Coutinho is one of the finest caricature artists around.
This 21st century’s favism of unbudgeable proportions, in short, to be narrated, has crept in slowly due to many an error in microbiology, and it has left me, a human, in a rare state of hallucination. Hallucination, this wrecked state of dislodged nothingness, has pushed the last wings of my hope into oblivion, that, which is friable to a large extent. A faint, weak, large, transient, wistful smile lightened my brooding face when I, for once, thought of the good deeds of art and artistry on a cricket pitch. What is art without a pace bowler running those dreaded yards onto a sacred pitch? What is artistry without the very bowler caricaturing ‘father time’ in print?
Austin Coutinho, ex-cricketer, is an extraordinary caricature artist.
Now dear readers, if you think I’ve burdened your pandemic holiday with unwanted Shakespearian, pardon me. Pardon me for my protagonist is not Shakespeare, but the Milton of the art, caricature. Austin Coutinho from India is a cartoonist, sportswriter, and a sports administrator. What the modern-day world is unaware of is, Austin was a pace bowler who once bewildered many a batsman with guile and pace. A postgraduate in economics, Austin left his then job of marketing manager to take up cricket coaching. He topped the exam conducted by BCCI’s National Cricket Academy at Wankhede, Mumbai.
Above all, this saint of a character is one of the finest caricature artists one can ever come across. In the history of caricature art, he will remain one of the finest chapters. The Sports Column caught with this wonderful man very recently.
Ravi: Firstly, thank you for giving your valuable time to The Sports Column. Can we begin the conversation by having you tell us about your background in fast bowling, and what brought you into Cricket? Who are your role models in the professional side of the sport?
Austin: I was a latecomer into sport in general and in cricket, in particular. As a child, I was an asthmatic, and therefore I hardly went out of my home till I was twelve. I got rid of my ailment by forcing myself to play football during the monsoons and tennis ball cricket at other times. Slowly, building up immunity, I got to playing cricket, with the cricket ball, when I was 21, and in college. Test stumper, Naren Tamhane, who was my college coach, selected me after I had bowled one delivery in the nets. At the end of my final year, I went to thank Tamhane Sir for allowing me to play for the college, and he was dumbfounded. He said, “Giving up on the game? Let me tell you if you work hard, you can play for Mumbai.” That was the trigger. I worked hard in the nets and was among the Mumbai probable in a year and a half’s time, without ever having played the game at the junior level or having attended a coaching camp.
I was a Wes Hall fan when I was in school, having watched his action on a flip-book. After I started playing serious cricket, I learned a lot from reading books by Dennis Lillee, John Snow, Bob Willis, Alec Bedser, and even Trevor Bailey. I watched them whenever I got a chance on videos and television, though during those days, few videos were available.
Ravi: Fast bowling is a thankless job at its meritorious best. Can you tell us about the challenges you’ve faced growing up? Did you have any special delivery as a lethal weapon to dismantle the furniture behind the batsmen?
By Austin G. Coutinho
Austin: My major handicap was that I came from a family of intellectuals, for whom sport was a waste of time. I was once asked by one of my uncles if I would polish my brothers’ boots for a living when I grew up.
Not having played cricket at the school and junior levels was another considerable handicap. When I first joined the Mumbai nets, I noticed some of the established Mumbai stars asking, “Who’s this boy?” Despite picking wickets regularly at the A Division level in the city, it didn’t help me to not be from the ‘inner-circle.’ The selectors and even some Mumbai skippers spoke to me about my bowling, but I didn’t get the break I believe I deserved.
I had a delivery that would rip it off the wicket and beat the best batsmen. It didn’t move in the air but seamed into the batsman off the track and had some established batsmen losing they’re off and middle stumps, shouldering arms to my deliveries. I picked up the late outswinger later in my career. Another ball that troubled batsmen was the swinging bouncer that followed the batsman. This ball once hit Gavaskar in a Kanga match and so many others.
