High school diaries part 4 - To save a moustache

There was much at stake, the coach thought. The school's reputation, his reputation were in the line of fire. And so was his moustache.

It was the final game of the inter school cricket tournament. He had spend hours and hours in training the kids for the past six months despite opposition from parents and some teachers. They argued that he was spending student's pecious time for study for a colonial game which is a  collosal waste of time. In the end he was able to convince the principal. On the terms that he will win the tournament. That would mean headlines on leading newspapers. Photos of principal and the coach with the winnning team posted on the front page. A win win!! 

Through out the tournament the kids had shown the mettle. They won in almost all the games and entered the final. This was the day of final. Fate has it that this day will decide many things. And the coach was prepared for that. And then this morning fate lost its gps signal, took a wrong turn  and made a prank on him.

The opponents, the Trinity school team, was from another part of the town and the coach knew them pretty well. He knew their coach even more. They served in the army together. But it was like an arranged marriage. Though they were trained to shoot Pakistanis, each would whole heartedly side with the enemy to shoot the other. When the army decide to promote Trinity's coach as the captain of the battalion, our coach resigned. Later he would be courtmartialled and his pention stopped. His neighbours laughed at him saying all he got from the army was his moustache.

True. That was all he got at the end of years of service. The big moustache. The majestic moustache. It started thick from under the bridge of his nose like the muzzle of machine gun, curved down like the blade of an army sword, and shot up at the ends like bayonnets. Over the years it so happened that, it was the only piece of hair that grew on his entire head. Yes he was shining bald. But the moustache stayed strong as ever. He manicured and dyed it. Combed and massaged it. Before he took the job as the coach he got a perfect wig. For the most part people believed it to be his real hair. Some students knew it. But his newly joined assistant, a middle aged lady who he handpicked from the many applicants, didnt seem to know that. That was all that mattered. She seemed to listen more and more to what he had to say, laugh more and more at his jokes. The slope of the graph was about to go to a new level.

And then the fate struck him this morning. For the final, the coach of trinity replaced some of his students with good players recruited from local teams. The laws did not allow it.   But his opponent had slipped enough envelopes in the pockets of organizers that they were convinced the guys who looked like afghan militia were indeed the students of Trinity. The more the coach complained the more his opponente laughed. When he could take no more the coach walked out. But his army brain made a bet before he did. 

"Da.....," The coach roared at Trinity's,  "dont think you won already. If I am a man your outside recuirts will have to sweat their blood before you touch the trophy"

"Is that so mounsieur?" his ex collegue had a special way of irritating the coach. " What I do with the trophy is no runaway's business. I might cut it to pieces and feed my dog. I might spit and pee on it." He paused trying to breath. " why dont you do one thing? why dont you win the game and then talk about the trophy?" He looked squarely into the eyes of the coach "Show me, for once for heaven's sake, that you are a man" 

Blood surged in to the eyes of the coach. His head seemed to explode.

"youuu...how dare" He started at the other and then he stopeed " So be it you cheat. If I win, you return your seva medal which you got bribing the major. Are you man enough to do that. ARE YOU?" 

"Agreed mr.courtmarshalled. But what if YOU LOSE? Will you shave half of your fake moustache off?"

"With pleasure you wretched lowminded Brutus" and the coach walked out.

In the next few hours as he inspired his team, watched them winning the toss and electing to bat and cheered them as they hit boundaries and sixers, he did not seem to realize the collateral damage should he fail in the challenge he had taken. When Trinity's team entered to bat and their outside hires hit sixer after sixer, the coach started sinking. It was the drink break now and already the Trinity was just 54 runs behind the target with five wickets to go. 

Defeat stared in to the eyes of the coach. What if he loose. The Principal would never, ever, take his words. He would be literally manhandeled in the parent-teachers meeting should one kid fail in the exam. He will be looked at, like the gas from the pigs of newzealand- the filthy cause of all environment problems. And then, oh god, how could he look at his assistant with half the moustache. He wished he never hired her.  

 

He looked at his team. They were lying on the ground, drenched in sweat, like fallen leaves on rain. No dose of his inspiration speeches would work. Other team's batsman, a Robert, an outside hire, has been hitting the balls all aroung the ground. Off side, on side, leg..you name it. His guys have been chasing the ever escaping ball like husbands do to make thier wife happy. It was not working. 

 

"if we don’t break this partnership and get that guy Robert's wicket, it is pretty much a lost game. wish some miracle happens and some one gets his wicket" It was Raju the captain. For him matters had entered the zone of meta physics from that of physics.

 

"Lets get Suhas in" it was the coach.

