Breaking barriers: Ex-England cricketer Mike Brearley's romantic connection with Ahmedabad

Former England captain Mike Brearley (centre) with his wife Mana Sarabhai and ex-India cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi during their 2011 visit to Mumbai. Pic/Ashish Rane

Ever since England landed here on February 18 to play their two remaining Tests and five ODIs against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, a WhatsApp message concerning former England captain Mike Brearley is going viral among cricket lovers.

What is Brearley's connection with this series, is a fair question to ask oneself on receiving the message.

After all, he is not associated with the affairs of English cricket and one hears that he has stopped writing on the game.

But then, most cricket lovers lap up trivia. And then, as we got reminded in the WhatsApp forward, Brearley married a lady from Ahmedabad.

That's when the penny dropped.

Brearley is the son-in-law of Gujarati businessman Gautam Sarabhai. The ex-opening batsman's wife Mana is the niece of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, hailed as the father of Indian space research.

Saroop Dhruv. Pic/Harit N Joshi

Brearley met his life partner when they studied at Cambridge University in the 1960s and it must have been special for him to play a tour game in Ahmedabad during MCC's 1976-77 tour of India (English Test teams toured under the Marylebone Cricket Club banner till that season).

Brearley, vice-captain to Tony Greig on that tour, played at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Stadium, where he only batted in the second innings. He scored 59 before being dismissed hit wicket off Parthasarathy Sharma.

Astute captain

Although he did not score a century in any of his 39 Tests, Brearley, 78, was an astute captain, who led England to three Ashes wins in 1977, 1978-79 and most famously his comeback one in 1981 before retiring from international cricket.

Brearley regularly visits his in-laws in Ahmedabad and is known to enjoy spending Christmas in Mana's home city.

A renowned psychoanalyst, Brearley wanted to meaningfully engage with his in-laws' family but his limitations with Gujarati prevented him. That's how Brearley's father-in-law hired a tutor Saroop Dhruv to teach him the language.

Dhruv, 72, a poet, writer, activist and a PHD in Gujarati folklore, took up the challenge to teach Brearley. "When I came to know that I have to teach simple Gujarati to the England captain, I was a bit shocked. I had apprehensions; how will it be possible to teach such a great personality? But as soon as I met him, he put me at ease and starting our conversation with ‘Namaste Saroop'. I used to call him Mike bhai and that's how the entire Sarabhai family started calling him that later on," she recalls in a chat with mid-day at her residence.

Brearley's father-in-law felt Brearley was isolated from the family due to the language barrier. "There was a strict practice in the Sarabhai family that everybody would have lunch and dinner together. And at home, everybody had to speak in the mother-tongue. Gautam bhai felt Mike was a bit isolated whenever they met for meals and during general conversations at the home. So, my job was to ensure Mike learnt basic conversational skills in Gujarati. For example, how he would instruct the staff at home in Gujarati if he wanted something or find some stuff for him. If they are on the dining table, Mike should be able to ask what he wants or if they go out to say...Manek Chowk or Law Garden...he should be able to order his food or give feedback-whether it is moru (sour), teekhu (spicy) or mithu (sweet)," says Dhruv, who has been teaching non-Gujarati speaking people since 1974.

Dhruv would meet Brearley thrice a week for one hour in the day during his one month's stay here in that particular year.

To make learning more interesting, Brearley, renowned for his intelligent captaincy (he lost only four of the 31 Tests he led England in), would try to understand and translate the names of Indian cricketers. "He was curious to know the meaning of some great Indian cricketers like Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Sunil Gavaskar.

So, I told him Prasanna means being happy; Chandrasekhar is Lord Shiva and Sunil means blue sea or sky. Not for a single day I found him getting bored of learning the language or felt it was being imposed on him. He took keen interest and also tried understanding Gujarati and Indian cultures. It motivated me as well and I saw how humble this great personality is," she says.

Humble person

With the English team in her hometown, Dhruv, herself a cricket lover, couldn't help reminiscing the time she spent with Brearley. "He is a very down-to-earth and humble man. My family members are cricket fanatics, so when I invited him to meet them, he readily agreed. He also told me how he counselled Sir Ian Botham."
Brearley and Dhruv have not kept in touch since she stopped teaching, but wishes to meet the grand man again.

Considering how much he likes coming to Ahmedabad in the fag end of the year, that meeting cannot be ruled out.