CRICKET
The boys from Baroda...
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... talks to JYOTIRMAYA SHARMA.
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Irfan Pathan, Junior
JYOTIRMAYA SHARMA
Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the poet and revolutionary, writes of the countless dark and savage centuries where bodies wrapped in fine fabric inevitably parallel the presence of bodies traded on streets, bodies covered in dust and bathed in blood, bodies oozing pus from incurable sores. The poet tells his beloved that though he still admires her beauty, his gaze invariably returns to the scene of those bodies ravaged by human cruelty and indifference — "laut jati hai udhar ko bhi nazar kya keejay". In other words, feet are always planted somewhere but the mind can be elsewhere, either in the past or the present.
Looking for Irfan Pathan, the cricketer, in Baroda cannot be dissociated from participating in the memory of riots and communal violence that has ravaged this once glorious city, though the cricketer and the violence have no obvious connection. But they are part of imagination of the same city. The eye notices the crumbling buildings, the heaps of garbage and the nose registers the ubiquitous stench of a cocktail of urine, sweat and cheap tobacco. But the mind goes back to the Best Bakery case and its symbolism of dehumanisation of an entire society. Was it Adorno who said that it was impossible to write poetry after Auschwitz? Similarly, can one write about cricket in an antiseptic fashion after Godhra and the riots that followed in Gujarat?
In Baroda, the search for Irfan Pathan is complicated by the fact that there are two Irfan Pathans, both left-arm pace bowlers. People refer to them as Irfan Senior and Irfan Junior. Irfan Junior is the hero of the Australia and Pakistan tours of the Indian team, while Irfan Senior plays Ranji Trophy for Baroda. The more famous of the Irfans lives in Mandvi Jumma Masjid, ironically now the most popular secular destination for all cricket lovers, where his father is a muezzin, whereas Irfan Senior, bereft of celebrity status, works as a reservations clerk at the Baroda railway station. and represents Baroda in Ranji Trophy matches. Both swear by cricket and Baroda. Neither of them wants to leave Baroda, nor do they perceive a destiny beyond cricket.
But cricketers are also citizens. Is it, then, too much to expect them to be socially aware and responsible, especially when cricket at one time emancipated entire communities and democratised whole societies? Speaking to the two Irfans, one gets a sense of a whole constellation of questions of identity, politics, memory and society, but also the tension between the democratic space and the imperatives of maintaining status quo in Indian public life today.
In this sense, these two narratives are complete and representative.
Irfan Pathan, Junior
MY family has been living in this Mosque (Mandvi Jumma Masjid) for nearly 400 years. We have always been here. My father is a muezzin, and so was his father. This mosque is old, very old. In my childhood ... only all this was here. I'll tell you how our life was earlier: Live in the mosque, go to school, play cricket. Apart from this, there was little else. Like going out for an outing. There was very little of that.
We used to play cricket on the side of the mosque. People used to come and tell us not to play cricket here. We used to play on the side, where you can wear shoes, not in the mosque itself. But sometimes, a tennis ball or a plastic ball would disturb the calm of the mosque. Then, because of this, we used to go to the mohalla to play. My mother did not approve of this. She was apprehensive that the boys might get spoilt if they went to the mohalla. The atmosphere of the mosque and that of the mohalla is very different.
Behind the mosque is a totally Hindu area and here, in the front, is a totally Muslim area. Allah is very kind that we never thought on communal lines. My father and mother never thought that just because we lived in a mosque that we ought to think in terms of a Hindu identity and a Muslim identity. So when there were riots — I witnessed the ones in 1992 and the recent ones — the Hindus created no problems for us. People who are wise never think in terms of Hindus and Muslims. They must not. Both are human beings. Allah has been merciful that I have never thought on communal lines and this has been to my advantage.
If I were affected by communal tension, I would not have been in a position to play cricket. I have even played in the Hindu majority area with a plastic ball. So there was never any such problem.
If Allah is with you, then you would never ever have a problem in the world, anywhere. If Allah is not with you, then you would be inundated with problems, and only problems.
I was fond of cricket since childhood. Even on Sundays, we would be playing cricket. Then I played under-14 for Baroda. People like Mehdi Sheikh of the Baroda Sports Club, and Rashid Patel and Kiran More were very helpful as well. They kept telling us to work hard. I got very serious about cricket when I played for the under-14 team. From then on, it was just cricket. I even stopped going for marriage receptions.