Ravi: One can say the job of a coach gets easier if he/she is managing the seniors. But, it gets tedious at times with the junior boys and girls. What specific selection criteria would you use in picking up your team?
Austin: The difference between working with seniors and juniors in cricket, in art analogy, is like touching up someone else’s paintings and working on a fresh, new canvas. They are two different skills. I have always enjoyed working with kids, teaching them basic techniques, skills, working on their fitness, and of course, their mental setup. Most importantly, when you are a junior coach, your job is to see that the kids enjoy the game.
I have coached at the age-group levels too and have been able to help quite a few players change their attitude towards the game. At one level, between the ages of 16 and 19, it all boils down to grit and the will to succeed, with minor technical corrections, if any.
Ravi: As a coach, is it necessary for you to have a standard for the management of your players and support staff before a game, during a game, at a practice, or on a road trip?
Courtesy: Twitter
Austin: In cricket, at the club and corporate levels in Mumbai, implementing standard procedures for players/teams to follow is difficult. Players usually travel on their own to matches, and before matches, there is often a 15-minute window for discussing strategy/plans. In outstation tournaments, when players stay together, it is easier to manage the various processes of preparation – technically, physically, and mentally.
I was my company’s football manager/head coach from 2002 to 2010. We played at the elite division level and played against teams like Mahindras, Air India, Mumbai FC, Bengal-Mumbai FC, some top banks, etc. There we traveled together, had pre-match day strategy sessions – where even junior players were asked to provide inputs – and match plans were drawn upon consensus. On match day, we had colour coordination for the trip, mind-calming sessions before the final strategy were discussed, and of course, there was the revised plan at half-time. Most importantly, we had the review the day after the match to find out what went right for us and what could be improved upon.
Of utmost importance, when you are the manager or coach of a team, is to promote good behavior and ethics in the team. Honesty and integrity are two factors that help most teams do well at any level.
Ravi: What types of practice preparations would you put in place to receive optimum performance from your players and in their readiness for gameplay?
Austin: In team games like cricket and football, it is not only important that players perform to the best of their ability at the individual level but also to implement the team’s match strategy. Therefore a coach has to prepare a team at two levels, i.e., individually and tactically. Players prepare for the challenge with the opposition in mind, and the plan worked out by the coach and support staff, if any.
In football, an extra player on the field can create havoc even for top-class teams. We would often play ten versus 11 practice games. Also, our team would prepare physically to play a 120 minute-game so that a 90-minute match wouldn’t tax them physically. I would often tell my boys, in important matches, that if each of them puts in 110 percent effort, we would have 12 players on the field; enough to put pressure on the best defenses.
Ravi: Al Hirschfield once said, “Artists are just children who refuse to put down their crayons.” Can you tell your story in ‘caricature art’?
Courtesy: Cricket.Yahoo.Net
Austin: I am a Mario Miranda fan. As I stated earlier, I used to be ill and bunk school at least a couple of days every week. My dad and mom used to be at work, and my brothers were at school. I was all alone at home, most of the time, with a servant to look after me. Lying in bed, I used to read comics or admire Mario’s cartoon books, which led me to pass my time copying his cartoons and even creating some comic books when I was still an adolescent.
When I was a little older, my mom asked me to do a cartooning course from the Raye Burns School of Cartooning, through correspondence. Soon, I was sending cartoons to many publications and getting rejection letters aplenty. In the early 70s, when I was still in school, Sportsweek published a few of my cartoons. The day I finished my B.Sc exams, Mr. Anant (Uncle) Pai of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle Comics fame asked me to join him. I worked with him for a year but gave up the job so that I could concentrate on my bowling.
Thereon, my cartoons were published by iconic publications like Times of India, Indian Express, Mid-day, Sportsweek and at least a dozen up-country newspapers; all this while I worked for RCF as a cricketer, and at different times as its PRO, Sports Officer, HR Manager and finally, Senior Manager (CRM). Facebook and Twitter have been a blessing and have given my art wider circulation and helped me entertain a lot more people than publications would allow.
