Jammin' in Jamaica

Initially, I did not think it was that big a deal. I mean I was excited; yes, terribly so. And I still am. But what I had not anticipated is the collective euphoria that greets me every time I mention it -- whether in person, on the telephone or through e-mail.

"Really, did you actually meet them?" "What are they like?" "What kind of clothes do they wear?" "What did you talk about?"

I have answered these questions a few hundred times in the last few days. And here I go again!

'They' are some of the biggest names in international cricket I happened to meet recently. In Jamaica to watch the India-West Indies series, we stayed with an Indian family that is deeply involved in cricket. Theirs was like an open house where cricketers from both the teams would drop by for a meal. Among those we met were former cricketing greats like Sunil Gavaskar and Michael Holding, current heavyweights like Sachin Tendulkar and Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and rising Indian stars like Ajit Agarkar, Dinesh Mongia, Ajay Ratra and Zaheer Khan.

An impressive line-up, no doubt. After all, who wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of meeting them? Not in the confines of some official function room or at a press conference, but in the cosy interiors of a home, without cameras flashing and autograph-hunters badgering.

I would have never thought I would sit at the same dinner table as Michael Holding and hear him talk about the problems in the West Indian cricket team. And that he feels that Gavaskar would have had no problem tackling the current generation of Windies pacers.

When told about this the next day, the object of Michael Holding's admiration acknowledged the compliment with a gracious modesty. Gavaskar added that his and Holding's friendship is one of the very few shared by an opening batsman and fast bowler.

But we did find out what the 'little master' is scared of: dogs. He froze the moment he entered the house as he was being accorded a warm welcome by the hosts' three dogs -- Toofan, and the two three-week old puppies, Shyam and Badal.

"Give me West Indian bowlers any day, and I'll have no problems. But I am petrified of dogs," quipped the prolific former batsman.

The other little master from Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar, however, showed no discomfort being around canines. Quiet, to the point of being shy, it's difficult to imagine that this same guy plays with so much authority on the cricket field. Yes, he said, it's tough being away from home and family for such long stretches.

What about all the adulation and craze? One gets used to it, he shrugged, making it clear that you have to handle fame with a matter-of fact approach.

Then there are others, like Mongia, Agarkar, Khan, who are just coming of age, still squinting at the glare international stardom has cast on them. They seemed like any other Indian one comes across all over the world: missing home, talking about the places they grew up in and thrilled to have home-cooked Indian food for dinner.

"We hardly get any Indian food in the hotels in the Caribbean," they complained. "Could we check our mail please? We don't have a connection in the hotel."

Added Tendulkar, "The hotels in India are the best." Thank you, Sachin, for the vote of confidence -- we agree with you.

On our last evening in Jamaica, Chanderpaul and his wife Amy came for dinner. A close friend of the hosts, Shiv, as he is better known, is as down-to-earth and friendly as they come. Having just won a car for being the 'man of the series,' he was totally relaxed, chatting with everybody and playing with the kids. Of Indian origin, Chanderpaul loves Indian food, movies and music. On the way back to his hotel, with music from Lagaan playing in the car, we were translating the songs for them. Shiv doesn't really understand Hindi, except for a few words like paani .

It was an incredible week we spent in Jamaica, even though we did not get to see much of cricket, thanks to the rains. So, why did I think others wouldn't be as excited when I narrated our experience to them? Because, you see, I live in the US, and before that I lived in Singapore -- two countries which purge you of any cricket-mania that you may have ever possessed. Out here, you cannot have a conversation about cricket without explaining what it is ("No, no, we're not talking about the insect"), much less talk about the cricketers.

I had almost forgotten what the hype over cricket is all about back home in India. And now I am familiar with it once more.

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