The Ballad of Indian Cricket

I will always remember the time India won the T20 Cup in 2007. The same is with my father and the 1983 World Cup. Those are the moments that stay with us. For a few hours we felt elevated and only sport can deliver such lasting moments. Conversely, our jobs and lives seem a little duller on the day India lose a match. As Guha himself puts it,"India ranks 150th in the World Development Report, below Namibia and above Haiti. It is cricketers alone who are asked to redeem these failures." It maybe a very Indian idea to expect a mythical intervention for a little joy.

"Every country has a preoccupation. In China its Mao, in South America its revolution, in India its cricket." Many, Indians and foreigners, have asked why cricket is so important to India. A much liked but cliched answer is that Indians being a lazy people preferred cricket, where the speed is slow and demands made on the players are low. Like all cliches there is some truth to this, but the explanation itself is an intellectually lazy one. To find the right answer you can't do better than read Ramachandra Guha's "A Corner of a Foreign Field". Guha takes up the formidable task of narrating the story of cricket in India. This is simply an inspired approach to political and social history of the game.

"A Corner of a Foreign Field" begins with the origins of cricket as a pastime for the English in India. The game is soon adopted by Indians, Parsis being the first to play the game and establish a club for it. The native sees the game not just as an entertainment but as a form of resistance to the Imperialist. In a glorious irony, the game supposed to strengthen the Empire is turned into a means for social justice and upward mobility.

Guha has that rare ability to "humanize" characters of history we know as cricketers or politicians. Douglas Jardine, Lord Harris, Palwankar Baloo, C.K.Nayudu and many others are characters in Guha's narrative, not just names holding a jumble of titles. His narration skilfully laces humorous trivia with the existing historical and political context. A large part of the book is spent exploring the Quadrangular tournament which was based on clubs with religious affiliations. It was in the Quadrangular that Palwankar Baloo, Vithal, C.K.Nayudu, Wazir Ali and others made their name. The tournament's ultimate abandonment is also seen as inevitable with the rise of an "Indian" nation and identity.

The pedestal of the first great Indian cricketer is not given to Ranjitsingh or C.K.Nayudu, but to a little known dalit spinner, Palwankar Baloo. His story is one of tremendous resistance, perseverance and the belief in cricketing ability. Baloo and his brother Vithal captained the Hindus in the Quadrangular and his two younger brothers, Shivram and Ganpat also represented the same team. It was claimed at one point that "One brother after another raising the Hindu cricket edifice higher and higher, spreading its brilliance in India and abroad."

Baloo and Nayudu are re-imagined to attain mythical status. Baloo's anonymity though is attributed to the fact that he never played for India. Nayudu was a far more popular figure who could rain sixes on the opposition. To a visiting Jardine, Nayudu sent a note, "Wait till you see me." Undoubtedly Nayudu was the first Indian player to make an impression in popular culture. He captained India on tours to England and was hailed as a legend.

The modern game though is discussed only in parts. Guha portrays the modern Indian fan as the "overworked, overpaid, half-drunk, hyper-national yuppie". But the same Indian fan stands in a ticket queue from the night before, he is not allowed to carry a banner or a poster, not even a bottle of water to the stadium (At Eden Gardens spectators were asked to drink water from a tap deemed unfit for consumption by the local municipality). After going through all this trouble, his heart is broken by players who throw matches for money. I see it as the venting of anger not just at the players, but at a system that has failed to deliver simple dignity.

All things considered though this is a wonderful read. Here's some trivia to entice you to read this book. Ranjitsingh once told a young boy "Balla seedha rakho, Jore se maro, Aur ghabrao mat" (Keep your bat straight, Hit Hard and don't funk). That young boy grew up to be C.K.Nayudu.