Oh man!!! I can't believe that India just won the Cricket World Cup, that I danced on the roads, that we shouted on top of our voice, that I saw people riding atop their cars, that people lifted a police inspector on their shoulders and forced him to shake a leg. Somebody pinch me and tell me it's not a dream. Twenty eight long years it has taken for us to witness the moment and the wait was worth it.
When I was barely 6-7 months old, Kapil Dev's men lifted the World Cup beating West Indies. I have grown up listening to the same story again and again. My father, who is a bigger cricket fan than I would ever become, vividly remembers the radio on which he listened the entire commentary (TV was quite a luxury those days), the 'lungi' he was wearing that day, how i kept peeing my pants throughout the match and how Kapil and Amarnath surprised all Indians. Ever since then, India has come close to winning a world cup, sometime till quarter finals, sometimes till semi-finals and sometime finals. But we would lose midway every time. And every time Papa would say "aaj agar Amarnath aur Kapil Dev jaise log hote team mein na toh....." (only if we still had Kapil and Amarnath in today's team). I kept growing up seeing Kapil replaced by Azhar, then by Ganguly and then by Dhoni with several smaller stints of other captains.
Every four years I would feel that this is the time we would repeat 1983 and I would say to Papa, "we still have players as good as Kapil and Amarnath." We missed it when I was in Class 6, then we missed it again when I passed Class 10th. Even in my 2nd year of college we missed it. And so did we miss in my first year at job. This world cup I told Papa that it is high time we either win World Cup or I should quit watching this game forever. Papa won't giving up watching either ways. When India beat Australia in qaurter finals, Papa commented that he has got the 1983 vibes. I didn't trust him. We had reached till finals and lost earlier and I didn't want a heart break again. On the semi final day, Papa couldn't watch much of the game as electricity went out suddenly. I kept calling him and giving him updates. When we beat Pakistan, he was the first who rang me up to congratulate.
Yesterday, we beat Sri Lanka in a heart throbbing game. I have turned 28 four months ago. My father has greyed all his hair. He has waited for this moment for long and I have grown up only to see this day. For years, we shall remember this day. I would narrate to my kids how we won the world cup. Yes, there won't be any radio commentaries to remember, but there would be espnstar.com live streaming and cricinfo.com to talk about. There is no 'lungi' I wore but I'll remember those Adidas shorts. There are two things that would remain same in the two memories. One the innumerable times I peed (this time not in my pants, of course) and two, the way the Indian captain again led his team to Victory. This is a moment.. a moment that comes rarely in history when you remember what you were wearing, what did you eat, how was the weather and also how many times you visited the bathroom. It is a moment I'll remember for life. Papa still has those newspaper cuttings of Kapil lifting the Cup, I will have this blog as a memoir. Times have changed but the stupidity of enjoying cricket stays and we really do not want to shun this stupidity.
We are world champions again.. and this moment shall remain etched in history, for ever. I would also tell my kids someday "Aaj agar Dhoni aur Sachin hote na toh..."
When I was barely 6-7 months old, Kapil Dev's men lifted the World Cup beating West Indies. I have grown up listening to the same story again and again. My father, who is a bigger cricket fan than I would ever become, vividly remembers the radio on which he listened the entire commentary (TV was quite a luxury those days), the 'lungi' he was wearing that day, how i kept peeing my pants throughout the match and how Kapil and Amarnath surprised all Indians. Ever since then, India has come close to winning a world cup, sometime till quarter finals, sometimes till semi-finals and sometime finals. But we would lose midway every time. And every time Papa would say "aaj agar Amarnath aur Kapil Dev jaise log hote team mein na toh....." (only if we still had Kapil and Amarnath in today's team). I kept growing up seeing Kapil replaced by Azhar, then by Ganguly and then by Dhoni with several smaller stints of other captains.
Every four years I would feel that this is the time we would repeat 1983 and I would say to Papa, "we still have players as good as Kapil and Amarnath." We missed it when I was in Class 6, then we missed it again when I passed Class 10th. Even in my 2nd year of college we missed it. And so did we miss in my first year at job. This world cup I told Papa that it is high time we either win World Cup or I should quit watching this game forever. Papa won't giving up watching either ways. When India beat Australia in qaurter finals, Papa commented that he has got the 1983 vibes. I didn't trust him. We had reached till finals and lost earlier and I didn't want a heart break again. On the semi final day, Papa couldn't watch much of the game as electricity went out suddenly. I kept calling him and giving him updates. When we beat Pakistan, he was the first who rang me up to congratulate.
Yesterday, we beat Sri Lanka in a heart throbbing game. I have turned 28 four months ago. My father has greyed all his hair. He has waited for this moment for long and I have grown up only to see this day. For years, we shall remember this day. I would narrate to my kids how we won the world cup. Yes, there won't be any radio commentaries to remember, but there would be espnstar.com live streaming and cricinfo.com to talk about. There is no 'lungi' I wore but I'll remember those Adidas shorts. There are two things that would remain same in the two memories. One the innumerable times I peed (this time not in my pants, of course) and two, the way the Indian captain again led his team to Victory. This is a moment.. a moment that comes rarely in history when you remember what you were wearing, what did you eat, how was the weather and also how many times you visited the bathroom. It is a moment I'll remember for life. Papa still has those newspaper cuttings of Kapil lifting the Cup, I will have this blog as a memoir. Times have changed but the stupidity of enjoying cricket stays and we really do not want to shun this stupidity.
We are world champions again.. and this moment shall remain etched in history, for ever. I would also tell my kids someday "Aaj agar Dhoni aur Sachin hote na toh..."
1 comment:
what is life hey ...and what do we live for - supoosed to have been for one another.
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