You just cannot leave him out of the paradigm of discussions. I am talking about the ultra-glamorous, brave heart - the persona of salt and pepper shades - Sourav Ganguly. Having gone through a roller coaster ride of ups and downs; highs and lows; ins and outs, he has sniffed the red ball dance past his nose as much as he has transported the cherry out of the field far too many times for count, swung his shirt on the balcony of the Mecca of cricket, Lords, had Steve Waugh waiting for the toss, braced the brunt of the headless selectors and moved out of the arena with much elegance for inspiration. Hold on, he is retired but not a superannuated man altogether. He is very alive and kicking the happening world - well, a new era and a new avatar have begun with Dadagiri on Zee Bangla.
Didn't expect him to, but he is carrying it off well ' with a Bangla dashed with a tad of accent, sweet to the ear, oversized glasses that need adjustments every now and then, and a voice cracks when pitched high. The programme basically is a game show, with candidates participating from various districts of West Bengal, earning points with every correct answer to questions sometimes witty sometimes bland and most importantly, shaking hand with the man of their dreams. I am a mad hater of reality shows but a die-hard fan of Ganguly. With the latter balancing off the former preference, I make it a point to grab the TV remote and switch to Zee Bangla at 9:30 pm from Monday to Wednesday.
All the episodes are interesting in some way or the other but the one with little kids was probably the best. The interaction between the maharaja and the children reminded me of the days when he tackled Viru, Bhajji, Yuvi, Zaheer, etc in his heyday. The vital pillars of the Indian cricket team today, these names were brought into light by the Prince of Calcutta. Dada or dadi to the babies of the team at that time, he handled them on and off the field with equal panache. The little ones on the show today brought back memories of the yore.
Balancing things and adding utmost oomph and glam to the show Ganguly is riding high and we expect him to do more of it. Kudos, Dada.
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