By TIOL Feature Service

WHEN his finger goes up, the likes of Sachin Tendulkar are out. Meet India’s top Cricket umpire Hariharan. India takes on the mighty South Africans in the first of the five ‘One Day Internationals’ at Hyderabad today and Hariharan is here to umpire.

The Taj Residency, was a virtual security fortress with policemen of all sizes, shapes and dresses swarming the place. Beautiful girls and starry eyed youngsters were pleading with the police uncles to allow them to have a glimpse of their favourite stars, especially Sachin and Dhoni.

But Taxindiaonline was there to meet – not the stars but the one whom the stars look upon with awe and respect. We were there to meet a Superintendent of Central Excise – yes Hariharan, India’s top umpire is a Superintendent with Delhi II Commissionerate.

Hariharan who has umpired over thirty matches is considered to be one of the five top umpires of the world. He made his debut in test umpiring at the Mecca of cricket grounds, ‘The Lords’. He and Jaya Prakash are the two international umpires in India and any match played in India should have one of them as an umpire. He is likely to be in the ICC’s elite panel of international umpires soon. At present there is no Indian in the elite panel. Hariharan has umpired matches of all cricket playing countries in the world. He was India’s representative in the Asian umpiring seminar.

He has been the unofficial unsung unheard unrecognised representative of Indian Customs. This unassuming hero is a Superintendent for arrears recovery in Delhi. For all his achievements and top position in the most popular sport in India, his Department has not given him any special benefits. He joined as an Inspector in 1990 and is now a Superintendent and most probably will retire as one. Of course he had been given five increments, but there are several officers in the Department who had got these increments by winning shot put throws in Central Revenue Sports! And he had to struggle for his first special increment, far more than what he had to do in the field. His first international match was the India – Sri Lanka onedayer in Goa. The Accounts officer was not convinced that a match in Goa is an international one. Then he wanted a certificate that Hariharan was the umpire for the match. Press clippings, news reports, TV coverage etc. are not acceptable documents. It had to be a certificate and initially they were not prepared to accept a certificate from the BCCI; they wanted it from the ICC!

Hariharan has not so far received a single award, appreciation or recognition from the Department. Not a Samman, not a line of appreciation in writing. During Central Excise Day celebrations, you can see hundreds of officers being ‘honoured’ for winning a local dance competition or a prize in the Revenue Sports Meet. But the department does not really know how to honour its real heroes.

They have made him do protocol duties in airports. Just imagine a situation where Sachin Tendulkar lands up in the airport and finds Umpire Hariharan chaperoning a Commissioner who is blissfully ignorant as to who Hariharan is!. This is not a hypothetical situation but a very real one. There are several people who throng to get his autograph and be photographed with him, but within the Department he is just one more ordinary unknown Superintendent. Millions of people all over the world watch him, but the Department he works for is not impressed; when not umpiring, he is in his seat in the Central Excise office. He and Anju Bobby George are the two great internationals of the Department. But Chennai Customs & Delhi Central Excise have no time for them? (Only recently Department has recruited many Inspectors against Sports Quota but it is to be seen how judiciously they are going to be used).

Hari is a very disciplined and proud employee – He was in the Indian Air Force for 15 years before joining Central Excise and mind you he did not join the Central Excise department on a sports quota; he entered through the Staff Selection Commission. He has no remorse or complaints about the department not treating him well. He says when he goes abroad, he is respected when he says that he works for the Indian Customs and that he considers it a great prestige. Hari is a post graduate in English and in his eloquent style, he says he is proud to be an umpire for Indian Cricket and proud to be a Customs Officer. But deep inside there is a deep hurt – any other Department would have given him more recognition and rewards. Had he been in a bank for instance, they would have given him a couple of quick promotions, but he has no regrets and doesn’t blame any one – he says there is no provision for such promotions in the Government. He is committed to his job and his love and would show no undue favour to any one either in the cricket field or in the government office.

Umpiring is a very difficult job – you have to concentrate and be always ALIVE. He does that with morning yoga and rigorous tennis. You have to take quick decisions. He says an umpire is judged by his mistakes. You make a thousand correct decisions, nobody bothers, but you make a single mistake, and you have had it. Reaching the top is arduous; retaining that position is more difficult. Not many people know that an umpire is under constant watch and every test is a test. At the end of the match, both the captains submit a report on the umpire’s performance and there is the referee giving his comments on every decision of the umpire during the match. These reports go right up to the ICC. And it is not simply standing in the field. The umpire should have a thorough knowledge of the Cricket laws and rules and by heart. He doesn’t have too many reference books in the field, nor are there consultants to assist him in taking his decisions. Which law is easy to understand – Cricket or Central Excise? With his natural modesty, he says his knowledge of excise and customs laws is work-based. Only the very best in the field survive and our Hariharan has survived eminently.

The Department can use him in several ways. He can be the brand ambassador of the department. At least this is a face seen by millions of Indians and others. They can use him for those Service Tax ads. They can publicise the fact that he is an officer of Indian Customs and Central Excise. He is too modest to talk about himself but says that Anju Bobby George can get a lucrative job in any big organisation, but she has chosen to continue in Customs. Hari was too embarrassed when we said that he should be made at least a Commissioner!

It is unfortunate that this mega department does not honour its great personalities. Hari fortunately does not need any monetary support but doesn’t he deserve a pat, a little appreciation, a little more recognition within the department and may be a couple of promotions? He was very proud that the ICE magazine recently carried a news story on him. Thousands of news stories have been written about him even by reputed newspapers abroad, but he was happy about that one piece in his departmental journal – And that is what you call a sense of belonging!

Behind every successful umpire there is a critical referee and Hariharan has it in his wife. She watches all the matches he umpires and chronicles all the comments made about his decisions and talks to him over the phone immediately after the match just to tell him his weak points. With such a wife at home you cannot afford to fail in the field. It’s Cricket in the family and his son, Vinu has already played for UP under 15.

Before parting, he told us, “It is on top of my agenda that I maintain the equilibrium between my cricket activities and the Departmental official work so that I remain loyal to both and keep the colours of the department and umpiring flying high always.” It had been a long long time since we had seen a departmental officer so committed and proud of his department – even though he is the top umpire in India.