Game of the name.

Byline: Asha'ar Rehman

DARREN Sammy - Sammy Khan to many here for his services towards the revival of international cricket in this country - has been in the middle of a personal fight in recent times. Apparently, a team man happy to go along with the collective mood around him, the West Indies all-rounder found out that the nickname that was used for him and a fellow foreign player by teammates while playing for an Indian franchise couldn't always be ranked among the best terms of endearment. Sammy was appalled at being marshalled around by local members of the team as 'kaalu'.

Darren Sammy is a Pakistani citizen. He is a citizen of this country not by accident of birth. He has earned the honour. He might as well pursue his interest in local languages of the subcontinent to enlighten us about our tendency to cross the fine line between informal talk and name-calling and being demeaning.

Baichara bacha. I remember when our mother told us how we were not supposed to use the word 'baichara' or poor or helpless for anyone. She would be fuming if we insisted on slipping it in after our first tutorial on the subject. Why call someone baichara? You are not supposed to point out something lacking in that person.

The word outside home is, however, governed by its own code and logic, stories about which would always leave our mother a little bewildered and often amused. The longer this world lasts the franker, more intimidating, and far less composed becomes its idiom. Decorum is a politically incorrect relic.

The current opposition is doing its best to keep the name-calling convention alive.

When Sammy and a few other mercenaries for good causes picked up their gear and set off to reinvent the game of cricket in Pakistan, they were duly given titles. Just as fans greeted them as saviours, those who had reasons to oppose the holding of Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the country came up with all kinds of angles to criticise the move. One such attack involved name-calling by the most powerful opposition politician at that time.

The gentleman knew a few things about the game, being in his time one of the biggest all-rounders the game had ever seen. Thus when he said that the PSL put together was actually a joint effort by a bunch of players who can best be addressed as railu kattas, the comment did make a national impact.

Perhaps it was a remark made in a light moment - just like the word 'kaalu' might not signify any malicious intent to a lot of us...