Category — Noteworthy

Book - Shantaram: A novel
Author - Gregory David Roberts
Rating -

There are classics and then there are classics. And when all classification of classics is complete, remain the books, that will never be elevated to the status of classics, but are just too damned unputdownable to ignore!

“Shantaram: A Novel” is one such book! 936 pages of pure, unadulterated masala, crime, philosophy, friendship, love and betrayal… with a liberal dash of self-aggrandization thrown in for good measure!

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When I was a kid, we had a chapter in our English text book at school (I do not remember what standard/grade). It narrated the extraordinary courage shown by a discuss thrower named Al Oerter. At the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Al Oerter had dislocated a cervical vertebra and torn cartilage in his lower rib cage. He was ordered by doctors to stop training six days before the competition. In the qualifying round, he cast off his neck brace, ignored the pain that crippled his form, and hurled an Olympic Record 60.54. Then he came from behind in the final for an unmatched third gold, saying, “These are the Olympics. You die for them.”

I was amazed that anyone could do such a thing… ‘coz frankly speaking I used to bawl out loudly everytime I scraped my knee on the playground. Al Oerter’s statement seemed to be the answer to my amazement.

I don’t know how many of you know the rare grit and spirit shown by the Indian heptathlete J J Shobha. And if you don’t… I have the media to blame for it!!

As you can see from Monday’s (Mumbai) edition of the dishrag, Michael Phelps gets an obscene amount of footage on the front page of a national daily while one of India’s two brightest spots at Athens (thus far!) this year has been relegated to a measly inset column!!

J J Shobha’s effort is what Olympic legends are made of! When I heard about her exploits, the first thing that came into my mind was that chapter in the text book and Al Oerter. I thought… kids would learn about the feat of this virtually unknown Indian athlete who knew the odds were stacked impossibly against her and yet she competed and having competed, found reserves of strength, courage and ability that one finds when faced with extreme adversity. I thought the Indian media, long deprived of sports heroes, would hail this girl as the hero and celebrate her achievement with joy!

But I guess that was asking for too much!!