Today's Beautiful Gem: `Hoop Dreams' - Some
Random Thoughts (Part I)
Normally you will find in this column works by poets and philosophers.
That is simply because I find therein beauty and inspiration. But one can
experience these artistic feelings elsewhere too. I happened to watch a
documentary on the PBS yesterday entitled `Hoop Dreams'. As everybody in the
US is aware of, basketball is quintessentially American in its character and
national in its scope. Every community in the country has a basketball court
where people of all ages gather to take a few shots. In rare cases, the game
is also a passport to riches and fame. However, out of the millions of boys,
particularly of African origin, who start dribbling the ball from a very young
age, few end up in the professional ranks of the NBA. The documentary film
is a chronicle of two such boys, Arthur Agee and William Gates, in the inner
city of Chicago. It took seven years of constant quest and dour dedication to
produce the film. What is strictly basketball in the film may be extrapolated
to other avocations also. After all, many of us dreaming of Nobel prizes
realise in the end that we are good scientists, but never great scientists.
But the mystery in life is in trying and not in giving up. As Chandrasekhar
once remarked: `...who amongst us can hope, even in imagination, to scale the
Everest and reach its summit when the sky is blue and the air is still, and in
the stillness of air survey the entire Himalayan range in the dazzling white of
the snow stretching to infinity? None of us can hope for a comparable vision
of nature and of the universe around us. But there is nothing mean or lowly in
standing in the valley below and awaiting the sun to rise over Kanchenjunga.'
Arthur and William enter the private Catholic High School of St.
Joseph's on a basketball scholarship. William has more talent and plays on the
varsity team even in his first year whereas Arthur plays for the school's
second team. It seems the Detroit Pistons idol, Isiah Thomas, played for that
very school. Arthur chooses Isiah's number 11 for himself. During the second
year, Arthur could not raise extra money for his school fees and was forced to
transfer to an inner city public school (Marshall High School). William
experiences knee injury and undergoes surgery. His second year, with constant
pain in his leg, becomes almost a washout. Arthur too had to adjust to his
new school and surroundings. In their junior year, both come to terms with
their basketball. Their dedication to the game and the endless practice
sessions take their own toll on their academics. Both perform far below their
grade levels.
Om s'aantih: Peace! - J. K. Mohana Rao
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