come from as small town in India -Pauri , Uttrakhand .
A town so small that even dreams learn to stay small.
Here, people don't talk about what they want to become.
They talk about what is possible.
And "possible"has a very narrow meaning in places like this
No one imagines something big.
Not because they don't want to
but because imagining itself feels unrealistic.
But I was different.
I never wanted to run in the rat race.
While everyone marched in one direction,
I wanted to walk away like a penguin stepping out of line , choosing different path.
That path ,for me, was cricket.
I wanted to be a cricketer
Not casually
Not as a hobby.
But as a dream that kept me awake at night.
The problem?
No big player had ever come out of my town.
Not even close.
No proper ground.
No coaches.
No facilities.
Just broken pitches, borrowed bats,and hope
doing all the heavy lifting
Just broken pitches, borrowed bats, and hope doing all the heavy lifting.
People didn't discourage me loudly.
They did something worse they smiled politely.
The kind of smile that says,
"Dreams are fine… just don't take them seriously."
Still, I was stubborn.
I believed that if I worked hard enough,
if I wanted it badly enough,
something would change.
But there was one thing that scared me more than failure.
Time.
Every next day terrified me.
Because anyone who has ever tried to pursue a sports career knows this truth
talent matters, effort matters,
but age is the scariest opponent.
Every year that passes doesn't just add a number.
It adds doubt.
Am I late?
Did I start too slow?
Is this dream already expiring?
In small towns, these questions are louder.
They echo.
Some nights, I would lie awake thinking
Maybe this town is right.
Maybe some dreams are too big for certain pin codes.
And yet…
every morning, I still picked up the bat.
Because quitting felt scarier than failing.
Today, I stand at a strange point.
Not successful.
Not defeated.
Just… unfinished.
The dream hasn't died.
But it hasn't lived either.
And the most frightening part?
Tomorrow is coming again.
And with it, my age will increase by one more day.
I don't know if the next chapter will be about breakthrough
or acceptance.
All I know is
This story isn't over yet.
To be continued…