This morning in a light drizzle, I drove past the Bishop Cotton School Ground and was horrified at what I saw. The whole place looked more like a construction site than a school playing field. There were mounds of mud, slush and muck everywhere! Two bright yellow JCBs stood menacingly in one corner!
It was a much larger ground than it is now, But T. Chandrashekar who was the NMC Commissioner during the 1990s, took portions of it from two sides for road widening! While he did do some nice things for the city, he left this ground ‘mortally wounded’, and then the school authorities finished the job and ‘killed’ it with neglect!
Before these acts of vandalism, this beautifully located ground with a ‘Church View’ was the nicest in the city. Huge old Neem trees stood on all three sides giving shade to the cricket teams and onlookers. A cast iron railing cordoned off the ground, yet offered a full view.
For many decades, this field’s fortunes were entwined with one individual! We called him ‘Lionking’ out of respect, as well as a playful irreverence, and he was truly the ‘Lion’ of this field.
Shiraz Gimi (Lionking) was a gentleman and a cricket enthusiast, one has seen few with such passion and love for the game, It didn’t matter if it was seeing boys playing ‘galli’ cricket or officiating in an international Test match (which he did often! )
He was the life and soul of the ‘Nagpur Parsi Gymkhana’ (NPG) and its cricket club, Being an ex-student of the Bishop Cotton School he sweet-talked the authorities into taking the ground on a nominal rent for the club. The ground was from then on his den. He looked over it with earnest zeal for many years! Trespassers who used it as a short-cut were thrown out, the gate carefully locked, a cricket pitch was laid and lovingly maintained, grass was planted, and as young boys, we were all regularly made to stand in a line and walk to the opposite side of the field picking up any stones that were to be found.
Matches were played here every Sunday, Every morning there were nets and catch practice.
Later ‘Lionking’ organised Nagpur’s first ‘Flood Lite’ night tournament on this ground. It was a huge hit, Hundreds came every evening to watch!
This field was also Lionking’s cricket nursery, Young Parsi boys and any other interested kids were made to come here every morning and Shiraz’s uncle would coach them. He would even come to our homes in the early mornings pick us up and drive us to the field to ensure our attendance. If we were lax, lazy or not giving 100%, We would get the full ‘Lionking treatment’, A verbal lashing in which the word ‘Ghelsuppa‘ and ‘Jack ass’ were used quite liberally and followed by a punishment to ”Go run 5 rounds of the ground”! But we all adored him for all that he did for us!
Long after we had ‘retired’ and moved on from cricket, ‘Lionking’ was still at it with even greater enthusiasm, back at our gates every morning, this time picking up our young sons to take them to this same ground for cricket nets!
Later, He and the school fell out and they took the ground away from him. He was hurt and devastated. The ground immediately started deteriorating and the short-sighted management then tried turning it into an events venue. They even built an ugly wall that blocked the ground’s view and painted silly murals on it. ‘Lionking’ was pained to see how his beloved field was being treated.
We lost Shiraz’s Uncle to COVID-19, It was a huge tragedy for the sport in Nagour in general, and for us, who knew him and had been the beneficiaries of his largess, in particular!
One remembered him fondly’, looking at this field today and was grateful he did not have to see it in this sad condition.
But knowing him, given the chance, He would have brought it back to its lost glory…
But before that, he would have made sure that all those responsible for bringing it to this state would be lined up and given the ‘Lionking Treatment’ and told “Ghelsupas, Go run 5 rounds of the ground!”
#Bits of beauty everywhere (#BOBE)
@bits_of_beauty_everywhere