The year was 1996....
The month was June.
The month was June.
A Bengali boy from Behala , Kolkata around 24 years old was struggling to make a place in Indian team & a mark in the history of cricket.
Another Bengali boy, also a south paw, from a small town with ancestrial roots in Behala was struggling for his upcoming ICSE exam the very next year and with his shyness.
The day was 22nd.
History was created at Lords, the home of Cricket when the 24 year old scored a magical 131 runs with the help of 20 boundaries that made batting look as smooth and easy as ever. His knock helped India score 429 runs and take a first innings lead. That was the beginning of a bright chapter in the history of Indian cricket as Saurav Ganguly went from strength to strength as a batsman.
Few days passed and then the trouble started happening for the shy teenager in his small town school .Out of nowhere girls noticed a striking resemblance with the newfound cricketing legend.
And as a bolt from blue a girl proposed . An extremely embarassing moment for a shy middle class teen who had trouble concentrating between books & football.
That was the time when he felt he could go invisible .
Commentators were in awe of Ganguly's magical batting. Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott gave him the title of 'Prince of Calcutta' .
But all was not well for the small town boy .More people from his neighbourhood has started noticing the resemblance and as the Prince of Calcutta became more famous more girls started noticing.
It was quite a tough time for the teen going to school and trying to be unnoticable .
Remember it was the 90's when Kumar Shanu had created a permanent dent in our hearts of heart by melodeous songs like ' Mera Dil Bhi Kitna Pagal Hai ' from Saajan ,
'Mera Chand Mujhe Aaya Hai Nazar ' from Mr.Aashiq and many more.
'Mera Chand Mujhe Aaya Hai Nazar ' from Mr.Aashiq and many more.
As Ganguly went on to create history and becoming the most enigmatic captain India has ever seen , this teenager completed his board exams with lot of distraction and teenage adrenaline rush .
Even after soo many years when I look back I can only find Dada taking up the largest space in our heart.Yes there is Sachin and will always be , but Dada is someone who mixes with your emotions , your fight to come out against odd and to stand up against downfalls.
And even after soo many years as I look back I can only smile and laugh heartily to those embarassing yet so innocent and joyfull moments of my life.
Happy Birthday Dada , which you mesmerise us another hundred years and even more by your charisma.
#HappyBirthdayDada
