Tennis the Menace!

The only sport that I follow religiously, almost to the point of obsession, is tennis. I have been hooked ever since I saw a 16 year old Martina Hingis win Wimbledon in 1997. From Hingis to Ferrero to Henin, I have always been fascinated with certain individual players at a given point of time. Ever since Sania Mirza burst on the scene in 2005, starting the year at 150 odd in the rankings and ending it in the top 30, my interest in Indian tennis spiked. So come 2012 Olympics, and I was excited for Indian medal prospects in tennis at London. Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati, Rohan Bopanna and Sania all had stupendous 12 months in doubles, and chances of a medal looked bright, especially in mixed doubles with Bhupati-Mirza at the helm. Bhupati-Bopanna pairing up for men's doubles seemed a foregone conclusion to me, as the two were playing together since the beginning of the year, and Bopanna had broken his highly successful partnership with Aisam from Pakistan to prepare for the Olympics with Bhupati. So it was a terrible shock when last week AITA announced Paes-Bhupati as their chosen pair, and thus fielding only one team when India was eligible for two.

As the week long drama continued, I was totally against everything the AITA was proposing. Pairing Bhupati and Paes who have failed on previous attempts, and have not played with each other in a while, and most importantly, have no trust and camaraderie between them, seemed preposterous. As did denying Bopanna a spot, who is ranked higher than Bhupati, and was the only one who sacrificed personal interest on the ATP tour for the sake of the Olympics.But as the week rolled on, things began to get murkier. The absolute refusal by Bhpuati and Bopanna to team up with Paes seemed more like a spoiled kid's tantrums to get what he wants. Details of the spat and confidential communication was leaked to the media, fathers of both Paes and Bhupati hopped from one channel to another defending their sons' decisions respectively. Paes, who till now had agreed to play with anyone, was encouraged by AITA's backing and refused to play with a lower ranked player, demanding the right to choose his partner by virtue of being the world no. 7, and highest ranked Indian. Slowly my opinion started aligning with that of the AITA's. Pairing Paes, who has been in great form this year, winning the Australian Open doubles, with someone ranked outside the top 200, with whom he has never played before does seem totally unfair and illogical, as there would be no realistic chances of winning a medal. Meanwhile, Bhupati and Paes, with years of experience behind them, could just rise to the occasion if they could overcome all the pettiness. Also, Bhupati and Bopanna have not performed exceptionally on the big stage together, even if showing flashes of brilliance. As such, sending a single team with reasonable chances seemed more palusible and in the interest of the nation than ending two under prerpared teams.

However, objectively looking at the situation, Bhupati-Bopanna's request was also not that beyond reason. But the fact that it was put forth as a demand with a threat of pullout, rather than request, was what made it seem irresponsible. Clearly there could have been no winners. The AITA has to shoulder the blame, as they were aware of the players' situations since the beginning of the year. Paes and Bhupati who paired last year with moderate success with an eye on the Olympics, split again at the year end and made it clear that they couldn't play together anymore. Immediately, Bopanna and Bhupati teamed up. Deliberations should have started much in advance by AITA, and not a week before the deadline to submit names to ITF. Now that AITA has bowed down to Bhupati and Bopanna, they do risk losing the country's best player - incidentally the one who was responsible for India's first individual Olympic medal post independance. The bait they have thrown him is promising him a mixed doubles spot with Sania. But the problem here is clear, as for one, her wildcard is not confirmed, and there may not be any mixed doubles entry from India at all, and two, Sania is playing regularly at slams with Bhupati and has just recently won the French Open with him. So basically we will end up with three teams which will not be our best possible representation. 

One only hopes that Bopanna and Bhupati live up to their premise, and vindicate their stand with a brilliant performance at the Olympics. And if Sania does receive a wildcard, she should enter the upcoming Wimbledon (also the venue for the Olympics tennis event) mixed doubles with Paes instead of Bhupati, to have some big match practice as a team if they are to be paired together. All said and done, where it should have been love all, things are still stuck in at a deuce, and Indian tennis may be down the game, set and match!

