The player getting injured on face while catching the ball in the field.
Ravi Speaks: –
My thought goes back to the year 1977, when I had to appear in my Matriculation Examination on Boards. We, the students of the Tenth class, had made a team of around fifteen boys who were interested in playing cricket. We used to meet daily in the evening at around 5.00 PM at the city’s Parade Ground-which was very famous in those days for games like cricket and football and was in the city’s heart area.
We used to contribute especially for the purchase of all the playing materials like the bat, ball wickets, etc. Every day we used to play for at least two hours and then after winding up we used to go to the nearby Tea Stall and drink water and occasionally take tea as well.
I would not forget that evening when I was batting, and I hit the ball very high in the sky. My friend Sanjay was fielding at the third man and tried to catch this ball. He was facing the west where the sun was going down and, while catching the sun’s rays, were disturbing him so much that the ball hit his mouth and he started bleeding profusely. Although we could not see them later, we came to know that he was immediately removed to the SMHS hospital and three of his teeth were also removed since they had already uprooted within his mouth. He had stitches also on the mouth. Everyone told him as well as me that during the playing since it had happened and there was no intention of hitting anybody, so let the matter be nipped in the bud there and then. I was terrified and had a feeling of guilt in me since this all had happened because of my shot.
Parade Ground Jammu-Cricket Ground.
Sanjay was very affectionate and loving, but his elder brother was having a friendship with the notorious person named “Pushi-Ustad” of Purani-Mandi Jammu. He kept the small knife always with him and had already quite a few stabbings to his credit. He had many times gone to Police custody as well. My other friends, who were also playing with me, were trying to scare me even more by giving his brother’s reference. That evening when this all happened, I came back to my home very tense and my mother asked me the reason for my being very serious. I told her the whole story and she, too, got disturbed. The next day I was so scared that I did not go to school thinking that these guys might come there and attack me. Actually, the damage to the face was so much there that he was advised to have forced bed rest and his face was fully bandaged except for the eyes.
Parade Ground Jammu-Cricket Ground.
Much as I wanted to go to his home since he was staying hardly around a kilometer away from my place, I could not go immediately. My mother was too stressed about my going to his home, but because of the very scary idea of his brother’s attack, it would always keep me away from taking such a step. I knew that once I went there and met him in person-things would ease off to a greater extent and if he had any ill feelings against me, that too would get wiped off. Still, it took around five days for me to finally make up my mind and gather courage. I went to his home with my friend Pawan and I still remember that he was lying on the bed with his face fully covered with the bandage and he could not be recognized easily. His mother was sitting beside him. The moment I entered; he did not look directly at me but he started signaling with his hand to my friend Pawan to sit on the nearby chair. It was his mother who told me to sit down on the next chair around the bed. She brought water for us and we drank the whole stuff, not realizing that we had come to really apologizing for the whole thing which had happened. I finally gathered courage and told his mother that I was the person because of whom this whole unfortunate thing occurred. She for a minute thought something and told me he has been in very bad shape for the last five-six days and the doctor says that he may have to come regularly to the hospital for a long treatment. I apologized for all this and she said nothing. Sanjay was not looking at me at all. He could not talk, since his whole face was wrapped up. We remained there for almost fifteen minutes and finally came out. I could not even say a word to him realizing that he was very much angry and my speaking would have acted as fuel to the fire.
The ball hit on a Face-Injured player on the field.
It is exactly after a week we resumed our cricket again without Sanjay, who was still in bed. Towards the close of the game when I was the wicket-keeper, suddenly Sunil started shouting- “runaway” “runaway”- pointing towards me. My back was that time towards the entrance of the stadium. I did not understand what exactly he wanted to convey. I saw all the boys on the ground, whether batting or fielding or bowling started running towards the western side of the stadium. I also ran with them. While running, I realized a wicket was thrown toward me and it hit me on the left foot’s bottom side. But I continued running with the rest of the boys and came out of the stadium without realizing that my left foot had got injured during the process. The injury was not that much but a simple bruise because of the edge of the wicket hitting me.
Somehow, I reached my home with the help of my friends who came with me and dropped me at my place. They did not leave me alone, thinking that I might again be attacked. Later I came to know that it was that “Pushi-Ustaad”-who had come with his men to attack me in particular. As luck would have it-I got back to my home safely, but the lingering question in my mind was that this man would again come and attack since he could not do it effectively this time. I had another couple of friends who realized that it would be very difficult for them also to continue playing since these notorious people would come again to the Parade ground. So, they came along with me to this “Pushi-Ustaad” who was having a shop in ‘Purani-Mandi’ Jammu. They assured me that nothing would happen and we must tell him the exact story that nobody was responsible and it was during the play that all this had happened. I also realized that we must settle this once and for all, otherwise it would cause an unending agony in our minds.
Finally, we were three people and went to his shop where he was lucky there and we introduced ourselves to him. He showed as if he was not knowing us. I immediately apologized again and my friend told him the whole story. He said nothing but told us to go back. We went back half-hearted, thinking that this move did not go well.
I went on with the normal routine to school and even to the parade ground for playing afterward. One thing which had given me confidence was that I had met him [“Pushi-Ustaad”] face to face and had a feeling that he would not come again.
The same thing occurred and nothing untoward happened later. After around a month, Sanjay joined the school, and it was very painful to see his face slightly cut with stitches and his inner teeth missing. He still could not talk fluently and while talking, his mouth used to throw away water drops. People around said that he would not have his original face back and after matriculation, I did not see him again till, after almost forty years, I met him at his shop in Jain Bazar Jammu recently.
Friends meeting after decades.
This time, after forty years, when he saw me, he hugged me and we started talking lovingly with each other. His face was looking fully fine and his mustaches were covering his mouth so beautifully that it was adding more grace to his looks. I asked him as to go through these four decades and he gave me the details where he had even become a grandfather and was running the Gold-smith shop which was being run by his father earlier and later; he took over after the demise of his father. He was very well settled and was curious to know about me and my developments.
I reminded him of that school time incident. He simply laughed it off and smilingly offered me a cup of tea at his shop. One thing he said was that he was wearing a denture since that time-which came as a big surprise to me since he did not look that way at all. He took my number and address and told me to be in touch. “Time”, they say is a great healer but here the “time” has also been a great facilitator-where, two school-time friends who had gone apart in envy, met again reunited as friends, may it be because of decades of maturity filling the gap.
================================