The bus drive from Tuticorin to Tirunelveli was about an hour. We landed up in Sankar Nagar on the outskirts of Tirunelveli, on the road to Madurai and onward to Chennai. Sankar Nagar was also where India Cements has its factory and a lovely township for its workers. Adjoining the wall was a very well maintained cricket ground owned by India Cements which is the venue for the very popular TNPL matches every year.
I was struck by how well the ground, the nets, the township was maintained. Not a blade of grass more, no paint jobs needed, no rusting equipment, no lazing employees - everything was in place and everyone was busy at work. At the helm of affairs as far as the ground was concerned was Kothanda Raman the curator who had a fine knowledge of the game, a keen eye, a professional work ethic - no wonder he is great friends with MSD. I bumped into my old pal Chinna or Vaasan as I know him or like his name onte card says S. Sreenivason. We had made this trip to Guwahati with the South Zone U22 team and we won the limited over trophy!
Jyothi Shetty and I were assigned a nice air conditioned cabin which served as the commntators box in TNPL games. We walked around the campus which looked like a miniature BHEL campus - officers bungalows, workers homes, well kept roads, lots of greenery and peacocks all around.
We found that under the open steps on the pavilion were rooms that served as class rooms for primary school children.
The ground at Sankar Nagar was home for three matches and I loved every moment of it.
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