Hero No 1 Vinod Kambli bowls ’em over

Kambli stole the thunder and the hearts of the young and the old at the hospital. And his two India team-mates willingly took a step back to allow Kambli energise their will power in their battle for survival.

Kambli floated with the practiced perfection of a social worker as he distributed gifts with his two team-mates as the hospital staff too joined in the admiration club. He lovingly quizzed one kid after another before signing autographs which read: “Get well soon. With best wishes. Vinod Kambli.” He told some older patients that “you must see me play– in the stadium”.

Kambli empathised with the suffering of the children, most of whom were bald because of the chemotherapy. As he told this writer: “I had a mentally-retarded sister whom I lost when she was 11. I wish she was alive today for me to give her the kind of treatment she deserved. But that’s past. Today it gives me satisfaction to give joy to these young souls.”

Kuruvilla, who last year brought cheer to children of prostitutes of Kamatipura, was philosophic too. “The children may not know what they are undergoing. But think of the nightmare their parents have to suffer. It’s a humbling experience and it makes you consider yourself lucky,” said the Indian seamer who lost his paternal grandfather to cancer.

Kuruvilla’s low decibel level dropped even further as he narrated the plight of one of the children he saw. “The child has been in the hospital for eight months. It will now undergo a bone marrow surgery,” he revealed.

Kulkarni said he was touched by the blessings of many of theolder patients who wished him luck to get back into the Indian team for the series against Australia.

The visit of the three Indian cricketers, organised by V Care, was in celebration of the Fourth Cancer Survivors’ Day it falls on the second Saturday of February.

V Care was founded and run with missionary zeal by Mrs Vandana Gupta, who emerged from the clutches of the dreaded disease. “We provide emotional support to those suffering from cancer. The patients are able to believe us better when we tell them that not all cancer and at all stages is terminal. It gives them hope and the will to fight,” says Mrs Gupta who won her battle with hodgkins.

“Our volunteers (many of whom wear inspirational badges that proclaim the number of years they have been surviving after being cured) work from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., Monday to Friday by visiting various hosptials in the city,” she adds.

V Care got a big boost in their effort when Aditya Pancholi, Madhoo, Durga Jasraj and the multi-faceted Shobha Defollowed the cricketers to lift the morale of the patients.

Among the visitors was a couple, who came all the way from Bhopal despite the fact that they had lost their 18-month old child to cancer recently.

At the end of it all, Kambli promised to quit smoking. And in his effort to be a good role model, he said that he will not be endorsing the name of the cigarette-manufacturing company anymore.