Kolkata, Digha, North Odisha

A colleague's wedding recently presented an opportunity to pack myself East to Bengal and Odisha. I say such, because I was always holding myself back in visiting Kolkata - I dislike crowded cities and find comfort in the smaller ones. I once was at Kharagpur for a week, and didn't visit Kolkata! Only recently I braved myself to Mumbai, and loved it.

The very moment I stepped out into the Kolkatan air, I could feel the humidity, on my palm, very much like Chennai. Airport is far away from the heart of the city, but the city has expanded well to touch and consume the airport into its arms. A long ride from the airport to Bhawanipore gave a glimpse of the city I had been shunning myself away from all these years. First, the long VIP road, which I think is the road that you can recognize from the sky as you descend to land - a long, wide road, with tall light masts, taking very few turns along its way as it drives you to the city. I noticed there were very few two-wheelers on these roads, which is quite different from Nagpur, where everybody drives approximately 1.3 two-wheelers on the road. We bade goodbye to the VIP and snaked our way towards Bhawanipore, probably touching Park Street on our way through. If I trace the same route, I can buy anything and everything I need to furnish my house, find schools and colleges for kids, places to work, shop, dine and bank the rest.

A friend of mine helped me with lodging, and met us when we arrived. We then dined at Jai Hind Dhaba, which started as a tea stall for truck drivers and is now a three-level restaurant at Bhawanipore, and has branches elsewhere. We helped ourselves to this and that, and more of that. I never thought alu-do-pyaaza could taste exotic. My friend confirmed we had space to spare in our tummy, and took us to Balwant Singh's for a dessert - doodh cola. Yes, cola milk. You never know how two things get together well. There is a lesson on Po - the art of fusing two ideas together and deriving answers, in Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono. I am sure this is what he intended to mean. Ohh, we also saw Netaji Bhawan, the residence of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, from where he escaped home arrest.

We woke up early next day to make our way to the railway station. I did know it was summer, and Kolkata is to the East, but I did not expect day break at 4.30 am! The time was 5.00, the roads were empty, the early morning light gave a clear, open look at another side of Kolkata - between the lawns, besides the Victoria Memorial, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Eden Gardens, Howrah Bridge and eventually, the loud and bustling, Howrah Railway Terminus.

The short journey to Digha ran alongside a very beautiful scenery by its sides. Once it was out of the city, it ran through vast greenery. I wanted to make up for the short sleep overnight, with some on the train. So, after I read Neville Cardus describing the most ideal match he ever saw, where Sir Don Bradman and his Australians overcame a hiccup to decimate the English, I fell asleep, dreaming that I am happily bashed to the boundary ropes by the Don as if it was an honour to be bowling to him. That lasted for only that short while as my very loud neighbour wanted to talk to his family seated behind him every 30 second, so loud that the most punk motorbike would be put to shame. Barely hearing my own thoughts clearly, I carried myself to Digha, and in all the excitement, forgot the book on the train. That train is now richer by a beautiful volume of Ramachandra Guha's Picador Book of Cricket.

Digha. Less humid than Kolkata, More windy than Kolkata. The sea breeze lured you to the seashore. We had to put aside our baggage before we did so. Digha has two beaches - the New and the Old, named so. New Digha is to the South of the railway station. It is sandy, longer area to play on the beach, and looks cleaner as you have to work very hard to mess up a very large area. The Old Digha beach is to the North of the railway station, near the heart of the city. It isn't a sandy beach, and has rock-cut steps leading into the waters. So, the waves hitting the rocks are more dramatic than at Old Digha, where the enjoyment is more in letting the waves hit you on the sea bed. The city is mainly lined with trinklet shops, and sea-food.

New Digha

Old Digha

Local transport looks very interesting, probably unique. The cycle rickshaws look like horse carts. There are autorickshaw vans. And, the most unique ones are the motor driven carts which look no more than vegetable carts, but carry people instead of vegetables, who tug a metal bar running through the middle of the cart while sitting around it, to prevent falling off it.

