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    Centurion: The Father,The Son And The Spirit Of Cricket
    Centurion: The Father,The Son And The Spirit Of Cricket
    Centurion: The Father,The Son And The Spirit Of Cricket
    Ebook154 pages2 hours

    Centurion: The Father,The Son And The Spirit Of Cricket

    By Pramesh Ratnakar

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    Welcome to a world where you are author, creator and, of course, Sachin Tendulkar. In this novel, the reader takes up the guise of the famous cricketer and sets forth on a philosophical journey like no other. Told in a light, engaging voice, the story moves from a single incident - the interview of a prospective candidate for the position of a college principal - to larger speculations about life, the universe and the great game known as existence. Sachin - witty, sharp and observant - functions as a guide on this metaphysical, fantastical journey from the everyday of a college ground to the larger ground of life.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 26, 2012
    ISBN9789350299289
    Centurion: The Father,The Son And The Spirit Of Cricket
    Author

    Pramesh Ratnakar

    Pramesh Ratnakar has been a teacher all his life. He taught at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, University of Delhi, for twenty years. Now he is the head of department of English at Shiv Nadar University. He has published books on Indian culture and religion, but has always thought of himself as a sportsman who strayed into academics.

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      Book preview

      Centurion - Pramesh Ratnakar

      1

      Prologue

      Once Upon A Time

      A:    Hi.

      B:    Hi.

      A:    You know there is a problem out there.

      B:    I know. Out there, there is so much horror: wars, suicide bombings and child abuse. Then there is global warming, animal experimentaton, nuclear weapons, poverty, murder, rape. And to top it all, there is globalizaton, and there is the Congo.

      A:    I am not talking about those problems. I am talking about the cover of this book – in the design that you have shown me, there is the ttle, there is the subttle and there is the visual, but the author’s name is missing.

      B:    I know that.

      A:    You do. How? Are you the author of this book?

      B:    No.

      A:    So who are you?

      B:    I am the AOT.

      A:    What is that?

      B:    The Arranger of Things. I manage informaton and set things up. Like an event manager, if you like. One who puts together a series of events connected with each other in terms of cause and effect.

      A:    So what exactly is your role here?

      B:    In this story, I am the one who looks afer the files, short lists the candidates, gets in touch with the members of the selecton panel, fixes the tme and venue for the interview.

      A:    So this book is about an interview?

      B:    That’s right.

      A:    What is the interview for?

      B:    For the post of the Principal of Siddharth College.

      A:    Siddharth College, here in Mumbai?

      B:    Yes.

      A:    Is the candidate a Maharashtrian?

      B:    No. He is actually from Delhi.

      A:    But didn’t they ensure that the post is reserved for Maharashtrians?

      B:    Yes, but the candidate’s name is Pramendra Vidyakar. The last syllable of his surname – the ‘kar’ – sort of makes him a Maharashtrian. At least, it does so all over India.

      A:    But then, who is the author?

      B:    That’s a difficult one to answer.

      A:    Why?

      B:    This book is a work of fiction. That means it depicts fictional reality. Now, if you meet the author only through the fiction, then the author too is fictionalized. In other words, he too has become a character created by the fiction. And that means, he, in turn, would have been necessarily ‘authored’ by somebody or something else, and that somebody or something else too, now that he or she or it is part of this fictional world, would be authored by somebody or something else, and so it can go on and on…

      A:    So who creates?

      B:    Ultmately, perhaps there is only one Creator…

      A:    Is that the reason the ‘author’ in the declaraton sounds so Biblical?

      B:    I wouldn’t know.

      A:    When you say there is only one Creator, you do know that Hindus have thousands, if not millions, of gods.

      B:    I did say ‘perhaps’. There is a lot of confusion on such issues. We need people to sort out these fundamental issues once and for all. Then we can all move forward.

      A:    Actually, we need a modern prophet.

      B:    We have had so many over the years and there is stll so much confusion. I think we need ordinary people, people like you and me, to think things through.

      A:    Anyway, I am not talking about that Creator. I am talking about the creator of this book.

      B:    For this book we are going in for someone definite who will be telling the story. That should stabilize things, don’t you think?

      A:    I suppose so. Will you be telling the story?

      B:    No. You will.

      A:    What!

      B:    I got in touch with you because you are going to be part of the select on panel. Along with the Vice Chancellor, the Dean of Colleges, and the Chairman of the Governing Body, you will be interviewing Dr Vidyakar. But you will be invisible.

      A.    Of course! An invisible member of a fictional select on commit ee in a fictional work. Just what I always wanted to be!

      B:    Let me tell you, you have a very important role to play. At the end of it all there is going to be a te. One half of the panel is going to say it will be an act of madness to give this guy the job, and the other half will say it will be an act of madness not to give him the job. Your opinion will decide the issue.

      A:    That’s scary! But tell me, who am I?

      B:    Now that is a very Upanishadic queston and it deserves an Upanishadic answer. TAT TVAM ASI – Thou art That.

      A:    What does that mean?

