By Shazia Malik
BRAMPTON – ‘Another Perspective’, a book on the evolution and transformation of the game of cricket in Pakistan India over two decades (1977 to 1989) was launched in Brampton to a house full of cricket enthusiasts.
It is a joint venture of Taher Memon – famous for launching several ARY TV channels in London, initiating the famous Wills World Cup (1996) and being part of the India-Pakistan Joint Management Committee of Reliance World Cup 1987 (IPJMC) – and Salim Pervez. The event was graced by Iqra Khalid, MP Mississauga—Erin Mills, and Pakistan’s Deputy Consul General Wajid Hassan Hashmi.
Speaking on the occasion Memon said when was writing the book, people told him to add ‘masala’ otherwise he would not be able to sell the book.
However, he wished to depict the development stages of cricket and lack of facilities between 1977 to 1998. Memon said his book gives details about players, the records and the statistics that was preserved in a CD. And though the book lacks ‘masala’ it has found place in the British Library that houses 25 million books.
Memon said he ran his book by his daughter who is a book junky and consumes five books a day and has been his biggest critic. The design of the book was also discussed with his grandchildren because Memon thought youngsters have better ideas. Taking on the occasion, Iqra Khalid said she was born in 1985 – a time when regional cricket was flourishing.
She narrated he first brush with cricket when she was just seven years old and went to her village where she witnessed the enthusiasm of her grandfather and rest of the family while watching a cricket match on a small 10-inch black and white TV.
Wajid Hassan Hashmi said that the book would be a great addition for policymakers. He admired the way the book was written as it narrates the untold story about the world of cricket.
He commended Memon for his efforts in holding two grand events in the sub-continent – the 1987 Reliance World Cup, and the 1996 Wills World Cup successfully. He appreciated Memon’s announcement that all profits from the sale of the book will be donated to The Hunar Foundation, an organization that imparts vocational training to the jobless but educated youth to be job-ready within six months.