Highway Star: Manali - Leh - A pictoral

Mere words cant do justice, even great pictures don't suffice. You just have to Be there

The Importance of Being Sachin Tendulkar

If someone had told me that India would be booted out of this world cup in the very first week, and that The Icon of Indian cricket for the last 2 decades would be booed by the very public that would have pawned their right eye to see him bat, I would have told that person to jump in a well, after of course having laughed right at his face.
Well, the unthinkable had happened and my childhood hero is probably facing an inglorious end to an otherwise exemplary career. Even though I did not join the multitude in denouncing HIM from grace, I did not vociferously defend him like I used to in the past. In the past, when arm chair pundits (like my dad) talked about sachin reaching the end of his career or not performing upto expectations or rating batsmen like Lara or Ponting to be better than him, I immediately used to jump in to the ring armed with a plethora of past statistics, a dash of trivia and a whole lot of passion. This time around I couldn’t defend the man I had on numerous previous occasions. I sadly watched and listened to colleagues, friends and the media taking pot shots at the man who for me had defined Indian cricket.
The reason I write this article is not to melodramatically dwell in the past but to highlight an event which made me realize how deeply rooted He is in the lives of my generation. It was a lazy april fools morning and my idle mind was trying to conjure up some devious scheme to fool my friends with. I was quite a prankster in my younger days and have pulled some work of art april fool gags on my unsuspecting friends, but that’s another story. Anyways, while reading the morning paper and glancing upon the Bob Woolmer murder mystery, a sinister plot hatched in my brain. Before I tried the prank out on some of my more aware friends, I decided to test run it with my mom. A little background on my moms cricket knowledge, being in a family of 2 cricket loving sons she has been indoctrinated into the multitude of the Indian Cricket expert. And like many of her ilk her favourite cricketing son was Sachin tendulkar. In her earlier cricket watching days she came up with some gems like “Why cant the Indian bowlers always bowl dot balls?”. She thought that like the yokker, a dot ball was a type of delivery and not the resultant of no runs scored. Now she is as knowledgeable about the game as any of us with the exception of my bro who is an almanac of cricket.
So I called up and in a frenetic voice told her to quickly switch on the television, I told her breathlessly that Sachin tendulkar was found dead and it looked like a case of suicide. I quickly hung up the phone pleased with my theatrics and acting abilities. After waiting a while, I was sure that the hoax was caught by my mom as no news channel would corroborate the story, I called her again. This time however it was my dad who picked up and in a somber voice asked me if I had played a prank earlier. He said that mom was shaking and was in tears. Mom came on line and though she rebuked me gently between her sobs, I could sense the underlying relief in her voice that it was just a prank and not the truth. I myself was alarmed that mom had taken this so seriously and it had disturbed her otherwise stable emotional equilibrium.
I waited for things to cool down before I called again and had a chat with mom. Even she couldn’t justify why she broke down on hearing the news. She told me that upon hearing it, her thoughts went back to how much joy he had given to Indian cricket fan particularly my family and how unfairly he had been treated in the recent past and what a tragic end it was, when this world cup was being touted as his swan song. She was embarrassed that she had reacted the way she did, but I understood the implications of being Sachin tendulkar.
Growing up in Mumbai, when Sachin was at the peak of his devastating abilities (Sharjah series vs Australia), those matches were forever etched in my family’s memory and were counted amongst our most memorable times we spent as a family. Probably as much as any memorable holiday we’ve had or even as significant as a marriage or any other joyous event. As a result, he is subconsciously rooted into the fabric of our family and I would suspect a million other cricket loving families in India. This phenomenon I believe cuts across class, income groups and even religious boundaries. In a country where heroes are hard to come by and even harder to stand the test of time, this man has remained in our hearts and imaginations for almost 2 decades, from a precocious teenager to a mature veteran of the game. In a country plagued with uninspirational political leaders, and over hyped entertainment personalities, this man made his way into a billion hearts purely on the merit of his ability. His personal life too has been as admired as his cricketing one, an unflappable temperament, 2 lovely children, social causes, and humility which only accentuated his on-field achievements.
My stupid prank in retrospect had probably just one positive rub off, it made me realize the importance of Being Sachin Tendulkar.

Sourav Ganguly: The comeback kid

First things first, I am not a bengali, therefore i don't have the genetic inclination that most bengalis have to worship Sourav. In fact i never even liked him too much as a cricketer , as my adulation and admiration were reserved for a guy called Sachin Tendulkar.
Therefore when the whole Greg Chappel - Sourav issue blew up last year, I was among the many who wrote Sourav off. Think of it logically.
1. He was in a deep slump in form, which seemed to be sinking to lower levels with every match.
2. Bowlers all over the world seemed to have him sorted out - with his susceptibility to the short ball.
3. He had a public spat with a man the BCCI wasnt going to forgo as they had spent millions to acquire his services.
3. His loyal teammates, though did have kind words to say about him weren't going to stick their neck out for him.
4. Cricket is bigger than any individual therefore if the Indian team didn't need Ganguly then he had to go.
With all the above duly considered I would have advised Ganguly to gather up his tattered pride, acknowledge the fact that his best cricketing years were behind him and try and retire with as much grace as was now possible. I would have told Sourav to look at a lucrative career as a television commentator or maybe get into coaching. This would have been the logical and easy path to take.
But Sourav decided to ignore the multitude and stuck to a path that was strewn with thorns, broken bottles and landmines. Treading this path was not only dangerous but more catastrophically it could also amount to nothing. Basically there was no light at the end of the tunnel which could keep him going. A lesser man or a good poker player would have cut short his losses and gone his way and looked back on what was definitely a good cricketing career.
I can only imagine the guts it took to for him to decide to gamble what was left of his already bruised pride and tattered ego.
I can only imagine the self belief that lay within him as he played domestic cricket with juniors who a few months ago would have considered it their lucky day to have a word with him. To put his head down and work on his cricket while ignoring the sympathetic looks of the world or the smirks and comments of his detractors would have been a task of herculean proportions. Every cricketing move of his was watched with intense scrutiny with either the doomsday pundits saying that they were vindicated or overzealous Bengali's hailing his modest score as a sure sign of his class. To put all this aside, to focus on an impossible goal, to have unwavering belief in yourself speaks volumes of this mans character.
As a cricketer, I have never admired Ganguly, as a captain i did admit that he was a good leader but he was never a name to inspire awe or carry a nation - like Sachin. But his comeback to the indian team, which is nothing short of a miracle, has catapaulted him in my eyes as an extraordinary man. Not only has he come back, but he has grabbed this opportunity with both hands and earned his retention in the team. Now that's the epitome of a professional.
I am sure his family and friends would have rallied behind him and encouraged him through his trials but finally its the individuals mettle and resolve which counts.
He has channeled his anger, disappointment and humiliation in to a steely resolve which ended up with him drawing praise from his nemesis himself.
I believe that Chappel was justified in dropping Ganguly at that point of time, though the way it was done was a bit questionable, I believe that Chappel and the BCCI have acted as thorough professionals when Ganguly was recalled to the team and when they praised him for his performances. It reinforces my belief in professionalism in a country better known for corruption, dirty politics and non-meritocracy.
I can only tell Sourav Ganguly that you have gained a big fan now who admires you more for your mental and character prowess, and I wish you the best for the World Cup.