Ravi: What is the most common issue you face as a caricature artist? How do you strike a balance between reality and exaggeration?
Courtesy: Pinterest
Austin: All creative people are moody, and I am no different. Whether I am writing my sports columns or doing a caricature, if I am in the proper frame of mind, the creative process gets more comfortable. If I am in a bad mood, I can’t draw or write.
I am an introvert by nature, and therefore coaching, and my writing/drawing activities can’t go together. Consequently, I have to detach myself consciously from everything, including family, before I get into the creative mood again. Drawing on a tablet has helped me a lot. Otherwise, it used to be a drawing paper on an easel, first outlined in pencil, then inked and finally painted – a long tiresome process.
The subtle distinction between reality and exaggeration comes from practice. The more you draw, the easier it becomes. Honestly, I have still not mastered it.
Ravi: Amongst your various published works, can you tell your standouts and about “The Devil’s Pack: The Men Behind the ’83 Victory”?
Austin: I have authored seven books, including a coffee-table edition of my company’s 50-year history. Moreover, I have illustrated at least ten books and have also done cover designs for another five. Most of my early books were quizzes and fun books for the cricket world cups of the 1990s. In 2010, I wrote ‘The Goal’ for the football world cup, in 2011 came ‘The Devil’s Pack’ along with Balvinder Singh Sandhu, for the cricket world cup, and then in 2012, ‘The Games’ for the Olympics.
‘The Devil’s Pack’ is a behind-the-scenes, first-person look at the legends that made up the 1983 world cup winning team, under Kapil Dev, and is an interesting read.
I am now planning a limited edition caricature book of my favorite Indian cricketers of different eras. This book will be aimed at collectors of cricket memorabilia and shall not be on sale in book shops.
Ravi: The services you’ve rendered to RCF Sports Club are beyond comparison and will be remembered by the faithful till the end of time. Can you briefly tell us the role RCF played in your illustrious career?
Courtesy: Firstpost
Austin: To be honest, when I joined RCF in 1979 as a sports trainee, I had five other offers from companies like Tata Power, Western Railways, and Dharamsi Morarji, etc. Later, Mahindras too made me an offer. Somehow, as fate would have it, I stayed in the Chembur Company for 36 years. I tried to leave in 1981 to get VRS in 2003 and then even resigned to take up an administrative post in MCA but wasn’t allowed to go all three times.
The RCF management, though it wasn’t very kind to me in the 1980s, later supported my creative pursuits and also my involvement in sports – in cricket, football, and table tennis – as a committee member and coach. The management also encouraged me to get three post-graduate qualifications, besides B.Sc and LLB, to be eligible for higher posts. I got a record of eight promotions during my tenure in RCF.
Ravi: Can you briefly tell us about your role at Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA)?
Austin: I was a coaching committee member at MCA for a while and was then shifted to the office tournaments committee, probably because somebody felt insecure when I highlighted a few things that were wrong with Mumbai’s coaching system.
In 1995-6, I was the chief organizer of the Ranji match between Mumbai and Baroda at RCF. I was also a part of the team that repaired the ground, in record time, for the World Cup 1996 match at Wankhede Stadium between India and Australia. A crane had fallen across the ground, spilling oil and making a considerable indentation that had threatened the hosting of the match. I was also, for quite a few years, a coach at the Under 14 and Under 19 levels and also a talent hunter for the association.
I shall, however, never forgive MCA for not letting me complete the coaching exams of the NCA despite topping the level A in 2006. This insecurity that MCA members display is now evident in the way Mumbai cricket is progressing.
Ravi: What is your philosophy in sports and life? How would you encourage and preach good sportsmanship? What is your message to youngsters?
Austin: Play tough but play with honesty. There’s no room for cheating in cricket. If you are good at cricket and love the game, cricket returns the love multifold; we are all beneficiaries of that philosophy. I may not have played either for Mumbai or India, but cricket has given me a life that I shall cherish to my last day on this planet.
