Thursday, October 28, 2010

I 'Like' whatever has been posted on this Wall

From the days she managed to shower the enigmatic Avatar with 108 distinct names, India has patented an ingenious manner to bestow monikers. Sobriquets and epithets that somehow emerge in public consciousness, grow in popularity and then uniquely identify the more famous children of the nation – specifically that characteristic of the hero that captures the mass. Most often, these nicknames have uncertain origin but overwhelming consensus, to the degree that birth certificates and telephone directories aside, the popular title becomes more definite as identifier  than the original christening.

Mahatma and Bapu both evoke images of the father of the nation – irrespective of whether one swears by unbendable Gandhian principles or belongs to the neo-urban generation of Bapu bashers. Universal reverence enabled Bal Gangadhar Tilak to turn into Lokmanya, and leadership qualities at two extreme ends of the nation made two noble names transform into Sardar and Netaji.

The phenomenon is not limited to the field of freedom fighters. In literature, Rabindranath Tagore was presented with the mantle of kabiguru, and in spite of being much younger than the venerable heads of politburo in his state, only one left hander ended up as the true dada.

Among all these saluting sobriquets, one rises up distinctly different from others. 'The Wall' is a name that sits immovable on the best ever one down batsman to have ever played for the country. The word Dravidian has taken on a new meaning in the last decade and a half – moving away from the ancient origins of a civilisation as old as time, across the geographical expanse of the southern parts of India and now denotes the broad blade which has for years thwarted the most diabolic of deliveries. And 'The Wall' has taken flight from the psychedelic cover art of Pink Floyd audio cassettes and CDs to take guard on the cricket field  as a safe citadel for the coveted wicket.

In keeping with the tradition of Indian epithets, the nick characterises what the country has come to identify with Rahul Dravid. Immovable, impregnable stolidity …  unperturbed shield of courage, defending the nation from every invading foreign force and weaponry year after year after year. It is definitely the popular image of the man who has batted on and on for the last fourteen years.

Yet, I find it distinct from the other nicknames discussed above.
At the risk of shooting myself in the foot by firing off an elitist versus mass argument , I will still argue that the primary reason for the difference is that unlike the rest it is an English moniker.

The argument that this is because cricket is an English pastime, elitist among the Indian playing fields, is dated. Since 1983, it has transformed into an Indian game which by some quirk of fate was accidentally invented by the English. And in spite of globalisation and the internet infestation of the country, the mass appeal for the sport in the remotest corners of the country is unparalleled. The aam admi still has a great voice when it comes to popular icons. Tendulkar, with his universal appeal, is still lovingly called Tendya. Ganguly is not the Big Brother but dada. Sehwag is not a blitzkrieg or a double o seven, but goes by the regal and regional  Najafgarh ka Nawab. Compared to these, The Wall is a substantial urban leap. English epithets are not unknown, but in order to capture popular imagination they have for ever been restricted to the striking and limited imageries found in 'Tiger' Pataudi or the Rawalpindi 'Express'. The sophistication and stretch of the nickname Wall has a lot to convey, not only about Rahul Dravid's skills at keeping his wicket intact, but also about the essential attractions of his game and the nature of his followers.

If Tendulkar is endowed with the allure of an epic novel that enthrals, edifies and educates, Laxman a brilliant collection of sonnets that are lyrical and lilting,  Sehwag a masterpiece which reads like a fast paced thriller, Ganguly a popular novel filled in equal measures with pieces of beauty and unreadable pulp, Rahul Dravid is akin to an elegant exposition of mathematical arguments or grammatical structures, timeless in significance, enjoyable to few but the absolute connoisseurs of the subject.

His game is too perfect, too correct, too neat to have endless popular appeal. Based too much on technical precision than the heady natural talent that Indians have forever been used to worship. The elegant and academic beauty of a perfect forward defensive push, the logical extension of the same into an impeccable drive through the covers, the scientifically accurate moment of connection to send the ball between mid on and the bowler, the productive yet flash free square cut, even the traditional strokes of adrenaline enhancing adventure –  the pull, hook and sweep –  played with copybook correctness and minimum of risk … the masses are not swayed by such perfection.

