It is in their genes

WHEN Boris Becker and Steffi Graf dominated world tennis in their respective genders, I often wondered that if the two were mated, they would have bred world beaters: if animals can be mated selectively to improve their breed, so can humans. Why is it that some families produce boys and girls who are good at games and other do not? The answer is, it is in their genes. Outstanding examples of this phenomenon are the Krishnan family — founding father T.K. Ramanathan, son Ramanathan Krishnan and grandson Ramesh Krishnan. Another example are the Amritraj Brothers. Between them, these two families have put India on the world map of tennis. You can read of the Krishnan family in A Touch of Tennis: The Story of a Tennis Family, co-authored by Nirmal Shekar of The Hindu (Penguin India).

The Krishnans come from Tenkasi, a small town on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border. They are orthodox Brahmins and strictly vegetarian. Tenkasi Krishnan Ramanathan never went to college. He migrated to Madras when he was 22 and took up a job as a stenographer to a doctor at a salary of Rs 30 per month. He watched a game of tennis and was fascinated by it. Being a keen student of geometry, he worked out different angles at which shots could be played to outfox an opponent. He borrowed a racquet from a marker to play his first game. He was hooked to it for life. He pawned some of his wife’s jewellery to buy a racquet of his own. In a few years, he was ranked number one in South India and number three in the country.

In 1940, Ramanathan came to play in a tournament in Delhi. A senior ICS official who saw him on the court offered him a job in the Ministry of Civil Supplies. The family moved to the Capital. It was on the Talkatora club courts in 1947 that young Ramanathan Krishnan hit a tennis ball for the first time. Communal violence that came with Partition persuaded the family to return to the more peaceful atmosphere of Madras.

It was strict discipline and rigorous training imposed by TKR that made his son and grandson into tennis champions. Ramanathan Krishanan won the national championship when he was 16 and followed it up by winning the Junior’s title at Wimbledon. He rose to be ranked number three in the world. He was given the Arjuna Award and Padma Bhushan.

Ramesh Krishnan followed in his father’s footsteps. He won the under 16 title in the USA and became India’s number one at the age of 17. Like his father, he represented India in the Davis Cup for many years.

It would seem that between the ages of 16 and 30, tennis players reach their best form. Thereafter they begin to decline in their performance. Today, three generations of Krishnans run the Krishnan Tennis Centre at Chennai.

Nirmal Shekhar who has been writing on sports for The Hindu has done a very competent job narrating the saga of the most famous tennis family of India.

Happy days

It is said that the happiest time in most people’s lives is their years at school. It may be true for others but certainly not for me. The only time I liked being a school boy was during vacations. It is also said that school boys develop deep affection for their teachers. And vice-versa. As far as I was concerned, this is again not true. Although I did learn to respect a couple of my teachers, I never had any affection for them. Some I positively disliked, and most of all, I lived in dread of our lady Principal. What I hated most were examinations. Exam-phobia developed at school persisted through college and even now most of anxiety dreams are about finding myself in an examination hall and not understanding a single question of the examination paper. I liked games but was never good at any of them it was an altogether dismal record.

I went to school because I feared my parents’ wrath when I was caught playing truant. I think most children really do not like going to school but romanticise about it long after they have shed fear of their parents and teachers. A good proof of this is the way they drag their feet and their hang-dog looks when they are on their way to school and the way they run and laugh when the classes are over.

I am reminded of a story of a boy who at the end of his first day at school was asked by his father, "Jimmy, how did you enjoy your first day at school?" The boy answered: "First day ? Do you mean I have to go back again tomorrow?"

And this is about a little girl who told her mother, "I wish I had been born hundreds of years ago." Her mother asked, "Why do you say that?" The girl replied, "Then I would not have so much history to learn."

Nothing ruins a child’s after-school hours more than homework. A boy who had not done his home-task, turned the tables on his teacher by asking, "Sir, would you punish someone for something they had not done?"

"Of course not," replied the teacher.

"That’s very good," said the boy, "because I haven’t done my homework."

Among the few joys at school is outsmarting one’s teacher. A boy was asked "When did Noah build the ark?"

"Sir, I’d find out when I meet him in heaven."

"And what if Noah is not in heaven?" asked the teacher.

"Then sir, you can ask him."

"Why are many famous artists Italian?" asked the teacher.

Pat came the answer, "Because they are born in Italy."

Being poor at studies causes agony to parents but is of little consequence to the student fraternity. It is the other way round in sports. Parents seldom take pride in sons who excel in sports, but champion athletes, hockey or football players are regarded as heroes by fellow students. If you are good at neither studies nor sports, you are a dead loss. "What position does your son play in the school team?" a friend asked my father. Without realising the exact meaning of what he was saying, my father replied, "I am not sure but I think he is their drawback."

Meal times were another ordeal one had to suffer at school. What was dished up as lunch was singularly tasteless. And you had to eat up everything that was served. My distaste for aubergine (baingan) and oatmeal porridge has persisted through later life. We got over it by making fun of it: "What was the fly doing in the soup?" Answer: "It had committed insecticide." Question: "What did the toaster say to the bread?" Answer: "Pop up and see me sometime."

One looked forward to falling sick so then one could miss school. Sometimes you were caught malingering as when a boy rang up the Principal and said, "Ravi is down with cold and fever and will not be coming to school today." Unfortunately the Principal asked, "To whom am I speaking?" Came the reply, "This is my father."

The very idea of being sent to a dentist filled one with dread. A boy rang up the family dentist and said, "My mother says I must make an appointment to see the dentist." The receptionist replied, "I am afraid he is away at present." The boy was reassured and asked, "Oh good. When do you expect him to be away again?"

School days are far from being the happiest in anyone’s life. Life begins at college when father’s heavy hand has lost a lot of weight; professors became teachers at a respectable distance; you can eat what you like at the cafeteria, you are not given any homework to do and are free to your own thing the way you like to do it.

Good news and bad news

One day the Lord came to Adam to pass on some news. "I’ve got some good news and some bad news," the Lord said.

Adam looked at the Lord and said, "Well, give me the good news first."

Smiling, the Lord explained, "I’ve got two new organs for you, one is called a brain. It will allow you to create new things, solve problems, and have intelligent conversations with Eve. The other organ I have for you will give you great physical pleasure and allow you to reproduce your now intelligent life form and populate this planet. Eve will be very happy that you now have this organ to give her children."

Adam excitedly exclaimed, "These are great gifts you have given to me. What could possibly be bad news after such great tidings?"

The Lord looked upon Adam and said with great sorrow, "You will never be able to use these two gifts at the same time."

(Contributed by Amir Tuteja, Washington)