IND vs AUS: "He Never Cried And Just Went Quiet"- Father Of Cheteshwar Pujara Remembers His Feelings When His Mother Passed Away
Published - 15 Feb 2023, 04:17 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM
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After winning a district-level match in 2006, Cheteshwar Pujara contacted his mother Reena, and requested her to instruct his father Arvind to collect him from the Rajkot bus stop. When he got to the bus stop, he didn’t run across his dad, but rather a relative who told him of his mother’s passing.
Cheteshwar Pujara has always had a high threshold for pain. He has been deeply upset by the body punches delivered by the Australia pacers and by the sadness of losing his mother too soon, but they haven’t been able to weaken his determination.
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100 Matches No Mean Feat: Arvind Pujara
The silent fighter of Indian cricket, who is about to play his 100th Test, has done his generation of players well. He is one of the few who is adamant.
“In any sport, 100 matches is no mean feat. You need a lot of dedication and discipline, fitness, proper diet. All these combined help in your longevity in international cricket. And, yes, a bit of luck,” Arvind Pujara told PTI during an interaction from his Rajkot residence.
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Arvind bhai is undoubtedly happy of being a parent and serving as his renowned son’s sole coach and sounding board, but he would never admit it.
Cheteshwar is currently 35 years old. It has been a 27-year odyssey that began when Arvind, a former first-class cricket player for Saurashtra, noticed some promise in his son, then eight, and began mentoring him.
He also brought his kid to Mumbai to consult with recognized coach Karsan Ghavri on whether he needs to spend more time working on his son’s athletic development. The unimpressive Railway Colony site served as a witness to history when the response was in the affirmative.
“When I started off (coaching Cheteshwar), there was no target as such in mind and also it is not fair to assume anything. But, yes, he was very hardworking from the start and the discipline paid him dividends,” Six first-class matches were played in the middle and late 1970s, according to Arvind Bhai.
The first thing that springs to mind while discussing Cheteshwar the player is his mental fortitude.
I Had To Tell The Coach To Keep An Eye On Cheteshwar Pujara: Arvind Pujara
When writing a cricket book that included a chapter on Cheteshwar, Arvind bhai recalled how his teenage son had internalized his mother’s passing and didn’t cry in either a private or public setting. He simply became silent.
“He never cried and just went quiet. In fact, he went to play an age-group game in Mumbai and I had to tell the team coach to keep an eye on him as I was worried,” Pujara senior had said back then.
There was a hint of passion in Arvind bhai’s voice when he was asked to think back on those occasions.
“It was a difficult period. You can never replace a mother, however hard you may try,” Pujara senior said.
Cheteshwar did, however, possess a spiritual side when he was younger, which is likely what contributed to his grim determination.
“My late wife’s Guruji, Haracharan Das ji Maharaj, took a lot of care of him. Also his aunt, who cooked food for Guruji and stayed in that ashram also took care of my son. I won’t say that only I am instrumental in shaping him; his Guruji did play a massive role in his mental make-up and development,” there was a lot of gratitude in his voice.
With the help of the current treatments, physical pain may be tolerated to some extent, but what about the silent heartaches for which there is no cure?
“Body ka pain toh dikhta hain, lekin andruni chot, dil ka chot dikhta nahi (One can tell if somebody is in physical pain, but how does one see the emotional turmoil?” Arvind bhai said.
But then he shared a truth about how his son’s ability to endure pain grew with time.
“A doctor friend of mine when he (Cheteshwar) was just starting out had advised him, ‘Don’t take pain-killers when you get hurt. Pain-killers don’t heal injuries quickly and the body takes time to heal. You saw him take those 11 blows on the ribs, knuckles and forearm during that Test in Australia,” said Arvind bhai, as one could gauge his heart swelling with pride.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s Mother Wanted His Son To Have Faith In God: Arvind Pujara
How did he manage his agony, though? Another heartwarming tale from his son’s upbringing was told by Arvind bhai.
“As a kid, he was hooked to video games and would always want to play. His mom would then keep a condition. ‘If you pray for 10 minutes, then I will allow you to play video games’, she would tell Cheteshwar.”
“Now, I as a father, didn’t like that method as I thought it was a sort of ‘blackmailing’. I even had arguments with my wife that if you want to let him play video game, just say ‘yes’ and if you don’t then plain and simple say, ‘No’.
“In the beginning, she didn’t tell me anything. But some days later she explained why she did that.
“I want our son to have faith in God. If he prays everyday for even 10 minutes, when he grows up and is in a difficult situation, the prayer would help him. Cheteshwar became spiritual, that habit helped him and no university in the world can teach you (that) other than a mother.”
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