Welcome to The Jerky Loudspeaker - an independent sports and culture newsletter, I’m super excited to have you here! Before you dive right in, let me quickly break down how the newsletter is structured. Think of it like a mini newspaper, with three sections:
Deep Dive - Each piece/series in this section will be an in-depth analysis of the thoughts and emotions that arise from my interactions and experiences with the arts
Consumption Corner - A weekly review of what I’m watching, reading and listening to.
Balls, Bats & Baskets - As always, sports on the back page. In this section I’ll geek out about the happenings in this world of balls, bats and baskets.
The Biography Series
Social media is a threat to autobiographies/autobiographies. Why write a whole book when you can just go live on Instagram? And the pervasive nature of the Internet renders most of the anecdotes and stories in the book obsolete.
But, biographies/ autobiographies are a fascinating book genre. It’s a unique amalgamation of the elements of fiction and nonfiction writing - character meets psyche, narrative meets historical and political context, conflict meets philosophy. It’s a complex genre, but a very complete one.
And, they matter. Their power to inspire and awaken is unparalleled. The real essence of a person’s life just can’t be captured in a Twitter thread.
In the next few weeks, I’ll be serializing biographies and autobiographies of people from diverse backgrounds and sharing what I liked, learnt and imbibed
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
There’s this quote I came across a few years ago that resonated with me - ‘If you had a childhood, you have a story to tell’. The depth and richness of a childhood is unparalleled. It’s a subjective entity yet such a relatable one.
But, there’s a flip side.
I think writers, including myself, tend to lean too heavily on their childhood as a storytelling tool. We tend to over romanticize it and let nostalgia distort our reality. And in trying to paint the perfect picture, we lose its authenticity. Have you ever wondered why all childhood stories have started to sound the same?
And the one place in particular where I’ve developed childhood fatigue is in biographies and autobiographies. Even when I read the Jobs’ biography, I skipped over the first chapter and used his enrollment at Reed as my starting point.
In the childhood chapter of books in this genre, I’ve often noticed there’s a reversal of confirmation bias. An interest in computers is presented as proof of prodigal talent or a propensity for mischief and rebel is depicted as proof of a kindred spirit. By looking for meaning in simple memories and experiences, the purity of childhood is corrupted.
So when I came across Trevor Noah’s book and found that it was focused entirely on his childhood in South Africa, I wasn’t enthused. But after numerous strong recommendations, I put aside my preconceived notions of the book and decided to give it a shot.
My cynicism didn’t last beyond the first couple of chapters. I quickly realized that this wasn’t an ordinary story. and his wasn't a normal childhood. Quite simply because apartheid wasn’t normal.
Two things in particular stand out to me about Born a Crime. The first is the writing. Reading this book is a sensory experience; every person, place, smell and sound is described in such vivid yet crisp detail. Trevor Noah sucks you into his world and makes you a part of his journey of exploration. The words jump out of the page and break apart the Fourth Wall. Below is one of my favorite excerpts from the book:
It's a powerful experience shitting. There's something magical about it, profound even. I think God made humans shit in the way we do because it brings us back down to earth and gives us humility. I don't care who you are, we all shit the same Beyonce shits. The pope shits. The Queen of England shits. When we shit we forget our airs and our graces, we forget how famous or how rich we are. All that goes away. You are never more yourself than when you're taking a shit. You have that moment when you realize, This is me. This is who I am. You can pee without giving it a second thought, but not so with shitting. Have you ever looked in a baby's eyes when it's shitting? It's having a moment of pure self -awareness.
And this reading experience is made possible only because of Noah’s raw vulnerability. You feel the catharsis in his writing and how this book is an endeavor to understand his identity and how it’s been shaped by his skin color.
Born a Crime gave me an understanding of the power of humor and how it can be utilized to spotlight the issues plaguing society. Peel away the veneer of some of Noah’s most ludicrous anecdotes and you see what he’s trying to direct your attention towards. ‘Are you seeing how fucked up this is?’ he screams out through his stories. It’s a hilarious book. But also a hard hitting one.
