Good Bye !

Mass exodus is tough to cope up with. Long time back you echoed with my views, didn't you ? And this time it sadly has ended my childhood.

I have always lived life in a cricketing parlance.  The other day I was driving in the toughest of weather conditions.  First I drove past a tornado-esque patch of sad bad clouds that seemed life threatening on my way to Page, Arizona.  Followed by a wintry mix.  And then worst of all - a snow storm. Not that this was any surprise or new. But weird that it was in Arizona !  Imagine a bouncy Perth pitch suddenly behaving like a rank turner of the sub-continent. That kind of ridiculousness !

I thought... if Dravid or VVS were to drive past these, how would they approach it ? What would their strategy be ? Thinking so helped me come back safe. What a sigh of relief - similar to the one we felt whenever Dravid built his WALL between an imminent defeat and drawing a game... similar to the one we felt whenever VVS pulled off a victory from the jaws of defeat.

For nations and people who do not understand it, cricket may be a boring game. A game where someone absurdly runs in and pitches a ball while another brainless fella waits to hit it and run for his life while an other idiot goes after it like a hungry dog after a meaty bone. But for me, it defines life. It is life. That is what cricket has, is and will always continue to mean for me.  There are lessons of toughness. Of patience, of holding onto the nerve, of disappointments, of taking it one day at a time... of taking it one moment at a time. Of living and absorbing and enjoying the glory. Of mourning defeats and that opportunity to sit back and reflect.  I might not be accurate with statistics. I might not remember  the number of victories and defeats. But those lessons.... and applying them in various contexts of life... is what I will walk away with. Lessons from Ganguly's come back,  of Dravid's mental toughness, of VVS' poetry, and of Sachin's discipline and commitment will never be forgotten.

When Dada retired four years ago, I did not even realize I was crying staring at the monitor. It was a beginning of the end. And  I knew it... didn't I ? That sooner or later, Dravid, VVS and Sachin would follow suit.  But I preferred ignorance.

And as this year passed by, time consumed all my heroes, one after another. Oh ! It did to the biggest villain of my era too ! Ricky Ponting ! A goliath whom my heroes were pitted against.

I can't remember watching a single game of test cricket this year. Not even the ODI's or T20s. I lamely follow it on Cricinfo.

Today, Tony Greig's passing away was a penultimate nail in the coffin.  This mass exodus has severely dented my interest towards the game.  Game ? Isn't game supposed to be greater than the player ? Well, may be ! But it is the greatness of the player which makes us fall in love with the game. We go to the galleria to watch these great men, fight it out for a victory and escape defeat while teaching us some great lessons, enroute.

Heart breaking as my childhood comes to an end today. I am left stranded again, on the same island of loneliness. With my heroes having walked into sunset, I am not sure what I will do next ! May be I will be replaying all those performances time and again while reminiscing some old memories. Listening to Ilaiyaraja hits and watching movies of the old.


I will keep drawing inspiration from these great men who have given us life time memories and some great lessons. Growing up watching these stalwarts has been a critical episode in my life.  Their retirements and not just mere retirements. It is also a reminder of me ageing. Gosh ! 29 come April ! And my first memories of watching Cricket ? Kapil vs Boon in 1992 WC.  FFWD 20 years and here I am ! On the verge of 'uncle-hood'. 30+ and I will be referred to as 'Uncle' when I walk down the streets in India. My appearance will hide this truth to a certain extent. But for how long !?!

Cricket for me has always been a way of life. More than a mere ball-meets-the-bat game.

Ages down the line, I will sit back and watch movies of your scintillating careers... of famous victories and heart breaking defeats and your stunning artistry...and drive down the memory lane. In your legend is hidden the gateway to my long lost childhood. Watching you again is to unlock the corridors of my mind.  Thank you for making my childhood a memorable one.

You were the only reason I ever fell in love with this game. And you are the only reason I will remember my childhood for.  It was worth it all ! To lose sleep, to shout at the pitch of my voice, to be depressed.... to bite my nails.... to feel let down... to feel on top of the world.... to jump and punch in the air.... following you guys was worth it all !

Thank you gentlemen !...

Hey Kohli... what's up dawg ? How goes it ? ;)

We both are like pani puri, pav bhaji, idli sambar, sugar n milk, bread n butter ..totally incomplete without each other.