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DEAR REDIFF

"No Azhar, no match!"

Hemant Kenkre

It was quite a while since I had met my friend, who has earned a name for himself as the first Indian who specialises in Cricket morchas. I decided to pay him a visit and managed to catch him en route to a cricket morcha.

"So nice of you to come," said my pal, "I was on my way to an important morcha in Aurangabad. I've planned a morcha there to protest the dropping of Mohammed Azharuddin." I asked him what was the connection between Aurangabad and Azharuddin. "There may or may not be a connection," said my pal as he packs his clothes in a smart overnight suitcase, "my job is to organise and participate in the morcha and not to question why a particular morcha is held in a particular place for a particular cause."

It was a big confusing for me, so I asked him on how he conducted these morchas. "It's very simple," said my pal as he checked his supply for mineral water. "I am approached by local fans or by people who feel strongly about a cricketing issue. They give me a brief and I conceptualise and execute the morcha."

I told him that I had heard of people organising morchas, but had never heard of people conceptualising them. "I agree that anybody can organise a morcha but it is up to professionals like me to conceptualise and execute a successful morcha."

He explained, "After I get the brief from my client, I go into the details of conceptualising the morcha. I plan it to the minutest detail. The route is decided after a recee of the city. The timing is planned to perfection. After all, it is these small things that matter and only a professional like me can go into these details.

"The route and timing are very important. For example, in Mumbai, what is the point of organising a morcha where there are no real cricket lovers?"

I told him that cricket lovers were there in every nook and cranny of Mumbai. "That is a mistake that non-professionals like you make," he shot back. "We do a research study which gives us a representative picture of where the real cricket lovers reside. The psychographics and demographics are compiled and a dry run is done. It is only after we are convinced that the morcha will create the desired impact that we go on and conduct one."

The process must be laborious, I told him. "Yes, it is a long drawn process, but it's worth it. Take the timing for example. What is the point of taking out a morcha if the authorities are not in town at that time? All these things matter if you really want to create an impact."

I was enchanted by my friend's profession and asked him how he got into this business. "I was always fascinated by morchas," said my pal. "In the early 70s, I heard of the 'No Durrani, No Test movement' which was held in Mumbai. Later, I got to know of different such initiatives which were primarily held to uphold the rights of cricketers who had been discriminated against. I attended a few of these and realised that if conducted well, such initiatives could create a major impact. Before I knew it, I was in business.

"I decided to go into conceptualising and organising morchas and created my own Event Management Company which specialises in Cricket morchas. Today I am quite successful."

I asked him if he learnt the tricks of the morcha trade on his own, and was startled by his answer about the complexities. "I hung around Azad Maidan to get a feel of political morchas, I joined in a few and even got beaten up by the police, but it was well worth it.

"To be a successful participant, one has to act his part. I therefore met and discussed with Bollywood actors to understand the characteristics of a morcha participant. I spent long hours with Naseeruddin Shah and Nana Patekar, who taught me the Stanislavsky method which I utilise when I conduct a morcha. To be a successful participant, one has to believe in what one is doing. One has to get into the skin of the character that one is portraying. A morcha participant is an actor and the streets of the city are his stage. After all, what is the point of participating in a morcha if one does not put up a convincing performance?"

All this hard work, my friend continued, paid off in the end. "I even got offers from ABCL to conduct a morcha for one of their films, and almost did it for them. But tey gave me post dated cheques, and a professional like me believes in advance payment. Now, during the off-season, I conduct special workshops all over the country to teach people the Stanislavsky method of participating in morchas. There is a great demand for such workshops. Thanks to the success of the morchas conducted by me, I get calls from all over the country."

I asked him which place was the best for conducting morchas. "Calcutta, undoubtedly," was the response. "Those guys there are naturals. They take to morchas like a duck takes to water. There sense of dedication amazes me each time I conduct a morcha there. I will give you an example of a morcha held recently, when Saurav Ganguly was dropped from the playing eleven.

"We got the former Test cricketers to take the lead, the Ranji Trophy cricketers came next, followed by Ganguly's fans. The highlight of the morcha was the section which comprised of people who held placards which gave Saurav's score in each and ever match that he had played. Even his inter-class scores were prominently displayed by his fans. Now, that is unbelievable. The morcha was so successful that we plan to make it into an annual event. We are approaching sponsors, who will benefit tremendously with the mileage that they will get."

I admired his initiative, and told him as much, and that it was a matter of time before political parties approached him to conceptualise and execute morchas for them at the national level. "No way," said my friend. "I will never have anything to do with political parties."

I asked him why.

"Because, as a cricket lover, I believe that cricket and politics do not mix!"