Book Review - The Unquiet Ones: A History of Pakistan Cricket (Osman Samiuddin)

Disclosure: I've always been fascinated by Pakistan, the cricket team and also, the country. Even though I live in a neighbouring country, quality and unbiased reporting on Pakistan has been scarce in the Indian media, print or electronic. The extreme stereotypes have always been pushed to the front, as is usual, and it needs some effort on your part to learn about the average Pakistani and the society in general.

This book brings together two of my favorite book genres, Sports and History. But to call it a book on "Sports History" would be doing a great disservice to it. Through this book, Osman Samiuddin provides us a window into the various phases of Pakistani society, via the sport of Cricket. Sure, Cricket remains the central theme, but the larger, societal view remains a constant - even if peripheral - feature. And it should be no different, for Cricket in the subcontinent is a microcosm of the Country's prevailing conditions. Maybe it is even more true in Pakistan, where the cricket board has always operated under the control of the government, military or civilian. Thus, it is fair to expect Cricket and society to be inextricably tied to each other.

The book is a fairly long read, but for a book that aims to chronicle close to 65 years of Pakistani Cricket, the author has done a very good job. The rigour is notable, esp coming from a young author whose lifetime perhaps only covers about 60% of the period he has written about. He has covered all major phases of Pakistan cricket and done justice to each one of them with fairly detailed accounts.

The charm of the book, however, lies in the anecdotes and the relaxed writing style, with a liberal usage of quotes and phrases in contemporary Urdu. Historical accounts always seem to bring with them a rather pedantic style of writing, with measured strokes of the pen/keyboard from seasoned pros. Samiuddin, while not being a beginner by any means, brings a certain desi kind of flair to his writing, much as Wasim Akram did to fast bowling. This is where the book scores, in my mind. Books have been written about the subcontinent by Western authors before, but despite their best efforts, it is hard for them to invoke a desi state of mind, to best capture the vagaries of the east. Samiuddin has performed a stellar role in this regard. Separate chapters are reserved for some of the biggest superstars, such as Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram. Intermittent commentary on the Lahore-Karachi equation is fascinating to read as well, embodied by the Imran-Javed relationship. 

The book takes flight, much like batsmen in the last 10 overs, in the last few sections, covering the period from the 1992 world cup to the present. Some of the passages in those sections are truly unputdownable . I went through a marathon 7-hour reading session, interrupted only by Dinner, and never once did it feel laboured. It helped that the stories being told were as captivating, if not more, as the writing style. The 1990s were a time when Pakistan team illuminated the cricket field with their performances and in equal measure were marred by corruption scandals off the field. Perhaps only Pakistan can exist in such a dichotomous universe. There's also a chapter on how/why Pakistan has become an assembly line of fast bowlers, and that most of them have been plucked out of relative obscurity and at a young age. Even if you don't read anything else in the book, the coverage of the 1990s and later is worth your time/money.

In summary, a truly compelling read, possessing both a breadth and depth of coverage. For an outsider like me, it is a great account of the enigma that is Pakistan. It wouldn't be wrong to call it a labor of love, and Osman Samiuddin has provided a great insider's view of how Cricket went from being an urban, elitist pursuit to a behemoth that truly pervades Pakistani society and is one of the few unifying factors in a country with rich diversity, but also plagued by internal troubles for a large part of its existence.

I wish someone would take inspiration and write something similar on Indian cricket!

Goodreads page for the book

Book Review - Three Men on the Bummel (Jerome K. Jerome)

Another highly amusing book by Jerome K. Jerome. This one's not as hilarious as "Three men in a Boat", but it comes close. People have pointed out that the dog is missing, but I didn't feel the absence as much. 

Harris, George and the author, (predictably) in need of a change, decide to take a bicycle trip to the black forest region of Germany. The author has narrated his experiences on the trip in his very unique, British style, which you'll be familiar with, if you've read Three Men in a Boat.

