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Late Raju
Chainani |
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IT is a very tangy cocktail. The city with the Garden of Eden is putting up two glass-back squash courts which would make the Calcutta Rocket Club the best complex in the country. With the backing of ITC, who have pumped in Rs. 15 lakhs, the stage is set for the East to take over from the West as the Mecca of Indian Squash.
The new courts will each have a spectator capacity of 240 seats with the side galleries to accommodate the standing audience. The outside construction is ready and the glass-backs have already been shipped. In another three to four months the finishing touches will be put to the squash complex.
The brain trust behind this scheme have been Micky Chinoy (president of the West Bengal Squash Association), D.G. Rajan (vice-president, Calcutta Rackets Club) and Shishir Bajpria (secretary of the Squash Federation of India). Bombayites are quite familiar with D.G. Rajan. |
In days gone by, he was the secretary of Bombay Gymkhana squash and handled many a volcanic situation, particularly at the Inter-club event. He was also associated in bringing the Maharashtra State event from Deolali to Bombay under flagship pf Hong Kong Bank. The latest feather in his cap is something for everyone in India an squash to be proud of. It's been a splendid team effort by the trio.
Calcutta's reward for building this complex is the Asian Championships, scheduled for February 1990. Harry Nair, secretary of the Asian Federation, has already visited Calcutta to see how preparations are going ahead.
And so, there is a mouth-watering prospect of seeing the likes of Jehangir and Jansher play in India. But that is going to be in Calcutta and not in Bombay. Our politbureau have politely declined the offer of staging the Asian. It cannot be for lack of sponsorship.
Perhaps there is still time to do something about this. Surely, a tournament of this status can be staged at two venues. Since Calcutta has got first run on the event, maybe the Maharashtra Association can offer to hold the initial rounds of the team championships in Bombay. The final can be held in Calcutta.
This would give our locals a chance to see the superstars in action. It means a lot of organisation and an additional plane journey but that is not a big price to pay for, being part of the Asian championships. We can organise the event, Reliance Cup style, so that the two cities get the benefit. And any sponsor would thereby get double mileage.
This is going to be the first ever visit by the likes of Jehangir and Jansher to India. It's something we should capitalize on. So what if we have to eat humble pie and be the bridesmaids. Surely, that is no reason to deny Bombayites a chance to see the world's best. If Calcutta can have Adam, we'll have to settle for Eve.
Let me take this a stage further. Suppose, for arguments sake, the politbureau decides that the organisation part as too much for them to handle and let Calcutta do the honours. We still can hold something like a charity match or have a curtain raiser to the event.
An India-Pakistan encounter would be a sell-out. Suppose we had this in aid of the Prime Minister's Drought Relief Fund and followed it up with a charity dinner. Bombayites would see the top stars, the cream of industrialists would meet them and that could open a lot of doors. It's something that the two giants of squash, Mahindra and Mahindra and Sah and Sanghi might wish to ponder on.
Holding a major tournament in two venues is not a novel idea. Some years ago, the opening rounds of the British Open were shifted to Birmingham, Leicester and Sheffield. It gave the locals a chance to see Barrington, Hunt, Zaman and other top stars. It helped squash develop in areas outside London.
It, therefore, came as no surprise when ICI decided to hold a Masters Invitation in Edgbaston. Matches would go on into the late hours. People used to come up from London to watch. One can think of at least few occasions when Ananth Nayak and myself caught a packed midnight train back from Edgbaston Priory.
The Asian Championships is only a year away. There's a lot of work to be done and the likes of Chinoy, Rajan and Bajoria are well aware of this. Mean time, my official friend who was educated in the Garden of Eden (and not Eaton) as he pronounces it, is all excited about his latest advertising slogan, "ITC, rasgollas and squash. Made for each other".
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