JPL: An Innovation towards Creation

During  my second  year of   Engineering   at   VIT Vellore, the  craziness  about  cricket   lead  me  to creation of a league which latter was known as JPL (Jhantu  Premier  League). The league became very famous  towards  the  end  of  final  year,  especially amongst Mechies. But it took JPL around two years to get  recognized and it was not so easy either. The league  began   unnamed,   unnoticed   without  any specific purpose. In fact when it started it wasn’t even a league. You can call those Jhantus a bunch of crazy cricket fans  who  just wished  to play  cricket. JPL finds  its roots  way  back in the year  2010. During holi holidays when the college was closed for about five days a bunch  of  people,  all my roommates, decided to play cricket  so  as  to  make  use  of  the  holidays. I had  played before few times also but only either to fill somebody’s place in the XI or out of my interest. This was the first time I had to do all arrangements so that we could play. In order to have more people we involved our neighbors from G Block.

JPL 0.0

This season was played for only five days in VIT outdoor Stadium. The basic idea was that only those will play who does not know to play properly, with an intention of giving opportunity to all players. We used to just call ourselves a Jhantu. In  this  season runs  could be made only on leg side. These five days of cricket was full of fun. After it ended we didn’t know whether we  will  play again or  not.  But  after  one  year we played again during vacations.

JPL 0.1 

In this season the League came into existence. We started calling ourselves as a player  from Jhantu Premier League. This season marked the entry of various new  people  and specially  Mechies in to the league which made it even bigger and better. The season began with the rivalry between E block and H block.We played in morning and sometimes in the evening also. We played on regular  basis mainly  on week days. During the later stage of this season we moved from side of the stands to the middle of ground  which now we called as the  JPL  pitch. This  marked  an  impression  on  the  players  that  they  are a part of league. This weekend sessions of cricket ended with beginning of term end exams. This season was fruitful in the sense that we had players to play on regular basis.

JPL 0.2

Seriously speaking i was in very less mood to play cricket again. But few Jhantus started urging me to start JPL. So on February 7th 2012 it finally came into existence for the third consecutive year. I didn’t have any idea this season was going be that massive and huge that it was never before. A page was created on Face book and that is what lead to enormous response. The first day only I was surprised to see few new faces on the field, all Mechies, all enthusiastic about playing. We all know that when Mechies assemble together for anything it is sure is going to be big and unique in every respect (No offenses).  Second day of the second season brought a new charm to JPL and droves a huge number of Jhantus. This day marked the beginning of online auction of Jhantus. The players were given points by some of the experts on six different attributes namely batting, bowling, fielding, punctuality, match winning ability and performance under pressure. These accounted for the money. Auction was done. Teams were divided and by late night the name of the teams along with logos came to existence. On the third day the numbers of people were much more than expected. This season was in all respect bigger and better than previous seasons and the quality of play went up by a very huge margin. The JPL pitch became permanent. By this time JPL and auction factor was known to large number of people.

JPL 0.3

This season began in the same year after the gap of one in the last week of March. This season gave rise to a new concept of series. The first series played in the JPL was Shahid Lala cup. It as followed by Aaryaman Shaktiman trophy, CID cup, Master Bilang cup etc. BY this time poster making also came into existence. Few more experiments were done while making teams which added to the flavours of JPL. With the intensity growing JPL suffered some setbacks due some unforgiving circumstances. But Jhantus backed themselves well to come out of this. The quality of play enhanced. The level of fielding also improved. Actually the Jhantus have raised the bar for themselves. Even though all the three challenges we face we failed to prove ourselves as a better team the fact still remains same that the purpose of JPL was not meant for challenges but for enjoying the game of crickets to the fullest. We Jhantus succeeded in it to the fullest. I can proudly say that JPL was by the Jhantus, of the Jhantus and for the Jhantus. This JPL made me PITAMAH of Jhantus.

For all these days during which JPL was played i was present. For conducting JPL i have to wake up early and wake others by calling or waking them personally banging their rooms. My efforts always paid as the attendance remained fair enough all the time for play to happen. Players also need credit as they woke up and came to field to play and enjoyed the fun. JPL page on FB is still on and people do interact through it. JPL is something i will remember for long in my life.

Wishes and Regards