The Bradman Museum- Bowral

The Bradman Museum- Bowral

From Wahroonga, where Radha and I are now staying with our daughter Preethi and son-in-law Karthik, about 130 km away on the scenic Sydney- Canberra route, lies the small sleepy town of Bowral, the birthplace of Sir Donald Bradman, arguably the greatest batsman of all times. That is where the Bradman Museum, now the International Cricket's Hall of Fame is located

Radha entering the Museum

I had heard about this place from an ardent cricket lover and what he had described seemed to evoke reverence and awe

At first sight, I did not feel so, but as I entered the Museum and saw the picture of the Invincibles led by Bradman, I did feel it and was transported into ecstasy when I could recall the names of those players belonging to the pre-Second World War era, long before my own birth

Saturday, Nov 9, a friend of Karthik,  and a cricket fan , Ram,  drove us to this beautiful place nestled between hills, as a picturesque and picture-perfect town. It was a balmy 22 deg C and a clear bright day, the perfect ingredients for watching a cricket match at the Bowral Oval with the red cherry streaking through the manicured green .

  

The Ashes documented

With the Bowral Oval behind

As we entered Cricket's Hall of Fame, it was a magnificent experience, as across four huge television screens, exciting excerpts of different cricket matches from around the world, beginning  late 19th century till date were shown. The Ashes till today remains the epitome of a cricket contest between Australia and England. The story about how the Ashes came into existence merits a separate write-up

The sounds from the screen with the vociferous appeals and the roar of the crowds in the stadium, filled this section of the museum. A special enclave showed a documentary of the Bodyline era with prominent names such as Douglas Jardine, Harold Larwood, Gubby Allen, and  Sir Don, as he is called. The other major development, just about 40 years old is Kerry Packers' World Series Cricket, the evolution of ODI and the T20 as a sequel. I saw a movie HOWZZAT which was based on and dealt with this theme.

The greatest all rounder- Sir Gary Sobers (WI)

The greatest all rounder- Sir Gary Sobers (WI)

Separate television monitors were available with headphones to just plug in and listen to interviews of international cricketers of several generations to this day. That was like a crash course in the art of interviewing and answering questions. India has a pride of place in this museum what with personages from RanjitSinghji through Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Shastri, Tendulkar, Kumble to Rahul Dravid being the latest, being given their credits. 

One outstanding feature that I heard expressed by no less than Sir Don, the Chapell brothers, and our own Bishen Singh Bedi was that the greatest all rounder of all times and a cricketing genius is Sir Gary Sobers of the West Indies, whose batting and bowling at a Test match, I have also personally had the opportunity to witness.

Radha listening intently to the interviews

One of the greatest features of this trip to the Bradman Museum is the fact that my wife has suddenly evinced a keen interest in the game. She listened to the recorded interviews of so many cricketers, past and present, that the Museum keeper had to come and gently remind her that the closing time is 5 pm. I do hope that in future when I see some cricket matches on TV, she will not glare and glower at me and look at the situation more sympathetically. And definitely no longer ask questions like " Yaaru jeyikkira?", ( Who is winning?"), right within the first few overs of a game, when she hears the applause for a boundary or six

I have been a cricket aficionado since 1956. When I saw the excerpts of the Tied Test in 1960-61, West Indies vs Australia (under Frank Worrell and Richie Benaud respectively), they took me back to that era and my own life then. The chawls of Kurla, Mumbai, underarm cricket with a tennis ball and a stone slab  or wickets drawn on walls for stumps, and West Indies cricket statistics of 362 runs in 360 minutes , all flashed across the pantheon of the mind's eyes. I remembered nostalgically my school friends, yapping about cricket, radio commentary by the great  AFS Taleyarkhan, a dear school friend Mona Chatterjee, who passed away last week battling cancer, and so on.......all that which had seemed so distant came out afresh from the past bobbing on a screen right in front of my mind's vision

I am addressing this mail to some of those who have been friends with me,  some since 1952, and with whom I have shared seasons and reasons, and the memories with whom I cherish to this date.

We all have our own albums as museums in our homes, but when one sees a place like the Bradman's museum which deals with a subject of one's liking and encompassing one's own lifetime within its framework, the ambiance and memories become something wonderful to be relived through..

By reading this mail, if you can feel even a fraction of the joy and exhilaration that I have experienced in having visited this institution, I shall feel happy to imagine that I have successfully shared my thoughts with you

With the warmest personal regards and wishing you a happy Season ahead