Rishabh Pant's demonstration on International Yoga Day

✪ Rishabh Pant's cartwheel!
✪ Whatever happened on the last ball, this ball is new
✪ Uncluttered mind, smiling face and determination
✪ Being in the present- demonstration of meditation
✪ Capacity of jumping hundreds of times
✪ Sports teaching patience, consistency and determination
✪ रंग हो अकेले तो इन्द्रधनुष बनता ही नही!
✪ Skill to play for hours as per desire
✪ Art of leaving ground baggage on the ground itself!

Recently completed India- England test match! Till the last hour, it was fascinating and fought brilliantly! Plenty of catches dropped by India, wayward (गुमराह) bowlers except for Bumrah, sudden collapses of Indian batters! Many will remember the match for this. Also many will remember England’s determination, their “Bazball” approach and charm to complete the chase of 371 in the fourth inning! Although Ben Duckett is the official player of the match, for many, this match will not be remembered for centurion KL Rahul, captaincy debut of Shubman Gil or Bumrah, but for Rishabh Pant heroics! His two centuries in two innings, amazing display of batting and the demonstration of cartwheel on the International day of Yoga! Also, hundreds of his jumps behind the wicket and his lively narration on the stump mike!

When Rishabh Pant had played poorly in one match, Sunil Gavaskar had said "stupid, stupid, stupid!" But after his hundred in the first innings, he too said, "Super, super, super!" And his century in the second innings just made everyone speechless! His cartwheel after his first hundred on 21st June made him the "real ambassador of Yoga"! And the second century was also extraordinary! At one time, he was playing on 31 from 59 balls and was playing against his nature. He showed what patience, courage and persistence is! And his wicket keeping too!

That's the way Mahi way!

Watching 'M. S. Dhoni: The untold Story' is a wonderful experience. . It is rightly said that we knew the man, but we did not know the journey. It really goes deep. It is not only his journey, but also in a way our own journey. Because legends such as MS or Sachin are not only individuals, they are collective phenomenon. It is not only that Sachin plays for 24 years, it is also that I live for 24 years where Sachin is a very much part of my life. This movie gives that wonderful experience- once up on a time again! It just relives you those memorable moments. . .

. . . My first encounter with M S was in December 2004 when he was playing his second or third ODI in Dhaka and he hit his first six. Then I watched a first class game of cricket, first time in my life, on 21^st January 2005. It was a first class match in Deodhar Trophy in Nehru Stadium, Pune and players such as Sehwag and Kaif were playing. Of course, M S was largely unknown to me. When I entered the stadium, I was amazed to see that environment. I was too desperate to see the likes of Sehwags and Kaifs. My friend suddenly pointed out to one man who was running on the border of the ground, look, he is Dhoni! I looked, but did not know whom I was looking. . . Then his 148 runs against Pakistan and his 183* against Sri Lanka announced his arrival. . .

Such legends are part of our lives also. So when I look back at my famous M S moments, one more moment pops up from his early career. His strike against Dave Mohammad in a test match in West Indies! I clearly remember up to mid 2006, his ODI batting average was around 53 and the strike rate was 108! Even in the era of Tendulkars and Sehwags, it was extremely astonishing! It was said that he had just one gear- the fifth gear. . . Of course it was not too long when his poster arrived in my hostel room. अनहोनी को होनी कर दे होनी को अनहोनी ऐसा है धोनी!The epic moment of India winning World T 20 under him! His advertisements from 'On drive, off drive, now long drive' to 'let me remind it!' His persona, the charisma, the calmness...

But coming back to the movie, it gives great insights about the man and the journey. We knew the batsman, the captain cool, the wicketkeeper and the brand. But we seldom knew the man from within. This movie is certainly part of the elite class of movies such as Bhag Milkhaa Bhag and Mary Kom. It is very easy to see, perceive and respect the peak, but it is rather difficult to grasp the dark valleys from where such peak emerges. Therefore we should be thankful to this movie.

It is very easy to forget the morning sun when it is twilight. It is very easy to criticize in the context of downfall. Not only public, but our memory also is short in this regard. But if we allow our heart more space than our brain, we would deeply cherish innumerable M S moments of our life. In this sense, this movie serves as a great reminder to open our eyes and really see the legend which is now inevitably fading. Our memory is not a great device to understand deeper phenomenon. Our memory always moves ahead and shows us further journey. Time may be just a term for some, like they say age is just a number. But certainly time fades our memories. It blurs our vision. We tend to overlook and neglect the old for the attractive new. But something is necessary to help us improve our vision and correct our perspective.

When we try to see the complete picture, we realize that we were missing the actual person, the man hidden behind all glamour. It is easy to criticize defeats and losses. But it is rather difficult to see the efforts, the preparation, the journey out of the darkness. This movie is presented so well that even if you do not know cricket, you can still relate with it. As M S always says, it is the process which matters.

This movie really helps us to keep aside the statistics, the numbers and the glamour and see the core of M S Dhoni with open eyes. We always say that we should never forget our roots, we should remember where we belong to. This movie helps us understand how a champion arises, where he or she really belongs.

This movie gives clear messages regarding sport culture of our nation, the infrastructure and the struggles. Not only for emerging players, but also for well established players. One has to say that it makes certain bold statements such as case of dropping those stalwarts who are no longer good fielders. This movie does not shy away from making such bold and out of the box statements.

 

I have followed Dhoni's career closely, but still I felt good that the movie has shown minimum of his career and it has given more focus on the achiever than the achievements. One can criticize that the movie only shows M S and hardly gives any room to Sachin, Sehwag, Ganguli or Dravid. It is true. But their tales are well known and the movie brings forth the untold story.

And most importantly, although this movie revolves around one legend and one person, it is basically universal. It is the tale of everyone. Like one dialogue says, M S, you do not always get those balls which you can hit, you sometimes get bouncers that you have to duck. Therefore, in the deeper sense, this is untold story of everyone, all of us. Everyone has to go through similar circumstances.

One more aspect that I liked very much regarding this movie is that it is based on a very contemporary topic. It is not a movie which is related to some ancient king. The movie is related with the present times. M S is still playing cricket and is still the ODI captain. He is here and now. Therefore the movie helps us understand this here and now in a subtle way. This movie helps us remain in the present.