Since the black and white EC TV came home one day to sweets
and loads of tea, since the time we had to climb up to the roof precariously to
adjust the antenna to get clean image and reception on TV, since Kapil paaji
lifted the cup and Sunil Gavaskar lifted it's lid to see what is inside, we are
a cricket crazy nation. Every time I went out to bat in my street, all our
audience were empires giving us verdits of out and not out. Sometimes when
there was a power cut despite all the precautions taken by out Ramana uncle, who
worked in the electricity board, he used to come home much later in the night
to avoid hate-filled glances as people were left to press the Radio close to
their ears and listen tot he commentary.
Skip forward a few years, Sachin was just beginning to become a phenomenon and we all wore blue Adidas tees and posed with dummy MRF bats and did the famous groin-drop ceremoniously even when facing a 10 year old local kid we faced everyday. And we drank Pepsi even in rainy season and watched cricket. I remember watching the matches standing on the street outside the shop that sold TVs and would broadcast the match to a window outside so we can watch.
Then we got the color TV. Things changed style changed. Still we would go out to the streets to watch the match. The atmosphere was electric when Sachin took us on against Australia in Sharjah singlehandedly. We jumped and jumped and shouted at the top of our lungs and hugged random people on the street out of pure joy and felt India ruled the world.
Things changed as I moved to college, got my Saching signed MRF original bat, started to work and got a place of my own. Now cricket still rules as the hidden page on the browser with several windows which I would frequently sneak and the muted celebration when Harbhajan swept Australians away. As I grew in my corporate ladder, the browser was more prominent and net connections got better but still I love to buffer it up before actually watching the action. An over late. I know. But still better to let it load. And Yuvi hit those sixers. Six in a match. I was a punjabi that day :) Sachin hit the double hundred. Rohit hit the grand double. Dhoni hit that six to get us the cup. All an over late. An over of confusion. An over of stress and nail biting. An eternity.
Skip forward a few years, Sachin was just beginning to become a phenomenon and we all wore blue Adidas tees and posed with dummy MRF bats and did the famous groin-drop ceremoniously even when facing a 10 year old local kid we faced everyday. And we drank Pepsi even in rainy season and watched cricket. I remember watching the matches standing on the street outside the shop that sold TVs and would broadcast the match to a window outside so we can watch.
Then we got the color TV. Things changed style changed. Still we would go out to the streets to watch the match. The atmosphere was electric when Sachin took us on against Australia in Sharjah singlehandedly. We jumped and jumped and shouted at the top of our lungs and hugged random people on the street out of pure joy and felt India ruled the world.
Things changed as I moved to college, got my Saching signed MRF original bat, started to work and got a place of my own. Now cricket still rules as the hidden page on the browser with several windows which I would frequently sneak and the muted celebration when Harbhajan swept Australians away. As I grew in my corporate ladder, the browser was more prominent and net connections got better but still I love to buffer it up before actually watching the action. An over late. I know. But still better to let it load. And Yuvi hit those sixers. Six in a match. I was a punjabi that day :) Sachin hit the double hundred. Rohit hit the grand double. Dhoni hit that six to get us the cup. All an over late. An over of confusion. An over of stress and nail biting. An eternity.
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