All about records!!

Just yesterday while I was glancing through the newspaper, I read articles showering much deserved praises on Dada and Yuvraj for their scintillating knocks against Pakistan. One thing caught my attention was the list of the records that were made. One of the records made was It was the first 300 runs partnership by TWO LEFT HANDED BATSMEN against PAKISTAN in INDIA. Wow, I thought to myself, we people are really obsessed with numbers and records. This record made no sense to me at all. Isn't everything a record if we keep on narrowing it down. Suppose a batsman made 4 runs against Pakistan in Bangalore , then it might be the first 4 runs in 8 balls against Pakistan, if not then it will most probably be the first 4 runs in 8 balls against Pakistan in Bangalore, if not then it will definitely be the first 4 runs in 8 balls against Pakistan in Bangalore in 12.5 minutes. How does it matter. Navjot Singh Sidhu with his characteristic wry sense of humour once remarked "Statistics are like bikinis, what they reveal is interesting but what they hide is vital". It makes so much more sense to look at these numbers with a perspective. A perspective would help us make sense out of these, otherwise these numbers will give us a false sense of security, a false sense of achievement. A billion Indians are obsessing with the records Tendulkar has made in his illustrious career. Records have so defined him that the day he doesn't score a century he is deemed a failure. Isn't it time we measure achievement by some other intangible parameters like commitment, passion, grit, determination. A number is no more than a number. From the board percentage in 10th and 12th, to JEE AIR to CAT percentile and then the salary the tendency to measure an individual with numbers is taking heavy toll on us. We need to stop this madness, this obsession, this objectivity in judging everyone. Or else we'll keep making records, records which don't matter, records which only say we can add, subtract, multiply and divide with amazing dexterity!