, Ameer Sohail hit Venkatesh Prasad for a four. Prasad reacted by saying that he should try hitting another four. Sohail lost his cool and lost his wicket too.

All sports are marred by such incidents. Mike Tyson, Diego Maradona, Eric Cantonna - they are all villains in our eyes. But are we also not villains in a saint's garb? Or are we all sages with no dark side?

Is it just one moment that demarcates a hero from a villain? There have been, in our lives, many moments like these. The slap across your boyfriend's face; the abuses hurled at your best friend; the decision to leave home forever - the list is just too long. And then, we regret. And apologize. Or maybe we don't. But by then, does it really matter?

Fardeen Khan and Rahul Mahajan say that they regret that one moment. So does Sanjay Dutt. So Hugh Grant and Paris Hilton. But, as I mentioned, does it really matter? The moment of madness leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. And there is no use ruing over the deed done.

I am not trying to glorify such deeds - but am definitely trying to make sense out of it by saying that we all go through such flashes. We all do it - unknowingly - and then realize.

Most of us sail through life very smoothly and then we react or act suddenly like a wasp-bitten cat. That moment undoes all the heroics and good work done by us in the past. And suddenly, we are the EVIL.

The reasons for reacting like that may be innumerable - a personal grievance; some childhood scar;a psychological disorder. And if the scar is very deeply embedded then even a small instigation may result in vicious reactions.

And then, people suddenly become Zidanes....