TRIBUTE
Unsung martyr
N. MANU CHAKRAVARTHY
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Budhi Kunderan captured the imagination of discerning cricket lovers but his career was ended by regional domination and favouritism.
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Budhi Kunderan radiated pure dynamism, dazzling all by his hooks and "falling sweep shots" (like Rohan Kanhai), brilliant wicketkeeping and athleticism.
SWASHBUCKLING HERO: Budhi Kunderan in his prime. PHOTO: THE HINDU PHOTO LIBRARY
THE news that Budhisagar Krishnappa Kunderan passed away in a distant land is much more than a piece of information for many of my generation. It is, in fact, a reminder of a great tragedy that struck an exceptional individual nearly four decades ago, and it, also, transports many of us back to the 1960s evoking extraordinarily strong memories of a daring, blazingly brilliant spirit that was a great inspiration to a generation that celebrated virtues of courage, innovation and native talent. Not many today, given the "professional" and "scientific" attitudes that mark the world of sports, would be able to appreciate the spirit of adventure that goes beyond mundane preoccupations with statistics, individual records, personal success and huge monetary gains. Kunderan symbolised the best of native genius that, more often than not, challenged authorities, bureaucrats and clinical professionals and experts for whom timidity, pathetic obedience and meek survival are the prime values.
Spirit of the times
The privilege of watching a batsman challenging the fast bowlers by confronting bouncers with fierce hooks, and other short deliveries with courageous pulls, is a rarity now. These are days when even accomplished opening batsmen choose to duck when rising deliveries meet them. As youngsters we watched, quite out of breath, the raw courage of Kunderan hooking short-pitched deliveries over the ropes, unmindful of the consequences of playing such a shot. The West Indies too were a delight for this very reason. It is not a matter of surprise that they were greatly loved by Indians who rejoiced over their indomitable spirit. Mushtaq Ali, Lala Amarnath and C.K. Nayudu exemplified such a spirit in the past, we were told.
But, for us, it was Budhi Kunderan who actually revealed the spirit of intransigence in the most amazing manner. The dazzling hooks and pulls were not mere cricketing shots, but were, more importantly, symbolic of an intrepid consciousness that believed a daring life was more significant than pathetic survival.
The spirit of the times was such that spectators and listeners (with radios and transistors being the sources of communication) deeply celebrated such fearlessness, imagining the shot in every detail and did not care for pedantic techniques of survival. Kunderan smashing Meckiff for 14 runs in an over in Kanpur against Australia while scoring 71 bewildering the shrewd Benaud exemplified such an attitude prompting S.K. Gurunathan to rave about it in Sport and Pastime. Ray Robinson's great tributes to Kunderan's cavalier approach in his book and, like S.K. Gurunathan, P.N. Sundaresan's acknowledgement of it in Sport and Pastime readily come to mind. Kunderan's blistering knock of 79 in Bombay against the West Indies is another glorious example of sheer genius taming the fury of the West Indian pace bowlers. When the Indians floundered against the English attack at Lords, it was Kunderan, scoring 47, who displayed an indomitable spirit of pure courage and determination and moved English commentators and critics to describe it as "the power, magic and beauty of the East". The way Kunderan mauled the West Indies in Bangalore, while representing South Zone, making 104 runs in the first innings and getting up immediately after being felled by a rising delivery in the second innings, exhibited not merely the calibre of a player, but, also the character of a human spirit unbending in the face of great adversity. Kunderan's 192 at Madras and 100 at New Delhi against England and making over 500 runs in the same series are not dumb statistical details, but are profound pointers to an amazing approach to the game, not displayed by any wicketkeeper-batsman till then. It could be argued that as a wicketkeeper-batsman Kunderan was the glowing spirit that captured the imagination of discerning lovers of cricket all over the world.
Lyrical quality
It is also a tribute to those who wrote on cricket that they became poetic while capturing Kunderan's lyrical quality. In India, it was Sport and Pastime that truly imaged such creativity through its writers without much regard for dead statistics, so unlike these days when statisticians score over aesthetes, be they players or writers. Sports, having become "professional", is now dominated by utilitarian philistinism, and jingoistic nationalism where all (administrators, players, writers, spectators) identify the game with patriotism and huge revenue, not celebration of the human spirit. These are also days when coaches, physiotherapists and psychotherapists train players as if they were gladiators.
Budhi Kunderan radiated pure dynamism, dazzling all by his hooks and "falling sweep shots" (like Rohan Kanhai), brilliant wicketkeeping and athleticism. None can ever forget his out-of-the-world leg side stumping of Mackay off Jasu Patel at Kanpur, or the stunning catch to dismiss Clive Lloyd off Bedi in Calcutta. It was sheer native genius blossoming on its own, with no trainers and coaches giving tips on mediocre survival. Kunderan and Salim Durrani, to think of another like him, symbolised a carefree spirit firing our imagination. In these days of "professionalism", it is mediocrity that parades itself as consistency, the hallmark of a philistine culture.
Power/Authority
Budhi Kunderan was vibrant when mindless authority ended his career. Kunderan's exit exhibited the power of regional domination and favouritism. Budhi had nobody to support him, to stand by him, when those in power found him easy to dispense with. Today those who write on this dark past come up only with false generalisations and hollow rationalisations.
Cricket historians do their best to brush aside the truth about Kunderan's disappearance from the Indian cricketing scene, but none with any conscience would suppress the truth that he was axed to accommodate mediocres who were powerful and influential. For that matter none from his own state, then called Mysore, spoke up for him. The treacherous silence of the important office bearers of the Mysore State Cricket Association was for selfish reasons. With an eye on positions of power, the welfare of players was completely sacrificed by the authorities. It was only after the emergence of Bishan Singh Bedi and Sunil Gavaskar as captains that the players have been able to gain some democratic space. The tragic story of Kunderan also happens to be the sad experience of many talented players who were mercilessly ill-treated by feudal officialdom.
Budhi Kunderan left India with a very heavy heart. He had been brutally martyred. Today one must regard it as unjust diaspora inflicted on a man who had so much more to give. Budhi went to Scotland seeking a decent life — quite unlike those who, as overseas players, sign hefty contracts with counties these days. He left as a martyr, never to return.
For thousands like me the injustice done to Budhi Kunderan, then, has created a deep wound that refuses to heal — even after nearly four decades. The wound hurt us even more when the BCCI never gave him a benefit, and did not even have the courtesy to invite him for its Golden Jubilee celebrations. His death, in a fundamental sense a martyr's death, makes many of us bleed and shed tears in a real profound manner without any sentimentality.
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