From Nehru Maidan to Ranji Trophy (Chat with Surathkal boy K L Rahul)

office@coastaldigest.com (Abrar Ahmed Khan, Photos by Ramesh Pandith)
January 13, 2011

Representing Karnataka at the Ranji Trophy circuit is a dream that many a young boy who slogs it out in the nets of little cricket camps across the state, nurtures. For Mangalorean K L Rahul, the dream transformed into reality when he walked the field sporting the state jersey in the current Ranji Trophy season.

No wonder the boy from Surathkal is elated. “Feels great! Escpecially after working hard for so many years...”, he says. But the lad knows it's just the beginning. “This is just the first step. But I feel really happy”, he adds.

Rahul rates playing for the state at the most acclaimed domestic cricket tournament in the country as a better experience, even in comparison to his experience at the U-19 World Cup held in New Zealand when he donned the India colours. “Right now Ranji Trophy experience feels better. I got a chance to share the dressing room with seniors and guys like Manish Pandey, Robin Utthappa and the like. I got to learn a lot, but still got to go higher”, he says.

That said, Rahul does value the U-19 World Cup campaign a lot. “It was the first time I actually played in a foreign country. The conditions there were different, the wickets were bouncy”, he discloses. Rahul believes that a good player needs to play well irrespective of the wickets he gets. No wonder he doesn't blame the controversial Vadodara track too much, where Karnataka ended their Ranji campaign this season as they lost to the home team in the semis. “Wickets in India are also good. Yea, Baroda's was a bad wicket. The match got over in five sessions. But you can't blame the wicket all the time”, he feels.

rah2

Karnataka cricket is on a high at the moment and the change of guard with former India skipper and one of India's legendary spinners Anil Kumble taking charge at the top as the President of the KSCA, has only acted as the cherry on the icing. The new executive team comprising of former India players Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad have only inspired the budding state cricketers like Rahul.

“The new team has just started functioning. They're doing a good job. They come up to us and talk to us and take our feedbacks. Kumble sir makes us feel comfortable. He comes to the net sessions and had come to see the match at Mysore too. So far it's been good”, reveals Rahul.

With Kumble preferring to stay out of IPL as a player, he but naturally has given an indication that perhaps he wants to serve the state cricket board in his new role better this time around. But talking about IPL and other Premiere leagues held in the state, Rahul feels the shorter version of the game is a positive development.

“Premiere leagues are only going to help cricketers. We are getting exposed to the bigger picture. We would also like to see the 50 over format being given similar importance”, says Rahul, who was part of the Bangalore Brigadiers team captained by Robin Utthappa in the Karnataka Premiere League (KPL).

But does too much of cricket bother him, especially with the injury factor associated with it? “Not really. We play a lot of cricket. But we have trainers and physios. We work with them and they are professionals. Yes, injuries do come, but when they come during or around the off season its all the more better, so that we can recover in time. Injuries are more personal rather than stemming from the schedules”, says Rahul, with his coach Jayaraj Samuel nodding in consensus.

rah1

His coaches Jayaraj Samuel and Devdas Nayak have played a great role in shaping up Rahul's journey so far. It was Jayaraj Samuel who identified thatsomething' in Rahul.

“I had started playing cricket from the time I could walk or hold a bat. I used to keep asking dad to put me in some cricket camp. Then when I joined the Nehru Maidan cricket camp when I was 11, sir identified my talent”, says Rahul, looking at his coach sitting next to him.

What is it that Jayaraj saw in him? “When we first saw him, he was not that impressive. But he had commitment”, says Coach Jayaraj. “He was only 11 years old. We asked him to bat against some of the very good bowlers we had. He used to patiently do it. He got selected to the U-13 team. We used to tell him that Rahul you have to bat from both the ends i.e. play 5 balls and take a single and play from the other side too. Like a good student, he obeyed us and he did it. There, we realized that he is special”, the Coach says.

The recently held IPL auction showed that there's greater demand for young blood in the T20 circles. Youngsters, many of them, have used this platform to find a place in the national team as well, R Ashwin, Yusuf Pathan, Saurabh Tiwari, Amit Mishra, and the like to name a few. But when it comes to representing the country in the Test format, the general impression is that youngsters have not come to the party enough to find a permanent place in the squad, Yuvraj Singh being one of the prime examples. On the other hand, the post-Laxman, Tendulkar, Dravid era has already become a cause of concern. But Rahul feels things will fall in place with time.

“Test cricket is different from other formats. It's all about the mind. It takes time for people to get used to Test cricketing strategies at the International level. If you see Gambhir, he took his time…Initially he was struggling but now, there's no stopping him”, Rahul opines.

When asked whether a premiere league or something like an IPL should be introduced to boost domestic Test cricket with international players will help in some way, Rahul responds in the affirmative: “Playing with senior cricketers will always be good. It'll be good for cricket overall”.