After ten thousand runs in one day internationals, after a stupendous 92 off 63 balls a few weeks earlier, after only a handful of very recent failures, he was dropped from the limited overs side in a curious decision. However, there was no effigy of Dilip Vengsarkar going around in flames. No demonstrations were held across the streets of Bangalore. Petitions floated to re-include him in the team had to make do with a few signatures.

Contrast this with the reaction to the dropping of Sourav Ganguly in 2006, after the southpaw had averaged in the mid thirties for over a period of five years and fifty plus test matches, a comfortable twenty runs per innings behind his celebrated middle order companions. Indian masses love a flawed talent – whose vulnerability and emotions are almost palpable enough to touch. Resolute perfection, with a face as readable as the most seasoned poker player, is not something that equates with the popular image of a hero. The very same reason why subtlety in Bollywood movies is circumspect by its absence but for rare ventures of brilliance, mostly made for the intellectual elites and later a section of the multiplex crowd.

However, that is not to imply that Rahul Dravid's phenomenal achievements with the bat have not won him a fan following.

After he was dropped and was busy ignoring journalists to make a double hundred for Karnataka, Cricinfo was loaded with visitors numerous enough to become inaccessible to slower browsers – a rarity for domestic cricket. Well articulated and concisely argued articles in newspapers, magazines, web site and blogs spoke eloquently against what seemed to most to be the gravest of injustice. The responses were sophisticated, rational and – to use a dubious term for the country - parliamentary. Every time his name comes up in discussions, there are advocates of his greatness who voice their opinions with reason, but generally stay clear of foul mouthed abuse exchange so frequent in the internet message boards of our passionate country. Even in this series of blog posts, there have been numerous requests made to me to write about the Wall – and all of these requests are polite and  measured … not really characteristics we identify with the common Indian fan who runs around wrapped in the tricolour, burns effigies and sits in busy traffic intersections to protest against some slight to his hero.

Dravid is appreciated by a distinct category of fans, that group of devotees who marvel at technical perfection, to whom concentration and application that goes behind a superbly negotiated late in-swinging delivery with the score reading 4 for one hold more value and merit than a hastily slogged six. There tends to be a marked social correlation between the admirers of the straight batted defensive stroke and the ones who would be rather seen dead than in the streets burning effigies. This is the same group who would actually appreciates the now famed urban sobriquet – The Wall.

But, even though The Wall is how the populace thinks of him, is it enough to characterise all the facets of the maestro's batting?

I beg to differ. Even to the most clamouring and irrational modern cricket 'fan', it is clear that Dravid has been the greatest match winning batsman in the recent times – till the advent of the rejuvenated Sachin Tendulkar. He averaged 102.84 while scoring over 2500 runs in the 21 matches won during the Sourav era. This is simply not possible with purely defensive technique. What we casually overlook while focusing on his impregnable defence is that he is perhaps the first Indian batsman to possess every stroke around the wicket with equal amount of risk eliminated perfection. The revenue more than speaks for his versatility in scoring all over the oval. At the same time, he has also scored some of the faster fifties in One Day Internationals. So, what gives the impression of one dimensional defensive technique?

The explanation is that while batting for the country the excessive element of  determination and focus to hold on to his precious wicket makes him avoid the slightest of risk in his strokes, making him eschew adventurous endeavours that he is more than capable of undertaking. Except for the occasional square cut off the front foot, he does not show the slightest inclination towards unorthodoxy in test cricket.

In matches of lesser importance – first class games for his state, domestic limited over showdowns – I have seen him clout the ball over the ropes with élan, giving a freeflowing expression to his batsmanship that he seldom indulges in at the highest level. I remember his four sixes in a fourth innings Irani Trophy hundred when he and Laxman sealed a win against a fighting Mumbai. I remember him stepping out and clouting Sourasish Lahiri onto the remote tiers of the stands in a Challenger Trophy encounter. He is more than capable of attractive hitting and once in a while comes out with the full array of his strokeplay. He did once straight drive Alan Donald for six in a one day international in Durban, a most extraordinary and surprisingly unanalysed stroke. A straight batted pull in his third test match during an explosive forty against Australia still remain fondly remembered. But, ever since he was given the role of the number 3 in test matches, he put a severe price on his wicket, allowing the beauty of his batsmanship to shine through technical perfection and results.

