Gateway 080211.pmd - Rotary Club of Bombay

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WHEN THE PREBEAT THE ‘BHAVLining up before the match for the introductions(above). Played in true sporting spirit, thegentleman’s game had the players turning out inall whites on the morning of January 22.They were formally introduced to PresidentPradeep SaxenaThere was more action beyond the boundary Akshay Ramchandra Kharat from the Colabaropes at the festive cricket match between the centre was the Captain.Rotary Club of Bombay President’s XI and theBhavishya-Yaan XI at the scenic P.J. HinduSoon, another set of rival teams was formed.While one consisted of members who supportedGymkhana on Marine Drive on January 22. the Rotary XI, the other one had come prepared toLeading the winning team back to the pavilion. Although Sports Chairman Moy Biswas was vociferously support the Bhavishya-Yaan XI lestHoshang Nazir, who took four wickets, leads the the first to arrive, all 27 players (12 from the Club the boys felt the absence of voices supporting them.team back to the pavilion. At left is Mohankumar and 15 from Bhavishya-Yaan) made it to the ground The match was arranged by the Sports Committeelong before 8.30 am. Interested members trickled insoon after and then the fun and games started.As the guffaws over some sporting jokes rangout loud and clear, Captain Deepak Kapadia (whois a member of the Hindu Gymkhana) invited theteam to enjoy some snacks and tea.Promptly, and as if on cue, a line of youngsters –who turned out to be members of the Bhavishya-Yaan XI – ran a brisk lap of the ground.The snacks remained suspended in mid-air andsome awkward questions were raised. “Who arein association with the Education forAll Committee, which has Alok Sekhsaria asChairman.The captains went out to the centre for the toss,with President Pradeep spinning the coin. TheBhavishya-Yaan captain called correctly and askedthe President’s XI to bat. “That’s exactly what wewanted,” said a team member. “Just you wait,” saidanother, “the pitch is wet with overnight dew andthe bowlers will give you some chin music.”Something fishy happened after that. SomeoneAt the end of the match, President Pradeep those boys? Don’t tell me they are our competitors?Good Lord! They’re all limbering up and get-snacks specially served up for them. Snacks justinvited the Bhavishya-Yaan team to partake ofpresented memento to all the players. Here he iswith the rival captain, Akshay Kharat ting charged for the match and here we are gorging before taking the field in a cricket match? Did iton batata-wadas! We’re done for it!”Some wadas were reluctantly put back on emptyplates and glasses of sweet chai quietly placed onthe table. But the message had been conveyed. Theboys were getting ready for the fight.Were all the President’s men going to be up to it?We’ll beat them, said an unconvincing voice. They’rejust little boys, responded another. Hope yourbones, joints and muscles don’t let you down, saidsmack of sabotage? What would the boys do on thefield all those snacks inside them?To cut a long story short, the match started alittle after 10 am by which time the sun was shininghard and bright, quickly drying up the slipperyoutfield. The Hindu Gymkhana lent its pair ofumpires and Mr. Eruch Irani and Mr. Anmol Purohitsettled down with the scorebook.In a scene reminiscent of the first over bowleda third.by Zaheer Khan in the World Cup Final againstThe match was won by the President’s XI, but the By the time the game ends, said the wise one, Australia in 2007, the very first over was full ofreal victor was the spirit of brotherhood and you’ll rediscover several aching bones and muscles wide balls. Zaheer had bowled five wide balls, butFellowship that the match fostered which you had forgotten existed in your body. the Bhavishya-Yaan youngster bowled eight. TalkThe Hindu Gymkhana presented gifts to the‘Bhavishya-Yaan’ team, thanks to DeepakKapadia (right)Suitably chastised, the President’s men consumedthe first round of tea – and just then the bearersreappeared with another set of dishes. But the cricketersin the team did not stay on to relish the secondcourse. Most of them went out to the playingarea and started practising.Soon, it was time for the President to be introducedto the rival teams. Moy and Deepak did thehonours for the Rotary team.The 15 youngsters from the rival team were introducedby their coordinators, viz., Bijal Kara,Nandita Patodia and Sandeep and Soma Dasgupta.Five boys each had been chosen from the Bhavishya-Yaan centres at Byculla, Colaba and Worli.of big match jitters!Opening batsmen Vipul Ambani and Sohil Shahfound it rather difficult to connect, what with theball passing them at a distance of two feet.But Sohil (brother-in-law of Anand Dalal)quickly found his bearings and started smashingthe ball all around the field. He finally emerged asthe highest scorer for the team and provided theinitial impetus that saw it race off to a score of 100in just under 10 overs.Other batsmen who did well for the President’sXI were Ashwin Thakkar, Mohankumar, RahulPunjabi and Sharan Daswani (the latter two fromthe SIFE of H.R. College). Also in the team wereFebruary 8 to February 14, 2011 THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay Page 4
