Watching a Match at the Hostel TV Room

“Commit all your sins when Sachin is batting...they would go unnoticed….Even the god watches him bat”

Location: 1^st Floor, Vasishta – Bhavanam, Amrita Vishwavidya Peetham, Ettimadai

It was an amazing evening. You have consider yourself very fortunate to have witnessed what happened at the Roop Singh Stadium at Gwalior. Events like this occur with such rarity.

I would consider myself to be more fortunate because of the atmosphere I was a part of.

The TV room at my hostel is usually a deserted place at the Hostel, with not more than 15-20 people ready to invest their time glaring the mundane television shows. The population, though changes drastically when there is cricket match on. It starts increasing exponentially when Sachin is batting. And if is batting well, there is a precious little chance that you can get a place in room. There are people sitting over each other, standing on benches falling over each other, least bothered about the heat, the sweat and lack of space. Ah! It is usually like a furnace out there with Carbon Dioxide levels increasing with the number of people. But, all that is secondary when the master is batting. The television is put in full volume but you cannot hear a single word the commentators’ speak. That just gives an idea about the amount of noise in the Room. Let alone the commentary it is impossible to comprehend what the person next to you has to say. The only time when you get back your hearing sensation is when an Indian wicket falls. Apart from that awkward silence, the atmosphere is electrifying.

On that fateful day things were exactly like the way I described. The South Africans were reeling under the Tendulkar Carnage. Sachin was as brutal as he had ever been. Not sparing a single South African bowler - playing his vintage shots. But as Sachin reached his 150… The level of excitement and noise reached a different height- A kind of height that had never been seen before. People started anticipating - they started speculating-and most importantly started hoping for something that had never happened in One Day Cricket-“A double hundred”. The countdown had begun. Every shot that Sachin played, the entire TV room played with him. Every run, he scored was cheered with claps, whistles, noises, hi-fis and most importantly by stating the number of more runs required, to their neighbors. As he moved closer towards the landmark, the adralin started pumping at much faster rate. The decibel levels in the room reached a new high. The wardens were left hapless. They could do nothing to reduce the level of noises coming out of the room. All they could do was to bask at the brilliance of the Great Man. He crossed 186-his previous highest and we erupted. The whole room stood up in unison. There were chants of “Sachin - Sachin”. Sachin crossed 194…The room erupted for the second time. The crowd celebrated that moment with him. The room was overwhelmed by this achievement. Things slowed down now. For once we expressed disappointment over a South African misfield- That allowed Dhoni retain the strike. For once we hoped Dhoni would not hit a four or a six (That was the last ball of the over). For once we were in oblivion of the Indian total but in full cognizance of Sachin’s individual score. For once there was no reaction for the Indian Total crossing 400. That is the kind of mesmerizing effect Sachin has on you. As Sachin was bereft of the strike the TV room was replete with restlessness. Finally that moment came. Sachin nudged a single reached the milestone. It was wonderful. It was beautiful. Every time the replay was shown we erupted. We erupted for the final time. There were hi-fis exchanged. There were hugs. There were smiles so big that never been witnessed before. The happiness was unprecedented. All the differences were forgotten. All the frustration over the inexplicable rules and taxing academic schedule at Amrita was put aside.