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The changing voice of cricket

LUCID Narottam Puri PHOTO: V.SUDERSHAN

It is difficult to judge whether he has been a better doctor or a sports commentator, but one thing is certain Dr. Narottam Puri is a gem of a human being. Long after he took voluntary retirement from the commentators' box, his felicity and in-depth analysis is still missed. "I underwent a by-pass surgery and had to choose between the two," says Puri, now serving as the Executive Director - Medical Services Max Healthcare in New Delhi. Talking about the changes cricket commentary has gone through, Puri observes, technical advancement is a definite plus. "In our time there were no talk backs. There were not so many cameras. We had to make a mental note of the score and the field positions." As for the content, Puri points out commentary is getting too verbose. "What's the point of talking when the bowler is in his run-up? This distracts the viewer. Partly the reason is that the breaks between the over are now devoted to commercials."

Commenting on the statements like "the player was good enough to nick the ball" from the experts, Puri says at times it is a fact but when it's there for all to see that the batsman was rooted, favouritism comes forth. "On TV you can't hide anything."

Radio hangover

Somebody who started his career as a radio commentator still puts the medium above everything else. "Nothing can beat the satisfaction of creating a word image of a spectacle." However, he adds, "The radio hangover is still on, on some of our commentators, who keep describing things which people can see for themselves."

Puri admits everybody develops clichés over a period of time. "Like Ghulam Ali has to return to raga Pahari come what may. I used to say `a cruise' a lot to describe an easy single, but never realised till until a youngster pointed out to me."

He says commentators should not take sides. "Bringing the euphoria alive to the audience through dramatic modulation is fine but one should not get jingoistic." He recalls his most embarrassing moment was when he got overly excited when India won its first test match in Australia. "I realised only when in the highlights I saw myself in a red pullover (accentuating the effect) standing in commentator box with a mike speaking at the height of the box. And Richie Benaud's succinct remark was here goes an excited Indian commentator sending the good news back home."

ANUJ KUMAR

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