That is not to say that he is selfish in his approach. One can find few examples of a batsman losing his wicket trying a reverse sweep when on 270. Few middle order maestros have taken up the challenge and opened the innings while captaining the side. But, with there seldom being an opening combination that got going on a regular basis before the Delhi duo of Sehwag and Gambhir, he gave the impression of being that Rock of Gibraltar at the top of the middle order that people will remember him as. That Great Wall of India.

People increasingly tend to notice chinks and crevices in the brickwork that presage winds of change blowing into the dressing room. However, something formed over years, brick by brick, takes a long while to be dismantled … and I believe when it is time, he will know it before anyone else and The Wall will depart without crumbling, with the same amount of dignity with which he has played the game and conducted himself in public eye.

 Till then I can say with conviction that I 'like' everything that has been posted on this Wall for the last one and a half decades.

23 comments:

  1. The man redefined our Cricket history,he once again made India win on several Overseas venues,something India couldn't dream of in 1990s.
    Win in Headingley,Kandy,Adelaide,Perth. And series win in Pakistan and West Indies.How many Indian batsmen can claim to have achieved so much?
    I didn't find his batting to be highly enjoyable,but the joy he gave by achieving so many wins was certainly much bigger than the joy I got from watching a gifted player's strokes.
    He certainly deserves a longer rope,let him retire on his own terms,in Test Cricket.

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  2. What a perfect role-model for any youngster to have. He deserves a Bharat-Ratna..!!

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  3. really good article senantix.......feel sad to dis day as to y ppl arent able to appreciate d fact dat Dravid has indeed been "The Wall" around wich d Indian team has been built and 1 of d principle reasons as to y it is ranked #1 in Test cricket today.......

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  4. Brillaint brillaiant piece!!!
    1 of the best pieces i have ever read on 'The WALL'
    I agree with each & every point u put forth!!
    Most unfortunately Dravid, thanx to a hypocritical media & a larglely biased amniasic public,has never been the accorded the respect & accolades that he should be bestowed upon for the being the greatest match winner India has ever produced along with Kumble, another widely underrated figure...

    How people can critcize a player who has done unparalleled feats in indian cricket (Sachin 2 has not done some of them) is unbelievable...

    Todays innings was again a very gud 1... The way he played in the latter part of his innings despite struggling in the 1st half was excellent but as usuual people are criticiozing him for 'slow' batting in TESt Cricket...

    Looks like some people can do no right!!!

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  5. Loved the Article. A die hard fan of Rahul and having had the pleasure of meeting him in person,I'd go a step further to say that he is second to none.

    Truly an Ode to Dravid.

    Cheers!

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  7. Read many articles on RD from my schooldays but this is something special.. Article is simply brilliant. Kudos to Senatix. Along with this I was overwhelmed by the comments each one of you has posted. Its a great tribute to a character who has been our savior for the past 14 yrs..Its high time our biased media recognizes the real worth of a class player. Today, RD proved yet again ... Form is mere temporary.. but Class is permanent..
    Rahul Dravid .. My inspiration..My role model.. Our Savior.

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  8. You have covered all the bricks that made this "Wall". I still remember the SA tour when almost all the Indian batsmen were falling prey to Allan Donald by fishing in the "corridor of uncertainity". But, Dravid was comfortably leaving those to pass to the keeper. And when Donlad pitched it slightly inside, he drove the ball past the bowler for a boundary which infuriated Donald to no limits.

    Thanks for posting this great article!

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  9. Nicely written, especially bringing out the aggressive stroke play part and curbing them in initial career.
    I 'Like' this post.

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  10. exceptional post....Rahul David is very special..very very special indeed for each and every fan....he is one player who will make you smile in a boring train journey if you think about his contributions...he defines an era...a style...I salue him

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  11. Thanks for this article. You have just managed to sum up Dravid with the most elegant prose.