We made two trips to Odisha from Digha over the next couple of days. The density of greenery is beautiful. The one time I went to Bengal earlier, through what was then Orissa, I had seen the greenery alongside the tracks and made me wonder what the land was like inside. I had time to see. And this time, during wedding festivities. Unlike Baroda, where a Baraat would be a nuisance, in the village here, it was a festival for everyone. People enjoyed as the carriage went past their place, even thought it was touching midnight. It brought light to their places, which is at some places rare.

The light of the Baraat

Back to Kolkata on our way back, we had half a day to spare before we rode through traffic to the airport again. We visited Kalighat Mandir before it got crowded. It is a pity how commercial temples have become, the temple staff make it such that the darshan is so chaotic, you don't want to try a second time. You can't seek peace in such temples. Gods listen to prayers wherever you are.

With time to spare before a mini-tweetup, we ticked off Victoria Memorial, only the lawns. The architecture is so beautiful, everyone will find something to appreciate. It also seemed to match sculptures of others too, like the minarets. The humid heat was all forgotten in the neat beauty of the lawns and the majestic monument itself.

The Victoria Memorial

My friend then helped me start what I had been eagerly waiting to all trip long - eat sweets. I lost track of all the sweets I tried at Balram Mullick's. The Sondesh were so good, you wanted more of the same, but had to balance that with trying all other flavours. The dahi bora was filling and excellent! The rosagullas tasty! (duh!!) Mishti doi smooth! The thing that took the cake - kheer kadam. It has the ecstasy of rosagullas (or something equally woof!) and condensed milk rolled into one. Literally. Our breakfast, was at Sharma's, where we had a delicious serving of kachoris with alu ki sabji, the kachoris being as soft as a puri, but well flavoured. That was flushed down with a clay cup filled with chai, with saffron. Now, that is a rich tea!

This building is just at the mouth of Park Street - Old, with a Domino's.

A visit to the Park Street reminded me of South Bombay. The buildings were old, and looked like it had a splash of the new, with modern retail shops, eateries and libraries all lined side by side. It was spacious, unlike Bombay. It helped that people adhered to traffic rules, very well. Also, what I noticed right there at Park Street was a lady, a beggar, with a child who was tied to a railing. A stark reminder of the other side of the city, that I didn't see on this short visit.

Park Street

Also, Park Street

We went to Netaji Bhawan to see the house that is now converted as a museum, to display some photographs and belongings of the Netaji and his brother, Sarat Chandra Bose. I packed some lunch and also sweets from Balram Mullick's for the trip back.

Netaji Bhawan

It was a beautiful trip! I am left wondering if I should have planned a longer stay there, cover more of the city. For now, I will just flush my insides with the essence of the rosagullas, enjoying the Kolkata I could.

The Journey to the 22 yards, Part 2

(for part 1, click here)
In came Sreesanth, and the match had begun! I was in the stadium with a thin, but noisy crowd, and noisy it sure was! Right from the word "GO", the kids were very busy with the loud horns and trumpets and whistles!

It looked very bright, sun was out above our head, and it was all so very well for cricket. In a few overs' time, Sreesanth had gotten India its first wicket! Guptil was out caught behind. Of course, we had no clue about the edge. The players celebrated, so did we ;-) . We had to wait for the replay to have a better look at what had happened. And the sun was shining on the screen, so, we couldn't see much of it at the first go, but the multiple replays helped! And very soon, their second wicket was also down... Sreesanth had uprooted McIntosh's stumps.. This was much clearer! The stumps were cartwheeling! It was such a wonderful sight! I just love it when a pacer beats the defense of a batsman and hits the stumps hard enough for the stump to take a walk!

Our favourite, Ross Taylor went in to bat, and he played some gorgeous drives on the off side, assisted by Bhajji's unsure fielding. But then, he wasn't going to stay in there for long, as Ishant and Ojha shared the duties in reducing the Kiwis to half their size by the time they went in for lunch.

