He lives in Auckland. He likes coming to India and, currently, is on his fourth visit to the country. He loves Indian food, especially the fare in Kerala, and prefers masala dosa over KFC when he is here. Thrilled to see New Zealand win the first Test in Bengaluru, he says he will have no regrets even if his country loses the next two.
There is nothing unusual about that. Save for the fact that Peter Calder is 73 years old. This retired journalist is travelling alone and is prepared to take the local train to go to the ground in Pune, where the second Test starts on October 24. The stadium is far away from the city and Calder has figured out that train will the best mode of transport considering the distance.
“The first thing that strikes me is the crowd,” Calder told RevSportz. “You never see such large numbers for a Test match in New Zealand.” The turnout was nearly 20,000 on the fourth day in Bengaluru. “May be for an ODI you will get good numbers back in New Zealand, but not for the longer format,” said this former employee of the New Zealand Herald. This is his first cricket tour of India.
“The first Test was a wonderful experience,” said Calder, who wants to watch an Ashes series in England, but has not yet been able to because of the expense. “I was tense on the last day. When India got the first wicket in the first over, I thought maybe they can get us all out for 66! It’s huge to beat India in India. Even if our team loses this series, I will go home happy.”
Primarily a copy editor in his working days, Calder wrote about local politics and also contributed features on travel, films and restaurants. He has been to the Olympics and Australian Open to do colour copies. Cricket, however, is not his subject of writing, even though he has media accreditation for this series. But he doesn’t go to the media box because it’s “more fun from the stands”.
Calder likes the Indian experience for the difference it presents. “Life is complicated over here,” said Calder, who has visited several parts of India. “It’s in your face all the time. A lot of people live in a lot of misery over here, but they are very energetic. You can feel it even if you happen to be a foreigner out here. And I love Indian food. It’s spicy, but once you get a hang of it, there is nothing like it.”
Noting that cricket is way behind in popularity to rugby league or rugby union in New Zealand, Calder felt that game would receive a boost following the Test match win and the country’s triumph in the Women’s T20 World Cup, which happened on the same day. For the moment, he is busy checking out the places to go to in Pune, where he can try some typically Maharashtrian food.
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