While most ‘Quotable quotes’ that I’ve come across seem temporarily appealing, yet best left to adorn the books or the websites where they are found, there’s one that’s actually befitting to be put up in bold letters on my ‘Wall’ –
“There’s no end to what you can achieve, if you don’t mind who gets the credit for it”!
And the man who’s brought this quote to life, and lived it not just in fleeting moments or passing phases, but every minute of his cricketing and personal existence that we’ve had the privilege to follow – Rahul Sharad Dravid!
The first and last steps of his journey in international cricket are indeed symbolic of his illustrious career and the man himself. He began with a bang but was apparently overshadowed by an equally illustrious peer, despite being a pivotal cog himself. And when he decided he was done, he unassumingly walked away, sans any fanfare, and resisting the temptation for what would have been a thoroughly deserved grand farewell.
And he was done, not because of the pain that the immediate past caused him, but for the long term gain he saw in letting the next generation establish themselves, given that India now play predominantly at home. Even his worst critics, and the negligent or opportunistic cases of ‘short term memory loss’, would admit, that amongst all the people who one would have expected to bounce back from the disaster that Australia was, Dravid would top the list by a distance. That’s what he’s always done, that’s how he’s had to play his cricket, and he’s probably seen and heard much worse than this. For someone who’s found opportunities to evolve even where none seemed to exist, this was probably a relatively easier task. Yet, in another one of his innumerable selfless acts, he pulled the trigger. That he could selflessly look at the larger picture from a position where it’s easy, in fact almost a given, to be surrounded by a haze and in complete oblivion to all that’s around, is a testimony to what Dravid the person stood for.
He also stood for everything we learn as or like to teach kids, but over time shun as being too idealistic for the ‘real’ world. For what sports is and should be about, and that it’s possible to succeed while being honest, respectful, considerate and even appreciative, yet fiercely aggressive and competitive in spirit, all at the same time.
More importantly, he made us feel that he was one of us. Not necessarily someone who was ordained to play cricket, but one of us who, through sheer hard work and persistence, nurtured a talent and reached dizzying heights, yet making it seem realistic.
Had he not been a cricketer, or even a sportsman for that matter, he could just as well have been a spiritual guru – practicing and preaching non-attachment to results and to external attractions, concerning oneself only with the effort, turning inward to seek direction and motivation from deep within, being deeply concerned about all those around, and yet not influenced by them. But it’s our good fortune that he chose this religion to propagate the doctrine.
In all these years of religious following and emotional attachment with the sport, I didn’t shed tears when our team crumbled to one painful defeat after another, nor did I jump with joy at any of our enthralling wins. But hearing that I’ve seen the last of him in Indian colours left more than just a lump in the throat and a moist eye. Yes, he’s had that kind of an effect. Maybe simply because he’s epitomized what sport, and life, is meant to be – win or lose, but make sure you try - and try he surely did! We’ll continue to win and lose cricket games, but the sheer effort that he put in will never be visible again. He cared for us – you, me and millions of such unknown faces - and we could see it in his eyes.
As someone who considers the sport to be far greater than the individual, Dravid himself may not like to hear or believe that cricket will never be the same without him. But for those of us, who’ve grown up watching, admiring and learning from this institution of a man, cricket and sport at least as we have known it, will definitely not be the same.
And no, he didn’t bat like his life depended on it. He fought and he fought and he fought, like a brave warrior, as if battling to save your life and mine!
A salute to my favourite soldier - a great cricketer, a true sportsman, and above all, an exemplary human being!
