From Gully to Galleries

Akram: Oye Sachin tu piche ja thoda! Yeh circle ke bahar he rehna. Upar marega toh pakad lena.
Sachin: Arey tu teri bowling pe dhyaan de. Mujhe mat sikha
Sehwag: thoda aage aa.
(When Waqar drops A catch)
Akram: kya yaaar itna nahi ata…. Ab yeh out nahi hoga jaldi.

Hang on! If you think, we are talking about the World XI team then you are wrong. We are talking about gully cricket, where every lane has a Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dhoni and of course a Harsha Bhogle or an Ian Bell, who occupies the coziest corner during the match and chips in with his expert comments. I vividly remember a scene from the Chillar Party wherein the kids in the locality were teased by the elders for losing the match against the next gully. Winning a match against the children from next gully;  is not less than winning the world cup. Each member of the team is nicknamed after a renowned cricketer and puts his best foot forward. This obviously resonates an old adage, “Cricket is a Religion in India.”

Not just in films, but also in reality, winning a match against a gully/ mohalla is a feat which leaves you wondering that is it true that only in these gullies are the real sportsmen born?  

Every child who picks up a bat wants to become Sachin, Sehwag, Dhoni or a Yuvraj… Where do all these thoughts come from? All thanks to the endless hours glued to the television or a radio commentary during the matches. Remember the journey of Irfan and Yusuf Pathan who played in the narrow lanes of Masjid in Baroda? It is from here that they started dreaming of becoming the next Wasim Akram of India. Very few cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar are privileged to step on to the international circuit even before crossing the fence of the school.Players like Mohamad Azahruddin who lived in the narrow lanes of Hyderabad never even thought that someday he would grow up to handle the reins of the Indian cricket team. These were the real gems of India cricket who made it big from these gullies. In one of the interviews I remember Irfan Pathan mentioned that they dint even have the luxury of affording a rubber ball forget television. But it was all thanks to these gullies that made this young, ‘Guddu,’ a speedster of India. It is here that a child learns to accept challenges and overcomes failure.  It is in the narrow lanes of the Majid that he learnt the art of bowling and that too playing with the shoes bought from the Friday market.

It is in these gullies, that the upcoming stars get a chance to have a close look at their heroes and follow them. It is here that they cheer when their idol hits a century. It is here that they laugh and cry with their heroes. How many of us didn’t dance or celebrate in these gullies when Dhoni hit that the last historic six. We still get goose bumps when we relive the moments of 2007, when an underdog team like India who had been thrown out of the quarter finals for the World Cup lifted the T20 Cup. Not to forget even Dhoni, hailing from a small state of Jharkhand, was a part of this young gully 25 years ago when Kapil Dev and his men scripted history in England. He was known to smash the window panes of the neighbors.

This gully gives you a chance to live, a chance to breath, a chance to dream and live the dream which you have seen at one point in time. It is here that the real cricketers are born. It is here that they learn the spirit of unity and the strength of togetherness or be it standing up for someone when he fails to do so. It is here that their innocent eyes watch the dream of becoming someone from no one.