What a lovely book! A young boy with a scarred face braves the cruel world of school. Life at its best and worst.
Monday, January 29, 2018
The Sunday Cricket Lesssons - Sasi does 20% More
Sasi is a quiet, self effacing boy. He is gentle and perhaps carries his gentleness into a part of the game that needs one to be not-so-gentle - medium pace bowling. He puts in effort, is willing to learn, and simply loves the game.
So when I saw him bowling and feeling helpless at the batsman's domination over his gentle bowling, I called him over. 'Are you giving it your best?'I asked. He smiled and shook his head.
'How much?' I asked.
'60%,' he confessed.
'Can you, for the rest of the session, put in 20% more effort?' I asked.
He smiled.
'Yes,' he said.
Sasi was a different bowler after that. Beating the batsmen, getting edges, running deep into his follow through.
Somehow I felt he enjoyed this slightly more than giving the batsmen the edge with his gentleness.
So when I saw him bowling and feeling helpless at the batsman's domination over his gentle bowling, I called him over. 'Are you giving it your best?'I asked. He smiled and shook his head.
'How much?' I asked.
'60%,' he confessed.
'Can you, for the rest of the session, put in 20% more effort?' I asked.
He smiled.
'Yes,' he said.
Sasi was a different bowler after that. Beating the batsmen, getting edges, running deep into his follow through.
Somehow I felt he enjoyed this slightly more than giving the batsmen the edge with his gentleness.
The Hyderabad Literary Festival - Moderating Rajdeep Sardesai's Session on Democracy's XI
It's been a while since the HLF came into being. From the first edition at Hotel Green Park where Prof Shiv K. Kumar was the Chief Guest the festival moved to Taramati Baradari where I met Krishna Sastri Devulapally and Chitra. Krishna and I were part of a panel of Hyderabadi writing with Vamsee Juluri. Then it had an edition at the Maulana Azad Urdu University where I moderated a session for Anita Nair. And one at a place in Banjara Hills near Saptaparini where I moderated a session on Indian cinema for Vamsee Juluri. Then it moved to the Hyderabad Public School where I moderated a session with Ramnarayan and Vijay Mohan Raj on cricket writing and did one workshop for school kids on cricket and lessons from it. And now, this year Vijay Kumar asked me if I could moderate a session with Rajdeep Sardesai on his new book 'Democracy's XI'.
What I found interesting is that we (moderators) are expected to buy our own copy of the book and moderate the session. I asked Vijay if he had a copy and he said no. Which probably means buy your copy or come without reading the book. Maybe the publishers should think about this and lend us a copy. Thankfully Vinod saved me once again and got me a copy which I read, but seriously. I was all set to walk in minus reading the book if Vinod did not have the copy. Rajdeep was capable enough to handle the show himself.
On the D day I went in at 1230 to catch up with Rajdeep and share my line of thought. I spotted Rajdeep heading to lunch and walked up to him. He was not unduly worried about my line of thought and said we could catch up in the author's lounge before the 2 pm session of ours. In the lunch area I met one of the officials who invited me to have lunch and generously gave me a couple of coupons which I was eligible for as a delegate anyway. But since I had eaten a bit of lunch and also did not want to eat right then I said I already ate. 'You ate lunch already,' he said and grabbed the coupons out of my hand. I just could not get it. I don't think there was any food shortage. I don't see what two coupons that may go unused for lunch would do. Maybe there was something I missed!
While waiting in the author's lounge I met two young romantic novel writers - Ravinder Singh and Sudeep Nagarkar, who were having a session at 2 just like we were. Sudeep was quiet and modest. Ravinder was the star. Rajdeep came in some ten minutes before and we spoke a bit before we headed out to the venue. The young lady who led us to the venue recognised me and said she saw me at VNR VJIET when I had gone to give a TEDx talk. She asked me if I would come this time again. I said I would if they invited me.
I thought too many people may not know Rajdeep's connection with the game I made sure the audience knew where he came from - his father Dilip Sardesai was a famous Test cricketer and a member of the 1971 West Indies and England tours that India won overseas for the first time, Rajdeep himself played first class cricket for Oxford and Combined Universities and as a writer he had already written a book. Of course every knew him well as an award winning TV personality. Again, i am not sure if too many people are aware that he is married to another famous TV personality, Sagarika Ghose.
