(2003. Kharagpur. The principle stage is split into two unequal sections. The larger aspect depicts a railway station. There are just a few benches and a signboard bearing the station’s identify. On the opposite aspect of the stage is a small, well-furnished room, which is the workplace of the Station Director. The Station Director is seated behind a desk. MS Dhoni, dressed within the uniform of a ticket collector, is seated reverse him.)
Station Director:So how is the cricket going, Mahendra?
MS Dhoni:It’s going effectively, sir, however I might enhance my recreation additional if solely I might follow extra.
Station Director: I’m certain that’s the case, Mahendra, however I’m afraid it’s going to be troublesome to offer you extra time without work. I even have individuals to report back to. I’ve finished the utmost that I might do.
MS Dhoni:(with a grim expression) You might be proper, sir. I’m grateful to you for what you might have finished. I shouldn’t have requested for extra.
(Lights fade. Once they come up once more, the stage shifts absolutely to the railway station. MS Dhoni, nonetheless in his uniform, paces up and down the platform with a bag in his hand. The railway tracks are seen. At a close-by tea stall, a vendor is making tea as a few passengers stand sipping from their cups.)
MS Dhoni:(to himself) Father says that it’s so troublesome to get a authorities job, and I shouldn’t throw it away. It’s certainly a job that hundreds attempt very onerous to get. The job itself isn’t one thing to be scoffed at. It’s due to this job that I’ve been capable of contribute to the household revenue, to even help with my sister’s wedding ceremony. (He sighs deeply.)However, alternatively, if I stick with it working like this on daily basis, my cricket will undergo. I’ll by no means have the ability to make it to the Indian cricket staff which has been my dream for thus lengthy. It’s Friday morning and the practice to Ranchi, my house city will go away in a couple of minutes. (Pause; then, with resolve.) I do know what I’m going to do. I’m going to take the practice. I’m going to submit my resignation to the railways. I’ve to take this selection.
(The sound of an approaching practice fills the air. Moments later, a practice pulls in alongside the platform. MS Dhoni picks up his bag and walks in direction of the practice. A railway peon, who has been ingesting tea on the stall, notices him and steps ahead.)
Peon:Are you going someplace, sir?
MS Dhoni:Sure, I’m.
Peon:The place to, sir, if I could ask?
MS Dhoni: I’ve been summoned by the longer term.
Peon:(puzzled) By the longer term, sir?
MS Dhoni: By my future, to be extra exact. (He takes out a letter from his coat pocket.)Might you please give this letter to the station director?
(The peon takes the letter and glances at it.)
Peon:(startled)Sir… Are you resigning?
MS Dhoni:Sure, my buddy, I’ve no selection. As I mentioned, cricket is looking me.
Peon:However you haven’t been chosen for the India staff as but? How might you quit your job so simply?
MS Dhoni:The actual fact of the matter is that I can’t be chosen so long as I work as a ticket collector. (A glance of resolve settles over his face.)I’ve not been chosen to date, however I might be. The longer term beckons me. My future beckons me.
(A practice whistle pierces the air, signalling its imminent departure.)
MS Dhoni:I need to rush off. I do know Father might be very upset with my choice – but it surely can’t be helped.
(Bag in hand, MS Dhoni walks in direction of the practice because the peon watches open-mouthed.)
(We’re again with THE CREATIVE FIVE. A nook of the stage lights up.)
Sonia:You recognize what impressed me probably the most about that scene?
Monica:What?
Sonia:You may make out that Dhoni had nice respect for his father and his views. Dhoni didn’t take the choice to depart the railways frivolously. Probably he helped his household financially, they usually wanted that further revenue.
Karim: I agree. He acted with a way of nice accountability.
Milan:And that’s additionally the rationale why he made such an important captain.
Hari:Life taught him methods to deal with strain.
Sonia:To work underneath strain. Juggling a job with cricket follow meant doing each issues underneath strain.
Karim:He additionally took the precise choice – to depart his job – whereas underneath nice strain.
Monica:Sure, that’s the reason the railway peon was in such shock. (Pause.)In any case, there was no assure on the time that he would make it to the cricket staff.
Milan:There isn’t any assure of success in a cricket match both. However if you’re the captain, it’s a must to study to make cautious, thought-about choices.
Karim:And in addition, generally, to take dangers.
Hari:What you possibly can name a calculated threat, maybe.
Sonia:Milan, what’s the subsequent scene we’re going to do for Dhoni?
Milan:Successful the 2011 World Cup, after all.
Hari: But it surely’s going to be actually troublesome to stage.
Milan:That’s true. Hari is the one who designs our units. What do you say, Hari? Can or not it’s finished? How would we cope with making a stadium stuffed with cheering followers, as an illustration?
Hari:(thoughtfully) It could possibly be finished. Monica is nice with expertise, and he or she might assist with a video projection and a 3D display. Karim, who usually handles the sound results, might create the sound of a hum of pleasure within the crowd.
Monica:That’s an important concept.
Sonia:What number of cricketers will we present within the subject?
Hari:We undoubtedly can’t have 22 gamers.
Milan:That’s true. We might simply focus a beam on the pitch and present the 2 batsmen. Perhaps the bowler and the wicket keeper. Two or three gamers extra, most.
Karim: Sonia might deal with the lights.
Milan:Good concept. Sonia, might we simply have the beam targeted on the hypothetical pitch? (pause)You’ll even have to rearrange for cricket costumes.
Sonia:That may be very doable.
Milan:We are able to have a commentary occurring within the background. Simply the voiceover. We simply present the 2 batsmen, the wicketkeeper and probably a bowler. Okay, let’s rehearse and see the way it goes.
Excerpted with permission fromThe Unimaginable Indians: The First Eleven, Rajesh Talwar, Ponytale Books.
