On a Sunday afternoon, in sleepy Hamilton, as one ambled through the quiet streets, the colourful billboards at the city's Centre Place area do catch attention but then something unusual happens, and a pleasant one at that.
Glancing through the window panes of the shops, one suddenly stops while having a cursory glance at a poster on the glass door of coffee shop 'Expresso Bar'.
It is the iconic poster of legendary Bengali actress Madhabi Mukherjee from Satyajit Ray's classic 1964 film 'Charulata' based on Rabindranath Tagore novel 'Nastanirh'. The poster was from Hamilton Film Society which in association with Lido Cinemas was going to show the film.
Gavaskar's advice come in handy for scribes:
Sunil Gavaskar may not be game for personal interviews but whether he drops in at the press box or you bump into him in lunch room, he has been friendly with all the scribes. It was Gavaskar, who few days back warned the Indian journalists travelling to New Zealand to book a return flight or else won't be allowed.
Most of the scribes did not book return tickets at that time as they were no sure where India would play its quarter-final. But after knowing that even Gavaskar faced the same problem while going to New Zealand, lot of scribes booked their tickets. And those who did not know about it had to then book it on spot at the airport as they were not being allowed to board the NZ bound flights.
Somerset, Liverpool and London Streets:
The eerily silent Hamilton's countryside can blow one away with its greenery and beauty. To top it, the weather is "just what the doctor ordered" as Team Director Ravi Shastri would have said.
The drive with lush green on both sides, the mountains and the driver playing romantic numbers of John Denver on his car stereo makes the journey from airport to motel (there are may be less than 10 hotels but some 100 motels in Hamilton) a pleasant one.
Then as one looks in the nearby areas around Seddon Park, you would see those lovely roads with names such as 'Liverpool Street', 'Somerset Street' or 'London Street'. The feeling of English counties stays on somehow.
