An afternoon with Harsha Bhogle …

We have all grown up listening to his views on the game and it won’t be an exaggeration to say he is the face of cricket programming in India.  An institute on his own, Harsha Bhogle visited SIMC on December 1st as a part of the SIMClairyoyance winter session, to share his immense knowledge and experience in the industry.

Harsha Bhogle’s pointers fell straight on the bat, and the session shaped up to be just as straightforward and witty as he is. Emphasizing the importance of domain knowledge in the media industry, he stressed on how, as professionals, we should know every aspect of our job in order to excel in it.  And this, he said, should be an offshoot of our passion for the field. “You can never buy the love for doing what you are doing.”

Harsha adhered to a propitious view of the industry, but didn’t flinch when expressing his concern on the current trend in the media. “(In television broadcast) the urge to be first far outweighs the urge to be correct”, he pointed out.

Harsha has worked in the media industry long enough to know the nitty-gritties of the system. Quoting funny, quirky incidents from his own career, he couldn’t stress enough on the importance of team building and spontaneity in media. Harsha’s mantra for the day was short and straight – “Media is a team game." "(The audience) never see what went into the making of the end product." And that is exactly why he suggested team work as the make-or-break aspect of any media career. “Be friends with your cameraman. He can make you look good (or vice versa)”, Harsha said in his classic tongue-in-cheek style. Now that is what we really love him for, don’t we?!

Having shared his success mantras, Harsha eagerly went on to take on queries from students, which ranged from cricket issues to his alma mater, IIMA.

IPL expectedly turned out to be the hot topic of discussion. “At the moment, IPL is a legal entity, not a sports entity", Harsha remarked. He was even asked to share his views on Lalit Modi’s absence on IPL-4. Harsha backed his clairvoyance with logic when he said Modi’s absence would certainly leave a void.

Harsha Bhogle also shared some funny moments of his camaraderie with the bombastic Navjot Singh Siddhu, no less. "I sometimes feel like the United Nations (when I'm with Navjot Singh Siddhu)- well-intentioned and useless.”

At the end of the day, we knew why immaculate communication skills and humility remain his biggest strengths. Harsha smiled heartily all through the session, and even stayed back to give autographs and take pictures with some of his awe-struck fans.

Harsha clearly showed how not all the cricket stars are out on the field. SIMCians were truly bowled over.