“Jab tak Suraj chand rahega, Dhoni sir ka naam rahega (As long as the sun and moon exist, Dhoni sir’s name will remain).” Ram Babu has been saying this for twenty years.
It was 11:37 on a chilly night in Dharamsala when Ram Babu met his “bhagwan” for the first time. Seven years he had been attending matches to get to this moment. “I touched his feet, he held my hand and hugged me,” Ram Babu recalled. “I didn’t sleep at all that night. I felt like meeting Dhoni sir again and again.”
From that night on, MS Dhoni began arranging match tickets for him.
Now, Ram Babu, like the rest of the CSK faithful is unsure if he will see his hero playing in yellow again. Injury and the need to keep a winning combination going saw Dhoni sit out of all CSK’s games this season. Post the loss to Gujarat Titans on Thursday, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said there would be clarity on Dhoni’s future only next year.
“Bahut saal se tapasya hein hamara…bahut dukh hoga (After years of devotion, it will be sad if he does not play anymore),” Ram Babu said on Friday.
Ram Babu is from Mohali. He first saw Dhoni in 2004. It took three more years, three ICC trophies, and a nickname – Captain Cool – before something shifted. “He was so lucky for the Indian team,” Ram Babu said. “He has won three ICC trophies for India. I loved him with all my heart.”
He has been attending matches for over two decades now. Eleven months away from home every year. No steady job — a job would mean missed matches. “Sometimes I miss the deaths of my relatives,” he said. “I am jobless. I can’t do the job now. If I do a job, then I will not be able to watch the match. I have to leave a lot of things.” His mother never stopped asking. “Beta, what is this job? This is no job. You keep roaming around with the flag.” He kept roaming. “I feel very proud of it,” he said. “The whole of India knows me because of MS Dhoni’s name.”
Pick any game, he says, and two constants appear: him and Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, the Sachin Tendulkar fan.
Friends helped for a while, but Ram Babu stopped asking after a point. The financial situation at home was not good either. He got into trains without tickets instead. “I was caught by the TTE many times,” he said. “I used to tell them my situation. If you want to put me in the cell, go ahead.” Most let him travel. “If someone tells something with honesty, and if it comes from the bottom of the heart, others will also accept it.”