In the 50's Mama Warerkar had penned a Marathi play based on the lives of the Palwankar brothers (Baloo and Vithal- the first of Dalit players to play for The Hindus in the Bombay Pentangular cricket). SHAPOORJI SOKAJEE is penned by the veteran cricket writer Pradeep Vijayakar. The play was recently launched during the Sports Journalism awards of the Sports Journalists Federation of India. Three sporting legends of India - cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar, billiards ace Geet Sethi and All England badminton champ Pulela Gopichand did the honours.

The play, sponsored by Indian Oil, captures the spirit of Mumbai's maidan cricket- the Dr. HD Kanga Cricket League through the protoganists `Shapoorji', a senior cricketer representing `Parsee Cyclists' (a famous Mumbai club) and Sokajee, a veteran `Prabhu Jolly Young' cricketer. Vengsarkar said the Kanga league was a tourney that touched the lives of every Mumbai cricketer worth his salt. “Pradeep has done well to capture its spirit. Pradeep used to bowl his leggies to us in the Mumbai Ranji nets. I remember a recent benefit game when Yuvraj Singh hit him for six sixes in an over.'' Geet Sethi said:`"Pradeep once shared a room with me in Sri Lanka when I played the Asian snooker in 1988. Pradeep's knowledge of the intricacies of many sports is deep and his understanding of the inner minds of sportspersons gives him that extra edge.''

Gopichand said it was a unique sporting book- the likes of which he had not seen. Vijayakar says of his book: "I have played in the league for over 35 years and wanted to convey the enjoyment I derived from it to my readers.'' Published and printed by Print House India and distributed by Marine Sports, the play is in three acts.

In his foreword, Sunil Gavaskar writes: “When I read the play, memories of maidan cricket flooded back. I hope there is a sequel on the famous Roses rivalry of Mumbai cricket - Shivaji Park and Dadar Union.'' Former Somerset batsman and well-known writer Peter Roebuck writes: "Pradeep Vijayakar has sought to capture the flavour of this era in his play. In fact, he has surpassed his own ambitions by conveying its essence. Of course his play is not just about cricket. It is also about a period and a country and so is as much a historic reflection as a study of cricket and character.''

Partap Sharma, playwright of ZEN KATHA and SAMMY! fame says: "In his first attempt at writing a play Pradeep Vijayakar has got right all the classical unities, which are the rules for drama as stated by Aristotle - action, place and time.''

*The above article is courtesy Pradeep Vijayakar.