A short account of my impressions about Tejas will come as soon as I get an idea of what it does, which might take very long. So right now I will be writing a review of this book I read about somewhere as a must read for cricket fans. That time I was not that much into cricket (read pre-World Cup time). How a hardcore cricket person like me lost touch with the gentleman's game is another story altogether. Then recently during the holidays, I heard about a person called Sidin Vadukad writing for Cricinfo. That entire afternoon I split my sides laughing at the masterpieces that he had composed and considering that it was a day I was feeling low, I owe him for cheering me up. He also praised this same book and being indebted to him, I felt that I should buy this book. So I did and just now finished reading it.
Somebody has described this book as "A crazy ambidextrous delight" and it is spot on. A crazy story is exactly how I would describe it. It is a fascinating insight(?) into the world of a cricket team that I loath with all my heart, Sri Lanka. And if you remember that 54 run bowled out or Mendis running through the entire team or the semifinal of 96 or the scary sight of a small target appearing daunting at the prospect of facing Murali, then so should you. "Gamesmanship" "sportsman-spirit" bull-shit aside, it is hurting to see the team that you love lose. As someone said, "Show me a good loser and I will show you a loser".
Alright I am drifting from the topic so back to it. As I said it is about Sri Lanka in general, more about Sri Lankan cricet and especially about a quest to find the greatest spinner in history. No this is not about some talent-hunting reality show, it is about a search for a bowler whom the narrator believes is the greatest spinner to grace cricket, a genius who could do things with the ball that the supposed greats could only dream of. This genius was capable of bowling some of the most exotic deliveries like the Double Bounce ball (which spun twice) and that too with either hands. He was also capable of perfectly mimicking the bowling actions of anyone. Many of the greatest achievements of Sri Lanka seemed to have started from him, most notably the Great Lankan Opening Batsman's utter disregard for technique and still becoming one of the greatest players in their history and undoubtedly cricket history. He is also attributed to have introduced sledging to the otherwise meek Sri Lankans.
The aforementioned narrator is a severe alcoholic and is dying and wants this quest to find this bowler of mythical proportions to be his last contribution to the literary world. He is a part of a dysfunctional family with a son who ran away to become a rock star and brothers with whom he is not on good terms. His only allies are his neighbour who is a statistician The story follows the search in a rambling manner with diversions and detours but without losing the grip on the plot. There are several anecdotes about players, and as it has to happen the great Turbaned Indian Commentator does pop up. The book has a very good ending where I really got confused about what was fact and what was fiction. On the whole a very enjoyable book where you are introduced to some really nice characters whom you get to like even with their quirks and idiosyncrasies.
Unputdownable? Maybe not. Must read? Hmm, if you are a fan of cricket, then yes. Enjoy this rollercoaster account of the enigma that is Sri Lankan cricket.
Somebody has described this book as "A crazy ambidextrous delight" and it is spot on. A crazy story is exactly how I would describe it. It is a fascinating insight(?) into the world of a cricket team that I loath with all my heart, Sri Lanka. And if you remember that 54 run bowled out or Mendis running through the entire team or the semifinal of 96 or the scary sight of a small target appearing daunting at the prospect of facing Murali, then so should you. "Gamesmanship" "sportsman-spirit" bull-shit aside, it is hurting to see the team that you love lose. As someone said, "Show me a good loser and I will show you a loser".
Alright I am drifting from the topic so back to it. As I said it is about Sri Lanka in general, more about Sri Lankan cricet and especially about a quest to find the greatest spinner in history. No this is not about some talent-hunting reality show, it is about a search for a bowler whom the narrator believes is the greatest spinner to grace cricket, a genius who could do things with the ball that the supposed greats could only dream of. This genius was capable of bowling some of the most exotic deliveries like the Double Bounce ball (which spun twice) and that too with either hands. He was also capable of perfectly mimicking the bowling actions of anyone. Many of the greatest achievements of Sri Lanka seemed to have started from him, most notably the Great Lankan Opening Batsman's utter disregard for technique and still becoming one of the greatest players in their history and undoubtedly cricket history. He is also attributed to have introduced sledging to the otherwise meek Sri Lankans.
The aforementioned narrator is a severe alcoholic and is dying and wants this quest to find this bowler of mythical proportions to be his last contribution to the literary world. He is a part of a dysfunctional family with a son who ran away to become a rock star and brothers with whom he is not on good terms. His only allies are his neighbour who is a statistician The story follows the search in a rambling manner with diversions and detours but without losing the grip on the plot. There are several anecdotes about players, and as it has to happen the great Turbaned Indian Commentator does pop up. The book has a very good ending where I really got confused about what was fact and what was fiction. On the whole a very enjoyable book where you are introduced to some really nice characters whom you get to like even with their quirks and idiosyncrasies.
Unputdownable? Maybe not. Must read? Hmm, if you are a fan of cricket, then yes. Enjoy this rollercoaster account of the enigma that is Sri Lankan cricket.
