In the 1940s and the early 1950s, facilities for sports were scarce. First Division cricket players drank water from an aluminium bucket using an aluminium tumbler. While playing matches within the city, we ate at Ratna Café, Swamy's café or Rayar's Mess. But if the ground was in as far-flung a place as Washermanpet, there were two options — pack food or stay hungry. Almost always, we opted for the latter. Because, for want of frequent buses to the outskirts, we had to start early, and had little time to rustle up a meal.
In those days, matting wickets were all that you had. What lay below the mats was anybody's guess. We had confidence in a few college physical directors who also served as curators of their respective grounds. P. Subramaniam of Presidency College, S. Narashimachariar of Law College and B. Venkataraman of Vivekananda College prepared pitches that brought out the all-round charm of the game.
These physical directors were also instrumental in getting together formidable teams. Vivekananda College was not much of a cricketing force till the advent of Venkataraman. Together with A.P. Ramakrishnan (captain of the college team from 1949 to 1953), he took the team to dizzy heights. It gave rise to a cricketing ethos in the college, one that continues to produce great cricketers.
Despite heartening stories here and there, the Forties and the early Fifties were not conducive for the growth of sports. There were few rewards; sportsmen were sustained purely by the joy of playing.
In the mid-1950s, the tide began to change. Men managing mammoth corporate houses were in the forefront of this change. J.A. Allerton, CEO of Parry & Co, took in cricketers Kripal Singh, M.K. Murugesh, B.R. Mohan Rai and Bhaskar Rao. V.R. Lakshmi Rattan, CEO of Philips India, and N. Ramananda Rao, CEO of State Bank of India (SBI), gave priority to recruiting sportspersons.
They set an example that was followed by heads of other corporations. The recruitment of Munner Sait, S. Natraj, Badiuddin and Abdul Nazam by SBI was the beginning of a flurry of recruitments, involving other hockey players.
While sports facilities and patronisation of sportspersons have increased by leaps and bounds, the enthusiasm for catching the action live has waned. In those days, people flocked to the grounds for almost every sport — because there were not many distractions. There were no amusement parks and visits to cinemas and theatre halls were the only entertainment most people could think of.
In this climate, sportspersons reigned as heroes in people's hearts.
The excitement generated by a few boxers at the annual All-India Invitation Boxing Tournament, held at Island Grounds or SIAA Grounds, had to be seen to be believed. The event derived additional lustre from pugilists such as Battling Joe and ‘Knockout' Arumugam. A huge section of the crowd rooted for them. When Arumugam was killed in a bout at the ring, many local dailies carried long obituaries.
People also developed an unshakeable attachment to grounds. When Test cricket was shifted from Chepauk to the SIAA Grounds in the mid-1950s, there was a sense of deep loss. It lasted till the mid-1960s, when Test cricket returned to Chepauk.
BIO
Born in 1935, he was a dominant spin bowler in domestic cricket for over two decades. He is the first bowler to better the 300 and 400 wicket marks in Ranji Trophy. Between them, Kumar and Venkataraghavan have taken 950-plus wickets. In local cricket, he played a lot for Vivekananda College and State Bank of India, from which he retired as Deputy General Manager. Despite taking eight wickets in his debut Test, the leg break and googly bowler played in only one more Test. He is, at present, a consultant coach for BCCI and NCA.
I REMEMBER
In those days, excerpts from a recent Test match would be shown in the newsreel preceding the screening of a feature film. To watch a capsule on the 1962 Test against Pakistan in Delhi, which was also my debut Test, I bought a ticket for “Daag” (starring Dilip Kumar), which was on at Wellington cinema.
