Devki, Saroj, Purnima - in the middle of Vizag One day ~ some history too

M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi, starring Jayam Ravi, Asin and Prakash Raj, released in 2004 was a commercial success.   Heard of Vizzy Trophy ? ~ what is Purnima, Saroj, Devki, doing in the middle !!

At the time of posting this @ 04.25 pm, India are 190/3 – Dhoni just got out – honestly did not expect that this series would become 2-2 and a decided will be played here at Visakhapatnam (popularly Vizag),  located on the coast of Bay of Bengal in the north eastern region of the state of Andhra.  The city was ruled by Andhra Kings of Vengi and Pallavas. The city is named after Sri Vishaka Varma. The British captured Visakhapatnam after the 1804 Battle of Vizagapatam, and it remained under British colonial rule until India's independence in 1947 which was a part of the Northern Circars.  Part of the city is known by its colonial British name, Waltair; during the colonial era, the city's hub was the Waltair railway station and the surrounding part of the city is still called Waltair.

Nearer is another historic place with - Nagavali, Vegavathi, Gomukhi, Suvarnamukhi, Champavathi and Gosthani rivers flowing through.   The 5^th ODI is on (no. 3780) at VDCA Cricket stadium, Visakhapatnam – and before I could move on, Manish Pandey got out in a silly fashion without opening his account.  The stadium has ends named as :  Vizzy End, DV Subba Rao End.  Today, offspinner Jayant Yadav is making his debut replacing  Hardik Pandya in India's line-up, while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the fourth ODI, coming back into the side in place of Dhawal Kulkarni.

The city that has so many rivers is Vizianagaram, once  ruled by different Hindu emperors of Kalinga.  The area including Srikakulam in the north was integral part of the domain of Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi during the rule of Kubja Vishnuvardhana (624- 641). During his rule the Vengi kingdom  expanded from Srikakulam in the north to Nellore in the south. They patronised Telugu. Later the areas were under the rule of Kakatiya Dynasty of Warangal.   There was  the rule of illustrious Krishna Deva Raya too. During last century,  the area was a part of British – Northern Circars.  One important event is te Bobbili yuddam fought between the MahaRaja of Vizianagaram and the Rajah of Bobbili in  1757. Rulers of this princely state belonged to the Pusapati family.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Vijay Ananda Gajapathi Raju [1905-1965] famously  Maharajkumar of Vizianagram or Vizzy, an administrator and politician, played Cricket too.  Vizzy was the second son of Pusapati Vijaya Rama Gajapathi Raju, the ruler of Vizianagaram. He had the  title Maharajkumar (prince) – and he  married the eldest daughter of the ruler of the zamindari estate of Kashipur.

Vizzy organised his cricket team in 1926 and constructed a ground in his palace compounds. He recruited players from India and abroad. When MCC cancelled the tour of India in 1930–31 owing to political problems, he organised a team of his own and toured India and Ceylon – a la, Indian Premier League of last century.   He succeeded in drafting Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe for the team.  He could not make it to the first tour to England but was named the Captain for the 1936 tour of England,  and there are some references to lobbying and not cricketing reasons.  The team reportedly was divided and there were some controversies too, the one involving Lala Amarnath, much spoken about.   Though India lost the series, Vizzy was knighted.  Vizzy was to later renounce his knighthood in July 1947.  He played 3 tests in that tour aggregating 33 runs. 

The Women’s Selection Committee on Saturday announced the squads for West Indies Women’s Tour of India for three ODIs and three Twenty 20 matches and Asia Cup Women’s Championship 2016. .. .. to get back the names at the start are not those of Women Cricket players, but the names one can read on the jerseys of Indian players.  Yes, members of the Indian cricket team are sporting a different style of jerseys -  Instead of the usual customary practice of wearing their last names on the back of the shirt – as is the trend across the world and in multiple sports – the team is wearing  the names of their mothers as a tribute to an important member of the family which doesn’t get as much attention as the father does.  Speaking about it at the toss, MS Dhoni said, “We are quite used to having the surnames from the Dad’s side, and what’s important is to appreciate the stuff that Mothers have done for us. It’s a very emotional connect and it’s good that it is put on a public platform. I would like to request the whole of India keeps this in mind every day and appreciate them everyday.”

That film M Kumaran is all about hero’s love and adulation for his mother, who lives separated from her husband  due to differences in their priorities in life. As could be read from the title, the hero has the name of mother (M Kumaran, s/0 of Mahalakshmi) and not that of father.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

29^th Oct 2016 @ 04.40 pm.