This brings to the second thing that I really liked about the book - the thread. Born a Crime isn’t an autobiography in a traditional sense; it’s a collection of independent essays of his childhood in South Africa. But, there is a link between all these essays. From the anecdote about his prom night to his adventures as a DJ to his relationship with his parents, each such story provides an intimate glimpse into the insidious nature of racism. You understand how deeply seated xenophobia was in South African society and how it seeped its way into every aspect of a person’s being.
‘Noah has a real story to tell’ said Newsday in their review of the book. They are wrong. He has two stories to tell; his own and that of South Africa
Consumption Corner
What I’m reading: This personal essay by a film critic about how he dealt with his friend’s cancer diagnosis is deeply nuanced take on masculinity, pain and bromance. I can’t remember the last time I was this moved by a piece of writing. If you read just one thing this week, let it be this one. Here’s an excerpt: -
The truth is the more we try to resist our primal instincts — by ‘acting’ normal — the less normal we really are. Panicking, fussing, praying and smothering are normal. Fretting families are normal. Nervous breakdowns are normal. Playing it cool is not. Bromance in the time of cancer is not.
What I’m watching: I was quite dissappointed by The White Tiger movie, which released on Netflix last Friday. As many film critics have alluded to, the screenplay is overly deferential to the book. Barring Adarsh Gourav, who plays the lead, the acting is ordinary. Some of the most powerful and charismatic characters from the book are just mere props and found lacking in punch. The movie is exactly how I imagined it to be. Maybe that’s why I found it so boring. If you haven’t read the book, then your experience might be different from mine.
What I’m listening to: Spirits have been scraping the floor this past week and my music choices have matched my mood. I’ve been listening to a Spotify playlist I created three years ago for times such as this one when it feels like you’re running up against a brick wall. It’s a playlist I return to when I’m feeling a lot of things or if I’m feeling nothing at all.
Tweet of the week:
Balls, Bats & Baskets
A Few Good Men
What can you say about a nineteen man squad that just won a test series?
That they were beautiful. And brilliant. That they were shaped by adversity and personal struggle. And pain. And Rahul Dravid.
Only three men in the world have scored more test runs than Dravid and just three Indians have scored more in ODIs than him. No one in the history of the game has spent more time batting than him and no one has faced more balls. He finished with a test average of 52.31, got 48 centuries in all formats and captained India to test series wins in England and West Indies.
But despite this, his legacy as a player is at risk. Given his current track record, his contributions as a coach may end up overshadowing those as a player.
Since taking over as coach of the U-19s and the India A team in 2015, Dravid has left a gargantuan stamp on Indian cricket. Under his stewardship, the U-19 team went unbeaten in the World Cup in 2016 before losing to West Indies in the final. The next batch of players, featuring the likes of Shubhman Gill and Prithvi Shaw, went one better and won the World Cup in 2018.
“In 2016, I was appointed just two-three months before the tournament. There wasn't any time to put a process in place. I saw probably about 15-16 boys before we played that tournament, where we went all the way and lost to West Indies in a close final. This time I was determined to put a process in place, not so much looking at the end result being trying to win the tournament - yes, it is nice we have won it, but that wasn't the idea”, Dravid said after in the aftermath of the final.
The process he spoke of was evident from the team’s preparation for the tournament. The India Colts played four major series - home and away against England and two Asia Cups- between the 2016 and 2018 World Cups. The Colts fielded as many as 27 players in this time and in an effort to further player development, the BCCI made a rule preventing players from featuring in more than one U-19 World Cup.
While Dravid certainly deserves credit for his efforts in blooding young talent, it’s important to remember that the U-19 system in India was a smooth sailing ship even before his arrival. The 2018 victory was India’s fourth World Cup in this age bracket; no country has won more. The true hallmark of Dravid’s success lies in his work with the India A team.
In June 2016, Dravid had a meeting with then India coach Anil Kumble, test captain Virat Kohli and limited overs captain MS Dhoni to discuss India A tours, injury management and the domestic cricket setup. One of the key points highlighted in this meeting was the need to strengthen India’s bench strength.