    Dravid to me is the last Englishman in the game. As a person of an older generation who has been bred on Wodehouse and Agatha Christie, he represents the last of the breed of cricketers who have stuck to a sense of values and fair play despite being pilloried by lesser mortals who cannot hope to achieve an iota of what he has. He is a throwback from an earlier era when gentlemen played Cricket. no wonder only an English sobriquet could do justice to his skills.

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  12. Absolute beauty !! This is one of its kind !! well wrticulated and a perfect fit for Great wall of India !! I like "People increasingly tend to notice chinks and crevices in the brickwork that presage winds of change blowing into the dressing room. However, something formed over years, brick by brick, takes a long while to be dismantled "... This is the perfect way to describe what the man is made of. I salute him for his contribution to Cricket for making it a gentleman sport !!

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  13. An extraordinary batsman who has won us more matches than anyone else with his highly combative approach- something that will not be appreciated by morons addicted to T20.

    I think I'll stop watching Indian cricket after he retires- because the element of perfect beauty will be gone from it- Something about both Dravid and Kumble and the way the media has treated them all through their glorious careers always makes me draw parallels with Ayn Rand's great works "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" and the way the protagonists of these books are looked down upon by "the public" in those stories, just for being best in class in what they do. This article has put those thoughts of mine in words. Here are two great geniuses of the game who have proven in every match why they deserve their place amongst the greats, and still the media keeps demanding that proof each time- whereas a Sourav or a Tendulkar and now a Dhoni (with a career of barely 4 years) is acknowledged as a great without their having to prove it at all.

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  14. He is GOD to me and every innings that he played from Kolkatta to Kingston was super special.
    Wonderful article.Good work.

    Cheers,
    Mayank Jhaveri
    http://freehit-cricketanalysis.blogspot.com/

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  15. Got goosebumps on reading this excellent piece:)
    He is the GOD!!
    no more words from a mere mortal like me will do justice to Immense character of His:)

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  16. Read "the Euclid of batting" in Sportstar

    http://www.hinduonnet.com/tss/stories/20101209501500400.htm

    People steal from you Senantix. You wrote all this in the article.

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  17. Dear Krishna

    Thanks for looking out for me - really appreciate it.
    However, I did not really feel the article was stolen. Suresh Menon used similar attributes to analyse Dravid, but did not really copy my language or ideas. Yes, he did talk of the square cut off the front foot, but then it is an integral part of his game. So are his copybook approach and meditation like attitude before an innings.
    But really appreciate your support. Hope you enjoy the writings for a long time to come.

    - Senantix

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  18. Hii Senantix..I must have read this article about 20 times..it is a very nicely written..can we have some more such articles on Dravid..specially his T20 form and how well he has adapted to it since its inception..

    Thanks.

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  19. Hi Pushkar

    Thanks a lot.
    I definitely want to write more about Dravid. The problem is that I am allergic to T20 :-)
    But, then, I am sure he has many more innings to play for India in Tests, Besides there are other articles on various aspects of the game which I keep writing and some of them will definitely feature him.
    Thanks again

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  20. I also "like" everything on this wall.

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  21. That's a spellbinding piece. I am a Dravid devotee and I believe this piece does his greatness justice.

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  22. Hi Arunabha Sengupta,

    It’s a beautiful article. Loved it.

    I am Sudarshan, a panelist of “Behind The Wall”(BTW), a project being done by Dravid fans. It’s a book on Dravid from fan’s perspective. It will contain fans feelings n opinions put through articles, poems and sketches. It will also have some guest interviews from some of the stalwarts in the cricketing world. I loved your article and your article fits very well into the theme of our book. With your permission we would like to include it in the book.

    (We took permission from the man himself to write the book.)

    Please send your article to rktwall@gmail.com (official id ). To know more about the project or for further communication, you can contact me through sudarshan.annadanam@gmail.com (or through our official id).

    I already posted this message under the same article in Cricket country.com, hoping for a positing reply.

    Thank you,
    Awaiting your reply,

    A. Sudarshan Chakravarthy

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