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The death of Dilip Sardesai, a cricketer of the 1960s and ‘70s vintage, brings back memories of that champagne season for Indian cricket, 1971-72.

The record books tell us that it was when India won not one but two away series consecutively, when records were broken only to tumble again and when a new star, Sunil Gavaskar shown in the eastern skies, where he continued to sparkle for years afterwards.

What is not to be found in the record books is how, that year, India came of age in many other, more significant ways.

Cricket played no small part in that maturation, but it was not only our team that grew, but India itself, shedding old ways of life and thinking and moving to a braver, newer world. It was a watershed year, probably our most glorious one till then.

When the Indian cricket team had left for the West Indies, it was amidst a lot of controversy — no surprises there, and just goes to show that some things never change.

The board had just taken away the captaincy from Nawab of Pataudi after 11 years and given it over to Ajit Wadekar, known for his stylish left-handed batting but of unproven leadership mettle.

Vijay Merchant had cast the decisive vote and it had left cricketers, pundits and fans reeling. Everyone, including Wadekar and the West Indies captain Gary Sobers felt that India had a weak team and without the patrician and regal presence of Pataudi at the helm, we would come back humiliated.

In the event, we shone and how. Sardesai knocked up a double century with Prasanna and Eknath Solkar to keep him company, Sunil Gavaskar stood up to and smashed every fast bowler in sight and the team returned with a series victory.

The same happened when India, now a bit more confident, went to England. Chandrashekhar confounded the English players and not even a shoulder crash from John Snow that sent Sunil Gavaskar crashing, could stop the Indian team, which was on a roll. One more series win.

The departure of Pataudi firmly ended the era of the aristocracy’s presence in Indian cricket, ushering in a new, middle-class element that did not carry the burdens of the previous generation.

Certainly, Gavaskar who had studied in good English-medium institutions but came from solid, middle-class stock, was a confident, even cocky 22-year-old for whom fast bowlers, alien conditions and other cultures and — this must be emphasised — our former colonial masters, held no dread.

Privy purses had been abolished, banks nationalised and socialism was in the air; it was now the era of egalitarianism, not hereditary privilege, merit not family connections.

Indians had enthusiastically voted for Indira Gandhi, who, with her slogan ‘Garibi Hatao’, came to power with a thumping majority. It was a heady time.

Not that there were no problems. India was reeling under food shortages and to add to the burden, lakhs of refugees were pouring in from East Pakistan.

Here too, Indira Gandhi handled the situation with aplomb, travelling round the world to explain India’s case, and when the right time came, decisively moving into East Pakistan and winning the war in two short weeks.

The image of General Niazi signing the surrender document is imprinted on the nation’s collective memory as much as that of Gavaskar hitting yet another four.

To a schoolboy, the times were wildly exciting. Whether following the commentary on a simple transistor radio till late night or shutting off all the lights when the air raid siren went off, it was all an incredible high.

The import of these earth-shattering events was perhaps not easily understood or digested then, but in retrospect, those were indeed seminal moments.

Then, a poor, indigent country savoured its victories; today, a triumphalist nation cannot tolerate the idea of any defeat, be it in cricket, wars or the stockmarket.

Of course, everyone has their own personal memories. When I put it to a friend that 1971 was a terrific year, he pointed out that it was a terrible one because of how the state was treating its youth.

“Remember the Naxalites,” was his question. True enough. Much of Bengal and also other parts were reeling under the violence committed by Naxalites and the brutal reprisals by the police. Calcutta was a particularly violent place; Mrinal Sen was so affected by it that he made Calcutta ‘71, his angry polemic about how the ordinary citizen suffered no matter who was in power.

As for Mother Durga, as Indira Gandhi was heralded, was she not a symbol of state repression and did her Garibi Hatao not turn out to be a flop?

The next few years certainly saw the country slide into hopeless chaos. In 1974, came an all-India railway strike, the students began their agitation in Bihar, Gujarat and elsewhere, Jayaprakash Narayan gave a call to soldiers to revolt and it culminated, just a year later, in the Emergency. The heady feeling had dissipated. Our best year was long gone.

Email: sidharth01@dnaindia.net