25-Jul-2009 116
India and Hyderabad left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha sought needed a few days` break to relax and be with his family friends. After a long gap he returned to his home town Bhubaneswar seeking the above mentioned requirements. But the reality of life spoiled his plans.
He ended up spending most of his time meeting ministers, giving interviews to media and attending felicitation functions. The Deccan Chargers twiker was candid to admit that celebrity status was affecting his personal life. He, however, said that being an international cricketer he had to all these demands in his stride.
After landing here on July 23, Ojha went straight to the State Secretariat to meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. ‘‘It was a courtesy visit and was overdue. When Pragyan first made it to the National team, CM Patnaik was first to send a him congratulatory fax. So it was his moral duty to meet the CM and express his thanks,’’ explained the spinner’s father Maheswar Ojha.
Yesterday, Pragyan spent most of his time either in a local television studio or in a newspaper office. In the afternoon he attended a function organised by his old school, DAV Public (Chandrasekharpur) and distributed prizes among meritorious students.
City social organisation Prerana felicitated the cricketer with ‘Orissa Gourav Samman’ at a function here today in the presence of Revenue Minister Surya Narayan Patro and some other politicians. Helpless, Pragyan finally became free in the evening to meet his grand parents, maternal uncle and other relatives.
Scheduled to return to Hyderabad tomorrow, Pragyan said he would work hard to cement his place in the National team.
Photo caption: Pragyan Ojha is felicitated in Bhubaneswar on July 25, 2009.
