Cricket

The evening was beautiful. It was just the right weather…neither too hot…nor too cold. The cool breeze made it better. I was on my way home passing through one of the posh localities of Pune.

This particular locality was home to the super rich. The CEOs, the CFOs, the business tycoons. Hence there were no buildings and flats here, only huge bungalows! And the people actually walking on the private road were either passersby or servants of the residents. The families staying here only moved around in big fancy imported cars.

As I approached the big private playground of the locality, I saw some kids playing cricket. They were obviously residents of the locality, since outsiders weren’t allowed to use this playground. Most of them would have been around 8-10 yrs old. There were some things I couldn't’t help noticing. Apart from their fancy clothes and expensive shoes, every kid seemed to own a cricket bat. There were some who even owned the famous “Mongoose” bats. There was a box full of tennis balls and some cans of energy drinks lying in a corner guarded by a servant.

The next thing I noticed was the sophistication. Most of the conversations were in English and everyone around was well mannered. There was no shouting or swearing or dancing around, just casual claps, pat on backs and smiles. It kind of reminded me of the British. Somehow the quality of cricket was not up to the mark and there was a dull touch about the whole affair.

As I exited the gate of the locality and came back to the normal world, I passed by a slum. There was very light traffic on the road. The footpath was inhabited by hawkers. I could see three small stones placed to one side of the street and a kid with a small piece of wood standing next to the stones. As I tried to make out a pattern in the crowded street, I could make out a few more kids. Most of these kids were bare feet and not even dressed properly. Before I could analyze what they were up to, a small kid same running out of the crowd and threw a rubber ball at this kid with the wooden stick. The kid swung and missed and the ball crashed into one of the stones. The very next instant there was a roar and all the kids converged into a huddle and started shouting and dancing.

Cricket (or baseball) whatever these guys were playing, they were enjoying it thoroughly.

This definitely was the Indian way.

On a completely different note, childhood is awesome! Nothing can stop a kid from having fun, whether he is born in a sprawling bungalow or a small hut.