Valentine’s day, for me, is a celebration of my romance with cricket

 By K.R. Nayar

I fell in love with cricket from a very young age. I soon realised how beautiful my world has turned to be by being with it. Like a passionate lover, I adored the game spending days and months at stadiums.  Over the years I wrote about the game travelling to different parts of the world. I’ve been in a life-long relationship with the game and I believe that Valentine’s day is the best day to celebrate my romance with cricket

Every Valentine’s day, I celebrate my romance with cricket. I started playing cricket from a very young age but did not realise then that one can actually fall in love with the game and have a life-long relationship with it.
 
That was the time when I was just finishing school. It is often said that love that happens during school or college days are not long-lasting. But for me it was different. The more I played the game, my love and attachment for it only grew stronger by the day. Then I joined Kerala Cricket Association’s efforts in spreading the game by supporting them as an official.  I also believe that it is important to try and understand whoever or whatever you love. We must try to look beyond we see in front of us. And since I was in love with cricket, I tried to learn and understand more about the game. So I took up lessons in umpiring and qualified as an umpire. While the common belief then was that romance with umpiring starts only after one gets older, I took it on in my early twenties.  

When you love someone or something unconditionally it becomes part of your life. I took up journalism as my career, and my world revolved around writing about cricket. And as my romance with the game blossomed, I became conscious of how beautiful the world can be.  I went on journeys to many parts of the world and recorded special moments of the game through my stories. I was fortunate to witness and write about on some of the magical moments in the game, especially the 11 World Cup tournaments from both formats of the game.   

What I also understood during the course of my journey was that all those who earned fame through cricket must have been those who fell deeply in love with the game. Had they not adored the game we would not have been able to enjoy watching their skills. Their love for the game made cricket more beautiful.

My passion for the game got me to read more about cricket. I enjoyed reading stories written by great writers of the game who romanticized cricket through their description of great matches and players. I was convinced that just like in any romance, cricket too produces moments that touches our hearts. Some the heart-breaking defeats after an intense battle were such moments. During those times I used to recall a line by the legendary writer Neville Cardus who often described cricket contests like a poetry. He once wrote: “Dear, lovely game of cricket that can stir us so profoundly, that can lift up our hearts and break them.”

As a reporter, I have spent many days and, sometimes months, writing on the matches. When I look back, I realise that I have spent a major part of my life at cricket stadiums. Being able to spend maximum time with something you love is divine. 

There was once a great West Indies left-arm spinner named Alf Valentine who played from the 1950’s to the mid-1960’s. His stupendous performance in the West Indies’ 1950 tour of England was immortalized in an Afro-Caribbean styled song called ‘Victory Calypso’. This song further inspired poetry, most of which romanticizes the sport and its culture.

Romance creates many nostalgic memories and cricket provides me a lot of that. Like Valentine’s day gets us all to re-visit our passion and love, these fond memories will forever remain with me as my symbol of romance with cricket.