Veteran Journalist Marck Manuel recalls his meet with Sunil Gavaskar
Veteran Journalist Marck Manuel recalls his meet with Sunil Gavaskar
It was on a fine Saturday night, at the Taj’s Ballroom, that he caught up with Sunil Gavaskar. Like him, Gavaskar was there for charity fashion show and auction and Mark was there as the host’s friend and Gavaskar as a celebrity guest. Mark slipped out early. So did Gavaskar. He traced him to the bar. He wasn’t there for a drink but to engage in conversation with the barman. Probably about cricket. He was nattily attired. Wearing a lilac shirt, plum waistcoat, chocolate brown trousers and highly-polished shoes. Looking elegant sans being extravagant. Like he had just stepped off the fashion ramp himself. As cheerfully ‘sunny’ as his name.
There was a familiar grace in the way he stood. Humorous eyes sweeping the Ballroom. As if looking for a spot amid the bar and buffet table to deliver his favourite straight drive. A shot of classic beauty. All timing, no power. Eyes on the ball, a shuffle of the feet, a flick of the wrists, the ball gliding past the bowler to the boundary. People of Marck’s generation saw him play this shot effortlessly, stylishly, precisely in the 1970s and 80s against the West Indies, England, Pakistan and Australia. Gavaskar was sheer poetry on the pitch. Small in stature, vast in presence.
Marck’s involvement with cricket has been limited to watching the game. And most of Gavaskar’s great innings he saw on a B&W Dyanora TV. Often DD’s telecast was dodgy. So he went to the radio. But commentators could not do justice to Gavaskar’s textbook technique or his extraordinary temperament. With which he faced the fiercest fast bowlers of Test cricket. Raw pace and hostility. Fiery, aggressive and accurate. Thomson and Lillee, Roberts and Holding, Imran and Sarfraz, Botham and Willis. And Hadlee. Gavaskar not even wearing a helmet. His bat was his shield and sword.
Time transforms everything – the game, its players, our heroes. But Gavaskar remained his only cricketing idol. Through his many records, he taught us what courage looked like in whites. He is that way in his cricket column and commentary, too: walking the talk with grit, grace and grandeur. Marck had a fan boy moment that night. Hesitantly, he asked if he might get a picture with him. With a twinkle in his eye and a sunny smile, humour and humility in place, Gavaskar said, “No, I won’t allow one picture. Take two. What if the first one doesn’t come right?” So Marck did that. And thanked Gavaskar with ‘thank you, Sir”.
News Input KV Raman
