Kaalia

There's a moral lesson there for us Indians somewhere.

It is funny, but the media has the knack of never reporting the full truth, because it "sucks" perhaps. But let me drive straight down the V; the Brabourne crowd chanted in synchronized unison, "Symonds is a bastard" on Saturday evening at CCI in the T20 match.

It was bizarre because it was so unprovoked, juvenile and downright crude. And it was happening in refulgent flood light view in front of cacophonous crowds, international coverage, the official BCCI machinery, and expert commentators who obviously conveniently bypassed such "irrelevant distractions."

Like nobody really ever reported that when the benign, soft spoken, and eminently likeable Merv Dillon of West Indies was playing at Wankhede a few seasons ago, the Mumbai crowd chanted in religious harmony," Dillon is a homo." It was tasteless, insipid, and not even remotely funny. But nobody seemed to mind.

Now Symonds is a big bully, belligerent and bellicose in his demeanor. He plays tough cricket, and his monstrous proportions can be hugely intimidating. But please remember that the immature tantrums supposedly displaying raging agro was initiated by some of our so-called young hot blood. Like a certain pint-sized S Sreesanth, whose claim to international fame is baring his shiny white teeth as if he was constantly seeking a toothpaste endorsement.

In fact, the Aussies were comparatively remarkably disciplined, and probably too shell-shocked by the inflammatory histrionics of Dhoni's Eleven (sorry Mr Clooney). But it is obvious that Sreesanth's flaring nostrils and over-the-shoulder-glares has found a million takers, in my opinion, because it gives you that silly pseudo image of being "hotly competitive."

Sreesanth is nobody's fool. He is fully aware that playing to a full gallery can sometimes conceal glaring lack of real talent.

Reacting with its characteristic thick-skinned, unaffected attitude, the BCCI rubbished the Australian protest over the infantile crowd behaviour, imitating monkey tricks and booing for no apparent reason. Ravi Shastri will perhaps best know what the senseless reaction means, as it tagged him perpetually. Remember, persons of Indian origin, were equally dubiously guilty of instigating the mild-mannered Inzaman-ul-Haq in Toronto by calling him an overgrown potato.

Surely, we would not like it if someone in Karachi called Romesh Powar a round gas-bag ballooning horizontally from all sides. I am sure BCCI's mealy-mouthed approach provided further fodder for the Indian public, which exhibited their perverse joy in abusing Symonds. The TV commentators were astutely taciturn, and the BCCI struck by perpetual night- blindness or Gandhian philosophy, of course, never saw or heard anything. Or uttered a word.

Just like Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds have publicly requested the Australian public not to indulge in a retaliatory assault when the Indians visit Australia later this Christmas, I would have thought that the Indian captain or players should have openly voiced their disapproval of our crowd's gross misdemeanor, and called for mature restraint. Maybe skipper MS Dhoni could have been the ideal peace-keeper as he is usually outspoken and does not enjoy fence-setting and diplomatic claptrap. But no -- we had collective silence, which in turn, could be perceived to be a silent endorsement of the monkey business and booing sounds emanating every time Symonds had anything distantly to do with the game. It was petty and obnoxious.

I can safely predict that despite Ponting's attempt to placate an Aussie backlash, on Boxing Day the raucous Melbourne crowd, partially sozzled with some bubbly, will be sizzling with bated alcohol-imbued breath for the bespectacled publicity-monger from Kerala, and some close associates.

Maybe I am completely off-target regarding my opinions on my own city spectators. But then what can you expect from the same crowd that nastily booed one of the world's greatest ever and that too a hometown kid, Sachin Tendulkar. That loves to call both Sachin's pal and Indian cricketer Vinod Kambli and a bewildered African tourist, "kaalia." That somewhere forgets that pedestrian name-calling of an overseas player when we play hosts reeks of indecent hospitality and poor culture.

I know the Aussies have developed a lousy reputation for being unapologetic sledgers, and this article is not meant to justify their own repugnant shenanigans of the past. And there are some who honestly believe that the more we harangue the Men from Oz back, a tit for tat policy, will work as a match strategy. But I had rather that Sresanth and Co learnt discipline, fighting spirit, hard work, fitness, playing under pressure, stamina and skills from Ponting's team. Unfortunately sledging does not win matches.

As for the public of India, all I can say is I am aware that India is a big buzz story. That overseas investors are queuing up. That our Sensex is climbing Himalayan heights. That jobs are available aplenty. We are producing new millionaires daily. That one of the Ambani brothers, if not both, will soon be the world's richest. And we do not want those credit cards telesales calls. That our youth represents productive assets. That we can buy black tickets with consummate comfort. That Bollywood reigns. That we won the Twenty 20 World Cup.

But what we should never forget is that even from the biggest wheel, is takes just a small infiltration to take the air out. Then all you have is a flat tire.

(Watch CNN-IBN live on your iPad. IBN7 and IBN Lokmat too. Download the IBNLive for iPad app. It's free. Click here to download now)