Hell in one ball

Cricket has been his life. Right from his childhood, Dumeelkuppam vavvalu* wanted to be a cricketer; he dreamt about it every day and night; how awesome it’ll be if he were a cricketer; how he can win matches for his team Single handedly; how he’ll sign autographs for the young and send flying kisses to the girls. Perhaps, he just dreamt a lot and never did anything to become a cricketer.

Affected by Chikungunya at the age of 15, Vavvalu took up cricket seriously. Vavvalu ain’t his original name, but he asked everyone to call him so to infuse terror into the batsmen and make their legs shiver despite the Chennai heat. Batsmen laughed.

When young, Vavvalu never went to a cricket school. He never played with a cricket ball, but he’s a master of the gully cricket. With a lanky build, and a sharp eye he became a bowler. A furiously fast bowler who bowled wide and high. People started calling him Ajith Agarkar.

But all that has changed.

Vavvalu joined the local Dumeelkuppam team and became an integral part of it. After considerable wins, he became the lead bowler of their team. Despite the winning trend of his team, and his income through bet matches, Vavvalu was never satisfied. He wanted to achieve something big. HUGE!

No Wicketkeeper, no slip. Only Gully!

And then the day came.

Dumeepkuppam’s neighborhood Kasimedu asked the Dumeelkuppam team for a bet match of 2000 bugs. Dumeelkuppam readily agreed, and on a Friday evening with the local ground not occupied, the two teams collided head on.

Dumeelkuppam’s batsmen had no clue against the Kasimedu Kakka’s ( That’s what they’re called ) bowlers and they managed just a meagre 100 runs in 20 overs.

In reply, Kasimedu Kakka’s really shivered against our Vavvalu. In his three overs, Vavvalu squared up the openers of the kakka’s- Annaatha’ Arumugam, and Gundappa Guna with a beautiful delivery and also picked up two more wickets.

After 19 overs, Kasimedu Kakka’s were 94/8 with just one recognised batsman left ( Kadaai’ Kanthan )

This is Vavvalu’s time!

He came in to the bowl the last over.

Vavvalu started up with a beautiful rising delivery that got the edge but didnt carry. Everyone screamed in agony.

The first four balls of the over went for 5 runs, mostly with miscued shots or thick edges off the bat.

Kasimedu Kakka’s needed 2 runs from 2 balls.

Vavvalu went to his run-up. He looked straight into the eyes of the batsman, Kadaai Kanthan. He saw something in there he always wanted to see. He saw something that pumped up the adrenaline in his blood. He saw fear.

Vavvalu came in with full speed and speared in the yorker which missed everything on its way, and stuck the wicketkeeper on his stomach as he howled in pain. Kakka’s didnt score a run.

Suddenly Dumeelkuppam XI seemed so ecstatic and pumped up as there is a possiblity of a victory. The wicketkeeper was changed, and Vavvalu prepared for his final delivery.

Vavvalu ran hard as he could, and bowled his final delivery. Everything seemed to freeze. Time froze. The scene was as if like someone reduced the temperature of the ground to -274 degrees. Vavvalu heard his heartbeat in his ears. He knew this is the moment!

This is the big moment that he has been waiting for! The moment to make it big! The moment is here for which he is born.

And suddenly with a roar, the ball richoted onto the middle stumps and at the same time, the leg umpire screamed “NO ball!!!”

Vavvalu stopped dead in his tracks.

The leg umpire screamed again ” No ball!! “

Vavvalu couldnt believe his ears!

Calmly, the leggie added, “The changed wicketkeeper didn’t tell his guard!”

And that moment, all ‘O’ words began flying as hell broke loose.

No one gave no one 2000 bugs.

The final delivery of the match was never bowled.

Cat

People call me as Rat. People call my bro as Panda. People call my classmates as monkeys.

Well, anyway wherever I turned around, I saw animals and humans intertwined into each other. People love their pets. Ask Suchi about her dane, Britto who is as tall as me and twice as intelligent as my classmates; or ask Ashwin about his cats. Okay, dont ask him.