Happiness Lies in Sore Legs

From health issues to total confusion and chaos on the career front, the last couple of years haven't exactly been a cakewalk for me. Compared to them, all that cribbing about my life at Pondicherry University (PU) in the initial posts of this blog seem frivolous. Though these issues are far from being sorted out, I have at least learned to live with them, if not just as yet figured out a way to get rid of them. However, last week I did take a small but significant step towards taking control over my life - another attempt at reclamation of my life from the all pervading chaos, most of which is self created.

It is often said that life and all its shenanigans are much easier to deal with if we can manage to take out time for ourselves, and do the things we really enjoy. Though in my case, it wasn't as much a question of taking out time, as it was of getting off my butt and stop being lazy. My first attempt of doing so was when I started this blog, which after showing initial promise, has been dying a slow death lately.

During the two years in hostel at PU I rediscovered my childhood love for dancing, which I had long forgotten. All thanks to the incessant "interaction" sessions with seniors (also known as ragging), and then being part of two rather embarrassing and ill-conceived performances. Apparently, cutting the rug to "Pappu can't dance saala!" (Irony #101) in hostel rooms and labs for nearly 2 months was the trigger needed to reignite my love for dancing. I noticed that I was the happiest when I was dancing. It was literally, a case of "dancing the blues away" for me. So ever since I came back to Delhi, I vowed to take up dancing - i.e. join dance classes. This was mid-2010. Nearly two years down the line, that plan remained a permanent fixture on my countless to-do lists. Many Cul-de-sac plans ensued. I even found quite a few friends who shared this interest, and were willing to give me company in this endeavour. This was crucial for me, as finding a partner for an activity serves as a regulator to ensure that you go through with it. In a rare departure from my usual self, I even showed initiative in compiling a list of dance schools and academies, their contacts, class timings etc. But that's where it ended, cause I never did use any of those contact ids. Nor did my "regulators".

However as they say, nothing happens before its time. Of course, it may be total Bull, and a easy way out for lazy slouches. But it did kind of work that way this time around. Fate, being in the right place at the right time, and one of those supposed-to-be-regulator friends got together and an opportunity landed in my lap to join a jazz workshop being conducted by choreographer Ashley Lobo's dance academy, The Danceworx, literally a day before it was to begin. That might have been a crucial factor, as my ever-doubtful brain didn't get much time to think of excuses for me to shirk and back out. I agreed, managed to stifle the doubts and dozen of reasons that came up for me NOT to join the workshop, and showed up on the fateful Sunday to indulge in the activity that probably elicits my biggest endorphin-rush. And needless to say, I have been reveling in the pure bliss caused by extremely sore legs since then. A six-week workshop with one LONG class a week, culminating in a public performance, may not be enough to satiate my senses, but at least its a beginning. Plus now I don't have to defend the ever-growing share of upbeat, dance tracks in my music collection to my mother, which had really begun to puzzle and bother her off late!

So as I try to bust a move every Sunday, I realize to my utter dismay that I am no Chris Brown or Justin Timberlake as I would picture myself in my head while dancing. Getting down and jiggying with it on the dance floor to a DJ at a party, and coordinating your feet and hands to counts of 8 and uptempo music in front of a mirror and professional dancers are entirely different ball games. However, I am relishing the challenge and the journey from being the apparent star on the dance floor (in my head, that is) to the guy with two left feet who can't get a simple routine down. But I am sure this would be a real help in letting go of some inhibitions and loosening up a bit, not to mention providing the much needed physical exercise to my sedentary ass. Just hope that I would be motivated enough to continue beyond this workshop and take up regular classes. But till then I have these 6 weeks, aur yeh 6 hafte mujhse koi nahi cheen sakta! So, just Turn Up The Music, cause I am gonna Dance Again!

"Always remember, you'll live, you'll love .... you'll dance again"