By: Anjani Kumar Sharma
There are two reasons why I like to begin my day with a visit at Mamu’s, First for the ever refreshing and very filling Tea & Bun butter combo, second (The more Important one) for the most entertaining session of information exchange one gets to witness here. Mamu is a small roadside Tea stall near SRCC at Patel Chest. The place accounts for the Bread and Butter (Literally) for hundreds of students of DU, including graduates, freshers, residents and IAS aspirants. It is always difficult to find an empty seat and an idle newspaper during the morning hours at Mamu’s.
Today was no exception but what fascinates me about this place is the smooth flow of thoughts between the students. From world politics to climate control, Stock Exchange to Sports, one can get an expert opinion instantly on anything under the sky over a cup of tea. I too joined a small group of 4, engrossed in the post mortem of an absorbing week of sports. Everything and everyone from Tendulkar to Sania, Australian Open to Formula1 was effortlessly discussed, dissected, operated and diagnosed in less than an hour. I tried playing a moderator in the discussion which has its own glossary of words and meanings. What follows is the summary of what I witnessed.
Glossary
Sania./ Saaneea/ .n. adj. v. 1. At times Pride of India 2.Poster Material 3.Scandal or inviting
trouble 4.Fodder for TRP. 5.A state of constant improvement. ORIGIN Indian Tennis.
Ganguly. 1. Sania of Indian Cricket 2. Also considered freedom fighter and worshipped in
West Bengal an Indian State.
Tendulkar. n. adj. 1. Someone who brings extreme joy or hatred. 2. Punching Bag
The Discussion
It all started with a candid comment on the fall of Federer in Australian Open, but not for long. Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza’s loss was the matter of national importance here. The defeat in finals, eclipsed their successful run to the Final of the year’s first grand slam. To begin with, 3 out of 4 were of the opinion that Bhupati lost because of Sania. Some felt that the couple looked better together than they played. Nevertheless It was resolved here at Mamu’s that Sania Mirza should marry Mahesh Bhupati so that they don’t fall out the way Leander and Mahesh did. Before I could absorb what was thrown at me with utmost sincerity, somebody snapped “Sania has a slow serve, For quicker deliveries she should marry Shoaib Akhtar�. No Comments.
I asked them about Dada’s (Saurav Ganguly’s) exclusion from the ODI’s. Everybody present had something different to offer. Two arguments stood out.
A hard core Ganguly fan was aggressive and assertive “This announcement is a conspiracy to loose the Adelaide test by creating division within the team. Dada is the second highest run getter in the world and second only to Tendulkar in the runs scored in 2007 in India.� He continued “…Whereas no Pakistani appears on the top ten batsman list.� Finally the verdict “its apparent, a well planned conspiracy by BCCI, helped and abetted by Pakistan Cricket Board. This is called Selection Fixing�. I thanked him for ruling out any hand of ISI in it.
The second gentleman disagreed with the above logic and was vehement that Dhoni threw Dada out. Before I could ask why, he quipped “The Logic is simple, Dhoni selected Raina over Ganguly. Raina saves 20 runs by his fielding; Score 30 runs each time he goes out to bat, adding 50 runs to the team total, Whereas Ganguly cannot score a 50 in each innings; Hence Proved: Raina is a better option�. No comments on that one.
Going by this logic I raised a question to myself, What has been Sachin’s contribution in this series? Except a couple of hundreds that too for a lost cause, hitting 70’s … even Harbhajan did that!
So, the conclusion is “Harbhajan is a better batsman than Sachin�. Period.
After a moment of silence Bob Fischer became our next victim. My friend spoke “Do you know Bob Fischer died a few days ago? He was a great soul, perhaps the greatest chess player of all time� commented a follower of the game. “Although, a bit eccentric�. Yes he was, but then most of the brilliant people have been this way. I took the last bite of my bun butter, when he made a valid observation “Look at the irony, Bob died at 64. Check mate at the last square of the chess board�. May his tribe grow.
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