SIDENT’S MENISHYA-YAAN’ XIA group photograph (left) taken at 9 am on acold, sultry morning at P.J. Hindu Gymkhanaalong Marine Drive when a festive cricket matchwas played between the Rotary Club of BombayPresident’s XI (above) and a ‘Bhavishya-Yaan’ XI(drawn from three schools)Hoshang Nazir, Abhiram Sheth, Pradeep Gupta andMr. Irani.But above all there was President-Elect PaulGeorge, who smacked the ball hard a couple ofnounced blush that was visible from the other sideof the field.Several members dropped in to view the proceedingsand cheer the players at their convenience.times and also ran some quick singles. It was in the Among them were Jaidev Merchant, Nowrozeprocess of stealing a cheeky one that he fell flat on Vazifdar, Nirav Shah, Sitaram Shah, PP Arun Sanghi, The President’s XI lost the toss and was put in tohis face and had to be helped back into the pavilion Shiv Kumar Israni, Bipin Kapadia, PP Vithal Palekar bat. Captain Deepak Kapadia briefs Paul Georgefor some quick first aid. Home comes the warrior and Homi Katgara.as Sports Chairman Moy looks on at leftfrom the front, said the wise one.But Paul got away with just a few bruises and aminor cut or two. Of course, he broke his wiryspectacle frame and had blood on the front of his T-shirt, but he was intact and in one piece at the endof the match. (He confessed later that evening thathe was chastised by his wife for the broken spectaclesand by his daughter for attempting to steal acheeky single.)The President’s XI scored a total of 177 runs inthe allotted 20 overs (with Mr. Extras topping theWhen it was time for the Bhavishya-Yaan teamto chase the 178 required for victory, Rahul andSharan opened the attack. But the honours werewon by Hoshang Nazir who claimed four wicketsin an inspiring spell of bowling. Other bowlers whodid well were Sohil and Mr. Irani (who was spottedat one time sitting on a chair inside the boundaryline). Vipul Advani kept the wickets admirably well.Needless to say, the boys from Bhavishya-Yaancould not reach the rather stiff target set for them.They lost by 32 runs but they fought till the lastscore at 44) and set a target of 178 for their rivals. ball was bowled.They cheered for the ‘Bhavishya-Yaan’ team.And now a few words about the goings-on in the Jayprakash Chauhan of the Colaba school was From right, Bijal Kara, Suma Dasgupta,pavilion.the highest scorer and gave a brilliant all-round display,whether bowling, batting or fielding. Bipin Dalal and Madhusudan DagaDhvanika Thakkar, Nandita Patodia, AnandEvery time the boys of the Bhavishya-Yaan teamappealed to the umpire, their supporters also rosein support, demanding that the batsman be declaredout! They were led by Ramesh Narayan, AlokSekhsaria, Madhusudan Daga, Manojj Patodia andSandeep Dasgupta and were ably supported byBijal, Nandita and Soma.Also rooting for them were computer teachersAmit Hatankar and Rukhsana, Ms Neeta Pradhanof the NGO “Vidya” and the Principals of theShukla of the Worli school kept the wickets and dida very good job.President Pradeep presented mementoes to allthe players after the match, before they went intothe pavilion for lunch. After a healthy meal, Deepakrequested Moy to present gifts to the Bhavishya-Yaan team on behalf of the Hindu Gymkhana.The Sports Committee arranged white flannelsand cricketing gear to the Bhavishya-Yaan teamByculla and Colaba Municipal Schools who also which consisted of the following players:turned up to cheer their boys along with Ms Akshay Ramchandra Kharat (Captain), Moy watches the match in the company of PaulPratibha Pai of H.R. College and its SIFE (which Jayprakash Ramprakash Chauhan, Dashrath George and PP Vithal Palekarhas been working with the students at the WorliBhavishya-Yaan).Manojj wondered why the umpires were notdeclaring the batsmen out. Had they been fixed? Noway, said Mr. Irani. But I heard that the coin usedfor the toss was a double-header (it had “heads” onboth sides), said someone. “So even the toss wasfixed, was it?” asked the wise one.But it was a delight to see the leading lights of theBhavishya-Yaan project rooting for their team. Thebanter made it really worth the while.Shivshankar Kanojiya, Avinash Madhukar Ghevadeand Jagrut Ganesh Jadhav (all from the Colabaschool); Mohd. Irfan Sabir Ansari, Pankaj SureshJaiswar, Bipin Dinesh Shukla, Shravan Pandey andVishal Baban Jadhav (from Worli); and ShahidHussain Ansari, Mohd. Sameer Amir Khan, VishalAnil Dhagate, Shrirang Namdev Renuse and KailashVithal Chanduskar (Byculla).The Rotary Club of Bombay President’s XI wasrepresented by Deepak Kapadia (Captain), AshwinThakkar, Eruch Irani, Hoshang Nazir, AbhiramWhen the normally staid Ramesh shouted “Well Sheth, P.K. Mohankumar, Vipul Ambani, Sohil Mr. Eruch Irani waves a flag to inform thefielded!” Mr. Purohit chipped in with a plaintive Shah, Pradeep Gupta, Rahul Punjabi, Sharan umpire that his signal has been seen. Helping him“Et tu, Ramesh!” Ramesh’s response was a pro-Daswani and Paul George.keep the score is Mr. Anmol Purohit (left)February 8 to February 14, 2011 THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay Page 5
Page 3: With two gentlemen who have served
Page 7 and 8: ‘The Pakistani army, which has a

Gateway 080211.pmd - Rotary Club of Bombay

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