Wasim Akram is my hero. I loved watching Sachin. I used to watch Wasim Akram and watching him was very pleasurable. Javagal Srinath is also a delight to watch and so is Zaheer Khan. Laxman is also my favourite.
I have never thought about money or fame. By Allah's grace, I have never thought in these terms. I always tell myself: Never think of money, just go on playing cricket. Even if I ever get a one per cent feeling that I am thinking of money, then, I sit alone and talk to myself and say:
Never think of money. Just go on playing cricket. I am lucky to have got the kind of parents I have who have always taught me humility. I belong to a different culture. Ordinary people get a locality or a street to grow up and they have loads of friends. My situation is different. I have grown up in a mosque. Even I have friends. Just six of them. My upbringing has been a bit different.
My father wants to continue to work in the mosque and doesn't want to leave it. The house in the mosque, however, is not too large. There is too much luggage, especially cricket equipment. We are searching for a house but we will always remain connected to the mosque. I would never leave Baroda. Even leaving the mosque, where I was born and grew up, is a difficult decision.
But there are family reasons. But my father will never give up the work of the mosque. I would also feel awkward leaving home. But I too will always remain connected with the mosque.
JYOTIRMAYA SHARMA
Irfan Pathan, Senior
MY father came to Baroda from a place near Lucknow. He moved to Baroda in the 1970s. When he first came to Gujarat, he got a job in the railways at Godhra. From there he got transferred to Baroda. We were all born here — three brothers and an older sister. I now work for the railways in the reservations department at the main station. We have lived in the same house in the railway colony for the past 25 years.
As a child, I studied a little, did a bit of mischief and played a lot of cricket with a tennis ball. I used to bunk school to play cricket. I have studied well, though. I have an M.A. in Hindi. I first played for my college. Then, I was noticed by Mehdi Sheikh, who was then a selector for the under-19 team. He encouraged me to try my luck with the Baroda Cricket Association. He called me for trials. There was Kiran More as well who is my mentor. It is he who gave me my kit and even shoes. They liked me, so I played under-19. Then I got a break for Ranji and have been playing Ranji for Baroda for the past five years. I don't know whether I play well or badly, but I have been playing cricket by the grace of God. My great wish is to meet Wasim Akram. As a left arm bowler, I used to watch him, his run, and his action. As a bowler, he was my one and only idol. I learned a lot watching him.
The riots in Baroda hardly ever affected us. We lived in the railway colony, which is protected by the Railway Protection Force. The security is very tight. In the colony, there were hardly two or three Muslim families. From the very beginning, we used to visit them on Deepavali and they used to come to us for Eid. In childhood, we used to go to school, come home, eat, and then run off to play. Our life centred around playing cricket. Nothing else mattered. Yet, I believe that religion is above everything else. All else is secondary. Everyone follows and should follow their own faith as long as politics does not intrude into religion. I believe in Allah and you believe in your God. I read namaz five times a day and you get up in the morning and pray. Everyone's way is different. For me, namaz is first and foremost, and then come the matters and concerns of the world. I also believe that my identity as a human being ought to transcend all worldly identities.
This recent coming together of religion and politics is all the work of politicians. They have created fissures and walls among people in order to get power and capture office. Villages are still more secure compared to cities. The post-Godhra riots were the first I saw at close quarters and saw people being butchered. No one can say for sure who was implicated to a greater degree in the riots. In the end all are equally responsible. How can they stop? Politicians would always want to find issues that would help them in their selfish end of capturing power.
I am 24 and it is my dream to play for India. I am working hard. I hope my performance will merit a place in the Indian team one day. I hope God will give me a chance one day. If I don't get into the Indian team, I would still go on playing whatever cricket I can. If I don't get to play for India, still there would be no regrets. My bowling still has a few shortcomings that I am trying to remove and overcome. Eventually, I would like to coach youngsters. But I would never leave cricket. It flows in my being and in every vein of my body. I would always like to give something back to the game, whether or not I get anything at all.
Irfan Junior is like a brother to me. We knew each other even before he became a cricketer. He is very religious and god-fearing. He never forgets to pray and is very conscientious about namaz.
At no cost do I want to leave Baroda. Never. I was born here and have a deep attachment for the place. I will live here and die here. Friends and foes are all here, in a manner of speaking. I just hope things will stay peaceful and calm. All that one wants in life is a bit of peace and tranquillity.
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