The upcoming World Cup will be an exciting one, feels Rahul. And he is putting his money on the sub-continent teams. “The sub-continent teams have a good chance. It's going to be a good world cup. There is tough competition as it's not one sided now”.

Having played a World Cup tournament himself at the U-19 level, Rahul knows what the showpiece event has on offer both for players as well as fans. He recalls his thrilling WC experience: “Initially we didn't start well but pounced back in the later part of the tournament. Then came a stage where we were up against Pakistan and the match was such that even if the game is drawn or called off, they would qualify. We got together and told ourselves that we have to win this game, come what may. We weren't thinking about the quarter final and the semi final or the World Cup then and it was just that match that we badly wanted to win. But it started raining and we had to wait in the dressing room. We even tried to help the groundsmen because we wanted a game. If it was some other team, we wouldn't have done that. But they won that match”.

Rahul has come a long way and he only wants to advance further now. May he play for India at the highest level, a dream that he would love to see realize.

No wonder the boy from Surathkal is elated. “Feels great! Escpecially after working hard for so many years...”, he says. But the lad knows it's just the beginning. “This is just the first step. But I feel really happy”, he adds.

Rahul rates playing for the state at the most acclaimed domestic cricket tournament in the country as a better experience, even in comparison to his experience at the U-19 World Cup held in New Zealand when he donned the India colours. “Right now Ranji Trophy experience feels better. I got a chance to share the dressing room with seniors and guys like Manish Pandey, Robin Utthappa and the like. I got to learn a lot, but still got to go higher”, he says.

That said, Rahul does value the U-19 World Cup campaign a lot. “It was the first time I actually played in a foreign country. The conditions there were different, the wickets were bouncy”, he discloses. Rahul believes that a good player needs to play well irrespective of the wickets he gets. No wonder he doesn't blame the controversial Vadodara track too much, where Karnataka ended their Ranji campaign this season as they lost to the home team in the semis. “Wickets in India are also good. Yea, Baroda's was a bad wicket. The match got over in five sessions. But you can't blame the wicket all the time”, he feels.

Karnataka cricket is on a high at the moment and the change of guard with former India skipper and one of India's legendary spinners Anil Kumble taking charge at the top as the President of the KSCA, has only acted as the cherry on the icing. The new executive team comprising of former India players Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad have only inspired the budding state cricketers like Rahul.

“The new team has just started functioning. They're doing a good job. They come up to us and talk to us and take our feedbacks. Kumble sir makes us feel comfortable. He comes to the net sessions and had come to see the match at Mysore too. So far it's been good”, reveals Rahul.

With Kumble preferring to stay out of IPL as a player, he but naturally has given an indication that perhaps he wants to serve the state cricket board in his new role better this time around. But talking about IPL and other Premiere leagues held in the state, Rahul feels the shorter version of the game is a positive development.

“Premiere leagues are only going to help cricketers. We are getting exposed to the bigger picture. We would also like to see the 50 over format being given similar importance”, says Rahul, who was part of the Bangalore Brigadiers team captained by Robin Utthappa in the Karnataka Premiere League (KPL).

But does too much of cricket bother him, especially with the injury factor associated with it? “Not really. We play a lot of cricket. But we have trainers and physios. We work with them and they are professionals. Yes, injuries do come, but when they come during or around the off season its all the more better, so that we can recover in time. Injuries are more personal rather than stemming from the schedules”, says Rahul, with his coach Jayaraj Samuel nodding in consensus.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 8,2020

Mangaluru, Aug 8: As visuals of the Air India Express flight crash at Kozhikode international airport emerge, one cannot help but be reminded of an eerily similar and unfortunate accident that occurred a decade ago. The August 7, 2020 tragedy brought back memories of the 2010 crash.

It was on May 22, 2010 that an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 flight from Dubai to Mangaluru over shot the runway while landing at Bajpe airport and fell into a cliff. Of the 160 passengers and 6 crew members on board, 158 were killed (all crew members and 152 passengers) and only 8 survived.

Even back then, the plane had split into two. The crash has been termed as one of India's worst aviation disasters.

The final conversations between Air traffic control (ATC) and the pilot prior to the landing showed no indication of any distress.

Like the Mangaluru accident, Karipur crash too happened when the flight was attempting to land.

The captain of the aircraft which crashed at Mangaluru, Z Glucia, was an experienced pilot with 10,000 hours of flying experience and had 19 landings at the Mangalore airport. Co-pilot S S Ahluwalia, with 3,000 hours of flying experience had as many as 66 landings at this airport. Both the pilot and co-pilot were among the victims.

An investigation into the accident later found that the cause of the accident was the captain’s failure to discontinue an ‘unstabilised approach’ and his persistence to continue with the landing, despite three calls from the First Officer to ‘go-around’.

