This advertisement is in
extremely bad taste. What the heck was the Make My Trip team thinking? Don’t
tell me that your advertising team has not seen the proof. Maybe you thought it
was pure bar trawl that would go down well with a couple of pegs of whisky.
Common sense is not common. Coca-Cola or Pepsi would never commit such a Faux
Pas.
Make My Trip is a professional
company, and it is releasing such advertisements, and that too on the front
page!!! Such a waste of money!!! It is not smart advertising; it is plain
stupidity or pure Hara-kiri. Don’t make fun of sportspersons and supporters.
Commiserate and say, “Hard luck mate”. Don’t gloat, remain humble and grounded.
Just for a second, let us assume
that Pakistani supporters really had booked rooms using the Make My Trip app.
Would they be thrilled if Pakistan gets thrashed and they get discounts as
promised by Make My Trip?
I bet my bottom dollar they
would not appreciate the so-called discount if it came at the cost of their
team’s loss. A team that they have spent so much money and effort to come to
India and watch an epic cricket month between the traditional rivals. If make
my trip was genuine it could have offered a quiet discount with a “we are
sorry” note and not made such a song and dance about the defeat. Make My Trip
has lost the loyalty of many Pakistani people with such crass promotion.
Many Pakistani YouTubers like
Sana Amjad and Sohaib Chaudhary are doing a better job than Make My Trip. Their
YouTube videos are quite objective and don’t take the official Pakistani view
of viewing India through Xenophobic glasses, Most of the Pakistanis featured in
the videos come across as well-mannered people grounded in the present
realities.
End of the day, cricket is a
sport. Let us treat it as such. Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan and Neeraj Chopra are
great friends. In the world athletics Championships held in August Neeraj
Chopra won the gold and Nadeem got the Silver but unfortunately there was no
Pakistani flag available for Nadeem to drape around him and celebrate.
It was the gracious Neeraj who
invited Nadeem to share the Indian flag, and both celebrated together. It
brought a lump of happiness to the crores of viewers throughout the world who
watched the drama unfold on live television.
I listen to Pakistani podcasts
on Spotify and find them interesting. The podcasters are quite knowledgeable,
and the Urdu is charming. The discourse about how Pakistan lost Bangladesh not
because of India but due to the ill-treatment of East Pakistan by the West was
quite an eye-opener.
We need to avoid stereotyping.
If Pakistan is not doing well, it could mean big trouble for us. We need stable
borders. This advertisement will hurt sentiments. make my trip should eat
humble pie and say sorry. We are a hospitable country.
Let us respect our guests.
Remember we did not go to Pakistan, but they visited us. Let us understand that
it was the muscle of BCCI that made it possible. We don't need such advertisements.
Hyderabadis behaviour was much better. The crowd at Rajiv Gandhi International
Stadium supported both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. That is the way forward. Don’t
make fun of the vanquished. Let us learn to be graceful.