All throughout that session, we had Sachin fielding near our stands. And he received, you know, thunderous welcome every time he came our way! To each of it, he would show his appreciation with a wave of hands, wearing a serene smile on his face! And on some other occasions, there would be Ishant or Gambhir. Both of whom got loud cheers from us. Ishant got "Complan Boy" cheers for sure! :-P

We had to settle for bread-pakodas and samosas for our lunch, and some desserts (read as soft drinks and ice-creams). We didn't bother much, food was secondary to us all! The game was what we came there for.

And the players returned for the last session of play. We had to go higher up in the stands to avoid the gleaming afternoon sun, which I had been resisting thus far. From the top most possible box, the view was exactly what they call "bird's eye"! The players on the field seemed to be miles away, but it was a different feel! When the 6th wicket fell, we thought it was a procession out there. New batsmen came and went, but Jesse Ryder held fort at the other end.

We had been wondering why McCullum (Baz) had not yet arrived at the crease till then, and had our own theories about it (injured, not playing, slept off etc). But now he arrived. And very soon, both Baz and Ryder had injuries on the ground... Ryder had a sore thigh or something, and Baz had pulled a muscle while going for a run. And, bot of them had an injury being carried into the match. So, as per the agreement between the captains, neither of the two were allowed a by-runner. And then on, it was more of stand-and-play, whereas MSD spread the field and made the two to run for their runs!

Nor did they run much, nor were they scoring much. It was a boring phase. A stalemate. And then, Ryder threw his wicket away to Bhajji towards the end of the day. Either he lost his concentration, or got tired of staying put... Either way, we folks got a big boost to enjoy the day on a happy note! We were all the team's expert now. Each of us knew exactly how to get the three remaining batsmen out within two overs the next day. This was the conversation we had on our lips as we walked toward the East to board a bus, leaving the stadium behind us. The stadium was dark on one side and was bathing a shade of bright red on the other side, courtesy the sun! A giant red ball, visible between two trees, it was a beautiful sight.

As we reached the cross-roads, the police patrol was busy directing the crowd so as to avoid any traffic jam. This place has no traffic problems any other time of the year. Just that 5000 vehicles swarm this place during the match-days! So, we cut around the corner and proceed to bus-stop..........STOP!!! The place was flooded by people! I bet 1000s of them! We were NEVER getting on board a bus if we are to wait for one there. So, we had an idea flash in front of us. We crossed the road, and boarded a bus going in the opposite direction, got down at the next stop and boarded the bus on our route from there! So, we saved time, and patience!

And by the time we reached "Burdi", which is the heart of the city, I had sore throat and hence, cough, cold, running nose and all its family members. I got some cough drops and an inhaler to help me fight through this. We bade goodbye to our little chap, and returned to our hostel. It was a cool evening, and a mild breeze blew across our face on the auto-trip back to room. I was tired, and wasn't even sure if I knew what I was talking to the people who wanted to know about the match. (there was a power cut in the hostel all day long, so we were the only ones who had seen the match! :-P ). After the dinner, I crashed into my bed and fell asleep!

The 2nd morning, same routine- got up early, bathed, left hostel by 7 am. This time, we went to that Burdi place to have our breakfast, to avoid putting our tummies to any risk. I was loaded with my cough drops and inhaler. (and we decided not to carry our charts today, no one noticed it, so, not worth the work).

We went to the stadium riding a tempo/share-auto... Some 13 people squeezed in a tiny space, and that included an Englishman, who seemed to be sarcastically impressed with it ("aah... can happen only in India"). The journey was quick, and we were there b 8 45.

The play began at 9 am. It was calm, and not many people were present when the play started. Baz left early, to Ishant. And now, the tail was in! Right below our bay, school kids ad started to flow in. They rushed inside in huge numbers and were scattering in all sides, which startled the ground staff, who were seated comfortably down there, without a thing to worry...till then! And now, they shoed them away from the railing and then made them sit on one side. LOUD cheers of "INDIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA INDIAAAAAAAAA" echoed throughout the stadium, and we joined the chorus!

