My father was not exactly athletic. But he was quite fit and was a sportsman. He loved sports—any and all. He was a very good table tennis player and well known and highly ranked in Delhi circles during his era. He was a champion in carrom too, and cards. I have seen him win many awards in some championships he participated in. Could that be the reason I got interested in all kinds of sports? If so, why was my elder brother not as much interested? Even my sisters, though the youngest, played table tennis during her school/college days. My elder brother played a tiny bit of cricket occasionally. He did love table tennis, but to my knowledge, after going to the U.S. at a young age, he had totally deserted that sport.

My interest continued. Maybe I was the dumbest or the only one who shirked giving out a helping hand for family chores. Nobody has told me so at least. I really loved sports.

But all three of us, i.e., my dad, brother, and myself, were busybodies. Never lazy. At work especially, we would keep moving and not wait for assistance to bring or take something. Always energetic and mobile.

My head-on collision with sports started with cricket. A sudden introduction to the game, a sudden interest, and an even more sudden development in gully skills. And having seen my father playing applause-drawing table tennis and carrom, the mind drifted naturally towards that game too. Though we never got to play.

It was in Chennai that this opportunity came along. The eldest son of the house owner of the outhouse we stayed in was interested in table tennis too. We would place a bench with some net equivalent in the middle. The bench, I am wildly guessing, must have been around 5 to 6 feet long and 1 ½ feet wide. Bending down, we used to play table tennis on this huge table. With its narrow space, we learned to be precise. The house owner's boy and my brother were really good. I struggled, and my unprofessional, stop-start table tennis career was launched in the hall of our house owner and stuttered and was not a total castaway.

Continued in My father was not exactly athletic. But he was quite fit and was a sportsman. He loved sports—any and all. He was a very good table tennis player and well known and highly ranked in Delhi circles during his era. He was a champion in carrom too, and cards. I have seen him win many awards in some championships he participated in. Could that be the reason I got interested in all kinds of sports? If so, why was my elder brother not as much interested? Even my sisters, though the youngest, played table tennis during her school/college days. My elder brother played a tiny bit of cricket occasionally. He did love table tennis, but to my knowledge, after going to the U.S. at a young age, he had totally deserted that sport.

My interest continued. Maybe I was the dumbest or the only one who shirked giving out a helping hand for family chores. Nobody has told me so at least. I really loved sports.

But all three of us, i.e., my dad, brother, and myself, were busybodies. Never lazy. At work especially, we would keep moving and not wait for assistance to bring or take something. Always energetic and mobile.

My head-on collision with sports started with cricket. A sudden introduction to the game, a sudden interest, and an even more sudden development in gully skills. And having seen my father playing applause-drawing table tennis and carrom, the mind drifted naturally towards that game too. Though we never got to play.

It was in Chennai that this opportunity came along. The eldest son of the house owner of the outhouse we stayed in was interested in table tennis too. We would place a bench with some net equivalent in the middle. The bench, I am wildly guessing, must have been around 5 to 6 feet long and 1 ½ feet wide. Bending down, we used to play table tennis on this huge table. With its narrow space, we learned to be precise. The house owner's boy and my brother were really good. I struggled, and my unprofessional, stop-start table tennis career was launched in the hall of our house owner and stuttered and was not a total castaway.

Continued in 243. Twin Twine - Part 2