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coastaldigest.com news network
April 13,2020

Mangaluru: The Karnataka-Kerala border closure at Talapady amidst nationwide Covid-19 lockdown has not only prevented the movement of vehicles and people from Kasaragod to Mangaluru but also stopped the supply of life-saving drugs from Karnataka’s medical hub to its bordering district.

Hundreds of people from Kasaragod and Kannur districts who were treated in hospitals of Mangaluru for past several years are still dependent on some of the medicines that are available only in Mangaluru. Such medicines have become inaccessible for Keralites following the border closure. Every day, a number of people from Kerala call their acquaintances in Mangaluru to see if there is a way to get medicine.

In fact, Karnataka government has blocked all 23 roads that connect the state with Kerala. The reason given was, Kasaragod is the hotbed of coronavirus and allowing traffic even in emergency cases might lead to spread of Covid-19 in border districts of Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru. The attitude has resulted in the death of around a dozen people in Kasaragod district in last couple of weeks.

Even after the intervention of the Supreme Court a few days ago, the authorities in Karnataka are facing the allegation of being hostile either by blocking the way ahead or turning a deaf ear to the patients reaching their border. 

At this juncture, three Good Samaritans – P K G Anoop Kumar of Canara Engineering College, Mangaluru, Satheesh Shetty of Kasaragod Patla and P Jayaprakash of Ponnangala – have come to the aid of the Malayalee patients who are dependent on medicines from Mangaluru. 

The three activists who are currently staying (in fact stranded amidst lockdown) in Mangaluru, are delivering life-saving medicines to patients in Kerala through Kerala fire servicemen and policemen posted at the Talapady border. 

Anoop Kumar says that took the initiative after a woman, Maria Augustine from Chemberi (Taliparamba) Nellikkutty, contacted him for a medicine. He managed to buy it from a medical store in the port city and handed it over to a Kerala fire serviceman at Talapady border. 

All three are activists of Communist Party of India (Marxist). After moving to Mangaluru, they set up ‘We Donate Charitable Society’ to donate blood. The activists say that they are ready to dispatch medicines from Mangaluru to any person in Kerala. Those Keralites who are in need of medicines from may contact: 888471344 - Anoop, 9895135881 - Jayaprakash

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abdullah
 - 
Sunday, 21 Jun 2020

Salute to you dears.  May God bless you.  HOpe public and Govt will appreciate your sacrifice and support you.

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Abu Muhammad | coastaldigest.com
January 16,2020

Even as the Muslims of undivided Dakshina Kannada district broke out of the “spiral of silence” and made history by leading an unprecedented protest against CAA, NPR and NRC as well as the categorial mistreatment of non-saffronites at the hands of the police across the country, mainstream media turned a blind eye to the spectacle at the Shah Garden Maidan in Mangaluru’s Adyar where about two lakh patriots with tricolor in their hands converged to assert themselves on January 15th, 2020, a date which will be remembered by the people of coastal Karnataka forever.

The largest gathering in the history of Mangaluru was absolutely peaceful, law-abiding and respectful. While the slogans of ‘Azaadi’ were reverberating in the atmosphere, the protesters were seen making way for vehicles and passersby, taking care of women and helping elderly citizens on the highway adjacent to the ground. Though the organisers and most of the participants were Muslims, they collectively identified themselves as “We, the people of India”.

The district administration and the police department hadn’t imagined or even dreamt of such a mammoth gathering after blocking the highway and banning public transport from 9 am to 9 pm. Many opine that this action was taken only to discourage the concerned from participating in the protest and to create fear in the hearts of the people who are yet to process the unjustifiable deaths of two innocent citizens in an unwarranted police firing a few weeks ago.

What has since surprised the protesters most is the mainstream media’s blatant attempt to downplay the significance of this largest ever gathering. Shockingly, it could not make it to the front pages of any of the state-level Kannada daily newspapers except city-based Vaartha Bharathi. In the absence of The Hindu, which had announced a holiday on account of Makar Sankranti, most of the English newspapers too pitilessly buried the historic event in their inner pagers. National TV channels too were evidently reluctant to cover the event until NDTV started telecasting the news of the protest.

This uneasy relationship between the media and minorities in coastal Karnataka has long existed, but the non-coverage of the huge protest of Jan 15 marks a quantum leap beyond the media’s traditional pro-Sangh Parivar stance and biases –– which in the past had often demonised non-saffronites –– to now completely ignore and suppress the people’s voice. This media bias has naturally evoked a sharp response from netizens, who took to social media to issue clarion calls to boycott the mainstream media forever.

Cleanliness Drive

Most major protest meets and rallies –– both religious and political –– leave behind tonnes of garbage, especially water bottles, placards and buntings. However, the organisers of the Jan 15 protest meet led by example by launching a cleanliness drive in the area soon after the protesters left the venue peacefully. The drive continued on Jan 16 too. (Ironically, amidst this ongoing cleanliness drive, a local news portal captured photos of a few plastic bottles scattered along the road at Adyar and published a report accusing the event organisers and participants of polluting the area!)

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