The author of this  article is Shri C Prahlada Rao – one of the greatest cricket connoisseur I have come across. He used to work for Syndicate Bank and then later on joined Dena Bank as General Manager – Computers at Mumbai. Its here that i came across this genial gentleman who used to reel off many anecdotes just through his sheer memory. He is now settled in Mumbai and me at Bangalore but the  distance does not come in between us when we talk of cricket through telephone for many hours. Here is what Sri C Prahlada Rao thinks of Sri P Anandra Rau

As 15 year olds, my friends and I , became big time fans of commentator P.Ananda Rao around 1966-67 . What first drew us to him was his golden voice ( though a tad nasal ) and his superb command over English. Add to this, his fascination for detailing and his endearing narration made him extremely popular.

We also loved Anant Setalwad , who too had a gifted voice and a smooth narration; but Ananda Rao stood out with his unique style, which made his listeners yearning for more.

Those days, media meant only the radio and the newspapers ( even sports magazines such as SportsStar, SportsWorld came much later ) and listeners had no choice but to cling to every word a commentator would utter to catch up with the action. And here, Ananda Rao was the master !

Sample these ..” And that marks the end of another typical Nadkarni over, a maiden, of course ” or “Conrad Hunte drives powerfully towards the covers region, Pataudi goes down on one knee, makes sure of stopping the ball, which he eventually does.”

On Wes Hall, in the 1966-67 series “Wes Hall, the old fire still burns. The gentle giant, steams in almost from the boundary line, his majestic run-up reminds one of a well-oiled express locomotive. You can see his shirt wide open, with his silver cross dangling from his powerful neck; you can feel his big muscles ripping against his white trousers . He delivers another thunder-bolt at Sardesai, which the batsman defends, showing the full face of his bat. Hall collects the ball on his follow-thru , throws it to Rohan Kanhai fielding at Mid-on and begins his long walk to the top of his bowling mark. Kanhai, meanwhile, is seen vigorously polishing the new ball on his trousers, runs after Hall and throws the ball at the receding back of the tall and lithe fast bowler. The ball hits Hall’s back with a thud, must cause him tremendous burn; but Hall catches the ball showing no visible signs of any pain and strides back to the top of his bowling mark…”

What narration !

Ananda Rao, with his picturesque commentating skills , drew a fascinating visual of a tear-away world class pace bowler in full throttle . What more do the listeners want ?

We also looked forward to P.Ananda Rao’s summing up of the day’s proceedings upto the tea interval , for the benefit of overseas listeners. His summing up reflected an extra-ordinary memory, his in-depth knowledge of the game and a perfect lesson for wrapping up in style. He was so much focused on this tough job that he would overlook any unusual event happening on the field. As listeners, whenever there was a roar from the stadium, we had no alternative but to hazard a guess that a wicket has fallen or a boundary or a six has been hit, depending on whether India was batting or fielding, as the case may be.

Truly, a master of his art !

When I read a news item in “The Hindu” that my favourite commentator was the General Manager of Das Prakash Group of Hotels, I could relate to him even more, as the Group hailed from Udupi, my home town.