The Sunshine Twins
 |  |
How about something really fanciful, like
Whatever you call them, these inspiring boys are two peas in a pod, brought together from rural India to live out an American sporting dream.
Their pretty youth, bright smiles and innocent ambitions are nothing if not sunshine and light.
~sigh with a smile~
The Captain & The Kid*
An India to America Fairy Tale
Rinku Singh as Captain Fantastic~Born in northwest India and raised in a one-room house with eight siblings, Singh took part in the "Million Dollar Arm" contest looking to discover unknown talent... |  |
 | Dinesh Patel as the Brown Dirt Cowboy~Originally from a small town in India, Patel entered along with 37,000 competitors in the "Million Dollar Arm" contest designed to find new talent in the country... |
Rinku-chan* (6'2" tall) went on to beat out all other contestants for $100,000 and 6 months training, leading to a pro contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Dinesh-kun* (5'11'' tall) didn't win but his over 90 mph fastball impressed so much that he too won free-training and later signed a contract with the Pirates.
While probably unknown to most readers of this blog and not yet of YouTube viral fame--I can't recall how I stumbled upon their profiles--they have already made it to celebrity status.They have been featured in US television incredible but true spots and in the Indian press. They are the creation of an American reality TV show cast in India called The Million Dollar Arm.
The idea was simple and brilliantly clever. In a land of half a billion wannabe cricket stars, you just might discover the next American baseball pitching ace. Baseball is as alien to India as, well, cricket is alien to America.
But the few in the world who know of the two will instantly recognize the similarities--bats, balls and high-speed pitches (or bowling, as it is called in Cricketese.)
So, very much in Slum Dog Millionaire fashion--the reality show predates the movie release--one lad from deep within India's rural hinterland out pitches and outshines over 30,000 other contestants, and although perhaps not in the original script, the runner-up, similarly out of rural Inda, is selected, as well, to form this winning pair.
These two lucky youth, with the acumen of natural born athletes are awarded prizes, shipped to America and given 6-months of rigorous training in the manner that only American money and know-how can muster. << Signed baseball cards, the passion of American sports collectors, young and old.
Theirs is a story of talent, incredible luck and expert training... a true American Field of Dreams tale.
I must also add, in the vein of Sri Lankan Male, that these two boys (19 and 20 years old) are natural heartthrobs, which I am quite certain take nothing away from their magical rise to stardom. They have the beauty and innocence that only humble origins can produce. Read their blogs: Rinku's & Dinesh's and you'll see that the innocence is real.
I don't yet really know much of the detail of their stories--it is only one day since I happened upon them. I will leave you, curious readers, to follow the links and their story as they tell it.
But I will add here a few more of the incredible highlights:
Just a few days ago they were in the White House meeting President Obama! It was part of what seemed like a Washington tour complete with all the sights and introductions to others among the beltway elite.A Hollywood prodcution company has already bought rights to tell their story in a feature film.
Those who know baseball are quite stunned that after only 6-months of training they have already been signed with a professional team, albeit as minor league players.
Caveat
Yes, unfortunately, there may be one on the horizon. Think Susan Boyle.
<< What does the future hold for the dynamic duo?
Although it does not seem these boys have gone viral yet, their rise to stardom has been 100% a Cinderella fairy tale.
When one reads the words in their blog and sees them in the video clips, one realizes how real, precious and down-to-earth they still are.
In the language of America, for example, no one utters the word sir anymore, except for the occasional well-trained service staff or those old enough to remember the courtesies of a bygone era.
The newly learnt English of these two Indian lads is fashioned in classic Indian style where respect and deference toward others is a built-in feature of the language.I often encounter this manner of speaking among Indian workers in the UAE, who often hail from India's rural areas.
Whether a sincere sign of deference or not, the effect on the listener is nothing less than charming.
Listening to and reading the words of Rinku and Dinesh one is similarly affected.
But the caveat is that this innocence will at some point be lost, and most likely at a rate proportional to their rise in fame.
Such innocence lost often has tragic consequences, dramatized even more so when good fortune is replaced by the curse of celebrity. My, perhaps, own innocent wish is that this fate shall not befall this pretty pair.
At least there was the foresight to bring Rinku and Dinesh to America together. They have obviously bonded as brothers--they are, in fact, neither siblings nor from the same village. Total immersion in an American universe has meant they are learning English quickly, but their ability to interact with one another has been without a doubt an indispensable support for them. Imagine Rinku having been imported to America alone. He would not have lasted even a month.
Almost as dire could be their failure to reach the pinnacle that fortune has so nearly put in their grasp.
<< Will America someday turn its back on the Sunshine Twins?
They are a stone's throw away from the American major leagues.
They have by now certainly come to discover this American holy grail.
Their best out of India ranking may not be enough to finally elevate them to the American big leagues, even with the training they have got and all of the wanderlust in their hearts.
Failure to reach the pinnacle could also end up being the deal and the dream breaker that leads them down a negative spiral.
