Sunday, March 30, 2003		Books

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Sourav, a captain who believes in his boys
Randeep Wadehra

Sourav: a biography
by Gulu Ezekiel. Penguin, N. Delhi. Pages x + 213. Rs 250.

HE has oodles of attitude, with that touch of arrogance that riles his critics. He is probably the first Indian cricket captain who is aggressive enough to give the Aussies, Pakistanis and South Africans a taste of their own medicine. Under him, the Indian team looks capable of taking on any challenge. There is an air of self-confidence about the players that reminds one of Kapil’s Devils who won the World Cup two decades ago. Talent and not kinship decides who his teammates will be. Srinath, Zaheer, Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Mongia et al will vouch for this. The author rightly observes, "While Ganguly himself, it could be argued, was a beneficiary initially of regionalism in selection, he has never shown a tendency to favour his own. Only two Bengal players (Syed Saba Karim and Deep Dasgupta) have found a place in the Indian team over the past two and a half years and neither enjoyed long tenures`85"

The road to success wasn’t easy for this languid-looking batsman, who can also bowl at a gentle pace. Sent home from the 1991-92 Australian tour, which Ezekiel describes as a nightmare for the d`E9butant, Ganguly’s career seemed to be over even before it had begun. Although shattered by the experience, the 19-year-old made a comeback by dint of sheer talent and tenacity. His selection in 1996 for the England tour predictably caused an outcry. Journalists, even from the parochial Kolkata press, were skeptical about his merits. But soon the lad proved himself beyond all doubt. Ezekiel has given not only a well-researched account, backed by detailed statistics, of Ganguly, the player, but also useful insights into the workings of the BCCI.

If you want to know all about cricketing affairs — on and off field — then Gulu Ezekiel’s book is going to be unputdownable.

Matter and Non-Matter
by Naranjan Singh. Sant Nirankari Mandal, Delhi. Pages 309. Rs 100.

Since ages, sages, seers, philosophers and thinkers have been trying to attain the Absolute Truth. As a consequence, there are numerous creeds, sects and organised religions claiming to have hit upon the right path to ultimate enlightenment. Lately, bureaucrats, judges and people from other walks of life, too, have joined forces with the hoary pedagogues in churning out literature on matters spiritual. Thus we are blessed with a problem of plenty in the field of numinous advice.

Human beings are enabled by nature to practice and experience spirituality. There are different ways of doing so, but the essence remains the same. The author stresses upon the need to acquire the right knowledge. He further avers, "Truth is that invisible Cosmic Field of Energy, infinite and eternal, uncreated and indestructible which is behind the material entities in Space`85"; and declares that those who come to know the Truth become "cosmic and fully liberated".

He quotes from various scriptures, including the Koran and the Adi Granth, to make a case against religion-based conflict. Chapters like "The non-matter in practice and its social relevance" might interest a reader.