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)The Colonels Last Wicket
- ISBN: 1905988311
- Publisher: libros international
The Colonels Last Wicket Reviews
A book review
The Colonel’s Last Wicket by GV Rama Rao is a wonderful tale of a passion, perseverance, and achievement. We on Sulekha know the author as Mr. Rama Rao Garimella whose daily blogs are infused with humor, charm, and exquisite style. So, when I heard about his book getting published, I had no doubt that it would be enjoyable to read since I was already familiar with his writings.
My knowledge of cricket can best be described as superficial since I had not watched the game live in many years. Luckily, my recent visit to India was timed perfectly because I was to be able to watch one day cricket series and the test matches between Pakistan and India. Whatever I knew about cricket was enough to take me through the thrills of this game. So when I got hold of The Colonel’s Last Wicket from Amazon.com, I was hoping that it would not take me too deep into cricketing terminology and its technicalities. As with any book, I have a habit of taking a quick glance to familiarize myself with the layout of the book so I know how the author will project his or her story to me. I was satisfied after reading the first few pages that the author had meticulously embedded a wonderful story interweaving analogies drawn from cricket. The story moves with a steady pace and the analogies to cricket were brilliantly laid out. Each chapter starts with just a couple of paragraphs defining and describing a particular rule of the game. These rules then segue to the ongoing phase of the story. The complexities of the game are described in a way that a novice like me could understand. Some of these are words that have baffled me for years. Each of these analogies always seems to anchor to the story without fail.
The story revolves around a Colonel in South India who after years of service to the National Defense Academy has retired only to find that his heart’s passion had never been fulfilled. He had joined the defense academy to please his father and in spite of valiant service to his nation he always struggled to gain his father’s appreciation. During his younger days, his ambition was to represent his nation as an accomplished cricket player. This desire was never fulfilled due to his job and so he decides to live his dreams after retirement through a young boy that he meets on the outskirts of a village. Upon learning that the boy, Raju, was an orphan, he informally adopts the young boy who had shown an uncanny skill in delivering fast balls to his friends while playing cricket in the village. He finances the boy’s education and nurtures the hope of training him to become one of the country’s foremost cricket players at the national level. The story is set in modern India with its fast changing cityscape and the ever-present cricket fever in the backdrop. Technology and cricket go hand in hand. The Colonel’s passion to the game is not lost upon the young boy who is filled with gratitude and wants to repay for his adopted father’s generosity.
The boy’s blossoming in the complicated game of cricket is fraught with vicissitudes very similar to the Colonel’s own life. A widower, the Colonel struggles to fight his insecurities, which he blames on the tumultuous relationship with his father. He still tries to be a perfect dad to his two daughters and his adopted son. Raju as a young man struggles to succeed in the game and never seems to make it to the next level without some degree of trepidation and failure. Characters that bind the story are the Colonel’s two daughters living in America and a young woman who is the epitome of success that has come about through the IT boom in India. The young woman Usha eventually becomes the taskmaster who keeps Raju’s sights focused on the job at hand with her amazing abilities in the area of technology.
The story has a poignant ending but not before demonstrating what passion, hard work and perseverance does to the psyche of a cricket player whose only aim is to succeed in the game of cricket and life. The Colonel’s undying support plus motivation and Raju’s dedication to the game are inseparable.
The book maintains its standards in keeping with the author’s reputation as a prolific writer with a penchant to tell a story. I acquired insight into the intricacies of cricket that I never knew existed, all the while flipping through the pages of this novel with its binding tale. Readers are going to enjoy the book as it weaves a story of life through this passionate game called cricket. Hope this review has given a glimpse of what to expect from Mr. G V Rama Rao’s The Colonel’s Last Wicket.
My heartfelt congratulations to the author on publication of this book.
Other reviews posted on The Colonels Last Wicket
- The Colonels Last Wicket posted on 23 Jan 2008 by Indu3
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