Back to: Andhra Pradesh Board Class 9th English Guide and Notes
Table of Contents
Introduction:
‘V.V.S Laxman, Very Very Special’ is an interview taken by V.V Subrahmanyam. It is an interview on the prominent cricketer V.V.S Laxman as he declared his retirement after 16 longs years of test cricket. He shares his thoughts and experiences via this interview.
About the Author:
V.V Subrahmanyam is a prominent journalist. He works in the famous daily ‘The Hindu’. His works are predominantly seen in the ‘Sportstar’ section of the newspaper.
Theme:
The theme of this interview is sports. Through his interview, V.V.S Laxman elaborates on his own experiences in life as a successful cricketer. It is rather inspirational.
Summary:
Cricket and Laxman:
V.V.S Laxman begins by answering how his journey in cricket had been. He feels that hard work and commitment had made him rise in the world of cricket, leaving him satisfied with his own contribution to what he loved. He goes on to state how his parents had been the biggest influence in his life, how despite not being interested in sports themselves, supporting him through thick and thin. He also states how cricket had helped him build his character, to remain balanced in the face of success and failure.
Cricket as a Career:
Perusing cricket as a career, he states, had been the most difficult decision of his life as he had to give up academics and his dream of becoming a doctor altogether. His father had been supportive of him, giving him full freedom to choose as he wished. He also shares his views on achieving fame as he did in today’s scenario. He states that it is, in fact, much more easier as talent is recognized easily with the aid of media. According to him, IPL helps as well.
Achievements:
Firstly, he states that his biggest source of inspiration to achieve more had, once again, been his parents and other well-wishers and their unwavering faith in him. Going on to talk about his biggest moments had been many, one particular one of them being the first test match against Australia in 2001, Kolkata. With India having emerged the best, it had filled them all with confidence, thus being very memorable.
Sourav Ganguly:
V.V.S Laxman states that India achieved the no. 1 position had been a gradual task. The various captains he had been under had been instrumental in this, Sourav Ganguly in particular. He feels that Ganguly served in changing the mindset of the Indian cricket, with achieving success more and more abroad and an addition of rising talented young cricketers with their drive and passion.
Incidents:
When talking about the funniest incident he had experiences, he states with a big smile how he had collided with Sourav while taking a single run in an Oval ODI, an incident he is still embarrassed about. Hurtful and disappointing incidents for him would be when he dropped a catch, making the bowler’s efforts go waste as well because of him.
Personal Life:
Laxman states his hobbies include spending time with his family and reading autobiographies of successful individuals as they inspired him. He is a happy family man too, proud of his wife and children.
He states that Azhar, Sachin, and Kapil are his role models as a cricketer. Kishore Kumar and SPB whom he knew on a personal level seem to be his favourite singers. He also confesses that he was a fan of Wimbledon and watched singing and dance competitions with his family. His childhood hero, unsurprisingly, is his own father.
Conclusion:
He ends his interview on a humble note, revealing through his words how he had never taken his tremendous success to his head. On a concluding note, he states that his post retirement plans included setting up a school and an academy. This interview was a very inspirational one, revealing V.V.S Laxman, a popular cricketer in his unassuming self, shedding light on the rather simple and joyous life he leads.