      B:    No one has ever been able to answer that fundamental ‘Who am I’ queston. So you can freely will yourself to be anyone you want. Even God.

      A:    Listen Mr AOT. This is serious. Tell me, who am I?

      B:    Who do you think you are?

      A:    I thought I was the reader.

      B:    That you are. But as I said earlier, you are also the author of this book.

      A:    Me? Author? That’s absurd.

      B:    Why absurd? You will atend the interview, and then based on all that you see and hear, you will write this book. Simple.

      A:    You must understand, I do not do much writng. No way will I be able to write long passages and poet c descript ons.

      B:    You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. This is the story of an interview, so it will be mostly questons and answers. Coming back to your queston, of who you are, let me tell you that you are not going to be some anonymous guy. We will give you a definite ident ty.

      A:    And what will that be?

      B:    You will be Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

      A:    You mean Sachin will be atending the interview?

      B:    That’s right.

      A:    And his will be the deciding vote?

      B:    Right again.

      A:    And he will be writng the book?

      B:    Yes.

      A:    And I will be him?

      B:    Yes. TAT TVAM ASI – Thou art That.

      A:    This is incredible. First, no one would believe that Sachin would come for the interview.

      B:    Why not?

      A:    He is a celebrity. He is a big shot. Why would he turn up for an interview?

      B:    Look, the guy has just about passed school. He is barely educated. Here we are giving him an opportunity to sit alongside Vice Chancellors and Deans and interview a scholar like Dr Vidyakar. I should think he would feel honoured that we are invit ng him.

      A:    Sachin is not a vain guy. He is prety grounded. This is not his area of concern.

      B:    Grounded he is. But what do you mean that this is not his area of concern? Isn’t educaton everyone’s concern? Doesn’t he have kids?

      A:    Yes. Of course he has. Sara and Arjun.

      B:    Look, let us understand one thing. Appointng a college Principal is not a small thing. You are, in fact, appoint ng the captain of a team of academicians. His appointment will impact generatons of students. And those students will go on to become big shots, and their decisions will impact the lives of many others.

      A:    Hmmm! That is something Sachin would need to think about.

      B:    And in any case, just look at the kind of things that Sachin does in the fictional world. He drinks gallons of Cola, hits balls that travel to the moon, and then he goes around giving, of all things, ande ke funde. Here we are giving him a chance to do something meaningful, something worthwhile, something that has substance.

      A:    But he gets a lot of money for doing all those other things.

      B:    Money is not a problem for us. We can give him money.

      A:    How much?

      B:    Let us say 10 million dollars. What the hell, let us make it 10 billion. In advance.

      A:    WOW! With that kind of money he could buy his own IPL team.

      B:    Or he could set up his own league. Tendulkar’s All India Mohalla Cricket League, the TAIMCL. All the localites can play against one another through the year. At the end, 32 teams could be in the final playoff. Like in the FIFA World Cup.

      A:    Really? Is it possible to do so?

      B:    Well, in golf there is the Dunhill Cup. Teams from all the golf clubs of the world take part in the compet ton. Eventually one club, represented by its team of amateur golfers, emerges as the world champion.

      A:    It is a great idea.

      B:    We could always increase the money. Make it 20 billion dollars.

      A:    Where will you get that kind of money?

      B:    Fictonal money in a fictional world has never been a problem – for anyone.

      A:    Ah ha. Fictonal money in a fictional world for fictional Sachin! Why not? O.K. Let us assume that for that kind of money, Sachin decides to come. But how can I suddenly become Sachin? Wouldn’t the real Sachin object?

      B:    Look, do you have the answer to the queston, ‘Who am I’?

      A:    No.

      B:    Does anyone have an answer to that one?

      A:    No.

      B:    Would Sachin have an answer to that quest on?

      A:    No.

      B:    So if I say you are he, and he is you, on what grounds can either of you say you are not he, and he is not you?

      A:    That is a load of bullshit. I suggest you stop dishing it out.

      B:    The fact of the mater is that this is a work of fiction. Every word is supposed to help create the fiction. So why can’t the author be fictional as well?

      A:    I suppose he can be. But I can’t be author and reader at the same t me.

      B:    Of course you can. People ofen forget that it is the reader who actually ‘authors’ the story. A lot of black marks on a page become a story only when a reader reads the words in a certain way.

      A:    Oh. I see. I can be both the general reader, and the fictional author. And I can take on the point of view of Tendulkar as narrator.

      B:    No, you are not going to merely take on Tendulkar’s point of view, you are going to be Tendulkar. Taking on a point of view is like putng on specs. What you are going to do is to take on the identty of Tendulkar. For the purposes of this fictional work, you will be Tendulkar. You will have to express yourself in Tendulkar’s words, put forth Tendulkar’s ideas based on Tendulkar’s associatons, Tendulkar’s convict ons and Tendulkar’s anxiet es.

      A:    Like in the film ‘Don’, I will be the other Don.

      B:    Precisely. And come to think of it, that is not such a bad thing. With people like Dr Vidyakar around, there will be a lot of academic ideas and jargon thrown around. But it is your book, and

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