Grandly un-Indian

India on wheels is getting faster and hotter and it’s action time yet again! A year has zoomed past in no time and though India continues to be the same sore hotbed of swindles and scandals to the media’s delight, here we are with the tracks well laid, grid gals lined up and custom engines fully oiled and roaring. Yes, this is the un-Indian GP where speed meets style, guts get at the gearboxes and reckless rich of a nation swelling with a weekend’s pride catch up for garden picnic, serious business and Formula 1 racing. So if you’re a race maniac, worship speed, crave for and then love to forget unfamiliar but beautiful company, bright urban sunshine and were rich enough to buy those flashy race tickets then Buddh International Circuit is the place you must be October 28 because the Indian GP is back.

On racing counts, this time there is better competition in the leaderboards - unlike last year when it was a Sebastian Vettel show the season throughout, a dominant run that decided the individual and team championships even before the Indian GP started! Vettel has his zip back and leads Fernando Alonso by six points in defence of his world crown and the neck-to-neck race between the two prospective 2014 teammates for Ferrari would attract many experts.

Generally the battle between the sixth and seventh teams in the constructors’ list interest none save the units involved, but with Sahara Force India principal Vijay Mallya, and also his warhorses, being vociferous about overtaking Sauber, who incidentally have the Dehra Dun-born Monisha Kaltenborn at the helm now, for the sixth position and a well-paid media promoting the whole issue, the fight will not go unnoticed. Add to it the recent performances of Nico Hulkenberg, and some time back of Paul di Resta, then Force India would have more than just one reason to hit the podium at the ‘ideal home race’.

The race would also suit the VJM05. As Hulkenberg, who most probably would have his good times with Sauber next year, put it: “The races coming up (read races in India, Abu Dhabi, Austin and Sao Paulo) should suit us quite well, especially somewhere like Abu Dhabi with long straights and slow corners. Those are the sort of corners where our car has looked quite strong so far.”

The BIC comes with subtle modifications this time, the kerbs have got longer to avoid any shortcut return to the ‘main course’ and hence Felipe Massa can breathe easy (you must remember how he crashed on kerb eight last time and then called for a change). This new ‘sausagy’ look along with greener surroundings –some say one lakh saplings have been planted, only planted- better parking facilities, the Yamuna Expressway being opened, chartered buses and lot more mean a sell out crowd, some grand Indian racing ‘phoren istyle’ and a gala success yet again.

Hence, by the evening of October 28, the all-knowing honest Indian Inc. –the torchbearers of a ‘going to the dogs new India’- would have completed another lap towards making their presence felt and also an octogenarian Bernie Ecclestone richer- maybe he should now pen a will before it’s too late. And whichever way Formula1 in India goes, for the fastest Indian is still slowest in the world, the carnival will come back pretty soon!

Enchanted by chance

I am a journalist by chance, and it’s no surprise, because throughout, the courses my life have been decided more by chance than by choice. And no matter how much I want to avoid it, chance always tricks me by chance! Now it is one of these chanceful occasions of my life that I think is worth penning down.
Earlier this week, an AFC-AIFF team visited our local cricket stadium here. Now as with small towns like Cuttack, our association here was too overwhelmed to welcome their uparwalas. People ran helter-skelter, all were advised not to chew gutkha- and spit- when the big men were around, three big cars were suitably arranged for four people, not to speak of the lunch ordered that would serve at least two football teams. Nonetheless, ‘covering’ their inspection of the Barabati Stadium was an experience of a lifetime.
(See I am a person who is a proud rider an n-th hand two-stroke bike, that at times can fly like a seagull and also sleep like a snail, so for me every special moment has to be a lifetime and if that sounds frivolous so be it.)
Anyway, as with all our associations in India, the media persons were instructed to keep away from the visiting delegation and so did all except one -and by now you must have guessed that the better-than-Tintin-reporter is me! So I, having visited the barber the day before, very pompously joined the party that was inspecting every nook and corner of the stadium. And wow, what a place it is!
I have never seen the insides of a players’ dressing room before, not even of the VVIP and corporate boxes. My seven-month stint in Kolkata with The Statesman just before the 2011 World Cup allowed me to have a peek at the unfinished changing rooms at the Eden Gardens, but a fully functional locker room evoked only one feeling – I wish I were a cricketer man! Letting the delegation go on with its work, I sat on a sofa –leather-finished mind you- and also adjusted my looks standing in front of a huge mirror. My sheer childlike mannerisms embarrassed me, but who knows when the next time comes? At least for a few seconds I rolled in a sofa on which sat some great cricketers!
So thus went on my odyssey and the hangover was still there after I had filed a 500-word thrash. I had such an odd feeling and everything I saw around seemed appealing. Very much like your new crush at school or college where even if the girl says Keats was a Victorian poet you readily question Edward Albert’s sanity. (Now there’s no misogyny involved and I am a great fan of JK Rowling and Emile Bronte.) So very much in that aesthetically blessed state I stepped out of the stadium for refreshments.
Now our Barabati has a peculiar charm, at least I felt that way then. Outside it you have a gathering of vendors who would be selling you indigenously cooked ‘phoren’ dishes. If you are a connoisseur of roadside food, then, it is the place you ought to be. By the banks of the Mahanadi, for the river is a few paces away from the stadium, you can have a very sumptuous evening if you have 20 rupees in your pocket - provided a sandwich, a poached egg and a tea are all you want.
The cool river breeze then calls you and a lonely walk by the solitary banks of the Mahanadi takes you into a reverie. The black shining water, a silent dark sky, those passing clouds and an occasional star leave you in a daze and you wonder and wonder and wonder until the cell phone rings and your boss shouts, “Why didn’t you interview any of the AFC officials? I am sure they were not happy with the ground!”