19th May 1999 it was. Cannot possibly forget this
day. Was lying on my bed at SGPGI, Lucknow after going under the knife to correct
prolapsed L-4, L-5 discs. It was freaking painful to lay on the bed 24x7. Life
was like: straight from the cricket ground to the OT. Though I knew deep down
there that the surgery could be due anytime, something in me never listened to
the docs and thereby aggravating the injury. Few mad late-nights of games of
baddy and volleyball at IIT-K and then a trip to BITs Pilani for their sports
meet in fact proved to be too expensive. Wearing the morning sun on the shoulders is ok as long as it is not burning your skin. But
I had in fact allowed myself a dive into the nuclei of the hot sun.
With his reading glasses up on the forehead Dr Chhabra
looked at my MRI reports and then turned
to his young residents. Exact words were – “ well, I don’t see a purpose in
investing my time for this case. Completely useless”. I broke into tears- not
because I thought I might not get cured properly but simply because I was in
the grip of a terrible sense of uncertainty ‘ I might not be stepping into a
sports-shed again’. I started tumbling. With a desperate try get back some sort
of composure, I blabbered – Sir, will I be able to play again?’ . Dr Chhabra
gave me a real dirty look and said “ will India lose a gold medal if you don’t
go to Sydney Olympics? Any ways, do not worry I have told these docs to take
good care of your freakin a**”. I got back my life that I had just lost 2 min
back. Rest of time spent at SGPGI was nothing less than meaningless for
me. Couple of days later I was on my
routine rehab along th 6th floor corridor of the neuro surgery ward.
Overheard a conversation between a doc and an old man- could easily be into his
80’s who was due for his scalp to be
wide open on 23rd. The gentleman was pleading to postpone his surgery
by a solitary day (solitary day?)
By that time India had
suffered a major blow to its dwindling World Cup hopes when Sachin Tendulkar
returned home following the death of his father. And his teammates made it
worse for him and the country by losing the match against Zimbabwe from a
seemingly `unlosable' position.
Going into the match
with a big handicap such as the absence of Sachin, India made a complete hash
of things while bowling to Zimbabwe conceding 51 extras and, worse, being
penalised four full overs for slow overrate. As if this complete lack of
cricketing acumen were not enough they followed it up with a batting
performance which alternately lifted and sank India's spirits before finally
crumbling by just three runs. All it required was one batsman to stand up and
snatch victory which was within their grasp, but player after player flattered
only to deceive.
All that old man was
begging was to watch the match vs Kenya. This guy puts behind the loss of his
father to play a god-damn cricket match. He was not prepared to concede that it
was just a cricket match. For him, it was worth
trading a life for. I cannot afford to lay unconscious on the operation table
while he takes the field, come what may. To my utter disbelief I had allowed
two heavy teary lines down my cheeks. The entire ward was lined up behind that
old gentleman’s passion forcing the team of docs to do just as destiny would
have scripted. What unfolded on 23rd May 1999, as they say is
history.
I had completely forgotten
that my back was cut and hammered couple of days back. Was dying to get on my
knees, touch this grand old man’s feet which was never to be. But man, I tell
you I get moist eyed even today when I recall that day even in passing.
SACH was /is the
impact. Happy birth day, SACHIN !