There's a lot of commentary on Germany - the country, its people, its culture, food etc - that you will relate to if you've spent some time there or know people from Germany. Of course, some of that is rendered using the literary device of exaggeration (prominent in British-style humor), but some of it is accurate too. I found some of the descriptions really humorous and in a few places, the book even supersedes its predecessor. A few samples to whet your appetite, here and here.

The eccentric characters, the situation-comedy and the understated, matter-of-fact manner of humorous storytelling are all present, and this book is something that can be re-read multiple times. Overall, I felt that the book was better than sequels are generally known to be and was a perfect filler for downtime, when I just wanted some laughter therapy. Oh, and you can find a free (and legal) version of the pdf from the Project Gutenberg website. Go grab your copy and start reading it now!

Goodreads page for the book

Book Review - The Best of Indian Sports Writing

I got to know of this book through an article from Sharda Ugra titled "Batwallahs", which was featured recently on Cricinfo. I found out that the Cricinfo piece was a modified version of an essay she'd written before, which was featured in this book. 

I was surprised to learn that anthologies of Indian sports writing haven't really existed before this book. For that reason alone, the editor/author deserves a lot of credit.  This book brings together some fine pieces of writing on sports by Indian journalists. The list of contributors includes some of the most famous Indian sports journos, such as Rohit Brijnath, Suresh Menon, Mudar Patherya etc. 

The coverage is spread across a variety of sports, such as Cricket, Tennis, Hockey, Football, Athletics and even Formula 1. Even if you aren't a Cricket fan, this book still has a lot to offer, which came as a very pleasant surprise. The quality of the pieces varies, but there are a few fantastic essays, such as the ones on Leander Paes, Cricket in Kashmir, Eden Gardens and Rahul Dravid.

Overall, a good effort to bring together some of the most famous names in Indian Sports writing. Strictly speaking, it probably isn't the "Best" of Indian sports writing, but is nevertheless a nice compilation, and will hopefully lead to many more such anthologies in the future. There definitely are some fantastic sports writers in India, and we need more books like these!

Goodreads page for the book

Book Review - Dongri to Dubai: Six decades of the Mumbai mafia (S. Hussain Zaidi)

I was really interested in this book because there are so few comprehensive resources elsewhere that detail the history of the Mumbai Mafia. I've tried Wikipedia and Google before, but information was not easily available. For that itself, the writer needs to be applauded.

The primary reason for my 4 rating is the relative lack of historical accounts in the past, so this book fills a rather large hole, I feel. The quality of the writing could have been better, but the author is primarily a journalist, so that can be excused. It reads like a crime thriller in many of its sections, and the fact that the stories are all real-life adds to the appeal of the book.

The author has brought out several interesting historical tidbits, such as the first ever Supari (contract killing) in Mumbai, the origins of the Rampuri knife, the first ever "encounter" by the Mumbai police etc. I haven't seen "Shootout at Wadala", which is supposedly based on the book, but I can't imagine a movie doing justice to the 60-year history of the Mumbai mafia.

Overall, a great read, primarily because it brings out historical facts that are otherwise not well known (For example, Dawood's father was a constable in the Mumbai Police). The writing quality will not blow you away, but the book doesn't aim for that. The author's intent was to provide a historical account of the rise and growth of the Mumbai mafia and he's done a great job at that. Will definitely try out more books by the author (or the associated movies) in the future!

Goodreads page for the book

Book Review - The Man with two left feet and other stories (P.G. Wodehouse)

All this while, I regarded Wodehouse as the master of gentle, matter-of-fact, stiff-upper-lippy humor. I've read many of his Jeeves and Blandings offerings and every single one of them has left me in splits. The man has a way with words.

At this moment, I'm amazed and happy in equal measure to find that (unbeknown to me) Wodehouse possesses other dimensions to his writing - oh praise the lord! I had a major Wodehouse phase a few years back when all I read was one Jeeves story after the other and he managed to keep the humor going throughout. I think I'm ready to have another one. Some of the stories in this book so elegantly describe the feelings of love and romance and the matters of the heart, that all you can do is put down your beer and mentally applaud the master.

