'offers' how dangerous is
In 1970s Cricket Mania was vibrant amongst youth of Karnataka especially when there were five to six players from the State representing the international test cricket match series. Batsmen Gundappa R Vishwanath and Brijesh R Patel, Wicket keeper Syed Kirmani, Spin Bowlers B S Chandrashekar and E A S Prasanna were on a high form. Every youth in Bangalore or from any city in Karnataka was proud of this and every playground was occupied by the students to play cricket. Of course tennis balls were used to play cricket. Even the streets were used by the resident students to play the game with some restrictions such as, if one hits the ball to the neighbour’s window, then he is out, etc. If the street is too thin then under-arm bowling was undertaken.
I am an exception to this phobia/mania as I always felt that the game is very slow unlike Football/Soccer or Kho-Kho which games I liked most. In 1974, I was pursuing the first year of University/College studies after 12th. We call in India, Degree College for the 3 year graduation course after 12th. For the 11th and 12th year of study in our State we call Pre-University College studies.
Bangalore had a cricket stadium in the Shivajinagar area. The state government had taken up the construction of the full-fledged stadium at the request of BCCI to host the first match of the 1974 international test cricket between the world-favourite West Indies and India. The construction of the stadium never got completed in time even after the announcement of the date of the prestigious test match in Bangalore between West Indies and India. The match was scheduled to start on Friday, November 22, 1974. The video downloaded from YouTube and uploaded here at the end, (INDIA vs WEST INDIES 1974) confirms the level of high risk to be encountered by the visitors entering the stadium. The unquestionable Congress Governments both at the Centre and the State then, never took up serious initiatives for any kind of new infrastructure in the country. For those activities which were started, the projects were never finished in the scheduled time frames. Kickbacks and personal accumulation of wealth by the ministers were the first priority in any kind of developmental activities.
I had my lunch in the early morning and left Rajajinagar around 9.00 am. With great difficulty I reached the stadium at around 10.30 am by catching a local bus. Route number 75 was the direct bus from Rajajinagar First Block to Shivajinagar Bus Stand and this was the only bus. Travel time wasn't a problem then in the 1970s. I remember having reached my home from Majestic KSRTC/BMTC Bus Stand in just 26 minutes, 22 minutes of travel in the bus from starting point to Rajajinagar First Block stop plus 4 minutes to walk home. Likewise the travel time was about 30 minutes from Shivajinagar Bus Stand to Rajajinagar First Block stop. While we used to get the bus from Majestic very fast, we had to wait for a long time in the Q at Shivajinagar Bus Stand.
I had not even taken a water bottle with me. Rather, I wasn’t aware of the formalities/protocol published by the BCCI authorities who had arranged this Test Series. I am not sure, probably they didn't even allow water bottles inside. The crowd, which was the highest ever in policing history, was treated like slaves/sheep by the police while managing the entry after verification of the valid ticket. There was a huge serpentine Q for the entry. Somehow after 30 odd minutes of struggle I went inside. The stadium was jam-packed, I don't recall how I managed to sit in one of the middle rows of the gallery section. I was disgusted by the time I managed to sit.
It wasn't a rainy season, yet Bangalore had experienced some rains and hence the match was suspended till lunch time. I was feeling pity for those who were waiting since nine or 9.30 am for the commencement of the game. Also I was happy that I didn’t miss the first over of the match though I entered the stadium late by an hour and half.
It wouldn’t have mattered to me to feel sorry even if the match had commenced at the scheduled time. In fact I wasn't a crazy fan of cricket then and I am not a fan even now. I even don't know how I decided to go. I think I was offered a ticket by one of my friends. The public stood for long hours to buy the tickets in advance when the date of selling the tickets was published by the BCCI in newspapers. One had to go to the stadium personally and buy ticket/s. It wasn’t a surprise to read in the newspaper that the tickets were sold out well before the day of commencement of the match. Black-marketing of tickets was on a higher scale during the 1970s or 1980s. I was taken away when I was offered the scarce ticket at face value. This must have been the reason for me to go to the stadium and experience the watching of international Test Cricket. Probably I must have gone with my friend but I am unable to recollect whether my friend was with me or not.
The game started late, maybe at 12.30 pm or so. The sun was on top of our heads showering scorching heat. Pepsi company freely distributed the paper cap (quarter size) which you see in the video, wearing by most people. I would have taken it if the cap was to be a full sized one. I didn't want to promote the company without getting something at least in return. I have a recollection of the crazy ad-war between soft drink companies. I remember in the 1980s the Thums-up company copied Pepsi's way of distribution of paper caps with Thums-up logo printed on the caps to the public who entered the cricket stadium while Pepsi company coolly distributed a few hundred free Pepsi bottles.
All players were in white dresses. It was highly difficult to identify any player from such a far distance except two captains, Clive Llyod with curly hairs and wearing Soda glass and Pataudi with long hairs. Added, even the scoreboard was not visible from the place where I was sitting. I think only one scoreboard was put in the stadium. I couldn't make out who was batting or who was bowling. I can never forget the fact that the West Indies were batting and the Indian team was fielding. During my presence in the stadium no one got out. I couldn’t make out who was at the crease, how many runs the West Indies batsmen made, who was bowling, who were fielding where, etc. Nothing was visible to bare eyes. No transistor was allowed inside.
By 2.30 in the afternoon I was feeling hungry enough. Some had brought snacks, some might have bought from sales-boys. But I had no money to buy eatables from sales boys. Even the sales boys were not allowed to walk amidst the crowd as all spectators wanted to watch every ball. Such was the craze!
I was fully disgusted after watching the match till tea time. The main reason was identification of players who were all on white uniforms without any numbers put on their respective T-Shirts. I couldn't identify even one player. All players left for tea, myself and all fans were hungry enough for a full meal. Alas! We were just waiting for them to return. Fans were throwing left-out food/fruits for fun. I said to myself enough of this dirty place and damn slow match. I left at around 3.30 pm. It took some 15 minutes to come out, that too with great difficulty. I could make my exit easily as I took the decision to leave before the commencement of the last session of the match. I was disturbed as my mind was boggling as to the disposal of the ticket which was bought to witness the match on all the five days.
Fans outside were waiting to buy the tickets if offered from those who exited. I just sold my ticket very easily, maybe at face value or after offering a small discount. I still can't forget walking all the way for fifteen minutes to Shivajinagar Bus Stand. After waiting a long time for Bus Number 75 to come to stands, I got into the bus easily, thanks to the Q system. I reached home by 5.45 pm. Finally I can say this was the most horrible experience I ever had in my youthful days.
..This is nostalgia.
We need to make sure that just because something is available for free or for a lesser price, we shouldn't just grab it. We need to really think about the real need of the offer. What do you say? In my case I wasn't a cricket lover yet grabbed the offer of scarce ticket. I took the risk of my life by entering the under-constructed property, wasted a whole day without taking proper food in time, strained myself too much,etc etc. It wasn't fun either. I needn't mention here that all fans were highly disappointed to see the poor performance of the Indian team giving an easy way to win by the West Indies.
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