The fact is this: I love pets: I love animals and this is one of the reason for me to join up bio-technology. To be nearer to some animals all the time, to save them, to protect them, and not to see one species vanish off!

Alright, forget whatever I told ya.. The following story is a true one, and a sad one for me. It happened some 2 months ago and I still cannot forget it.

It was a cool evening, and the rain just started around half past 7. August has just started, and the cool breeze was never better. The rain splattered against the windows very hard for around a hour that I just sat infront of the TV and skipped channels. I had nothing better to do.

Right infront of our house, there was a small tree ( I dunno what kind of tree it is), and there was a patch of soil open to the atmosphere near the tree; a rarity you’ll see in my area. And then I saw something while standing in the balcony. It was almost motionless in the then drizzle; it was breathing slowly and rhythmically, as if it’s sleeping. It was a CAT!

It was shiny black in color, except that its paws, and its nose was cute white. If you had had a cuteness meter, the Cat would have definitely got a 10! I went down to the soil patch to pick it up. It almost showed no resistance, just coming into my warm hands as it was pretty wet. I brought it into my kutti room and wrapped it in a towel, and just took a look at it.

It looked pretty normal and healthy for a cat. It looked almost young. Not too young, but not yet into its adulthood, to search its own prey. It was fast asleep and I did everything not to wake it up. I switched off my fans, threw off my tube light and switched on a small bulb so that it wont wake up. I kept a small kettle of milk just in case it wakes up and starts meowing.

I just watched it. I just stared at it. And then I recognized something was very wrong!

It opened its eyes, and they were so filmsy; I couldn’t see a pupil in it’s eye at all. It had a translucent membrane, and I thought it was blind. I didn’t know because it opened it’s eyes only for a fraction of a second, not too long, just as to blink.

It slept. I poked at it. It slept. It never resisted me doing anything to it. Something was very wrong.

I slept off watching the cat. It breathed slowly, and it was so hypnotic that I didn’t know when I slept off.

When I woke up the next morning, I found that the Cat was not in it’s towel but some two feet away from it, just sleeping.

When I went to have a closer look at it.. It was dead!

It was dead! DEAD!

It’s eyes were closed as if they’re still sleeping, except that it wasn’t breathing at all. It’s limbs were so hard and rigid. I tried to move it, but it wouldn’t budge. I guessed it should have died just a little after I slept because it was really hard. – very hard. It just laid there on its head.

My Human mind just asked me to check if it is still alive, just a glimmer of hope to see it alive; but something inside me told me it will be of  no use as the Cat is cold as dead. I couldn’t believe it!

My scientific mind said that Rigor Mortis has already set up, that explained it’s hard cold body. It became a bit heavier. Yet, I couldnt find out why such a young, healthy looking cat died. Probably it got too wet and died of hypothermia..? I didn’t know. Hypothermia is usually accompanied by vigorous shivering and very low metabolic rate, as if in a coma. Yet, the cat was pretty much alive when I took it home last night. All kinds of thoughts raced into my mind as I just sat there staring at the dead being. I had seen death, but not in my room. An odd feeling began to sweep over me. The same feeling you get when you lose some person whom you love. Whom you care for. I couldn’t help but just sit there and stare at it.

Finally, I mustered all my courage to just carry it to the corridor. I cannot stand the view of it, and as it was pretty late for college, I just zoomed off; still my mind somewhere else. That day, when I came home, the cat wasn’t there. I came to know that it was dumped in the dump-van. I couldn’t even bury it.

That night was the longest night I’ve ever had.

I just sat in my room and thought. I have no pets. I should have probably spent some one hour with that black, cute little cat; and yet I cannot forget it. Those one hour was one of the best hours in my life as I gave refuge to a homeless cat. That one hour, I’ll never forget. After nearly two months, I still cannot forget how the cat laid there in the morning. Cold, hard, and DEAD!

So, if you just see a cat or a dog or any animal for instance lying down unconscious, or just is about to die, or in terrible need of help, don’t just turn a blind eye to it. Animals are after all, creatures who can be loved and who know to love.

And Cat!

May it’s soul rest in peace!