After the first few stories, I was disappointed that this book was not turning out to be as funny as the previous ones I'd read, but then I stopped looking for Jeeves-esque humor and enjoying the stories for what they were - and then as they say - magic happened. The latter half of the book has a few stories, which primarily talk about younglings ensnared by love and how things sort themselves out in the end, as they always do in the Wodehouse world. Books and Movies provide us with ample cases of elaborate, embellished, grandiose expressions of being in love, whether it be the resplendent words of the author, or the ostentatious displays of affection in the moving pictures. Meister Wodehouse has presented such a lightness of touch with his words, that its amazing to think how much he can convey with such simple turn of phrase. For all the intense emotions that love can generate, the master has done a stellar job at putting them out without excessively garnishing his words. 

Overall, the book remains true to the Wodehousian philosophy of things working out, on their way to a sweet, happy ending. The introduction for this book quotes the phrase - "God's in his heaven, and all is good with the world" No better way to summarize this book. Hallelujah!

Goodreads page for the book

Book Review - Three men in a Boat (Jerome K. Jerome)

Ah, British Humour! This book is straight from the Wodehousian school of humour (although Wodehouse started writing later, in the early 20th century). If you are a Wodehouse fan, you will definitely like this book. Originally intended to be a travel guide, it is the author's digressive (and highly humorous) musings on a wide variety of topics that win it for the book. Unless you are a boating enthusiast or a history buff, the historical discussion of various towns along the route might not be very appealing. However, the author regularly will invoke a (slightly tangential) humorous discussion on everyday items/activities such as the accuracy of weather forecasts, sharing inn-space with a couple in love, German language etc that are sure to get your ribs tickled. The best part about the book is that the humour is still relevant today and does not require an understanding of 19th century England (as some other parts of the book might). A sample, from a passage where the author talks about his friend George and his occupation: “George goes to sleep at a bank from ten to four each day, except Saturdays, when they wake him up and put him outside at two” . At a few places, the book seems to drag on but its a fairly short read (~120 pages) and a hilarious anecdote is always around the corner, so overall the book does a very good job of administering some jaw exercise. For fans of British humour, this is a must-read, and for those not particularly enamoured by the genre, still give it a shot. It will not disappoint! Goodreads page for the book

We DID start the fire - Part 1

The 1960s and 70s were times of change for the Western world. Bob Dylan was so moved, he even sang about it. There were revolutions on many fronts – Social, Financial and Technological. The Counter-culture movement was sweeping across the West and the phrase “anti-establishment” was in widespread use. The West was inhabited by “Baby Boomers” who took it upon themselves to liberate society from racial segregation, sexual repression, suppression of women and the likes. Nothing symbolized this better than the Woodstock festival in 1969, which led to the term “Woodstock Generation” becoming a part of the common lexicon. Truly, a watershed in modern history.

Back in India, we were still reeling from the effects of the 100+ years of British domination. We were slowly getting back on our feet and middle-class prosperity was still a fair distance away, which brings us to the crux of this post. Our nation has been known to be a few years behind the West in all major forms of development – which, by the way, isn’t too bad for a country with only 65 years of independence. And so was the case with our society as well.

During my many “sessions” with Messers Madan, Joseph, Dumpala and Balasubramaniyan, we sat and we listened to a great variety of music, as was necessitated by the neuronic activity in our systems. It was the usual suspects at play – The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton etc (Notice how a LOT of brilliant music originated in Britain). There was also some popular Indian music from the 1990s, which, almost always, led to a YouTube exploration of other stuff from the 90s. And more than once, we ended up discussing – courtesy our newly stimulated minds – how the 90s were to India what the 60s and 70s were to the West. Now, we may be biased because we grew up in the 90s, and so did not experience the awesomeness of the 80s (Mithun Da’s gyrations, Ramsay Brothers’ movies et al), but the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced.