Today, Ishant got more cheer, the kids love him. And Gambir got "Captain Gauti" complements on being selected te previous night as the new captain for the following ODI series. He was blushing, to sum his expression! Ishant then knocked back Andy McKay's stumps! My favourite Indian bowler on the ground and him destroying the furniture was quite a sight!!! And the legendary batsman of the 21st century, Chris 'Phantom' Martin came in to bat along with the always promising Tim Southee. Martin was brilliant! No one could breach past him :-P . But Southee was now depositing balls towards our end. One fell short, one fell into our stands. First, we liked it. Then it grew irritating! And soon enough, he cheered us up by throwing his wicket away.

Viru called for it at mid on. Some of us saw the ball in the air coming down, the rest who didn't spot the ball looked at Viru. He pouched it and went into the dressing room, which was just behind him! NZ all out for 193... a little more that what we thought we could restrict them to.

And all of us were now craning our necks to have a good look of the dressing room. The umpires came in first, who got some cheer... Then came to Kiwis, who got a little more. After a few minutes of practice on the field, they came together for a huddle. but the attention shifted to the men who mattered - Indian Openers, Viru and Gauti!!!! The Delhi Duo have become very fearsome in the recent past, and we all were waiting since the previous day for this treat!

From now on, Viru and Gauti helped us lose some pounds of body weight. We were put to the duo's fitness regime of sit-and-stand exercise. We sat and waited for the ball to be bowled, which would be belted to some corner of the field, and we all got up to cheer out the name of the batsman who played the stroke. Occasionally, the celebration will feature dancing, slogan shouting, and in extreme case, swearing :-P . When Viru stepped out to Dan and deposited him over the long on boundary, we were surprised it was a 6! He hit it so effortlessly! Gauti was just creaming the ball between the gaps. The kiwis were just flightless! Lunch was called. Everyone took a breather. Openers wanted to get their breath back for some more brutal explicit cricket, the fielding team wanted to wake up from the unconsciousness, and we needed something in our tummy to fuel us through the subsequent sessions!

After a good lunch, the play resumed. Slow to start, picked up pace, and lost its steam when Viru got out. Then, in came Rahul Dravid, whom people didn't respect much due to his recent form. But I was more than happy to see him in. In my mind I had this imaginary book, and I put a tick mark next to "Watch Rahul Dravid play". He came in and played with unmatched charisma, so very conscious of what he was doing. A defensive stroke was so beautiful. A shot was so stunning, that we would wave a salute to him from the stands. Not for nothing is he "The Wall". Watching him play, was like watching poetry in motion, silken touch, handsome play(er)!

Gauti perished to a tame delivery, and another wonderful innings ended short of its destination. He now had his touch back in his armory and was ready to lead the side in ODIs. As Gauti left the ground, the crowd stood in appreciation, clapping loudly. After he left, the clapping stopped, but not a single soul sat down. All were awaiting the entry of the one man, claimed demi-God, the single man who has been breaking though every possible record...Sachin Tendulkar! This reception, might have been rarely received for someone who is just entering the pitch. I dont think Steve Waugh got this loud reception after his last innings in Sydney (if you remember the match, you know how big that innings meant to him personally, and to the team, having saved the test).

So, now, we have Sachin and Dravid out in the middle. Tea was called, and play resumed in 20 minutes. And for 35 balls, not a single run was taken. Which was making the crowd restless. When Sachin finally drove the ball down the ground for a couple, the whole stadium got up and cheered, in a mocking manner :-P ! Then on, the two settled in and played some exquisite strokes. Especially the ones straight down the ground, their feet so assured, the fielders' feet so immovable. The two were painting a beautiful cricketing match on the ground, while the sun was dipping into the horizons, painting a scene itself along with the landscape in the distant vicinity!

As the day ended, India already led the Kiwis by a big distance, and were comfortably in the driver's seat! Dravid and Sachin were in ominous touch! And now, we had so much to share, talk, discuss and relive!

I had enjoyed my two days at the stadium, my first ever attendance at an international cricket game. If at I had a wish not granted, it was watching VVS Laxman playing. He was the man I was hoping to see playing. He is my favourite batsman in the current set up. But, ah well, it was a very good experience. More so, because India was playing better and was all set to win this match, having saved one from the jaws of defeat and drawn the other "comfortably". As I went back to my hostel that evening, I was recollecting frames from the two days, reliving those moments. It was a nice feel, though my not-so-nice health brought me back to reality time and again.

