AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

        The watchman outside the Asgiriya stadium, situated snugly amidst rolling hills and winding roads, in contrast looked stern and off-putting. Standing near the small wicket gate, he spoke in rattling Sinhalese. Though not a single word of it could be comprehended, the strong tone delivered the message loud and doubly clear more than any language possibly can: 'You are not allowed inside.'

        His reluctance was understandable. It was a blazing afternoon when even mad dogs had the smart sense to stay under the shade while we, a couple of visiting journalists from Chennai, had wanted to get into the stadium. There was also no match going on inside the stadium, which is the home ground of Trinity College, one of the most prestigious schools in Sri Lanka. While the Sri Lankan cricket team was in the distant Caribbean islands, we, out of general curiosity borne by our innate cricket madness, stopped by at the Asgiriya stadium, which is arguably one of the most beautiful cricket venues surrounded as it is by monkish hills and friendly trees.
 

THE BACK-UP TEAM: Muthiah Muralitharan's family (from left to right) wife Madhi Malar, mother Lakshmi and father Muthiah at their Kandy residence.

        But getting past the standoffish sentry proved to be more difficult than reading a Muthiah Muralitharan doosra.

        As it happened, it was as a desperate doosra that we dropped Murali's name to the gatekeeper. 'We are Murali's fans,' we said more in hope than with any real conviction. But we should have known better. The moment he heard the name 'Murali', the watchman's demeanour changed. The grim face suddenly sported a smile, and the key to unlock his mind seemed to have been found.

        And it was only a matter of time before he opened the small gate to let us inside the arena, where Murali had worked his magic against clueless batsmen several times over. But we were left marvelling at the Murali magic over this beautiful town and its unpretentious people.

The Murali leitmotif was to stay with us all through our stay in Kandy as even total strangers warmed up to us brightly at the mere mention of his name. It was not totally surprising as Murali is to Kandy what Brian Lara is to Port of Spain. Providing history to the geography of their places.         Impelled by our experiences, we made bold to drive down to his residence to try and meet his parents. No prizes for guessing that everyone in this old-world-charmed town knew the address to his place.         Driving to his home, situated amidst a welter of circling and undulating streets, it became clear as to where Murali must have got his phenomenal wrists that seem to turn 360 degrees on its pivot. Those confusing skein of streets, whose twists and turns are more bewildering than anything any spin bowler had ever bowled, demand such skillful wrist-work that bowling from then on should be a child's play.         And it is all child's play at the Murali household too as the entire family is fully immersed in engaging his 14-month-old son Naren.         The young man, who has the same arresting big-eyed stare, is quite a handful to the family members just as his father is at Caribbean to the opposing team batsmen.         Murali's laidback dad Muthiah, his effervescent mother Lakshmi and his Chennai-born chirpy wife Madhi Malar, who has been just back after being in the West Indies for a short time, all open up with rare warmth and zeal to us, total strangers.         Murali's mother talks us through how he she encouraged him in his early days. 'He was kind of naughty,' she says in chaste Tamil. 'That is why we put him in a boarding school'. It is here that Murali found an outlet to his boundless nervous energy. Murali latched on to cricket in sheer serendipity.         But his mother was quick to spot his talent and went out of the way to open up all the avenues for him to play the game. 'I used to take him to tournaments, wait till the matches were over and then take him to a shop to get him something to eat',' she says matter of factly. Murali's dad, who owns a biscuit factory, was a silent pillar of strength. This happy close-knit family, who are said to have gone to Sri Lanka from near Namakkal, are now fully at home in Kandy. Despite being Tamils, they have not encountered any friction in being assimilated into the Sinhala-majority community.

SULTAN OF SPIN: Muthiah Muralitharan

        The young Malar, who has been recently chosen as the second-most beautiful wife/girlfriend of cricketers on tour (for the record, Graeme Smith's former girlfriend came first), has also adapted to the ways of the alien country. She now speaks Tamil with a slight Sinhalese inflection. 'Even Sourav Ganguly said so,' she says with childish enthusiasm.

        But most of the family's words are now used in prayer as they dream of Sri Lanka making it to the final of the World Cup and then winning it. And it largely hinges on how Murali bowls. Luckily for him, the wickets in the Caribbean are now more spin-friendly, not unlike in his home tracks.

        Back in his home itself, his family members are precisely doing that - bowling people over with their spontaneity and hospitality.

        Bowling them over, you can tell it to the world, is Murali family's trait.