E-Paper
India?s magical mystery tour
A reporter remembers India?s historic cricket tour of Pakistan in an attractive, photo-filled book.
Winning Hearts and Minds
Indranil Basu
Rupa
2004
Sports, Cricket
Pages: 130
Price: Rs 295
ISBN: 81-291-0480-6
Format: Large, Colour
Paperback
Indulge me, just for a sentence, as I get a shade nostalgic about my own trip to Pakistan during the 1996 World Cup. They were days well spent.
Also, congratulations to the author for breaking the cynical “so what?” mould encompassing almost all sports journalists, and writing about a tour he enjoyed and will cherish.
The thing about this book that catches your eye immediately is the quality of paper and printing, which have enhanced the colours very well, making it an attractive package. The photographs are excellent, adding to the flavour of the chapters to a great extent.
The USP obviously is the preface by Virender Sehwag, a fact advertised on the cover.
As for the text, it basically goes over the actual tour — the matches and results — along with the undertones of politics (both of the real and cricketing kinds), as well as the reactions of both the Pakistani public and the visiting Indians. It wonders at life in Pakistan and basks in Indian success.
Issues of security, made that much bigger after Indian team captain Sourav Ganguly went public with his concern, are discussed, as is the political backdrop to the tour (the elections, the feel good factor, the works).
Then there is the eternal factor — of ‘fixed’ series. The author recounts how everyone from the local taxi driver had a smile on his face after the 2-2 scoreline in the one-dayers, making the last match in Lahore a virtual final.
The various places — from Lahore (so much like Delhi) to Peshawar (the Asian Wild West) — are described as are the stadia. Food and hospitality also make inevitable appearances.
People’s impressions of India are included, as are the quotes of Shahrukh Khan’s cousin, a Pakistani citizen. The author could have possibly avoided the match descriptions, but maybe that would have him short of enough material to make the book a realistic effort.
There are a few typographical errors, and an occasional wrong caption, and the author does at times tend to try and fit in too much in one chapter. But overall a good effort.
While most of the episodes in this book have been written about and discussed to death, for those, keen on keeping their memories alive, it will be a great help. Do not judge this against other masterpieces. Just read it as a young man’s recollections of history and cricket.
