The Hindu : Sport : Of skill, brain and guts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 26, 2011
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport

Of skill, brain and guts

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

On rare occasions when Sharad Dravid is in an indulgent mood, he will go to the KSCA ‘B' ground — adjacent to the Chinnaswamy Stadium — and watch his son Rahul practice with technical exactitude. Observing his son closely, be it at the nets or in a match televised from beyond our shores, is something that Sharad never gets tired of.

When Dravid wages those intense battles against varied attacks on diverse pitches, his father will diligently record them all for accumulated viewing pleasure. “I have recorded all his innings. I saw his latest knock (the match-winning 112) against the West Indies at Sabina Park though we had shifted our residence temporarily to a flat as we are renovating our home in Indira Nagar,” said Sharad.

“His father watches every ball, I cannot do that because I get tense, so I do my work and peep at the television at times,” said Pushpa Dravid, an acclaimed artist.

Proud parents

The proud parents use words such as ‘commitment', ‘devotion', ‘concentration', ‘stability' and ‘hard work' constantly whenever they talk about Dravid. These are the key ingredients that have stood India's greatest No. 3 Test batsman in good stead.

In moments of strife, Dravid has found inner fires to stay bright and burn down the negative factors. It was evident in the first Test at Kingston where he anchored India to safety and ensured that M.S. Dhoni's men had enough in the kitty to defeat the West Indies by 63 runs.

The urge to harness his adrenaline and stand firm in a storm comes from his own inner strength and the blessings of a strong gene pool.

“He has watched his mother cope with phases of poor health and yet go all the way to the engineering college in Kengeri (a distant suburb in Bangalore) and teach architecture for 30 years. Maybe the child thought ‘if my mother can struggle and do this, I can do too,'” Sharad said.

Father's resilience

However, according to Pushpa, Dravid's resilience is inherited from his father, who retired as manager in Kissan Ltd. “Like his father, Rahul is very calm. He works hard and remains completely devoted to what he does,” Pushpa said.

Talking of Rahul's focus, she said, “When I am teaching, I don't think about home. And when I am painting, I don't think about anything else. It is something I tell all my students. Have fun but when you study stay focused. I used to allow my sons — Rahul and Vijay — to play even ahead of exams because I knew that when they get back home, they will study instead of watching television. Rahul never does anything for the sake of doing it; he is completely committed to whatever he does.”

Hard work pays

The no-pain-no-gain theory was reiterated when Sharad said: “I told Rahul when he was young that there are no short cuts in cricket and that you have to work hard. He works very hard, thinks clearly and also reads a lot of books. He studied well despite limited attendance at St. Joseph's College of Commerce and has managed to balance his life. When he used to go through ups and downs, I used to tell him not to be disappointed but after he started playing for India, he has found his own solutions. He is very stable.”

Pushpa Dravid also praised her daughter-in-law's role in the evolution of Dravid. “Vijeta is a doctor but she gave up her career as she wanted to support Rahul and look after their children (Samit and Anvay). She takes care of the home while he stays focused on the game,” she said. Dravid's mother was the first to earn a doctorate in fine arts in Karnataka. “I did my doctorate at the age of 58 because I wanted to achieve something,” she said.

So, we know from where Dravid gets the resolve to push past barriers.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport