DVG Cricket Gang!!

Triggered by some severe nostalgia after eating some killer Gobi Manchurian made by De-Silvi....plus the "active ingredient" as in a couple of glasses of '02 Shiraz from Shamanna's club (read Sam's Club) :-)

Here are the folks that graced the legendary DVG cricket ground in Banashankari circa 1990 to 1995, in no particular order. This is a description of that great period in our lives where tennis ball pitch catch world records were shattered to create new ones that still stand to this day! This was also a point in time when some of us decided to NOT quit our day jobs in the pursuit of cricket!

DISCLAIMER: Though I can assure the readers that 98+ % of the following anecdotes are true, there is something called artistic licence - though I have used it sparingly! Please do not add to the death threats that are already on my head! :-) Anyway here they are:

1. Shubakar - A Mech Engg dude who was 1 year senior to us....and had the...ahem... "reduced" patch of hair to prove it!! Please to note that reduced = 50 % off only. Infact he holds the record for being the only guy called "Uncle" by some little kids playing nearby...he was so pissed off that even CNP (tbd as in 'to be described'!) got him out the next few attempts. An aggressive right handed batsman and a leftie bowler, he was a unique combination and had the proven track record of being a single-handed match winner on many occasions. He used to drive a Kawasaki Bajaj 100 CC if memory serves me right....he treated it like a Rolls Royce. Hands down, it was THE cleanest vehicle in the gang....specially please to note the massive twin horns (saale log, I know what you all are thinking! horns as in sound horn!!) that he got custom installed so as to attract girls from a mile away! The net result was that he not only repelled any girls in sight but also a few lorries along the way due to the decibel levels....

He was the A - type personality of the group and usually was the captain of one of the sides....funny as hell and always the cool guy to hang out with!

2. CNP - His real name is Narasimha Prasad, but he's popularly called CNP. (Explanation - break ki baad!) Quintessential part of the 89-93 RVCE IPE Batch, he was the butt of all jokes....He was a key member in the local RSS sangha....the demise of that venture came when he got involved with us and started ditching the sangha's activities and probably got booted outta there soon after. The acronym CNP stands for a number of things, a few are described below from memory:
Chaddi Narasimha Prasad - for his RSS Connection where he used to wear "air-conditioned" chaddis not unlike the madrasi policemen...atleast they had a reason! :-)
Cabaret Narasimha Prasad - for his legendary fielding (or lack thereof) skills when he would strike these bizarre poses yet miss the bloody ball! Any shot towards him > 20 kms per hour would have him scurry away from the ball!
Chul Narasimha Prasad - is actually a B-grade kannada word that cannot be sufficiently described in English to do justice to the wonderful word......so I'll pass! :-) Kannadigas will get it for sure....if not, shame on you! :-)
Chillare Narasimha Prasad - his low scoring attempts got him that one!

To continue his wonderful skills on the field, he was an absolute terror to the bowler.....when he was fielding that is!!! There is no position that one could position this guy and stop the run riot to the left, right and center of CNP!! He probably has bowled 20 overs in the 5 years that he played with us....and has crossed single digit runs about the same number of times....He was pretty regular and he was the absolute darling of the opposing team batsmen! When he has come in as a last batsman, he has snared victory for his team precisely 3.284 times. Dont ask me how I got to that number as I'm probably drunk off my ass at this stage.

Off the field, he was (and is) a very pleasing personality.....very affable and friendly guy. He drove a black Hero Puch back then....his moustache resembled the handlebar of the Hero Puch as well! When the left hand wasn't changing gears, it would rest on the left side of his "handle bar" mush at all times....he drove like a maniac and had many successful wheelie attempts on his bike!

He also holds the record for almost drowning while on a trip to Meke Daatu (if I remember correctly!). The gang was busy eating chapatis and alu gadde palya (potato cury) and he finished first. He went down to the river bank to fetch a bottle of water and slipped and fell into some pretty fast currents! It took Shiva, Dumma, Vishwa and myself to drag his ass out of the water!

There are more stalwarts to come.....but it's been a long night....Be sure to expect more! Ciao for now!