That said, I asked him to set the context of Indian cricket's history and India as a country by leading us through the period of cricket right up to 1971. So he spoke about the Pentangulars when the teams were drawn on communal lines (Parsi, Hindu, Muslim etc), about the royal influence on selection, about untouchable players etc. Then I asked him to lead us through the first of the four periods he mentions in his book - the 1971 tour and how it affected India, the World Cup win in 1983, the liberalisation and then the IPL. Rajdeep spoke with increasing passion and the crowd simply loved it. He spoke well of Jaisimha and of Azharuddin.
There were many questions and answers. Lots of energy. Session well done. Rajdeep was warm in his thanks. I was glad it went well. Shobha bought a copy of the book and Rajdeep signed it for us. I gave him copies of 50 Not out and TWIED. That ended HLF 2018 for me. But I suddenly realised that I am moderating more sessions than being a panelist on. Especially at the HLF!
What I found interesting is that we (moderators) are expected to buy our own copy of the book and moderate the session. I asked Vijay if he had a copy and he said no. Which probably means buy your copy or come without reading the book. Maybe the publishers should think about this and lend us a copy. Thankfully Vinod saved me once again and got me a copy which I read, but seriously. I was all set to walk in minus reading the book if Vinod did not have the copy. Rajdeep was capable enough to handle the show himself.
On the D day I went in at 1230 to catch up with Rajdeep and share my line of thought. I spotted Rajdeep heading to lunch and walked up to him. He was not unduly worried about my line of thought and said we could catch up in the author's lounge before the 2 pm session of ours. In the lunch area I met one of the officials who invited me to have lunch and generously gave me a couple of coupons which I was eligible for as a delegate anyway. But since I had eaten a bit of lunch and also did not want to eat right then I said I already ate. 'You ate lunch already,' he said and grabbed the coupons out of my hand. I just could not get it. I don't think there was any food shortage. I don't see what two coupons that may go unused for lunch would do. Maybe there was something I missed!
While waiting in the author's lounge I met two young romantic novel writers - Ravinder Singh and Sudeep Nagarkar, who were having a session at 2 just like we were. Sudeep was quiet and modest. Ravinder was the star. Rajdeep came in some ten minutes before and we spoke a bit before we headed out to the venue. The young lady who led us to the venue recognised me and said she saw me at VNR VJIET when I had gone to give a TEDx talk. She asked me if I would come this time again. I said I would if they invited me.
I thought too many people may not know Rajdeep's connection with the game I made sure the audience knew where he came from - his father Dilip Sardesai was a famous Test cricketer and a member of the 1971 West Indies and England tours that India won overseas for the first time, Rajdeep himself played first class cricket for Oxford and Combined Universities and as a writer he had already written a book. Of course every knew him well as an award winning TV personality. Again, i am not sure if too many people are aware that he is married to another famous TV personality, Sagarika Ghose.
That said, I asked him to set the context of Indian cricket's history and India as a country by leading us through the period of cricket right up to 1971. So he spoke about the Pentangulars when the teams were drawn on communal lines (Parsi, Hindu, Muslim etc), about the royal influence on selection, about untouchable players etc. Then I asked him to lead us through the first of the four periods he mentions in his book - the 1971 tour and how it affected India, the World Cup win in 1983, the liberalisation and then the IPL. Rajdeep spoke with increasing passion and the crowd simply loved it. He spoke well of Jaisimha and of Azharuddin.
There were many questions and answers. Lots of energy. Session well done. Rajdeep was warm in his thanks. I was glad it went well. Shobha bought a copy of the book and Rajdeep signed it for us. I gave him copies of 50 Not out and TWIED. That ended HLF 2018 for me. But I suddenly realised that I am moderating more sessions than being a panelist on. Especially at the HLF!
