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A clincher of a match
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Harimohan Paruvu’s ‘The Men Within’ promises to be a good read
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Photo: R. Ravindran
Journey back in time For Harimohan Paruvu
Having written a novel with cricket as the central theme, Harimohan Paruvu has to be glad he is in the right neck of the woods. India being such a cricket crazy country, his book ‘The Men Within’ is bound to have a mammoth readership. Chronicling the fortunes of a school team, the book builds up to a clinching climax.
A match to remember
As the last few pages present a live commentary of a do-or-die match that Golconda Public School (GPS) finds itself in, the reader can’t help rooting for this team. For GPS’ cricket coach and principal, more than a trophy is at stake. Released recently at Landmark by former India captain K. Srikkanth in the presence of former cricketer V.B. Chandrasekhar and cricket writer R. Mohan, ‘The Men Within’ (an Indialog publication) had engrossed its author’s mind in an unusual fashion as it was getting written.
As he was a member of the Hyderabad cricket team between 1985 and 1987 and captain of the Osmania University team, the book helped Paruvu retrace paths he had tread as a cricketer. Former cricketers and coaches who have shaped his career dominate the acknowledgements list. Paruvu has great regard for his coaches, M.R. Baig and the late Sampath, and two coaches are the central characters of this novel. Viswanath Sharma, a former coach of the GPS team and now the school’s newly-appointed principal, is nailed unfairly for GPS’s poor performance in education and cricket. As the board decides on the school’s future, Sharma’s nemesis Kirit Das demands that the playground be converted into a college. Kirit reasons that there is nothing to lose as the GPS cricket team has not won a match in 20 years.
Proving a point
Knowing that Kirit, a real estate agent, is eyeing the property, Sharma opposes the idea. Sharma believes GPS will regain its lost glory if more funds were poured in for its improvement. The Board gives Sharma three months to show performance that would justify bigger fund allocation.
Sharma turns to Sampath, the captain of the GPS team he coached 20 years ago. With Sampath as the new cricket coach, Sharma wants to turn GPS’ fortunes around. Apart from cricket techniques, Sampath teaches his wards life management skills, which must make the book attractive to even those who do not care for cricket.
PRINCE FREDERICK
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