The World Cup played in 2023 was quite an anti-climax where India lost the finals after putting on a perfect show till the last match. How best can one recollect all these endeavours? Aditya Iyer in his book Gully Gully provides a first-hand view of all the matches India played in the tournament, starting with the game against Australia in Chennai and ending with the same team in Ahmedabad.
The book could have been just a description of the scoreboard till the match ended, but Iyer has a style that is quite unique. He has written the book like a travelogue that combines his escapades in various locations where he has covered the matches. There is hence more of travel than cricket in a way, which makes the book very readable. For example, a match between India and the Netherlands cannot be expected to be exciting, though all the underdogs have their moment of pride in such encounters. But when the game is stitched with the travel part, the output becomes quite exhilarating.
Iyer has done well in terms of the narrative. There is first a picture of the city or town involved. This can be the hustle of Chennai or the hotspots for food and beverage in Bengaluru or the serenity of Dharamshala. Certain iconic cafes or spots also find mention, which can be revelations as the author takes the reader along on his journey.
After making the reader savour the flavours of the city, the author then makes us meet with a person associated with the sport. The interview could be with a player or even the wife of a cricketer who is a well-known face on TV. There are also stories of cricketers who may not have played much for the national team but were in the squad, and very proud of this achievement. Small-town boys aspire to make it to the national level, and in case they have not made it to the top, they are disappointed but still savour that they are considered to play for the nation.
In the course of the narrative, Iyer also takes us to the stadium and brings it alive for the reader. His descriptions of the stadiums in Ahmedabad or Chennai are especially vivid. He even takes satirical digs of the huge cutouts and photos of politicians in various stadia, conveying the message that politics also finds it way in sports and one can never be free of it. He touches briefly on the controversy of certain cities being omitted from the tournament ostensibly due to opposition governments being in power.
There are narrations of press interviews with captains and coaches that are interesting and we get to know the personalities of Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma well.The book ends with the finals, which has been written so eloquently that the reader almost visualises the match as it is played, as well as feeling the silence as Travis Head blasts his way to victory.
There were no cheers for the Australians, as the audience had exited the stadium before the match ended, and the high point for them appeared to be the presence of the distinguished prime minister. The fireworks bought to celebrate an Indian victory remained unused. Iyer ends the book in a poetic way, when he sees a father and son light some fireworks outside his hotel. The duo explain that since these were anyway bought and would have no use in future, it made sense to just light the stuff.
Gully Gully is a brilliant book for cricket lovers, written with style and gay abandon. The book also gives a glimpse of India and not just cricket. Gully is a fielding position in cricket. Gully is also a name for the little lanes, especially in places like Mumbai, where children and adults play cricket hoping that someday they make it to the Indian team.
Gully Gully: Travels Around India during the 2023 World Cup
Aditya Iyer
Penguin Random House
Pp 344, Rs 499
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