As a Punjabi kid growing up in the ‘80s, Harbhajan Singh’s love for rajma-chawal, gobhi paratha and jalebis wasn’t misplaced. Neither was his tendency of taking up new hobbies every day. The state of Punjab has produced a significant proportion of India’s sporting figures, unsurprising considering how children from the region take up a variety of sports during their formative years.
True to his Punjabi lineage, a young Harbhajan was equally fascinated with judo, karate and kabaddi as he was with cricket. And if you listen to his mother, he was good at all of them too. But what was kabaddi or judo’s loss was certainly cricket’s gain.
A FATHER’S DREAM
Harbhajan’s passion for the game stems from the fact that he lives his father’s dream every time he walks on to the pitch. As an owner of a ball bearing and valve factory, the easy route for Sardar Sardev Singh would have been to groom his son into looking after his business. Instead, he set his son a lofty target – of representing his country as a cricketer.
Not only Daulatpuri, but the whole of Jalandhar, was jubilant when an 18-year-old Harbhajan made his debut in the longest form of the game in 1998. After his heroics in the much eulogized 2001 Kolkata Test against Australia, the Prime Minister himself addressed a congratulatory message to the young spinner.
Harbhajan’s notorious temper, emotion and enthusiasm are all part and parcel of his cricketing persona. They underline his obsession for success, his determination to excel and his keenness to be involved at every juncture of a game. Here was another Indian youngster who played cricket with blood, sweat and tears.
A CAPTAIN’S PLAYER
Harbhajan’s meteoric rise came under Ganguly’s captaincy / (C) Getty
The image of Harbhajan sticking out his tongue and running around with his arms stretched wide like the wings of a plane is as iconic as Sourav Ganguly’s shirt-waiving scenes at Lord’s. Indeed, both these cricketers played the sport in similar, stirring fashion and shared an excellent relationship as a result.
Ganguly had always had the spinner’s back – be it during the Zimbabwe series in 2002 or publicly calling for his inclusion in the squad in 2001 after Harbhajan had been sidelined on disciplinary grounds. In return, Harbhajan’s faith in his captain and respect for ‘Dada’ as a mentor, guide and friend have struck several chords through the years.
He was among the first few who sided with Ganguly after the captain’s fallout with coach Greg Chappell. The impact that Ganguly has had on Harbhajan’s life and career is evident every time the latter shares his fond recollections about their playing days together.
COURTING CONTROVERSIES
Being honest and outspoken has had its fair share of drawbacks too.
Harbhajan has had his fair share, including flouting New Zealand quarantine laws and being fined $200 for arriving at Auckland airport with dirty shoes.
Never has he been shy of on-field altercations either. His war of words against arch nemesis Ricky Ponting is legendary while his alleged racist comments aimed at Andrew Symonds during the volatile Sydney Test in 2008 and his slapping of Sreesanth in Indian Premier League are ugly blotches on his career.
THE CHILD IN ‘BHAJJI’
Letting his passion govern his cricket has been one of the key aspects of Harbhajan’s career and the expressive Punjabi’s wildness brought a different dimension to cricket. A dynamic personality, Harbhajan was quite a character on the field, whether laughing, crying or running around with childlike glee.
He knew how to have fun, and he ensured that he had enough of it. The knowledge that he would be toeing the line and may run the risk of hurting religious sentiments did not stop him from performing ‘Raavan-Sita’ dance on a show alongside television actress Mona Singh.
He has acted in as many as three films, two of them being special appearances. He has also recorded a song on the album, Meri Maa. Yet, to his nearest and dearest, Harbhajan remains the beloved Sonu they have known all these years.
His friends and family vouch for the fact that Harbhajan knows the secret of deriving pleasure from the little things in life. He loves Punjabi songs, follows pop singer Jasbir Jassi and when he is at home “he must have parathas for breakfast”.
From being someone who once had to contemplate quitting cricket and taking up truck-driving in the United States in order to financially support his mother and unmarried sisters, Singh’s rise has been like a fairy tale. It is little wonder then that he remains as grounded and humble at 36 as he once was as a fun-loving teenager.
