Proud parents savour their son's feat

By Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR, NOV. 25. The food was neatly laid out. But the parents of Shiv Sundar Das didn't want to savour their lunch till the time Budha (Shiv Sundar's nickname) drove the ball to the boundary at Nagpur this afternoon to become the first cricketer from Orissa to crack a century in international cricket.

Shiv Sundar's father Mr. Uttam Das, mother Ms. Kanchanbala Das and his elder sister Sucheta, were glued to the television set at their Hatiasuni Lane two-bedroom house on Tankapani Road here since morning. And finally their dream became a reality.

By the time Shiv Sundar was out on the field to open the first innings of the second Test against Zimbabwe at Nagpur, his father was already back after offering Puja at a nearby temple and his mother had finished her Puja at home.

Shiv Sundar's parents had missed those moments on television when he scored his first half century at Kotla Grounds in New Delhi recently. Mr. Das was away from home, while his wife felt nervous to watch the television during those tense moments and kept herself busy in the kitchen. Sucheta, however, had watched it all. But the situation was different today. All three sat close to each other to see Shiv Sundar making it big in cricket.

``So far, I had only heard about Budha scoring centuries in Ranji Trophy matches. But I had never seen that on television. I was thrilled to see him score a century for the first time today,'' said Mr. Das, a retired school teacher.

``Seeing Budha scoring a hundred with ease, I thought he could play till close of play. However, he was out at 110. It does not matter, he had already hit a century,'' said Mr. Das, and added: ``I hope Budha would become a great player like Sachin Tendulkar.''

The telephone at their house kept ringing at regular intervals. Shiv Sundar's eldest sister, who lives in the U.S., called up to share her joy with her parents. Many more calls were received by Mr. Das with every caller congratulating him for his son's success.

The cricket lovers even called up each other in the city to discuss about the local lad's achievement. Crackers were burst at many localities to mark Shiv Sundar's century. Without wasting any time, the Secretary of Orissa Cricket Association, Mr. Ashirbad Behera, announced an award of Rs. 1 lakh for Shiv Sundar.

Ever since Shiv Sundar left for Bangladesh to play for India, his mother has taken up an additional job for herself. She has kept an earthen lamp burning continuously since then, with the prayer to the God that her son would do well and make the country proud. The lamp will continue to burn till he returns home.

Going by Shiv Sundar's performance in Test cricket, Mr. Das is hopeful that his son might be considered for a berth in the team that would play the one-day matches against the visiting Zimbabweans.

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