I was asked to go to Ranchi, the place I love, for an office assignment, and joining me was a colleague from Delhi, whose most significant knowledge about the Jharkhand capital was it being Mahendra Singh Dhoni's land.
We had just begun the journey from Ranchi junction to our hotel when we came across the city's famous Sujata Chawk, which now flaunts a 'Mahi Residency' board. My colleague was quick to respond – is it Dhoni's hotel?
Certainly, he was new to Ranchi, and had no clue how the city feels for the man who has taken Indian cricket to new heights. I had to explain to him that the hotel was named after MSD because of the Mahi fever that Ranchi has been suffering from since captain cool made it to the squad in 2004.
And this was understood well after we reached our hotel room and picked up the menu to order our food. There were two preparations on the menu which further endorsed the existence of Mahi fever, which fails to die down even after MSD bidding adieu to one form of the game – Mahi Tikka and Mahi Biryani. Such is the love for captain cool at his hometown.
There is a sense of pride that Ranchiites hold when it comes to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He is one among them, who has made it big, very big. From his hairstyle to his helicopter shot to his range of superbikes - which he often rides on the roads of Ranchi – Dhoni has been an inspiration, an icon, and an undisputed ambassador of Jharkhand, which otherwise has remained in news for almost two decades for unstable governments and Naxal menace.
Mahi Residency, Mahi Tikka and Mahi Biryani were just few of the several examples of the love for the beloved son of the soil. But the fact of the matter is that the love is mutual, and this was endorsed by captain cool himself. Yes, we also happened to meet MSD. In the course of the conversation, the captain expressed his love for Ranchi, and how there was "something special" about the city which never let him settle anywhere else.
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