Indian Obssession....British Game. Review on Corner Of A Foreign Field, A - Ramachandra Guha

India is ranked 93 on the Human Development Index (our definitions of development are different.) In Gross National Income Per Capita at Purchasing Power Parity, we are placed at 123. Perhaps subconsciously favouring the 'pretty-easy' rememberable nature of that number, we have an identical position on the Environment Performance Index. Our nation's leaders (ably assisted by their voters and non-voters) have perhaps confused these rankings with cricket scores- the higher,the better- and accordingly planned the country's progress. If there were more countries on Earth, would we have even hit a 200?

Ridicule aside, and acknowledging the slow steps our country of 5000 years is taking towards a better future in a modern age,what are Indians truly world-leaders in? To the not easily-quantifiable qualities of Family Values,Culture and Spirituality, we may dare to make a different addition that has measurable proof - the result of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. What makes us (sometimes) overcome our madness and incompetent team-work, and rise to perform brilliantly on the cricket field? Does the tricolour of green grass,white flannels and fire-like passion somehow sublimate our riotous nationalism into perfect target-achieving activity? Can a look into history provide any clues? Ramachandra Guha's "A Corner of a Foreign Field" (2002) is an elegantly detailed document of the evolution of Cricket in India -it is not specifically oriented towards the above questions, but it does contain a wealth of information and perspective on how the game proliferated in a tropical cauldron, and how it simmers now with a super-hot 'masala' of various societal ingredients. It describes with charm and focus, how cricket was born in a colonial stronghold, an orphan almost, how it was nurtured despite hostile guardians and how this subcontinental nation rose to brazenly stake its claim over a dynasty which it sometimes rules,often straddles and always fuels. But this is not a feel-good story, it is a resolutely social-political expose, throbbing with disquieting observations and questions. It is ripe with shades of grey and black. We learn here about the interminable social conflicts throughout the game's history in India, and among other topics of interest in the current day, we're made to ask ouselves- how many of us will applaud a superb performance by a player from the opposition?

"Men have raced and punched each other since the invention of fire, but it was Englishmen who gave athletics and boxing their modern form"- the preface tells us. Cricket is a quintessentially English game and we read that the first Indians to play it were the Parsis of Bombay.Their initial excellence led to later decline as other communities dominated the game, but to their additional credit they started some of the first righteous rebellions by asking for a separate ground for themselves, a turf untrampled by the ponies of a few English polo players. This protracted thankless struggle was often worded in the eloquent petitions of the barrister Shapoorjee Sorabjee. Initially the British expected the Indian to only be an attendant at the game,and he was not expected to play it...But he would. Much later in the book Guha explains why Indians famously take to this sport- Indians have more time; Indians like doing things together; Hindus don't really mind a draw ;Hindus are culturally syncretic and choose to absorb foreign imports rather than reject them. Soon the Parsis were joined by Hindus,Muslims and Christians and the 'Rest"- this communally-divided Pentangular tournament in Bombay became a carnival gaining massive frenzied popularity as decades went by and the British had to eat their own words regarding the game's prospects in India.This tournament dominates a major part of this book .The questions are finally posited -"Did not the tournaments growing popularity in the 1930s and 40s feed directly into the illegitimate but dangerously fashionable demand for Pakistan, intensify communal hatreds, while having its antecedents in the British divide and rule policy ?..the players thought not". After years and years of concentrated efforts by liberals, and despite stiff opposition by the public,the organizers and players, the tournament and its communal madness was laid to rest in favour of the emergence of the Ranji Trophy. A neatly organized point is made-"Communal cricket" was moulded as much by Hindu caste prejudice as by Parsi social snobbery,by Muslim cultural insularity and by British racial superiority.

'To make a forgotten man known once more excited the historian's vanity' ... The author goes on to declare- 'The social history of india suffers from one enormous disadvantage: that we as a people have a criminal indifference to the written record.' He cites "the unconscionable ahistoricism " of Indians who avoid documenting facts,and who rely lazily on the oral tradition of transmitting precious information. Here Guha proudly re-introduces a forgotten hero -Palwankar Baloo (1875-1955) who he regards as the first great Indian cricketer . P.Baloo, as per the moronic caste-system, was labelled a "chamaar' or leather-worker- he rose to transcontinental acclaim by working his magic instead on the cricket ball's leather . As a left-arm slow bowler of prodigious ability, he took over a 100 hundred wickets on the 1911 tour of England despite injury and advancing age (36 yrs).English observers noted that most Counties would've been happy to include him in their team. At home Baloo was duly hailed but denied captaincy because of caste prejudice. Of his 3 cricket-playing brothers,P.Vithal was an excellent batsman and eventual captain as times became more progressive.

The book points out that although Palwankar Baloo was the first great Indian cricketer, it was CK Nayudu who was its first superstar, with swooning crowds falling over him ,sixers being smashed far out of the ground, who even starred in a unwittingly hilarious ad to promote a Hindi film by V.Shantaram. Morarji Desai was reluctant to disburse foreign exchange for a touring team because he light-heartedly contended there wasn't another player like Nayudu in our team at that time to justify the investment. Ironically,CK Nayudu was later left so strapped for cash that it made difficult the marriage of his younger daughters. At the time of writing the book, Guha notes that the nation's top cricketer nets 6.5 million dollars a year. IPL hadn't yet started to blow up that figure further. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi also features as the Nawab  who, unlike his regal predecessors royally inept at the sport, was so promising that observers watching him play in the days before he lost his eye, predicted his future coming close to that of Bradman's.

We are reminded about  Vijay Merchant - he was not only an ace cricketer but also an admirable human being who found jobs for talented cricketers from poor families, and raised money for families of cricketers who died early.Merchant also supported our patriotic struggle and saw little point in playing cricket when the country's freedom fighters were sacrificing everything for their nation. And there's Lala Amarnath,the top all-rounder for whom Pakistan arranged a Mercedes Benz to ride in.The book also sports a lovely little set of rare photos that bring alive the past. Continued below in comments section