Mahatma on the Pitch by Kausik Bandyopadhyay- Review

Book Name          - Mahatma on the Pitch Author                 - Kausik Bandyopadhyay Publisher              - Rupa PublicationsBuy books from Amazon

My ReviewRating : 4.0

Mahatma Gandhi and Cricket, two seemingly mutually exclusive topics. Author Kausik Bandyopadhyay has successfully generated an intrigue in the readers about the relevance of cricket in freedom struggle. Author has started off with how Mahatma Gandhi had skipped cricket practices due to disinterest as well as taking care of his ailing father. Author notes that Gandhiji has counted the games like cricket and football as expensive in comparison to inexpensive Indian games like gilli-danda, kho-kho, kabaddi etc. According to him the King of exercises was walking.

The Quadrangular and Pentangular cricket tournaments and Gandhiji's Independence movements go hand in hand while affecting each other positively or negatively. The most notable fact is  that the ideals of these tournaments are contradictory to Gandhian idea of eradicating untouchability. The flagrant display of communalism has surely pained Mahatma and hence he played the game in the background against this communal cricket which would have been the twisted idea of the British to divide the Indians. There had been mixed reactions to Mahatma's interference in a game which he had hardly any idea about. While there had been Gandhi bashing and supporting, Gandhiji was delegated the role of a third umpire. As if Gandhiji had foreseen the disaster that was about to happen, India saw the worst communal riots and the pentangular cricket had to be given the final rites.

The level of research the author has invested is unbelievable. To recreate an era that is a century apart, is not easy especially about a topic that is not much talked and written about. The topics are systematically categorised. Instead of the unilinear approach about Gandhiji and his ideals, author has also portrayed another side of the coin where Mahatma was mercilessly criticised for his interference in the topic. 

Every cricket lover should know the history of pre-Independence cricket and hence I recommend this book to all cricket lovers.
This review is in return of a free book from the publisher