It’s Only a Game. Enjoy -Tarun J Tejpal Tarun Tejpal’s essay “It’s Only a Game. Enjoy” is about cricket in particular but games in general and his advice is that we should enjoy the game and not take it as a substitute for a battle between two countries.

The Game of cricket is first and foremost a game. It cures no disease, adds nothing to human knowledge and unearths no secrets of existence. People like games because games are like a morality play in which the setting, the rules, the fair and foul conduct, reward and punishment, feeling of excitement and despair- all are decided by them. The game exists to take violence and aggression out of us.

Indo-Pak cricket matches are in fact so much overloaded with baggage that they make it impossible for two countries to play against each other. Cricket is, after all, only about knocking a ball around. So we should let the game remain a game and not make it matter of national prestige, honour or shame.