Unmukt Chand's latest book is about his growing up years and World Cup. The young cricketer shared with Karan Bhardwaj his love for writing
Unmukt Chand may be known as a successful skipper who brought the exceptional laurel of the World Cup trophy (Under-19) to India last year, but not many know his dedicated passion for writing. It is his pen which helps him vent out and swing the good over bad. The young cricketer has been jotting down important events of his life since he was ten. “I always maintain a diary. My father, who is a teacher, pushed me into writing. Over the years, I also understood the importance of it. Whatever I have learnt, good or bad, I just document that. When I write things down, I am able to understand them better. It uplifts my spirits too. If I am in a bad mood, I will write something to feel better. That’s my way of unwrapping myself,” he says. The 20-year-old is excited about the launch of his first book The Sky Is The limit (Penguin India) to be held tomorrow. In the book, he has described his World Cup days and some early memories. “It was my uncle Captain Sundar Chand Thakur who suggested me to write the book. We were in Bangalore and World Cup was still three months away. So the first part of the book talks about my childhood and early influences while the later part is more interesting. I was experiencing things and writing it for the book. My uncle also dug out all my old entries to ensure everything gets published,” he tells us.
The Sky Is The limit also has some original entries written by Unmukt. While we wouldn’t like to comment on his hand writing as few words are difficult to understand, one thing is sure that the cricketer has always been passionate and ambitious. In one chapter, he has written, “I have to make it to Ranji before I turn 17.” So how about the aim of playing for Team India at the international levelIJ “Your thinking changes as you grow older. When I was 17, I used to think like that. I used to set goals and wanted to achieve it. But I have stopped making long-term goals. Now I have short-term aims. At the moment, I want to focus on Ranji matches. I don’t wish to get into Team India and then get out of sight. I would like to prepare myself and want to enter when I can play with consistency. I know some other players did play internationally at early stages but it is an individual’s decision,” he says.
Unmukt has also described the financial assistances he has got at various stages. Since he comes from a middle class family, both parents being teachers (Bharat Chand Thakur and Rameshwari), he understands the value of hard-earned moolahs. “It was difficult for my family to bear all the expenses. I have also not been a kharchila guy. A lot of people have helped me including my schools. DPS, Noida and Modern School awarded concessions in different classes. My Australian tour was sponsored by a number of my father’s friends and colleagues. Vikram Thapar, chairman and MD of the IM Thapar group, sponsored a stipend of Rs 5000 per month for five years starting when I was fourteen. He also sponsored my Under-19 England tour in 2009. This happened because of Sudha Ramanathan, who lives in our neighbourhood and works with that group. She intervened on my behalf,” he shares.