Tag Archives: world cup cricket 2011

Cricket forecasts

Well, I miss my dad. Tonight has been India’s night at the world cup and he’s not with me – he’s somewhere in the tundra region (thanks to my sister and her uncanny sense of timing her first kid in the middle of a world cup).

Alas they have no access to the world cup telecast. If someone climbs on the roof to place a dish antenna, they say, the roof might come down – it’s a lovely old house, you see, and no risks to be taken with the baby, the doggy and the parents around!

When my sister, brother and I were old enough to understand cricket, we came to appreciate our dad’s cricketing insights – astrological forecasts. On every morning of the match, he would take out his panchaang and ask us for the name of the captains who were to compete that day.

This would follow with some obscure mumblings on the dashas of the planets with fingers charting trajectories in the air. Further down would follow abstract calculations based upon planetary positions of the competing countries and their captain’s names. We would be waiting with baited breaths to hear the winner’s name. Astrology, you see, foretold us the winner much before the match started!

He generally had a good scoring rate. Enough for us to brag to our friends about our deep foresights into the game.

Watching cricket together was fun. As the match progressed, he would be there with his usual quibs over cups of tea….’see I told you so’, ‘whatever they do, they’re not going to win’, etc. Mom would bring ‘garam garam pakodas’ and we would have a blast. Mom is an ardent cricket fan and she would always take a stand against astrology. Hence the ‘forecasted losing’ side would be her favorite, unless of course it’s an India match.

So the sides would be split and we would have a match going on right in the middle of our living room with occasional screams and whistles. Priti would keep on changing sides depending upon who’s winning and which players are better looking. I would be rooting for the weaker team. And Box – if the Indian bowlers didn’t bowl well, he’d be sure to pick up and bowl a couple of things in our living room – bouncers that we were expected to duck!

Seems cool as I look back; nostalgic. One lively, happy family!

So well… Tonight was the night. As I sat in my living room savoring the victory ‘alone’, I missed my parents. It also dawned upon me that years of moving from one place to another as per the whims of my career has really left a void in that ‘friendship space’. All my friends whom I could have invited are scattered all over. And then they are only a few. I am basically ‘friendless’ & where I am, there are none.

My dad also happens to be my best friend. I miss him.