Lord's,
Eden Gardens, Rawalpindi, Adelaide. Isnt it obviously evident that in
this soil and the honourboards of these stadiums has The Wall etched
his place in history. I have missed two more important places. One,
St. Joseph's school,Bangalore and second, in my heart. I know, am
just amongst the countless writing a tribute to The Wall, I would be
immensely guilty if i failed to do so today. I know I can never match
the elegance of a la Rohit Brijnath nor can I measure upto the
brilliance of a Sidvee.
Yet,
Dravid, I dont know how much you have influenced world cricket and
how much lesser will cricket be a gentleman's game from tomo? All i
know is, you are responsible for getting my grades from A to B in a
couple of exams. You made me the most boring batsman in my gully. Did
i
stop? Do you realise, how many times I had to be the object of
ridicule when you struggled to save the match for India? Yes, you
played your heart out. But, for an area where I spent my childhood,
you were just another good player.
When
I started watching cricket, you were never my idol. I think I was 6
when I really started watching cricket. Sachin was my idol,yes he too
he is still today. I was rather forced to become your fan. In those
dusty gullys of Pune, where all the kids had to watch cricket
together in a certain shop or hunt for a home where 'cable' was
provided, when you made that 96 in Lords, I was converted into a
Rahul Dravid, quite forcefully by my friends. I should have been 7-8
then. We both share our first names. And from therein, I became the
Dravid of my area.
That
evening onwards, I started behaving like you. However, I saw you on
the stadium. I tried the crouched stance. I avoided audacious shots.
I stopped getting out. Years later, during the summer holidays of 8th
standard, with my cap firmly on head, just the way it decorates your
head, I did not get out for 3 and half hours,before our moms yelled
at us to get back into our pavilions! My 'Dravidification' was
complete that day.
Dear
Dravid, Why did you have to be so perfect?You are just not the
perfect idol. There is not a single instance where, I can bunk my
studies and reason it to mom, saying Dravid did this too. We know,
you were the best allround student at St. Josephs. I wish, you were
like one of those other overpaid starlets, who could do anything for
money. We know, you shot your first ad for your dad's company. Jammy,
my boy! I wish you were one of those who sported a tatoo. I never got
into an argument for a run out or a catch, even in my local cricket
for I never saw you drop your gentlemanliness a bit during the game.
Oh yes,and how do I forget this? You've bowled, batted and even kept.
You've done every thing that your team wanted. Why? You could even
sit out of the team if they ever wanted you to!
But
still, these are only the fringe effects of my obsession with you.
The bigger malice, The bigger damage is I have stopped watching
cricket these days. Slowly, one dayers started getting boring.How
much ever, the adage that cricket is bigger than individuals, Its not
enough to convince me. I fear for my passion today. Test cricket was.
Every time, an opener fell. I was nervous. I was not happy to see you
on the pitch soon. That frentic energy to see you. That nervous
prayers. That relief to see you go past every milestone. That gasp
when you teach us what discipline means by grinding out each bowler.
That unmeasurable feeling of seeing the opposition bowler frustrated.
That feeling of pride when I could tell the person sitting and
watching next to me, “This is how you play the shot, my boy!”.
I
dont know when I shall watch test cricket again. I might have scored
a few lesser grades, wasted a few more hours. Yet, you have made my
teenage and the two years after it, much much better than how it
could have been.
P.S: This blog post is for my 10th std. benchmate Alisha Shah, whom I have troubled her much during my 10th. I can understand how much you would be pained.
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