Adios Amigos Dada…………

The Maharaja of Bengal retired on a wonderful note. An amazing victory for the team and a good test series for him as an individual. To all those who may not like him, two hoots!! One thing’s certain – You can hate him or you can love him. You just cannot ignore him. That’s Dada for you!

Ive been an ardent fan of Saurav ever since he made an impact on the field . I hardly even knew what cricket really was at the time when he made his debut way back in the ’90s. What perhaps stands out is his debut at Lords and the magnificent century he scored. I was so bored of hearing Sachin’s name always. Every second person loved Sachin. I was itching for someone in the Indian team who was not Sachin yet had the flair to be one. The answer was Saurav Chandidas Ganguly.

There was something in him that struck me instantaneously. I hardly bother about the technicalities of cricket, infact I still do not understand how you judge an LBW. Still, I felt something strong that made him stand out, way above the rest….
People have lots of opinion about him. Well, who doesn’t? You may call him arrogant, I term it attitude!!

I’ve enjoyed the shorter version of the game and given Ganguly’s been most dominant in that, I just couldn’t stop loving him. Frankly, I’ve never found support in any circle. It would either be groups of Sachin fans or Dravid fans. I would stand out all the time for being Saurav’s fan and that too in Bangalore. I never really cared. Well, I had the rest of West Bengal for support surely :)

Saurav has always managed to do things his own way. India’s most successful captain and answer to aggression, passion and pure elegance. Be it the lofty sixes or his off side strokes or his captaining skills, he always stood out. And I always loved it.

All through, I’ve linked incidents and circumstances in my life with something to do with Dada. Here are a few ;-)

1997-98: This was perhaps Dada’s best year. Winning every other man of the match award. Winning matches for India; not just with his batting, but with the ball too. This was also the year where I topped my state level exams and also found my soul mate.
Tch Tch!

2000: Ganguly becomes the captain of the Indian Cricket team. I succeed in my entrance exams and land a medical and an engineering seat in two of Bangalore’s top colleges.
Ahem!

2004: Ganguly got the Padma Shri and I was one of the toppers for my branch with two jobs in hand.
Bliss!

2006: Ganguly makes one of the most dramatic comebacks ever. I, who was on the verge of boredom received a promotion and change in role @ my workplace.
Duh!

Ganguly’s saga will continue in some form or the other for years to come. A touching finale and my only reason to watch cricket! He surely will be missed.

Saurav Dada, you will always rock!!!