Democracy's XI - Rajdeep Sardesai
Rajdeep Sardesai is the son of former Test cricketer Dilip Sardesai, one of the men who starred in India's first overseas wins in West Indies and England circa 1971. He is also a first class cricketer who played for Oxford and Combined Universities. He has also written a book 'The Election that Changed India'. Rajdeep is known more famously as an award winning TV personality.
Rajdeep's approach the the book is unique. He tries to map India's growth as a democracy through cricket, through eleven players who he feels somehow represent the spirit that India's democracy stood for. The players are - Dilip Sardesai (1960s), Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, M.S. Dhoni and Virat Kohli. He picked four landmark eras that coincided and defined the way the country's consciousness grew and the way cricket grew too, represented by these men. The four eras are - the 1971 tour when India beat the West Indies for the first time in an overseas tour (and later England), winning the 1983 World Cup, liberalisation in 1991 and the IPL in 2008. It is through these times and through the life and times of these men that we follow the course of the game and the country.
The one about his father was by far the best profile, followed by the ones about Pataudi, Gavaskar and Azharuddin (the most controversial choice as he says). There are several interesting nuggets in the profiles of each of these players who have been written about so much and Rajdeep met all of them while writing the book. But to me the book was mostly about what was not said - the father - son relationship between Dilip and Rajdeep Sardesai.
Dilip Sardesai is the only Goan Test cricketer to date. He grew up in Goa with no coaching but caught the eye of those who played against him. When his family moved to Bombay Dilip Sardesai quickly converted his passion and played for India as a 22 year old against the fearsome West Indies in 1962 (the series when Nari Contractor almost died). Known as a great motivator and one who understood the game well, Dilip Sardesai's 'popatwadi' remark is folklore. Apparently he saw the West Indies bowling in 1971 and realised that he had to get his team mates get over the fear of foreign oppositions and play them on merit and told his partner Solkar who came in to bat that this was 'popatwadi' bowling and should be played as such. They merrily stitched together a partnership and India won the series in which Gavaskar scored some 700 odd runs in his debut series but more importantly, Dilip Sradesai, the Renaissance man, scored, 680 odd runs. In acts like these behind the scenes, Dilip Sardesai helped his team gain an upper hand and scored a double hundred and a 150.
Now the same friendly motivator and coach however was pretty brusque in his handling of young Rajdeep who he told bluntly that he was not meant for the game and would not play higher cricket at a time when he had played Under 22 cricket for Bombay (no mean task - an Under 22 Bombay player can play for most other Ranji teams in India especially those days). He gave a lot of attention to Rajdeep's contemporary Sanjay Manjrekar though and one can only feel what Rajdeep might have felt with no support coming from perhaps his biggest idol. I would have done what he did - give up the game at the earliest opportunity. Like all children it is also natural to want to do one's parents proud and many times it is the burden of the successful fathers that hangs like a noose on young players. It hangs heavy.
When we see theories on expertise and the mindset these days we realise that talent and intelligence is not the end all - deliberate effort, focused learning, good coaches and mentors and a supportive family - have changed the fortunes of those who were not seen as talented earlier. But one did not have the benefit of such studies then nor was sport so democratised and perhaps Dilip Sardesai in his wisdom prodded Rajdeep in a direction in which he did so well finally. But then, all success aside, and the pride of doing one's parents proud in their area is another, and that I felt was the unsaid part of the book. Frankly I would have been quite glad to read a story about Dilip and Rajdeep and understood India from their own stories. I did not need the others really. If I was the editor I would have pursued that angle.
He is a gentle, polite and self effacing man, Rajdeep as I realised when I met him briefly to moderate his session on the book at the Hyderabad Literary Festival. He spoke passionately, convincingly and won the crowd over with his points. I felt he had withdrawn a bit, lost in the madness that journalism has dipped into these days. The book was too nice, too neat and too good - Indian cricket is not like that unless we choose to look at it that way and the players he speaks about are heroes in the game but are as human as anyone of us otherwise. So I wondered for a moment if it was a safe book to write. But all said and done, it captures Indian cricket and its journey well, it is an interesting connection to make and sometime when I read his memoir, I will get to read about the part I suspect - a son's longing to gain his father's approval, acceptance, agreement and encouragement. Rajdeep writes well and the book never loses energy.
