Poem | Those Forgotten Ranji Trophy Players
Sometimes I wonder about those Ranji trophy players
Who played a season or two
Never to be seen again
Who brought life to a small town
Remembered now only for that maiden over
A six over midwicket
And then promptly dispatched to the margins of their lives
The applause long forgotten.
There was a batter who liked hitting sixes in the neighbourhood park
Who dreamt of big stadiums
A fielder who aced the silly point exams
A captain who knew how to win the toss, and little else.
The bowler who hurled the perfect yorker but only once.
Those names come reeling to me, like fish from a river
That flooded our banks every summer.
Perhaps married now, with a grey stubble and balding,
Taking up a coaching assignment in high school
And the girls love him, in tracksuit and shoes
Running that extra mile for a prodigy who must one day be found
Who will one day play the world cup.
Then turning to his memories, over an evening drink
Asking (himself) if he was good for a few seasons more
But for the phone call from a selector saying it’s time
The niggle turning into habit, the strain telling on myopic eyes
The shoulder giving way, the calves saying enough.
Yet something more is still left to be said…
Which is why he didn’t go for the job in railways
Or that opening in the bank he didn’t have the heart for.
Which is why memories of those days return like a weekly forecast
Without any appetite for financials
And something moves among the leaves, perhaps a bird fluttering
Or maybe just the future slipping by, only to return
In the hand-me-down shoes of a girl who understands it all
Who knows what the coach wants, blowing his whistle
Who must get out of home somehow, and dream big among arch lights
Who goes round and round the field like seasons.
Amlanjyoti Goswami has written three books of poetry, A Different Story,River Wedding and Vital Signs, published by Poetrywala. River Wedding was shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi award. Published in journals and anthologies across the world, including Poetry, The Poetry Review, Penguin Vintage, Rattle and Sahitya Akademi, he is also a Best of the Net and Pushcart nominee. He grew up in Guwahati and lives in Delhi.
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