"Suhas?” Raju looked at him unbelievably. "He is badly injured in his eye. He can’t even see properly"

 

" I know. And I am sure that guy with silver sunglass did it deliberately. I saw him aiming right at suhas instead of aiming the wickets when he threw the  ball. If he had missed, Suhas would have added another 30-40 runs to our score" the coach wished there was a restart button that would solve all problems like it did in his computer.

 

"But coach, Suhas cant field properly with his sore eye. We will be effectively one fielder down"

 

" I know that too. but we need some wickets. right now. Suhas is a fighter. god knows what I would have done with out that boy. lets give the next over to him"

 

Robert and his mate stopped and frowned when they saw Suhas. Left eye swollen like a lime, he was preparing to do the next over.

 

"Holy cow. It is the red chilly" yelled Robert

Red chilly..thats how Suhas was known in cricket circles for his fast, very fast bowling.

 

"Man... I thought that guy hit the bench after we gave him the eye treatment. We are doomed" said the other. They went to the umpire immediately.

"Sir this cant be allowed. He was out on the bench and he cant walk in between"

 

Raju was expecting this. "well he was in the team. he was kept out just to recover from the injury. The law permits it".

The umpire nodded in approval.

 

"umpire..."said the other guy,  "even so this is middle over. he cant give it to a pace bowler"

 

"that's right. Suhas's balls are too hot to handle" seconded Robert.

The umpire looked at robert with an eye brow raised like a rainbow.

" I mean the cricket ball...his bowling" robert set the record straight.

 

in the pavilion the coach of Trinity saw what was happening and a shiver ran through his spine. "good god ..he is the fastest frigging bowler in palakkad. I thought we had him by his eye".

 

The umpire dismissed all the complaints and signaled Red chilly to bowl.

 

The batsman looked to the skies before he took position. The first ball whistled past him before he even saw it. The whistle stayed in the air for a full second.

 

 The second ball was better because he could see some of it. It came like a missile, pitched on the ground and shot up. It seemed to swing away from him and he realized he was too slow to connect it with his bat. The next moment he realized he was too glad that he was slow, because the ball instead of swinging away, came straight at him. It hit the bat he hung hesitantly.

Thud!!.

He felt the wood tremble. A sharp pain shot from his fingers and ran up his shoulders.

god the chilly is fast!

 

He prepared for the next one. fear was written all over his face.

When the next ball pitched he swung the bat as hard as he could. He heard the ball hitting wood. Thud! But he knew it was not his bat. Behind him the middle wicket was airborne. He walked away with out even looking back.

 

 

The next to come was the silver sunglass. He walked up to robert.

 

" Hey watch out. Just pass this over some how. Or rotate the strike to me." Robert shared the game plan. "He has three more balls" 

 

"wow no wonder he is fast" said silver glass as he looked quizzically at robert.

"I mean the cricket ball...three more deliveries left" robert set the record straight.

 Oh..said silver glass.

 

Silver glass left a sigh and walked to take his position. His mind said Red Chilly might aim right at his face just as he did to him. He was right.

The ball never pitched and came right toward his eyes. He had the bat at eye level and managed to block it. The ball spun out the bat to the off side.

 

"Run....run" robert had already left the crease.

 

Silver glass came to reality in the next moment and started off. Suhas saw the ball going away from the pitch. He took two long steps and dived at the ball. The ball stopped at his hand in mid air. He saw Robert in the other crease and silver glass half way in the pitch. Before he touched the ground he threw the ball to the stumps. Silver glass was almost near the crease but suhas was too fast. It plucked the wicket right out of the ground and ..run out!!!!

 

Silver glass was duck out. The first duck out in the final game.

Not a sweet revenge..but revenge nevertheless.

 

It was their captain who came next. He had the look of an investment banker who turned from millionaire to bankrupt overnight.He offered to bat. So that Robert could get his century in the next over.

"No thanks" Said Robert. He decided to face it.

 

Robert raised his bat at Suhas's direction who looked up now. Robert then pointed his bat to the pavillion. Meaning I will you hit you a sixer.

 

The crowd saw it. They seemed to enjoy. Finally it was face off between the fastest bowler and the fiercest batsman. Feast to the eyes. It was Trinity's  home ground and the croud roared

....Trinity....Trinity...Trinity...

 

Suhas looked around. Loud the Trinity chant was but he had supporters too, although less in number. They went "su..haas...su..hass....su..haas".

His eyes drifted through his supporters. Then it stopped at one spot. He couldn’t believe what he saw. There. Right in the middle, dressed in a yellow salwar  was his dream girl.

 

He gripped the ball carefully and sprinted to do the next delivery. The crowd roared. Before the ball left Suhas, Robert stepped ahead, his bat pulled back to make the killer sixer. The ball shot out of Red Chilly like a lightening and the bat came up to meet it in a majestic swing.

