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| Sunday, 16 March 2003 |
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The Blue Gold and Blue and the Blue Black and Blue ... by Farah Macan Markar
Gold! Blacko! I mean plain old Hello! Yup. That season has come and gone once again. The 124th Battle of the Blues. The only two schools in the world ever, to have battled each other continuously on the field, without its thread ever being broken, by Man or Nature. War or Peace. With over a hundred years of fierce rivalry and fellowship The Big Match is not just another cricket match. It's a time of re-uniting old friends, gathering of long distance families and courting of the young lads and lasses. While the Cricketers are up to their necks with practices and pieces of advice coming from all ends, coaches are driving them to their knees, anxious for their side of the flag to do well. Principals are on the vigilant look out for over enthusiastic boys. Boys try to seep away onto the streets and into the Girls' schools. Girls meanwhile await anxiously for the guys hoping for a bit of excitement during dreary old lectures.
Teachers in a fluff, Police on the alert for the ones who take things a bit too far, the Big Match today, is whatever said and done, full of life and colour, with nearly everyone affected by it. Want to know what the stern old Principals, eager young Captains and team mates, fluffy Teachers, and of course the Gals have to say about it. Hold your breath. Here goes. H.L.D.Gomes-Principal of Royal College "The Big Match is the most important event in our school calendar. It's not just a sports event but a social one. Old Royalists and Thomians get together. Families re-unite. We allow the boys to have fun but they should know their limits. We don't allow the school boys to go out of school and disturb the public. However, we cannot stop young old boys. In the match it self the guys are allowed to cheer, dance and sing. Boys should be allowed to be boys and enjoy themselves, but know where to draw the line". Dr. David Ponniah-Warden of St.Thomas' College Mount Lavania plus 1967 Thomian opening batsman "It is the oldest tradition and relationship the school has had with the Royalists. Over a hundred years old, it is more than just a cricket match. I played in 1967 and got a hundred in the second innings. It was an important day and still is. The Big Match has changed over the years, but is still in many ways pretty similar. At the time I played, Royal were in excellent form and we came as underdogs. Today too Royal are in excellent form and we are coming as underdogs. We hope to give it a good fight". St.T. Captain-Arjuna Rajavasan "This is my fourth and last year in the team. It's the best event in the college. You know with the souvenir, hat collections, cycle parades etc. I'm honoured to be captain our team. Before I leave College I hope to give something back to it. Winning the match would be the best thing I could ever give it. The pressure over here is enormous. I'm getting advice from all ends. Old boys, parents etc. Everyone is very excited about the event and wants to put their two-sense in. I think we have a good chance of winning". Warusa Vithana-St.T. Batsman "We are working really hard for this match. I'm confident that this game will give us a result. It's not going to be a draw, but a win-lose game. A tough fight. One last word about the match. Loads of girls come for it". Rochana Wijeratna-Captain Royal College
"I'm playing in my second year in the team. It's the best event of the year ever. Your on the grounds. The crowd is enormous. The atmosphere is thick with cheerings and jeerings. It's the best thing in school life. With a past of 124 years it's not just a match. It's much more. Old boys and school boys get together. People come from abroad. There is a lot of pressure at times, but it's nice to feel it though. It makes you feel different and adds some excitment to the day. We've practised hard the last few days. Being in the Royal team is great. We have a lot of team spirit and friendship. The Royal-Thomian to me, is one of the nice things in life". Janith Jayawardena and Dimitri Siriwardene- "It's a pretty big event. I think it's every Royalists dream to play in it. We've got a good side, so we hope to win it. Practises are great and we are learning everyday. About guys parading on the streets and jumping to girls schools we feel it is a misconduct. As members of the cricket squad we are not allowed to do such things, but we feel the other guys shouldn't do so either. It takes the essence of Cricket out of the whole thing. Doing stuff which lands you with the police is going far away from cricket, and cricket is what the Royal-Thomian is and should be about. An old Royalist's reminisces - Dr. Ranjith Silva "The Royal-Thomian is a much looked forward to event. Then and now. We used to have a ticket parade and during the match girls would parade the grounds. They don't have that kind of thing now. The match fever was much worse in our times than it is now. I remember once when the match was supposed to start at 12:00 O'Clock, as soon as we finished the photo shoot, the skipper took us to Ladies College. We went through one gate and came out through the other. Playing in the match is pretty nerve wracking. But once you get started it's okay" . What the Gals have to say Nilu
"I feel the Big Match is a fun event overshadowed by guys getting drunk and having fights. It's no longer just a match but has become a major social event, which is okay, but somewhere down the line, when guys over do it, they lose the fact that this is a cricket match. Going to girls schools is okay if guys have a limit in what they do. I mean we girls do enjoy it when they come. As long as it is just good clean fun, it's okay". Aaysha "The Royal-Thomian is not so happening as it used to be. It's pretty exciting when guys jump into our schools, though. Everyone enjoys it. Not only the guys and the gals, but the teachers too. The teachers get really affected by it. They get paranoid and lock us girls in our classrooms, while the guys are free to roam about, which I think is unfair. As for going for the Match. Are you crazy? Like I have nothing better to do than go to a blazing hot grounds and watch people playing a crazy game called, cricket all day". Christina "Big Match. That's the way to meet guys. Just Kidding. Anyway it's pretty exciting, especially when the guys break into our schools. The teachers go with open arms. The girls get excited. The principal freaks out. It's a crazy time". Rosy "Royal-Thomain. I'm totally clueless, on what's going on. I haven't kept in touch for so long. On the whole I think it's a Guy's Day and heck girls enjoy it too. The guys jump into our schools and try to scare the girls. It's the teachers who in the end over-react. It's a Boys' Day and I feel the cops shouldn't get involved in it. Piumie "Aarh. The big match. I'm really missing it. We are on study leave these days you know. I really miss it. The guys create quite a stir when they come into school. The teachers get into a huff and a puff. The principal runs in and out. The school is all in an uproar. More than anything I miss the teachers' antics. It's hilarious. I think it's okay for guys to do what they do. It's their day and they are entitled for a bit of fun. I only wish we girls were allowed to ramble around town and have fun too". A Teacher of a girl's school speaks out "The Royal-Thomian is something which affects the whole family. I'm a strong Royalist. My husband's a Royalist and so is my son. It's interesting to see rival schools competing for something. I think guys should be allowed to have their bit of fun. However it should be with good spirits and in a light hearted manner. When you restrict them they go berserk". |
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