The 90s brought about a great transformation in the Indian society. Starting with the economic liberalization in 1991, which opened up the markets and introduced tax reforms, the nation started witnessing a shift towards post-modern attitudes in all spheres of life. License Raj was abolished and foreign companies started to be seen in the markets more regularly. Cable TV was launched in 1992 and the country finally got a choice to watch something else apart from Doordarshan. Realizing that competition was only going to grow, DD rebranded its channel DD 2 into “DD Metro”, which increasingly started catering to the urban population. There were more and more Women protagonists on TV – Shanti and Tara to name a few – and this was an indicator, albeit a small one, that women were finding their place in society. With the availability of “english pictures/serials” on TV came a more liberal attitude towards colourful content, on TV, Cinema and society in general. This was in stark contrast to television and cinema in the 80s, as chronicled by Arnab Ray (Greatbong) in his very readable book. My dad was fairly enthusiastic about cable TV and I remember having cable at home at an early stage. Zee TV pioneered Hindi content on cable, and Star TV showed international content. A few years later Sony entered into the fray and from then on, there was a steady addition of Hindi channels on cable TV.

Another agent of change in the 90s was Indi-pop. Until that time, music in India could easily be classified into Classical and Bollywood, with nothing much else challenging this duopoly. And then in the early 90s, we had Baba Sehgal and Alisha Chinai leading the way, taking on Bollywood. Suddenly, we had young singers churning out albums, aided by record companies such as Magnasound, who were also keen to compete with T-Series, Tips and Veeenus. Interestingly enough, Pop music grew in Pakistan in the early 80s and artists like Nazia Hassan (of the Aap Jaisa Koi fame), Vital Signs and Junoon were already established stars before India started producing its own Pop music. The increasing demand for this new music led to some of Indipop’s best years, when Lucky Ali, Shaan, Colonial Cousins, Euphoria, KK, Bombay Vikings and Silk Route gave us some memorable music. This was also the first wave of “Remixes”, when popular songs from the 60s and 70s were remodeled to suit the tastes of a new Young India which had been brought up on a steady diet of MTV and Channel V. This would later be mutated – nay, damaged irreparably - with the coming of “Kaanta Laga” and its cousins. From then on, it was more about the “video” than the “audio”, and thus ended my cordial relationship with Indipop. Soon, the industry started experiencing overkill when every Ram, Shyam and Ghanshyam started coming out with an album, and when Bollywood started adapting to consumer needs, record companies no longer wanted to work with raw talent but instead chose to play with the big boys of Bollywood. I’m just glad that some of my formative years coincided with the best years of Indipop’s 15-year existence.

Over in Bollywood, we started seeing stars from the south such as Prabhu Deva, Hariharan and A.R. Rehman, and Hindi movies were richer for the experience. A new genre of goofy comedies was born, with Johnny Lever, Paresh Rawal, Govinda and Kader Khan being the leading acts, and directors like David Dhawan carving out a niche for themselves. Of course, the decade belonged to SRK and his brand of romance, before he decided to do a Ram Gopal Verma and file for mental bankruptcy. Anu Malik brought the Macarena to India, along with the path-breaking piece of teaching that “inspiration” and “plagiarism” are two separate things. However, I also believe that Bollywood finally turned a corner not in the 90s, but in the early 2000s, with the arrival of movies such as Dil Chahta Hai. Movies like these rode the pop culture wave from the 90s and changed the face of Indian cinema. But that’s a topic for another post and I encourage my Bollywood connoisseur friends to take a stab at it.

Ads on Television also benefited from this new age of freedom and we were no longer subjected to the “vanilla” content that was staple on DD. Some unforgettable ones that come to mind are for Dairy Milk, Tata Indica, Coke, Dhara, Pepsi. Thank god for YouTube. I remember sometimes watching TV only for the commercials. Good Times.

When I sat down to write this post, I wanted to do something in the style of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire, where he refers to the major headlines from 1950 to 1990, a few for each year, via a song. But then, I decided to save it for the second part of the post when I realized that I could do a two-part version. Needless to say, I’m only writing from a pop culture perspective and there were many other things that changed the way we lived in the 90s. More to follow in Part 2.

P.S: There were, however, certain things that survived the winds of change of the 90s. I am talking, of course, about the Vicco Vajradanti ads