Essay: A Partnership On and Off the Field by Tiyasha Saha

In this personal essay, Tiyasha Saha writes about her grandfather, their relationship, and the world of cricket sharing how cricket and his lessons in them came with learnings going far beyond the boundary line.

As the heart-stopping silence changed into one uproarious yell of victory, the ball went over mid-off rolling into the boundary for a six. As the screen lit up with smiling faces, mirroring the ones we wore, I missed a voice this year. ‘Tui India khelle amrao jetam’ which is Bengali for ‘If you had played for India, we would have accompanied you’. This remained a wistful wish for this man. 

As a child I had a languorous, dithering gait, often stopping on my everyday walk. On these numerous walks, one thing remained constant, my companion of choice, my grandfather. With my little hand clasped tightly in his soft palm, we would set out every morning, like a ritual on a path unknown. You see, walks are active in several senses. It offers you unimaginable sights in return for your tired feet, exhausted breaths, and ravaged soles.