Watch a cricket match in live attendance - check! :-)

(Looking forward to getting my hands on ticket for the world cup game (Ind-SA) :-) )

The Journey to the 22 yards, Part 1

On a toss between which blog should host this post, this blog won fair and square... (whats so fair about square?)

A couple of weeks ago, around this time, I had just returned from a little stationery shopping - charts and markers. No, I didn't have a presentation the following day in my college. It was going to be my first ever attendance at a cricket stadium for a test match! India was to take on New Zealand at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha/Nagpur. And, I was excited about it, felt like a kid!

Having missed out on a chance to attend a test match a couple of years ago (Ind-Eng @ Madras) thanks to the hefty security that left more security personnel in the stadium than spectators, I was looking forward to this game for more than 2 months! Day 1 and 2 were on the weekend, and "the stage was set" (sorry for being Ravi Shastrish)

Back to the present... I spread the chart paper on my bed, stared at it, my eye focusing way beyond it. It was one of those situations where you don't know what to do, because you have too much going on in your mind. My roommate came by, picked up one of those charts, wrote one in expectation of Sachin's 50th ton. My brain cells couldn't win a war over the what I should write, and after dinner, when I zeroed in on what to write about, I had no choice of words to put in". So, I went out for another walk for some edible shopping, which we finished off later that night during a party thrown by my classmate who was about to leave for greener pastures.

Anyway, it was nearing midnight, and I wanted to sleep, thinking I would write after I go to the stadium, and went to bed.

Got up at 5 30 next morning, soon enough woke my roommate. I took bath in the cold shower. Noticed that there was a power cut. And with some time on hand before the planned departure, I finally arrived at what I wanted to write. (keep the drum rolls coming, its on the way). Scwibbled it on the charts, wrapped it up and we were ready. the third guy of the group arrived, and we left the campus in search of an auto the bus stop. Nothing starts early in the morning in this part of the country. (catalyst - wintry chillness, and a little bit of rain)

We finally got one and reached the bus stop (Chatrapathi) and we had to wait for my friend's 10 year old cousin to join us. In the meantime, one bus, not very crowded, went past us. Assured by my friend that there will be many more of them we waited for the little chap to arrive. He did very soon, and we were off. A standing ride to the stadium, but not painful, then began! The highway was beautiful, black road, green surroundings. A cool wind eclipsing the picture of yellow sunshine. When the Caribbeans sang "Sun is shining, and the weather is sweet", they probably meant this.

A little further was a 10 minute break at a petrol station. And then, we went past the hotel where the players were staying (but they were already at the stadium). In 10-15 minutes, we were at Jamtha. From a mile away, the stadium was looking beautiful! A neat white structure with tall floodlight towers, and peeking holes portraying the yellow/blue/green/purple seats in the background. Seeing is believing.

Once we got down, we cut down that one mile between us and the stadium. We had to buy the tickets. We were walking straight down the road and we almost went past one asbestos shed bunker that could've easily slipped past us as a tea hawker's shop, caught my attention. Someone was putting up a banner on it... the sign read "Tickets here". And we went on for it. "Bay E, Level 1, seats 31-34" it read. And each one of us had our own version of where it was. And enthusiastically, we reached the gates of the stadium. my roommate pointed out Laxman Sivaramakrishnan in the Toyota Innova that went past us and into the VIP gate. LSK was about to wear his sunglass in the car. I thought he was going to sing a song for us, but that will be just me...

With the stubborn guards not allowing us in even after 9 pm for a match that was scheduled to start at 9 30, the twitter updates from cricinfo and NDTV were the only things that kept us "within the game" that time. Then came the security check. He looks at the charts and says, "what are these?". C'mon Mr Policeman, what did you expect a chart paper to have, my report card? he opens, and reads them... Don't know whether he read them or not. he fouund one of them empty (we thought of making one if something exciting happened during the course of the game. He said, "no, you are not allowed to take in empty charts! strict order". And he takes away the empty chart (also my bag with a couple of water bottles in them. But then, gave my bag to a shopkeeper to safeguard it instead).

