Ray of Light

But there is something else that Tharoor owes to his years spent away from home— his enduring passion for cricket. “When I was in the US,Geneva or any other country where cricket was not popular,there was no means through which I would get any cricket new from the subcontinent. There was no internet and the local media wouldn’t even cover cricket matches. That would fuel my desire even more. My father had to mail video cassette recordings of the matches,” remembers Shashi Tharoor who attended the launch of his book Shadows Across the Playing Field at The Park last Saturday.

The book was co-authored by Shaharyar Khan (former Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board),and approaches the cricketing history of India and Pakistan through two different perspectives,that of an insider and that of an outsider. “Mine is the outsider’s perspective. I talk about the game as a diligent follower. While Shaharyar Khan’s version is more personal,more anecdotal,” says Tharoor.

The shadow of 26/11 did loom large over the book,though it was written before the attacks. “I did make few changes in the book after the attack,but they were minor ones. The book was written before I was elected a minister,which means that the liberty of a private citizen made me more forthcoming about my views,” says Tharoor.

Tharoor may have been earned a reputation of being a “charming speaker” but he sure doesn’t shy away from hard talk. “Cricket may be a unifier,and it’s wonderful how people from both sides of the border connect through this game,but it can never be a substitute for real diplomatic relationships,” he insists.

The prospect of an India-Pakistan series seems quite dim at the moment,concedes Tharoor. “It will be possible only if they bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 to the book,” he said. However,a series between the two teams in a neutral venue,as suggested by cricket historian,Boria Majumdar in his interaction with Tharoor,wouldn’t be a “bad idea”.

“The US has a large population of Indians and Pakistanies there so that is a good idea” he says.

Crowd management shouldn’t be a problem,insists Tharoor. “ I would want to see a baseball stadium filled with Indian and Pakistani cricket fans there,” he sums up.