Media Release
Mangaluru, Feb 19: Mangaluru Chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is organizing an exhibition of rare vintage photographs of the journey of cricket in Mangaluru from the collection of Kasturi Balakrishna Pai, former cricket umpire of Mangaluru region. The exhibition organised under the title ‘Nurturers of the Cherry Garden’ will open on 19th February, 2022 at 05:30 pm at Kodialguthu Center for Art and Culture, GG Road, BallalBagh, Mangalore and the display will remain open to visitors till February 23, between 11 am and 7 pm. The exhibition will be inaugurated by K Vishnu Shenoy, a member of the first team of Mangalorean cricketers which went to Mysuru and Bengaluru in 1957 in the presence of Basty Purushotham Shenoy, former captain of KREC (NITK) cricket team.
The exhibition will celebrate the story of cricket in the context of the historic port town of Mangaluru by connecting places, personalities, institutions and events together. The presentation will have an assorted display of a unique personal collection of photographs and documents from the first Ranji Trophy match played at Nehru Maidan up to KL Rahul’s early days in Mangaluru. It will feature famous local teams and the personal profiles and the biographies of ten celebrity players of Mangaluru. Photos of benefit matches hosted in Mangaluru and featuring national players will also be on display.
About the Exhibition
Mangaluru’s historic narrative has a long and distinctive western colonial phase (1767-1783 - East India Company at Mangalore, and 1767-1783, 1784-1947 - East India company and the British Empire). Locals imbibed a lot in this period from their colonisers which persisted and integrated seamlessly in our present education, administration, language and sports routine. Cricket is one such British colonial contribution in sports.
“In its origin, a rural sport which was once highly popular in the villages of southern England, in the nineteenth century cricket was made a part of the life of the industrial towns,” observes the eminent historian Ramachandra Guha. “The first mention of Cricket in India dates to 1721, when British sailors played a match among themselves in the port of Cambay.” However, it is not clear when another group of sailors got down at Mangalore port in search for an open space around to play their first match here. The Central Maidan attached to the old fort area and presently known as Nehru Maidan, was the most probable option.
So, our exploration starts with Nehru Maidan, the Oval of Mangaluru region. Then, how the red (cherry) leather ball cricket flourished and sustained here (with some negligence) will be narrated in this exhibition from a passionate cricket lover’s intimate and personal view of cricket in Mangaluru.
This exhibition in its inception wishes to highlight the following issues pertaining to the future of cricket in this region.
- How to create a conducive environment to nurture young aspiring cricketers to reach national/international arena in future.
-To fulfil the need for a cricket stadium with proper natural turf to host national/international level matches.
-To urgently protect all the playgrounds in the city and its suburbs dedicated to sports from the commercial development process.
For details contact:
Subhas Basu (Convener INTACH): 8762368048
Kasturi Balakrishna Pai: 9483529510
Rajendra Kedige: 9480014812