THUDD!!

 

the crowd fell silent. No one knew what happened.

Then shouted some one...look there. He pointed to the sky. The ball was going up towards the boundary line behind the wicket keeper. But it was still climbing heights. If it stops climbing it could be a huge sixer. If it climbs further it could be a catch, although a difficult one.

 

The crowd roared...Trinity...Trinity..Trinity

 

Suhas looked at the wicket keeper. The bugger was standing there transfixed. The next moment Suhas leaped like a horse towards the ball. He had to run the length of the pitch, past the batsman and wicket keeper. The boundary seemed far far away. But his legs were fast.

 

He might have crossed half the pitch when he saw some thing coming at him. Robert. Why was he coming at him? Before he could realize ...bang...Robert came and collided from the left side.

 

Suhas was thrown on the air on to the ground. He landed head first crushing his shoulders.

Wooooh....the crowd murmered in apparent pain as they got on their feet.

 

Get up suhas… get up...the girl in the yellow dress whispered.

 

From the ground Suhas looked up, sweat and soil all over his swollen eye. The ball had stopped climbing. It will start coming down any moment.

 

The next instant he was on his feet again. The crowd roared. Will he make it, some one asked. Come on suhas...said another.

 

Suhas could hear his own foot steps as he cut through the air. Mysteriously he also heard the piano from the movie he had seen some days back. what movie was it...charriots of hair...he couldn’t remember.

 

Then he heard himself talking to his sweet heart at the pavilion

"Sheeja.....so where does the power come from? To see the game to its end?..from with in.."

The crowd were all up on their feet in anticipation.

He saw the ball coming down. It seemed he could get it if it did not cross the boundary. Then the ball crossed the evening sun. His eyes were blinded by the brightness.

 

"come on suhas" ...sheeja yelled lost in the roar of the crowd.

 

"Sheeja....i believe God made me for a purpose. To be a bowler. But He also made me a fielder.."

 

The profound sound of piano filled his ears. He was just yards away from the boundary, the last lap, his eyes still not clear.

 

He thrust his chest forward, head swung back. His hair glowed in the evening sun. They bounced in the air with his each step. His eyes, turned up, were half closed in ecstasy.

 

In the pavilion the coach crushed the can of Pepsi in his hand. On the ground Robert looked at Suhas with awe.

 

"Dup" Suhas felt the ball land in his stretched right hand. He was inches away from the boundary.

 

He rolled and threw the ball up in the air..."Howzaaat..."

 

People jumped out of the pavilion. The team rushed towards him.

 

And Robert, the guy who boasted about hitting sixer limped towards the dressing room, unable to believe what ever happened in front of his eyes.

 

It was revenge time. Suhas thought. He had to return the favor. I will pluck the grass from the field and throw at him. Meaning you are as good as grass to me.

Suhas ran towards Robert who stopped to see what Suhas was doing.

 

Suhas bent down and grasped the grass with both hands. Strangely they seemed artificial. What ever...he thought. He pulled. It didnt come.

 

"Dont do it" he heard the umpire's voice on his back.

Dont do it ..my ass. Suhas thought. He was the fastest bowler in palakkad and sure as hell he is going to do it.

He pulled the grass again. This time with all the force. And it came.

 

The next instant the umpire slapped him hard across the face. So hard it blacked out for him. Some thing hummed in his head for a second. And then he could see again.

 

Right in front of him was the coach staring at him like a mad man. His face red with shame and anger. Around them there were people laughing hysterically. There was no Robert. No pavilion or roaring crowd. No Sheeja. Suhas realized that they were in a bus. The coach covered his head bald and shining, with one hand and looked around in utter embarrassment. All around the passengers were on a laughing riot. Was that a dream? 

  

Suhas looked down and saw that he held the wig of the coach in his hand. He looked up and felt like he was watching an old kungfu movie. The words moved faster than the lips of the coach.

"give me my wig you brat....." the coach thrust forward, his fists in sleeping monkey style and slapped Suhas across the face. 

"Sorry coach...I thought..." suhas now remembered boarding the bus and standing next to the coach. The coach was busy talking to the new assistant who sat next to him but was kind enough to hold the bag of Suhas who found it difficult to stand with the bag full of books. 

 

" You thought..what.?.." The coach held suhas by his left ear and twisted it royally. He couldnt bear the laughs around him. Especially that of his assistant whose womenish laugh landed on his ears more than other's.

 

Suhas smiled like a tubelight, like a million times he will do on slippery slopes,  true to his name. 

Appendix: The word suhas in sanskrit means the one who smiles like a tube light .