A Precept in living life

THERE'S LIFE AFTER TENNIS - V.N.Narayan (from The Hindustan Times editorial)

[In following Steffi Graf's tennis career,
I discovered the ultimate meaning of life
and what it takes to live it.]

Time and again, all of us put our legs on life's banana peels fall and most of us pick ourselves up rather than say "O, it's impossible, I better stop stepping out". The itch to quit confronts us all the time precisely because there is no level playing field in either God's universe or Darwin's world. During my years at Chandigarh I was faced with situations that seemed unbearable or overwhelming, that I thought of throwing it all up and retiring to a life of peace and quiet but something in me kept saying that it was not the right thing to do. Perhaps, it was a benign instinct; or an uncanny knack to postpone decisions in the hope that things get sorted out if we don't meddle with them. To be charitable to myself, I think it was my belief in life as something to live for despite the banana peels and AK-47s.

Poet Bhartrihar puts humans in three categories in the matter of attitude towards life. He says :
Prarabhyate na khalu vignamayena neechaih
Paramya vignavihata viramanti madhyaah
Vignaih punah punarapi pratihanyamanaah
Prarabhya cha-uttamajana na parityajanti

(Base persons do not undertake any task apprehending fear of obstacles;
the mediocre persons start working but give up in the face of obstacles. People of excellence, once they start any job, do not quit whatever the impediments and hazards.)

One person who, in my opinion, belonged to the topmost of "uttamajana" (people of excellence) is Steffi Graf. This queen of the tennis court recently opted for "life after tennis" and for me, the game would never be the same again. The only time I ever felt totally television-friendly was when Steffi was on court. Never mind whether she lost or won; Steffi Graf brought to the game of tennis a spiritual dimension that set her apart from such great players as Maureen Connolly, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert and Margaret Court, to name but a few. Outstanding players those were, each invincible at her best, but Steffi Graf gave to the game a mystic splendour that went beyond the game and the prizes and the money that came with winning. There was class, character, artistry, majesty, ruthless efficiency, devestating force and consistency. And, no one in the history of the game faced such adversity, trauma and mental and physical agony as she did in her 17-year stint as a tennis player. Steffi Graf packed epochs and eternity into those rectangle separated by a net. It was a lesson in living life. I recall the memorable song of Frank Sinatra titled "That's Life" :
That's life'
That's what people say
You are riding high in April
Shot down in May
But I know I am gonna change that
When I am back on top in June

Steffi Graf was shot down in many a May and as often as not, she was on top again in June. Else, she could not have been World number one for a staggering 377 weeks - that's seven years and a little more. And yet, without any sense of false modesty, she could say that Martina Navratilova was the greatest woman player of all times. Grace both in triumph and adversity conferred well-deserved divinity on her. Those seven years and 17 weeks at the top were interspersed with crippling injuries, domestic tragedies, legal problems and a lot else. Back to the Sinatra song......
I have been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate
A poet, a pawn, a king
I've been up and down, over and out
And I know one thing
Each time I found myself flat on my face
I pick myself up and get back in the race

And she gave her evrything to the game. The quest for perfection never left her whether she was practising or playing. While others threw tantrums during play and sulked, Steffi could be angry only with herself, when she fell below the level of perfection set for herself. Twice in the past eight years she thought of quitting, once after losing to Sabatini - "I thought seriously about giving up tennis...my nerve had gone. I had become weak" - and four years ago. But....
That's life, I can't deny it
I thought of quitting
But my heart just won't buy it.
If I didn't think it was worth a try
I'd roll myself up in a big ball and die.

It is given to very few people to stay focussed when one is chased by adversity that comes in the form of an errant father, greedy taxmen and malevolent media. It was amidst these that Steffi could produce that lightening-like-forehand flashing across the court. Toughness is no matter of physical strength but of character. That tame defeat at the hands of Llindsay Davenport was a moment of supreme realisation for this evolved soul. "At times I think about life after tennis.....you have dreams, ideas at times. To get a clear vision, I'd really need to stop and have some time for myself".
That's life, funny as it seems
Some people get their kicks
Stepping on dreams.
But I don't let it get me down
'cos this ol' world keeps getting around

Yes, the world keeps circling itself and the sun not quite wishing to end the monotony of it all because that's life. In following Steffi Graf's tennis career, I discovered the ultimate meaning if life and what it takes to live it. As Steffi Graf works out her life after tennis, I see that there will be very little of tennis after Graf.

What a contrast to the attitude of another talented woman, Dorothy Parker, who chose to live because......
Razors pain you; rivers are damp;
Acids stain you; and drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful; nooses give;
Gas smells awful; you might as well live.

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