Look at the title. Sort of a no-brainer, really. If you're from India, then you must like cricket. There might be a remote possibility that your parents do not want you to go to IIT, that your relatives don't think sex is taboo, that you think peeing in the open is not proper... All those are possibilities. But not liking cricket? Oh dear, oh dear, that is just not possible. If you're Indian, then you're born with it, then it's built into your genes - you must like cricket... No... LOVE cricket.
This book is a fantastic tribute to the Indian cricket fan, who will brave all odds to watch a game. Who will stand in line, risking the cops, heat and drunk fans for a glimpse of their heroes. From the corporate executive who pumps his fist when he reads on Cricinfo's commentary that another wicket has fallen (when he should have been tracking his stocks), or the entire village cramped around one small radio going bonkers for the same.
Back to this book now. Bhattacharya outlines the life of a cricket fan who has done things as insane as using up his life savings to fly from college in the UK to Kolkata (then Calcutta), only to see Anil Kumble take 6 for 12. A person whose wife has resigned herself to the fate that her husband is a certified cricket nut - who delays her doctor's meeting just so he can watch a re-re-telecast of a match. Being an upper-class NRI return, Soumya was one of the fortunate few to have a TV at home in his home in Bengal, a few miles from Calcutta. The highlight of the book is how half the village's kids were cramped into his home to watch the final of the 1983 World Cup final. At every stage in the book, at some point or the other, a cricket fan can relate. Even if the examples are not as extreme, you can relate to the passion, the madness and the look of bewilderment on others' faces.
Who should buy this book? Cricket-mad males whose wives complain. Because Soumya outlines a worst-case scenario. To the tune of drawing graphs on random sheets while following a match, and trying to explain to the in-laws what he was upto. Surely, your scenario can't be worse than that. Get one for your wife (assuming you're male) or read it yourself (assuming you're female) to see how you / your husband is better off. Of course, if you're a cricket-crazy female yourself, then you might as well just shut the book and sit with your husband and watch the game, and gift the book to the neighbours who shouldn't be minding late night West Indies matches and early morning Australia matches.
It's a very light read, and you can finish it in an hour - perfect for a train journey, or just after watching a good game!
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