Of memories and superstars…It’s been a long road

With tears in his eyes, More greeted the man who came as a ghost from the past that he thought had long deserted him. Even as Srinath resisted the autograph hunters and popping flashbulbs, being very categorical about not letting the visit being publicised, More tried to believe that he was not merely dreaming of sights long forgotten.

He struggled to stand on weakened legs. “In the morning I had seen Javagal’s photo in a newspaper. But I had not expected in my wildest dreams that he would come to meet me,” said the overwhelmed More. In the initial moments, however, a dazed More could not do much more than repeat “Javagal, Javagal” and lapsed into his native Marathi which Sunandan Lele, professional event manager of San Ads and a former cricketer himself, translated it for Srinath while simultaneously tried to soothe More.

The effects remained long after the Indian star had left the premises of Bank of India (East Street branch), where More is employed. Like a wheel set in motion, memories that were put on hold two-and-a-half years ago came to the fore, even as he took frequent breaks to bring his emotions under control.

The saga of success that had begun in the Maharashtra Ranji Trophy debut against Karnataka in 1990-91 culminated for More on Sinhagad road. Going back after a family party, the then 27-year-old cricketer decided to ride home on his two-wheeler even as the rest of his family took an auto rickshaw.

Destiny seems to have dictated the decision that was to change lives. For, just before he reached his house, More’s two-wheeler went over a pothole. The impact sent him flying in the dark before the back of his head struck the ground.

The blow to his brain left his body stiffened and unconscious for almost 40-days. Seven months later, when he got out of the hospital, life had changed irrevocably, “I would go out of my house and see everyone going about their normal lives while I could not even walk. I knew that there was no hope of taking up cricket again. I was reduced to being a mere spectator in the sport I loved all my life”.

Mahendra had come into cricket when, as a kho-kho player in Nasik, he decided to attend various sports camps in Pune. The camp for cricket had him hooked as he was selected for Deodhar Trust. This was followed with his shifting to Pune and admission in S P college, where he came across Surendra Bhave and Shantanu Sugwekar.

The call that he had been waiting for came in the 1991-92 season when he took his place in the Maharashtra Ranji team at Nehru Stadium as opening batsman-cum-wicket keeper, an extremely rare and valuable combination, one that the Indian team would have treasured. “Rahul Dravid made his debut in the same match,” he recollects.

In the same match his path crossed Srinath’s when More’s 89 runs were among the few instance of resistance to the bowler’s seven wicket haul. Further success came More’s way when he took seven victims from Baroda in Kolhapur, only one short of Syed Kirmani’s eight, and then scored 120-runs against the same team at the latter’s home ground. He was well on his way to filling the crucial place of an all-rounder in the Indian team, when tragedy struck.

The long standing effects of the accident are revealed in his failure to recollect names and years. What he does remember clearly is that, “I always wanted to be a batsman. Of course, the dream of an Indian cap was always at the back of my mind. However, I did not want to jump the steps of success. My first concern was always to do well for the West Zone”.

A shying away from the limelight that was to cost him a lot in the years to come. For, with no support systems, today he does not even have a wheel chair that would make his daily life easier. “It is my dream to have a benefit match. It is one way of going back to all that I have done. Also, I have spent more than Rs seven lakh for my treatment and need to pay off loans,” says More.

When contacted, A N Mate, joint secretary of the Maharashtra Cricket Association assured full care of the case whenever More will apply for a benefit match.

Meanwhile, it has been employers Bank of India who have been most helpful on the slow road to recovery. “They have been excellent,” says More. “Almost eighty per cent of my treatment costs were borne by the bank, and the rest was given to me on interest free loan.”

When Mahendra first got out of the hospital, sitting at home was tortuous. But neither was he up to full-time work. The bank offered him the flexibility of timings and doing whatever he felt comfortable in. “I would sit and sort the mail. It was monotonous but at least it kept me occupied.” Today, in a short period, he has started dealing with the customers.

Mahendra More has definitely come a long way. And, even though the scars remain on his body as well as on his psyche he has shown that he is upto anything that life might throw in his path. Obstacles, after all, are the stepping stones of success. And that is one aphorism that Mahendra More is determined will not be reversed.