Rajdeep's approach the the book is unique. He tries to map India's growth as a democracy through cricket, through eleven players who he feels somehow represent the spirit that India's democracy stood for. The players are - Dilip Sardesai (1960s), Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, M.S. Dhoni and Virat Kohli. He picked four landmark eras that coincided and defined the way the country's consciousness grew and the way cricket grew too, represented by these men. The four eras are - the 1971 tour when India beat the West Indies for the first time in an overseas tour (and later England), winning the 1983 World Cup, liberalisation in 1991 and the IPL in 2008. It is through these times and through the life and times of these men that we follow the course of the game and the country.
The one about his father was by far the best profile, followed by the ones about Pataudi, Gavaskar and Azharuddin (the most controversial choice as he says). There are several interesting nuggets in the profiles of each of these players who have been written about so much and Rajdeep met all of them while writing the book. But to me the book was mostly about what was not said - the father - son relationship between Dilip and Rajdeep Sardesai.
Dilip Sardesai is the only Goan Test cricketer to date. He grew up in Goa with no coaching but caught the eye of those who played against him. When his family moved to Bombay Dilip Sardesai quickly converted his passion and played for India as a 22 year old against the fearsome West Indies in 1962 (the series when Nari Contractor almost died). Known as a great motivator and one who understood the game well, Dilip Sardesai's 'popatwadi' remark is folklore. Apparently he saw the West Indies bowling in 1971 and realised that he had to get his team mates get over the fear of foreign oppositions and play them on merit and told his partner Solkar who came in to bat that this was 'popatwadi' bowling and should be played as such. They merrily stitched together a partnership and India won the series in which Gavaskar scored some 700 odd runs in his debut series but more importantly, Dilip Sradesai, the Renaissance man, scored, 680 odd runs. In acts like these behind the scenes, Dilip Sardesai helped his team gain an upper hand and scored a double hundred and a 150.
Now the same friendly motivator and coach however was pretty brusque in his handling of young Rajdeep who he told bluntly that he was not meant for the game and would not play higher cricket at a time when he had played Under 22 cricket for Bombay (no mean task - an Under 22 Bombay player can play for most other Ranji teams in India especially those days). He gave a lot of attention to Rajdeep's contemporary Sanjay Manjrekar though and one can only feel what Rajdeep might have felt with no support coming from perhaps his biggest idol. I would have done what he did - give up the game at the earliest opportunity. Like all children it is also natural to want to do one's parents proud and many times it is the burden of the successful fathers that hangs like a noose on young players. It hangs heavy.
When we see theories on expertise and the mindset these days we realise that talent and intelligence is not the end all - deliberate effort, focused learning, good coaches and mentors and a supportive family - have changed the fortunes of those who were not seen as talented earlier. But one did not have the benefit of such studies then nor was sport so democratised and perhaps Dilip Sardesai in his wisdom prodded Rajdeep in a direction in which he did so well finally. But then, all success aside, and the pride of doing one's parents proud in their area is another, and that I felt was the unsaid part of the book. Frankly I would have been quite glad to read a story about Dilip and Rajdeep and understood India from their own stories. I did not need the others really. If I was the editor I would have pursued that angle.
He is a gentle, polite and self effacing man, Rajdeep as I realised when I met him briefly to moderate his session on the book at the Hyderabad Literary Festival. He spoke passionately, convincingly and won the crowd over with his points. I felt he had withdrawn a bit, lost in the madness that journalism has dipped into these days. The book was too nice, too neat and too good - Indian cricket is not like that unless we choose to look at it that way and the players he speaks about are heroes in the game but are as human as anyone of us otherwise. So I wondered for a moment if it was a safe book to write. But all said and done, it captures Indian cricket and its journey well, it is an interesting connection to make and sometime when I read his memoir, I will get to read about the part I suspect - a son's longing to gain his father's approval, acceptance, agreement and encouragement. Rajdeep writes well and the book never loses energy.
Opening Night - Movie Review
Unbelievably good. An insight into the mind of a true artist.
What a performance Gena Rowlands!
What a performance Gena Rowlands!
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