Finally one stadium manager who seemed to be driving down that way found us all waiting outside, and immediately rang up the subordinates and asked them to open all the gates. he apologized to us on the gatekeepers' behalf. So sweet. The same policeman, who takes the empty chart away, allowed me to take pen and markers inside. Funny? Stupid!

We enter what we think is our bay, get through the security checks and get seated right near the boundary line! WOW! what a view! The ground was greener than the green crayon you used in your kindergarten. And there was a camel near the pitch. Oops, sorry, that was Ishant Sharma! 6'5", no kidding! he was taller than all present on the ground!

The sign on the little big screen said "match delayed due to wet outfield". There was sun shining at most parts of the ground, but there was one shady part near the east side, which was still wet due to rain in the previous afternoon. "Supersoppers" were put on heavy duty. Saw dust was sprayed around and the advertising boards were cleaned. Sunil Gavaskar was frantically waving his hand in front of the camera, explaining something to the television viewers... No play for a while. The whole area under the shade was to be blotched out dry! It would take some time.

And we were informed by the ground staff that we were in the wrong tier, and we were supposed to be on the first tier, and me huffed and puffed and made it to the top tier. The view was more clear now, whole ground visible!

So, the play was delayed... But, we were not sad. It was a first-time for all four of us here, and we were all so very excited to see the Kiwi players practicing near our side of the ground.McCullum, Ryder, Martins, Guptil, Hopkins, Jeetan Patel, Southee, Taylor, and of course, NZ's beautiful physio Miss WhateverhernameWhocares. Taylor was the only one who would respond to our cheering, whenever we called his name. He would wear that handsome smile and wave his hands, and we would go frenzy over that and try our chance at the other players. When none of them responded, we were back at Taylor again, who didn't disappoint us :-) . ( "I'm just a kid" )

Near the Pavilion (Southern side) were the Indian players practicing. Ojha running, Srisanth and Ishant bowling, Sehwag throwing balls for MSD to bat. And at the far end (west) was Sachin, with coach Gary for some fielding practice. And, the west stands were flooded with school kids. Once they saw Sachin their side, they rushed to that corner of the stands, like water collecting towards one side of a tilted conical flask! And boy, can they shout! Every time Sachin caught a ball, the noise from that section of the ground was loud enough to catch the attention of anyone on the train that runs on the track behind the stadium!

Nearing 11 am, players went in for lunch, sighting no chance of play anytime soon. the kits were still on the ground suggesting play wasn't going to start for more than "anytime soon". After some more ground inspections by the referee and umpires and groundsmen, between which supersoppers and ground staffs were working out hard, the call came in that the game would start at 12 30 pm! At 12 noon, there would be toss. Sunny Gavaskar did a pitch report. It was a touch green, supposedly hard and thought to favour batsmen. The mic Sunny had was not connected to the ground audio-system. So, we didn't hear what he said about the pitch. But I was very very excited. This was the perfect time for me to bring out my chart! I un-rolled it, opened it and waved it enthusiastically! It read "Make Earth Greener. Make Pitches Greener. Save Test Cricket" . And after Sunny's talk, I pinned it there on the railing with some wiring me and the little chap found there.

Ravi Shastri ( I think) hosted the toss, and the captains were out there with the match referee. MSD tossed it up, and Ravi Shastri went to Vettori with the mic. So, it meant NZ haf won the toss. And it, by default, meant NZ were batting. Many of us were expecting to see the likes of Viru and Sachin and Laxman out there, but we were just as excited to see all of the them walk into the field together!

Sarva-darshan!

We quickly spotted them all one by one as they came out of the dressing room. Dravid was the second last, Sachin the prestige!

And then came in the Kiwi openers!

Game set. Umpires called "Play" and Sreesanth steamed in with the ball, the ground with fresh throats screaming at the top of the voice and the local vuvuzelas echoing...

to be continued..... .... ... .. .