I cheered at the top of my voice for the past five days, I called out Sachin's name for more than a thousand times, I lost my voice screeching for India, my face looks unrecognizable because of the sun, I can hardly move my legs because of the strain of jumping and screaming, but my heart is as happy as any heart could be, as joyous as any human being could possibly feel, as wondrous as any girl of nineteen can imagine.
This was today morning. Right now there is this emptiness, there is this hollow feeling inside of me. I have nothing to go back to tomorrow, no more Sachin to cheer for, no more cursing the players when they don't do well, no more spending hundreds of rupees to get to the stadium, no more guys to tease us and make fun of our voices, no more jumping up and down the chair, no more getting scorched in the sun, no more any of these things.
It is over and we have nothing to look forward to. In the last five days, Chepauk became home, the players became family, the canteen became our kitchen and it I can not believe the fact that I won't be going back there tomorrow. It is over and we are back to reality. And to be honest, reality sucks. The feeling of totally letting ourselves go, dance and jump in joy, scream at the top of our voices, was all for a short while and now it feels like everything is back to how it was before: Monotonous and boring.
I have never told my mom why I took up Journalism in the first place, but I think she deserves to know. It was only because I could be associated more with cricket. I knew I couldn't play, I knew I couldn't become an umpire, so I decided that becoming a journalist is the perfect way to get through to my idols, my God.
I can't believe that I met Shane Watson, spoke to him, asked him for a picture. I can't believe that I actually stood next to the batting maestro Sunil Gavaskar and asked for a picture. It was my first time and I was lucky enough to meet few of Cricket's top players. The mission is still incomplete. And it will always be till I meet the two people because of whom I am actually where I am: Sachin Tendulkar and Harsha Bhogle.
I will one day meet them, talk to them, sit next to them, for that is my ultimate goal. And the last five days have made me realize that that goal is not impossible, difficult, but not impractical.
Five wonderfully unbelievable days, five days which I would never ever forget in my life, no matter how many test matches I watch, no matter where life takes me, no matter what I become in the end, these five days have made me grow as a person, have made me feel like I have never felt before, have made me radiate with energy, have given me hope, have made me realize that we are all headed somewhere, we just have to wait for the right time to understand that.
Who in the world said test cricket was boring? It is the most amazing, most blissful thing in the whole wide world and if I could, I would be there for every test match India ever plays.
P.S: I never thought I would be saying this but I have totally fallen for the Australian team, for their sportsman spirit, their humility, their sweetness and particularly their dance moves. I salute you for the wonderful team play.
Aishwarya Kumar.
