Age is just a Number

I wasn’t there to witness this amazing feat. But when I close my eyes, it is clear like it is happening right in front of my eyes! I have seen this happen before, however this time it is more exciting for him. His small frame hunched over the keyboard with keys so worn-out that the letters have disappeared, his glasses that need correction that sometimes he can see better without them when his face is up close to the monitor and keyboard, patiently typing with two fingers as he has no typing skills; but his memories are crystal clear and larger than life, pouring out and filling the empty pages of the document to bring the stories of legendary cricketers, whom he hero-worshipped in his youth, to life. My Dad, (whom I call Baba) at age 82, just finished writing and publishing a book of his dreams. While he wrote about the legends, in my eyes he himself has become a legend!

In March 2020, when I wrote about Baba in my post “The Undeniable Roots” that “When I read motivational quotes about how Shakespeare and Isaac Newton produced some of their great work while in quarantine, it reminds me of my Dad”, I never imagined he would be spinning this book during the pandemic. In a matter of about four months, his original manuscript of 250+ pages was ready - which he typed all by himself on that keyboard with the faded characters. Everyone was excited for this project and with help and support from family members geographically near and far; from getting funding from the “Devi Ahilyabai Educational Trust” managed by the Holkar family, to getting the manuscript edited and printed, Baba brought his project to fruition.

Baba is a storyteller, and I grew up listening to many of the stories that fill the pages of his new book. There are other stories that did not end up in the book. Like how at the age of 7 or 8 he started his cricket journey with Gully Cricket in a neighborhood home called “Soni Bhavan”. Or how at the age of about 10, his friend ‘Bhani’ Mukherjee introduced him to Mr Salim Khan (of Sholay fame, Salman’s father. Salim was a teenager then!), who was the captain of the PWD team. Baba got recruited to Salim’s team and played against the Daly College team. Over his teenage years Baba started the Race Course team which played other local teams. This was the 1950s, they had no formal training then and neither did they have coaches. They learnt many strokes from the Len Hutton book and improved through practicing - sometimes in front of mirrors to ensure the bat was straight.

Many of Baba’s memories playing at the Yeshwant Club nets (or watching from the sidelines) during his teenage years, where the Holkar Stalwarts practiced, made it into the book. One talented member of the Race Course team, Mr Ramesh ‘Kake’ Bhatia, went on to play Ranji Trophy, whom Baba talks about in the book. Another player that Baba has fun childhood memories about is Mr. Balkrishna Kher, some of which make its way into the book. Despite his rigorous engineering career, Mr Kher had a record stint in a short, but sweet cricket career.

Baba played some University level cricket while at BITS Pilani. He had the opportunity to play for Madhya Pradesh once, when C.T. Sarwate sat out while mourning for Maharaja Yeshwantrao Holkar II’s death. Baba was summoned from Rajasthan as they needed a good defensive batsman. He had rushed to Indore without even carrying as much as his bat, as he had no idea he would be asked to play Ranji, and played with a borrowed bat. There are some tidbits about that match in the book. The book has interesting stories and anecdotes about the players of the legendary Holkar team which played Ranji Trophy for 14 years, reaching the finals 10 out of those and winning the trophy 4 times under the leadership of Capt. C. K. Nayudu.

As is detailed in the book, the inspiration to write this book came from none other than journalist and cricket sports commentator Padmashri Sushil Doshi, whom Baba knew from Doshi’s college days (Baba was a professor in the same college). Without denying Sushilji due credit for the inspiration - the strong, patient and tenacious woman behind Baba’s success is undoubtedly my Mom. If one can imagine his patience and tenacity to get this book out, one must imagine my Mom’s to be tenfold to get through and support this craziness! Baba’s response to “how did you manage this?” is a marathi saying “Parakramala preeti lagate, lage na praudhi”, meaning one needs love and not prowess to accomplish challenging feats. Through his love for cricket and support from his loved ones, he has set an amazing example that age is just a number! With a fantastic endorsement from Mr Vijay Nayudu, CK’s grandson, hope cricket enthusiasts enjoy his book “The Story of the Legendary Holkar Cricket Team”.