Those were the days...

I have been told (and can see for myself) that I have been weeping all over my blog. So, in the spirit of the new year, I have decided to post positive. And to give the past years their due, nostalgic.
Me and three other people met for an hour of badminton yesterday. Its surprising how cooperative , efficient, pushy, fearless and utterly devoid of responsibility that one word makes people! And of course the memories had to follow. We've had such wonderfully nonsensical times on the court all that's to a bunch of crazy, super enthusiastic and most importantly, quirky individuals. Before I elaborate, a note to the folks this is about. Kindly do not take offence. Writing about how excellently you play would be infinitely boring. A good story is my only motivation.

Its 6 p.m. Snacks have travelled far enough for it to be unlikely for any physical activity to make them come out the way they went in. As if on cue, pairs of eyes all over the building go to the rackets kept on the desks. A few owners of the pair of eyes (not necessarily same as the owner of the rackets) valiantly try to get the pair back on the computer screen. Wiser ones simply pick up the racket and leave for the indoor badminton court. (Which, along with the sofa at the reception transform the office building from a place of work to a place of well being). Sitting, standing, lying all over the court are other PEOs (pair of eyes owners).

The narrative now shifts focus to a particular group of PEOs, identified by seemingly random letters of the alphabet.

R, by far the most talented of this particular bunch of PEOs, is dancing on the court. He just cant wait for the game to begin. Impossible to guess that this impatient guy has truckloads of patience for those less gifted. Also impossible to guess that this newcomer's dream hides a mercurial temperament that goes from boiling to grinning with the span of a shot.

Giving him company is D, the queen of quick returns. While the audience may be pardoned for occasionally thinking she is one of them, even though she is standing on the court with a racket in hand while a game is in progress, anyone who has ever made the mistake of placing the shuttle in the vicinity of her racket has lived to regret it.

On the other side of court is A. But how much longer she will be there is impossible to say. She has been known to answer hunger calls in the middle of a game, even in the middle of a shot. She is also known to race after the shuttle as if her life depends on it, raise her racket carrying arm to deliver the death stroke, only to have it stuck there in mid motion. With an enigmatic atak gaya, she walks off the court, hand raised in submission.

Next to her is S, the grand old man of the game, who has nurtured generations of PEOs. His presence on court is predicted with complete certainty by everyone but him. He appearance on court follows a rather peculiar ritual whose outcome he stubbornly defends as being unpredictable. When called to play, he politely refuses citing doctor's orders (signed, and in triplicate) as a reason. 5 minutes later, he is found on the outer boundary of the court. Just come down to watch, of course. 2.35 minutes later, he has displaced the nearest PEO and is poised for action, doctor's orders be damned in triplicate! One smash from the grand old man and the opponents are damned, the shuttle is damned...

The match goes on along thoroughly unpredictable lines, even though each player's game is as predictable as can be. PEOs are replaced at regular intervals (not always involuntarily) by others. Notable among them is K. And her compassionate serve (patent pending). Lest she send out mixed signals regarding her intentions to server backhand/forehand to her opponents, she follows an elaborate routine that involves rotation by 90 degrees and recalibration of the racket's alignment with respect to the position of the moon.

And then there is L. Though not a regular, he never fails to leave a mark. This is primarily because he believes the fool proofest way to create confusion among the opponents is to roll all over the quadrant where the shuttle has no intention of falling, in an apparent attempt to hit it. His success rate is impressive, if success is measured by the number of times the opponents are so busy gaping, they forget to play.

And E. Whose beliefs alternate between seeing his racket as a hammer and believing that the shuttle responds to voice commands. His voice commands. There are N and M but their quirks seem to have slipped my memory. (That they are normal is impossible).

To each of these PEOs (and a few other unalphabetized ones) I owe my love for the game. And this is how I pay them back!