INDORE: You only need to spend a few hours in Indore to know that this city is clean. Like, real spick and span clean. Sure, last October this city was awarded 'the cleanest city of India' for a sixth year in a row but seeing is actually believing. Most other Indian cities, divided by size, demography, topography and region, are unified in that two most innate of Indian things; paan stains and stench of urine. Indore, which hosted the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in January, is free of both.
In other ways, though, the umbilical cord is firmly in place. Most Indian cities have localities or roads after former leaders, politicians or figureheads; the ubiquitous Mahatma Gandhi Road is present. Next to it, a busy intersection is named after Veer Sawarkar. One of the boards on top of the intersection suggests a Nehru Nagar is nearby. A stone's away from the Veer Sawarkar Square is Chappan Bhog, a food street closed for vehicular traffic. A '#WE <3 Modi', in stencil art and big font size, invites people to treat one part of the place as an instagrammable spot. If Chappan Bhog is the city's gentle food heartbeat in the mornings, in the nights, it is the Sarafa Bazaar, situated next to the Rajwada Palace (a historic royal residence). As long as you are vegetarian, your palate will party all night long (you get everything from tandoori chai to a Burj Khalifa dosai).
The umbilical cord is also visible for the city's love of cricket. It is not really a surprise considering the place's heritage, history and heft in relation to cricket. The Holkar teams were a dominant force in the domestic game in the 40s and 50s. Syed Mushtaq Ali, the country's first overseas Test centurion, was born and brought up here. Janardhan Navle, first Indian to face a ball in Tests, played for Holkar. CK Nayudu, India's first Test captain, played most of his cricket in Indore. Denis Compton, English cricketer and footballer, represented Holkar during his time in India. More recently, Sachin Tendulkar scored his 10000th run in ODIs at the old Nehru Stadium. The side's current coach, Rahul Dravid, was born in Indore. Narendra Hirwani, who represented Madhya Pradesh for over two decades, still holds the record for best figures by a bowler on Test debut (16/136). Raj Singh Dungarpur, the former BCCI president, was a product of the city's Daly College.... this is certainly not an exhaustive list.
All this cricketing history has not just been preserved by the state body, Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA). They have actively displayed it front and centre, setting an example for the next generation of kids who want to be inspired. The stadium is named after the team that won multiple Ranji titles around the period when India secured independence from the British (the team got its name from the dynasty that ruled the region more than a few centuries ago). Even the stands and the gates around the Holkar Stadium are a celebration of former cricketers, a departure from the norm of naming things after administrators or politicians or leaders.
MPCA secretary, Sanjeev Rao, picks up the story. "The idea came up when we were in the finishing stages of building the new stadium," he tells this daily. "The committee decided in its wisdom to name the stands after the Holkars and the other great Indian players after Sanjay Jagdale convinced them to do so." You walk around the periphery of the stadium and that much is evident. There's a Hirwani gate. A Sunil Gavaskar stand. An Ajit Wadekar stand. A Kapil Dev stand. A Sachin Tendulkar stand.
Why? "The west stands are named after various Indian cricketing greats and the east stands are named after various members of the great Holkar teams (Chandu Sarwate, Hiralal Gaekwad and so on). Naming the gates and stands in their names definitely would motivate the youngsters and give them a filip that they can also walk in the shoes of their predecessors, that's the idea."
When you are in the ground, you get a better picture but to get a 360 view of the ground is to also live in a history book of Indian cricket. The Anil Kumble stand is face-to-face with the Gaekwad stand. Gavaskar. Kapil Dev. The Mushtaq Ali pavilion. The Tendulkar stand. Not to mention the fact that the home dressing room is named after Dravid, with the away one named after MAK Pataudi, who was born in Bhopal. There is also a lovely touch in naming the commentary box after Sushil Doshi, the first international commentator from Indore. Likewise, the Press Box takes its name from Prabhash Joshi, a cricket writer and journalist.
Writing in an MPCA newsletter in August 2012, cricket historian, professor SP Chaturvedi, listed out the reasons for not selling the space. "... most Associations have sold off their places for monetary gains but we have preferred to preserve them for our cricket heroes," Chaturvedi, currently part of the 'Library and Museum Committee' of the MPCA, had written then." It holds true more than a decade later.
After the Test ended on Friday, there was a small function held in the outfield to celebrate a joyous occasion. Indore had quietly punched above its weight to host international games featuring India in all three formats in one season (South Africa in T20I, New Zealand in ODI).
With the World Cup coming around in October, don't be surprised if the BCCI decides to give Indore a few games. Around that time, Indore will, in all likelihood, pick up a seventh straight award for being clean.