A song of hope

Indian cricket buffs and millions of M S Dhoni fans around the world have begun singing the new anthem, a beautiful foot-tapping number, “M S Dhoni number seven...”, sung energetically by West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, on his birthday. Bravo’s song has already gone viral in social media. His song beautifully depicts the life story of a small town boy who braved all odds to become one of the greatest cricket captains India has seen. The punch lines and the video with foot-tapping music are really a treat to hear and watch.

Dhoni, as the song depicts, is truly the most successful Indian skipper who has won every major ICC trophy in all formats and the only captain to do so. The song, as Bravo says, is for a man who redefined the modern cricket, be it captaincy, wicket keeping, batting and field arrangement. Besides, the support that Dhoni gave to his playmates is also well known.

The song also shows how sports can connect human beings, especially during trying times like these. With the pandemic depriving every one of sports and entertainment, the song comes as a ray of hope.

M Pradyu Kannur Reading China’s mind

Following the recent face-off between India and China, it’s very hard to read the Chinese mind as to what led to such a rapid change in its tone. Perhaps China feels insecure today especially after other countries have been blaming it for the Covid-19 pandemic, anticipating a new global alliance against it. India must outsmart China by keeping it engaged not by military escalation, but by building on regional projects such as the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar) economic corridor; infrastructure projects of Brics and the Asian Development Bank etc. India’s foreign policy must take a new step — that of reading the neighbours’ mind.

Arjun S Bengaluru

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