Of BISE victory and the one at Lord’s

By Afzal Hussain Bokhari

At first sight she appears to be a perfect model for advertising baby foods. Her excellent physical health makes her look slightly more than her years. A total stranger, for instance, may very likely take her for a college girl, which she certainly will be after September 1. If indoor school competitions are any guide, she has been among the top students.

Like her name, Nayab Karim, has some rare and unique characteristic traits. The innocent and spontaneous smile on her face hides a formidably brainy and studious girl. In a special get-together some days back, when the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Peshawar announced that out of a total of 46,237 candidates, Nayab had topped the list of successful matriculation candidates by securing 963 out of 1, 050 marks, she briefly flashed the same innocent smile.

The other position holders and their parents, present on the occasion, gave her a loud ovation. In their local news bulletins, Peshawar radio station and television centre aired the selected information about the result provided to them in advance by the BISE. Within minutes of the broadcast, relatives, friends and even acquaintances inundated Nayab's parents with greetings and messages of congratulations. Feature writers from various newspapers arrived at her residence in Phase-I of Hayatabad, asked how she got the top position and took some snapshots.

Nayab appeared for her SSC examination from Peshawar Public School, where her mother Mrs Sardar Karim has been working as a senior science teacher for the last about 30 years. As the coincidence would have it, her eldest brother Ali Karim, who has almost completed his MBBS from Khyber Medical College, also topped BISE Peshawar's matriculation exam from the same school. Other two of her brothers - Usman Karim and Umar Karim - have also been among the top 20 talented students of Peshawar board.

Her disciplinarian father Karim Khan retired some years back as the general manager of Azad Kashmir television, Muzaffarabad centre. After retirement, he accepted a contract to go to Kabul and impart training to budding producers of the nascent Afghan television. During most of his television service, he remained posted in Peshawar.

All through his long association with television, never even once did Karim Khan allow anyone from his family to pop into the TV station may it be for the recording of as harmless a recording as Eid show or PTV awards ceremony, which partly explains why his children have been doing excellently well in academics.

Out of sheer coincidence, newspapers have been devoting their columns to toppers of various kinds. Festivities have not quite subsided over the national cricket team's well-deserved triumph in emerging as the 'champions' by grabbing the World Cup in Twenty20 Cricket at the Lord's in London.

Cricket fans sang and danced at the Sheikh Maltoon residence of Captain Younus Khan in his native Mardan. Connoisseurs of delicacies and sweets bought, distributed and munched on 'Badayun ke pairay' for which Mardan has incidentally been famous, just like Charsadda is known for its 'Razar ki mitha'ee' and the much-in-demand 'sohan halwa' from Dera Ismail Khan.

The top two players in the national team - Younus Khan and Shahid Afridi - are already from NWFP. Originally from Naway Kalli (newly developed village) outside Peshawar, Umar Gul has lately been a bright addition to the team's essentially Pukhtun ingredient. He was given a hero's welcome when he arrived back home.

President Asif Ali Zardari was the first to announce a cash prize of one million rupees each for Captain Younus Khan and Shahid Afridi while Rs500,000 were announced for the rest of the players. Immediately on return home, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani treated the entire cricket squad to a sumptuous dinner and announced a collective cash prize of Rs10 million.

If we travel down the memory lane, Naway Kalli has historically been associated with the World Champions in Squash, Jehangir Khan and Jan Sher Khan. It is just by chance that fast bowler Umar Khan happens to be from that famous village. Squash fans still remember how a virtual nonentity like Jehangir Khan from the country's backyard shot into instant prominence by beating the then champion Geoff Hunt of Australia.

An extremely shy Jehangir told veteran sport journalists from elite television channels how under the psychological impact of being in front of the world champion (Geoff Hunt), Jehangir had already forgotten almost half of the game.

Basking in the World Cup glory, when cricketer Umar Gul flew back home last Tuesday, he was not expecting huge crowds at his home. When asked if Naway Kalli would henceforth be remembered as the village of the World Cup fast bowler, he suffered from no illusions: "No, I am very much new to the World Cup cricket team. The first right is that of the Squash Champions who won so many honours for the country. However, it will be an honour to be remembered in that context", he replied.

Umar Gul said he always drew inspiration from the 1992 victory of the national cricket team when Pak players lifted the World Cup under the captaincy of the glamorous Imran Khan. Umar Gul was often obsessed with the idea that if Pakistan could win in 1992, it could win any time in future.

He was especially happy at the timing of the tremendous triumph: "There could not be a better moment to lift the World Cup and cheer up the nation which had sunken deep into a sense of doom and gloom of militancy. The victory in the Twenty20 cricket has in a way lifted the pall of gloom", Umar Gul philosophised so optimistically.

He recalled that the last time when Pakistan got into the Twenty20 cricket, its team was close to victory but it narrowly missed the triumph. This time the Sri Lankan side no doubt played well but the Pak team had an edge over them and due to the combined efforts of all the players it grabbed the World Cup.