For this purpose, Dravid set about making the India A team a feeder for the national team. He set up a mandate wherein a player had to play at least once for the A team before making the jump to the senior team. The India A setup came to replicate that of the national team in every aspect - preparation, match frequency, overseas tours - except the pressure. After becoming the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in 2018, Dravid implemented workload management for all the India A and U-19 players. A data driven approach was adopted and weekly reports on each player in the NCA are made covering skill development, technique and physical fitness. The fruits of Dravid’s labor were evident in the series in Australia.
“Siraj, Saini, Shubman, Mayank, everyone who was part of that side played a lot of cricket together in India A. Also, in the last three-four years, we played many India A tours, and he (Rahul Dravid) was the coach. I don’t think we played so many India A tours before. So that bridged the gap between the Ranji Trophy and the Indian team. We made progress quickly. That’s the reason why we are playing our first game or the second game; we are ready for the challenge. We are not behind any other players. He made it possible,” said Hanuma Vihari, one of the heroes from the series, in an interview to IndiaToday.
Cricketers who come through his tutelage are quick to credit their success to him. A commonality I’ve noticed in these player testimonials is a reference to chats with Dravid about their game. These chats seem to be focused less on the technical and more on the mental side of the game. Mayank Agarwal has spoken at length about how Dravid helped him stay positive before his test call-up in 2018. Similarly, Ajinkya Rahane revealed how a chat with Rahul Dravid ahead of the West Indies tour in 2019 helped instill faith in himself after going through a lean phase in the previous couple of years. “When we play under him, it always feels like he is more of a mentor than a coach. He is always there whenever we need him,” said Vihari, adding how a text from Dravid ahead of his debut in the 2018 Australia tour filled him with confidence.
With young players, potential is gauged by talent. With young coaches, it’s determined by vision. When Pep Guardiola made the step up from Barcelona B to the first team, he had a clear idea of who he wanted in his team and how he wanted to play. Even after Barca picked up just one point from their first two games and were being slated by the media, he didn’t eschew his possession based philosophy. Similarly when Phil Jackson took over the Bulls, he was convinced that a triangle offense was key to the team’s success. Even if it meant asking Michael Jordan who was averaging 32 points to take less shots.
What really stands out about Dravid’s vision is its scope. It isn’t restricted to a particular team or group of players, but is for Indian cricket in its entirety.
When did he outline such a vision, you ask? In December 2015, when he gave the MAK Pataudi Memorial lecture. It was the fourth installment of the lecture series, with players like Gavaskar, Kumble and Laxman having given the lecture in previous years.
While his predecessors had spoken about Pataudi’s life and legacy, Dravid took a different route in his speech. He said it’d please Tiger Pataudi if the evening “becomes an opportunity for us to reflect on issues that affect and matter in Indian cricket’. For the next thirty minutes, Dravid eloquently highlighted the problems on each level of junior cricket, right from the beginner stage all the way to the U-19 age bracket. He also systematically offered possible solutions as to how each of these issues could be tackled. The driving point behind the framework Dravid offered was the need for academies and coaches to look after the holistic development of a young cricketer. The breadth of topics he covers is astounding; right from the ill effects of making nine years olds bowl from 22 yards to the need for counsellors at the U-16 level to the scourge of age fudging. Some of his ideas to promote equal opportunity in the game are incredibly futuristic - “Our junior cricket needs to think of options – rolling substitutions like in football, or a rotational system in batting or bowling, where everyone is given a chance. Just as an example: maybe batsmen could retire after scoring a 50 (or a 30?) and return only after their side has lost 3 more wickets. Bowlers should be allowed to bowl a maximum of 1/3rd of the total overs instead of 1/5th”.
Dravid made this speech when he was just a couple of months into his U-19 coaching job. And in the years to come, the boldness of his words would go on to be matched by the genius of his actions. There’s been a lot of clamor for him to take the top job in Indian cricket. But if this speech is anything to go by, he’s more likely to go further down the scale.
No one has taken more catches than Rahul Dravid in test cricket. So we can all rest assured that Indian cricket is in good hands.
I’d love to hear what you thought of this week’s edition! To share your thoughts, comments or if just want to chat, hit me up at shubhank4@gmail.com!
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Twitter !
In last week’s edition:
A Q&A with BuzzFeed editor and newsletter writer, Delia Cai
Reviewing the French Netflix series Lupin
Read it here !