Dravid - an appreciation

Between a free spirited Picasso in sehwag, who reassembled bowlers after carving them into pieces, the consummate Leonardo in Sachin who painted according to his moods,  and the languid stroke maker of a Monet in laxman, dravid was the pointillist seurat.    His art was the most deliberate, caring and exacting act of creation in the glorious lineup of India's batting artistry.    

His art, at home and away, accumated one painstaking dot at a time, created some of the most memorable of India's performances.    The glory of Calcutta 2001 deservedly Brought great attention to Monet's water lillies, but no cricket fan can forget seurats Eiffel tower.    And what can be said  of Adelaide, 2003?     It was his Sunday Afternoon at the Island of La Grande Oval - a grand masterpiece of precision and determination.   

Not to say he couldn't stroke it.    He could.   But he was wise to see a different role.     Yet, when the top order was a bit off, he was there with the humblest of techniques - the dot.    And from that humility arose many an overseas win and a personnaly triumphant solo exhibit in England 2011.  

While it's easy to be swayed by his output, his ethos defined him in many ways.    He could be counted on to say yes to the teams needs.    Keep wickets so team has a stable middle order - yes.    Field at short leg and throw your self to pull of blinders - yes.   Keep one end steady while the stroke makers unleash fury - yes.     It's hard to think of any field where someone of such accomplishment surrendered personal ego to greater team cause - it is talked and advertised but seldom done.   Rahul did it, time and again and never talked about it.   

His character remained unfazed by fame or fortune. His head always on his shoulders.    His demeanor unaffected by sledging or any attempts to extract the lowest common denominator of a gathering.   Even as his skill blunted the opposition, his character always remained on firm footing against the trappings of success and tempation, only yielding to high impulses of honor and grit.    For that he deserves to be called the wall.