To Harry sir with love

When word got to him that two boys from India had joined the school and both of them were of some height and build 8212; both of us were inching towards six feet at the time 8212; he immediately asked us to come for cricket practice. At that time very few kids enrolled for cricket 8212; the sport was dying in the country. Football selections, however, were another story. Mini-riots broke out when they were held.

Naturally, being from India, both of us had a field day at the nets. What really impressed our schoolmates was when my brother nearly took Harry sir8217;s head off with a speeding bouncer.

Two days of practice and I suddenly realised that both of us were in the school team. I protested to Harry sir that we were were still quite rusty; that we had not had enough match practice given the fact that we had just moved in from India. But Harry sir told me that he had full confidence in us and we should play in the team.

I was not surprised, of course, that both of us turned out to be average performers. In any case, because we were a term behind in our studies, our cricket career took second place to academic pursuits. We stopped playing matches and eventually stopped going even to practice. But Harry sir never lost faith in us. He kept pushing us and even requested father to send us back for practice 8212; but it made little difference to our cricket.

The last few times I met Harry sir were during my final days in school. He seemed to have given up on us and no longer egged us on to play. When the time came to bid farewell, he wished me all the best for the future.

Harry sir, I did not turn out to be the great cricketer you had wanted me to be but if it is any consolation to you, sir, I am still with the game: as a sports journalist!