inesh Mongia, the Chief Guest, has quietly gone
about the job of accumulating runs without ever being
showered with the encomiums reserved for flashier but less
effective players. He made his Punjab debut in 1995-96 and
was a steady performer until the 2000-01 season. This was
when he took domestic run-getting to another level, with
just under 6850 runs at an average of almost 50 per match,
his highest score being an unbeaten 308. After a string of
big innings, his laurels in domestic cricket paved his way to
the national team.
As we walk into his room at VFast post the inauguration
ceremony, an India-Pakistan cricket match is on in the
background. We settle down with some refreshments and
start off by quizzing him about how he likes the concept of
a college level sports fest like BOSM. He replies that he
thinks it’s wonderful and regrets the fact he never went to
college. He further adds that he wishes that he could attend
college even now, not only for the things he missed out
academically but more so for the experience itself. He feels
that as youngsters we have lots of energy which needs to be
channelized into the right direction, and emphasises the
need to have a healthy body to complement a healthy mind.
Talking about what it feels like to be a sportsman, he says
that for him it's always been about the hunger and passion
for any activity. He opines that a singer's passion for
singing, a dancer's passion for dance, or really any activity
where someone is extremely passionate about what they are
doing mandates that activity to be called a sport. Another
thing that he believes is that every sportsperson is
extraordinary—partly because of the disciplined life that
they tend to live, but more so because of the things that
that person has to go through their lives. It takes a good
deal of nerve to deal with the ups and downs, the injuries
and the occasional bad performance, while further having
to face criticism from disgruntled quarters.
Talking
about his own beginnings, he tells us that he
was a late starter who only made his
debut into the world of
professional cricket at the age
of 17. Cricket was never work
for him; it always provided him
with fun, joy and satisfaction.
And as he continued following
his passion, he
was able to
play
well
enough to get
the opportunity
to play for his
country.
Like
most other children
brought up on a
healthy breakfast of
Sachin and matches on television,
he always looked up to Tendulkar as a God,
although he also idolises Steve Waugh. He speaks
fondly of the day he finally got to play with Sachin
Tendulkar and actually share a dressing room with
him, describing how he was left in shock for some
time and how he remains extremely grateful that
he got such an opportunity. While he cannot single
out a moment in his cricket career where he was
the happiest, he considered himself to have been
very lucky for every chance he had to don the
Indian cap and jersey on the field. On the topic of
having to start early to play a sport professionally,
he agrees that it is a key factor in the present day,
alongside judging whether one has a tinge of
natural talent for their sport, before adding that
this is quite a change from the situation in his
times. At the same time he believes that one must
not cite sports as a reason to sacrifice their
education, driving the point home with the
examples of Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, who
were engineers as well.
He answers our questions about his current
ventures with tales of training youngsters for cricket
and being involved in fitness and fitness training. He
also has a movie called “Kebab Mein Haddi” in the works
which will be released, he hopes, on the 24th of October.
On a concluding note, he tells us that he does not believe in
the concept of some sports being more popular than
others. He believes that the only thing that matters is that a
true passion for the sport, because while the number of
people watching may change, true passion never leaves. He
leaves us with words of inspiration, wishing us luck for
future ventures and laying emphasis on the importance of
following one's dreams.