Gautam Das
It was 1984. I had just enrolled in Jadavpur University as a first year student in Civil Engineering. Apart from pursuing higher studies, it was my dream to represent my university in cricket. But I did not know anyone who could guide me. One day I decided to take my chance and went for net practice in the campus. I realized that there was a separate quota for sports and only those students who were extremely talented both in sports and academics got selected under the sports quota. I remember Joydeep Moitra, Joydeep Ghosh, Joydeep Guha 'Joydeeps' of Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical Engineering departments respectively being the automatic choices for the team. They were already established cricketers in school cricket tournaments of Cricket Association of Bengal and had by then acquired a star status. In course of time, however, they became my friends.
Most of them had grown up in Calcutta and had an urban background. On the contrary, I hailed from a rural background. I played football as well. There existed quite a gap between us. For instance, a common practice during my growing years was removing the sweat drenched jersey as soon as the practice got over. Squeezing out the sweat brought a sense of satisfaction that one had indeed worked hard on field. We never cared for any apprehensions about muscle cramp or catching cold. But at JU I found they did just the opposite. Once they had warmed up they immediately started putting on pullovers, sweaters and so on. The more they sweated, the more they kept wrapping themselves in the latest sports jackets. They were convinced that otherwise their muscles would stiffen. Immediately, they picked on me for being the odd man out. They started ridiculing me for my rustic ways and I became a Gnaiya. They were more at ease in Benglish conversation, throwing in a few English words while speaking Bengali. They were more fluent in English because of their English medium back ground while I struggled because I had studied in a Bengali medium school all along.
While they continued with their habitual leg pulling, patience and mental strength turned out to be my two best friends in those days and even today they are my never failing friends. I guess, they would remain so for the rest of my life. I was waiting to perform in Arena - the annual inter-departmental tournament organized by FETSU. Finally, my perseverance paid off and my all round performance in bowling and batting earned me a place in the University 14. I was the only non- sports quota student in that year who had qualified for the university cricket team. Then, in my second year something miraculous happened. The semifinal match between Rabindra Bharathi University and JU for the Inter University Ajoy Ghosh Memorial Tournament organized by CAB was in progress at the Kalighat ground.
We were on the verge of defeat. Rabindra Bharathi was chasing our total of 214 odd runs. They were comfortably placed at 150 or so for the loss of 2 wickets. Our regular Off Spinner Shivaji da (Gamma) was down with chicken pox and hence not playing. Our captain Uttiyo Raut (Rob) who later on became famous while acting in a popular soap, Udanchandi suddenly called me as a substitute spinner and asked me to try my luck. This was our last resort. I bowled with impeccable line and length, took 5 wickets for 45 and Jadavpur won the match in a nail biting finish. Next day this was reported in the local English daily, The Telegraph, highlighting my performance. The report attributed Jadavpur's victory, almost facing defeat at one point, primarily to my performance. I scored some runs also - 28 not out. and was declared the man of the match.
The final match was at Eden Gardens. Calcutta University was opponent. They had a star studded team with four to five Ranji players. I spent a few sleepless nights. The very thought of playing at Eden Gardens made my palms sweat. I started inviting my relatives and friends to watch the match. On the scheduled day, when for the first time in my life I touched the grounds at Eden Gardens, its grass during pre-match warming up session, I was overwhelmed. The ground felt like a warm carpet under my feet. Before the start of the match there was the usual team meeting. The final eleven was usually declared after the team meeting. Our coach Pulak Biswas, captain Uttiyo Raut and senior players like Ujjal Bhattacharya and Shivaji da (Gamma) who by then had recovered, went for the closed door meeting. After 10 minutes I was called in and gently informed with lot of affection and hesitation that the team management was taking a tough call and decided to make me the 12th man for this match. Shivaji Da (Gamma) would play as the off spinner in my place. The sky fell on my head, I broke down. My ultimate dream was shattered. They empathized with me. I went on serving water bottle, juices, carrying towels, guards to other players for the rest of the match and watched the game progress from the pavilions of dressing room. Ajoy Verma of Calcutta University scored an outstanding century. Calcutta won the match. We were the runners up. Even today I have the medal proudly displayed in my drawing room.