Hyderabad blues

[1]

“There was a time when you could drop me off on any road in Hyderabad, and I would be able to find my way back. But now, I hardly recognise the city of my childhood.”

These were the words spoken by Harsha Bhogle, one of the most prominent commentators in the world of cricket. Harsha, who was in town for the just-concluded annual Monsoon Regatta, was transported back in time when asked about his bond with the City of Pearls. “To be fair, everyone’s childhood is always romanticised,” said a nostalgic Harsha.

“Most of the time, things always seem better in nostalgia than they really were. Growing up in Hyderabad, it was magical. But the city has changed now. The Hyderabad I remember was a very satisfied place. Not many people had any ambitions. Most of us were content just to amble their way through life. But now I see that has changed. Hyderabad is a very ambitious city now and I think that’s a very good thing.”

Part of the reason why Hyderabad has become an ‘ambitious’ city is because of the technological revolution caused by the IT industry that made the city its home. While happy about the development, Harsha can’t help but point out the flipside of all this. “There was so much time on my hands when I was in school,” recalled Harsha, who studied at the Hyderabad Public School in Begumpet. “I used to go to school seven days a week. There was the Saturday, which was a half-day, and I used to go there every Sunday to play cricket.

“School used to finish by 3.30 and there was so much spare time. I don’t see that happening with kids these days. I think it’s because of all the gadgets and the internet that time has shrunk for today’s children,” he remarked.

Shrugging off his momentary cynicism, Harsha began to take a walk in the memory lane again. “One of my favourite pastimes when I was in college was to sit at any of the several Irani hotels in the city with friends and have chai,” Harsha said. “You should have seen us when we played cricket. We used to play all morning and at around 1 pm, we used to take a lunch break. We would go to a hotel, have chai and biryani and then come back to play. The afternoons were so much easier for the batsmen,” Harsha adds, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“The fielders would be so full they would remain in their positions while the ball sped away,” he said with a chuckle. He might have gone on to become one of the most recognised faces in cricket, but watching him talk about his beloved Hyderabad, it’s clear to all that he is still the same boy that grew up here. To paraphrase a famous saying, you may have taken him out of Hyderabad, but you clearly haven’t taken Hyderabad out of Harsha Bhogle.