I sincerely hope it will never come to that.
↑ The sportsmen's player cards. ↓
Kyojin no Hoshi*
Rinku and Dinesh's Star in Hollywood
 | |
 | Now what will be the title of their feature film?
<< When Japanese sports manga defined the medium, Hoshi Hyuma was a powerful favorite. |
Of Blogs & Tweets
The two boys are doing both, quite avidly.
It is somewhat curious... new to the English language they have been blogging quite prolifically for some time.
Rinku and Dinesh excited about one of their own role models.
Is it really them or a ghost writer?
Today JB sir, showing us new Card or Baseball Players for me and Rinku.In America, they making cards as this for the kids. Kids keeping these card and when meeting player they asking for signing. We not understanding why someone want signing from us, but we doing this for fans.
Cute! Is it real, is it edited and are they touch-typists already? Stereotypically Indian speakers of English overdo the -ing, but it seems a bit over the top here. They forgot to add wanting, "...why someone wanting signing from us."
I don't know. They probably have time for it as they say they spend all their time in training or watching movies. It seems genuine, but it may be PR--companies do this sort of thing. The typing is flawless if not the grammar.
Still, youngsters take fast to this blogging, tweeting and texting stuff anyone, so maybe these really are their words with the aid of a blog post editor.
Either way, it makes fun reading. Check it out... Fall in love with Rinku & Dinesh.
*Know thy references...
Captain Fantastic was a character in a British television series for children in the late 1960s. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is the title track of Elton John's superb autobiographical 1975 album with lyricist Bernie Taupin, aka the Brown Dirt Cowboy.
The Captain and the Kid is a reference to the same, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, in the title song of the Captain Fantastic album and it is the title of a sequal album and title song produced some 30 years later.
Chan & kun are terms of affection commonly affixed at the end of boys & girls' names in Japan--chan more feminine or cute and kun more masculine.
Kyojin no Hoshi (Star of the [Tokyo] Giants) is a 1960's Japanese manga (comic book) and cartoon character of a fictionalized young baseball pitching ace.
 |  |
| Click on these and all images in this post for beautiful, larger views. | |
In the News...
Apparently Bhaiyya is not a kind expression--hick, bumpkin perhaps. Plebian would be less pejorative but it isn't a very familiar expression. Whatever the reference, the story of these two lads is fairy tale perfect:
 Till two years ago, 19-year-old Rinku Singh, the javelin thrower son of truck driver Brahmadin Singh, was considered to be a 'loafer' by his father, in the Holepur village, Bhadohi district, East UP. |
| Lots of love and best wishes for two noble Bhaiyyas. |
And what of baseball...
American contemporary folklore is enamored of baseball. The Hollywood film of a decade or two ago, Field of Dreams, epitomized this.
Every noble character trait of the young male is somehow manifested through the game of baseball--arrgh. The Japanese are even more over the top than the Americans on this. And so too the Cubans, I suppose.
As a boy I hated baseball. My father and older brother used to follow it intently on TV and radio, with games lasting to what seemed an eternal two hours.
At the age of 6 or 7, attempting to follow in my brother's footsteps, I got turned away from the summer little league tryouts. Not good enough, I guess--a great relief to me as I had no interest in being on a hot field dreading that a little ball might come my way.
<< Rinku & Dinesh sign memorabilia for the fan base.As an adult the notion of baseball's milder version, softball, always filled me with anxiety.
It meant having to join your mates, colleagues or those of whatever affiliation you had on a field where you had to show them all how badly you threw or hit a ball or how easily you failed to catch one.
Being no longer in America or Japan, as it were, I certainly feel no love lost for baseball.
I prefer to watch cricket. It seems to be less hyped and mythologized (on the pitch that is). I know it has been deified in South Asia no less than baseball had been until recently in America. On the pitch, however, it is a simpler affair with no dumb founding pauses at every other move. Baseball, like American football, is filled with long, seemingly meaningless pauses between plays--filled nonsensically with the endless chatter of sportscasters.
And as a player, you sit anxiety-laden in a dugout, waiting for and dreading your turn to bat. Or, you stand alone in the middle of a field hoping nothing comes your way. And when the ball does come flying or rolling quickly toward you, you cringe in shame when you miss it. So much for America's great pastime.
If Rinku & Dinesh make it to the big league, however, I just might start liking baseball--no, I can guarantee you I will become a fan of baseball, then!
Most of the images in this post are from the blogs of Rinku and Dinesh. Check'em out, and get to know these shining stars.
 | And there is more still of the prettiest boys in baseball, a 62-image set. Here their story on NPR's All Things Considered. Also listen to a more detailed South Asian Journalists Association podcast. |
← Love's Voice • Is it Wrong2bGay? →
Top ↑
Labels: american dream, baseball, indians, sport
| If prompted, become a follower--then REFRESH and vote. |  |
posted by B.D. at 8:27 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Something you liked or didn't like in this post? A favorite image? A complaint...?
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Sri Lankan Male Home