EMIL ZATOPEK

London Olympics are just around the corner and it is the same time again: wetty months and once in four years spectacle: Summer Olympics. London Calling. The City of Twenty Twelve, as the British media say. Although the beginnings of the games seem to be less than pleasant as the state of security, transportation and other logistics indicates. Be that as it may, one thing is certain: there will be some moments that will go down in the pages of history as the greatest and some images will be imprinted on viewers' minds for good. That happens in any sporting event of international fame. Who doesn't remember the likes of Jesse Owens, Emil Zatopek, Bob Beamon, Alberto Juantorena, Sergei Bubka and Carl Lewis? These are just a few names and if we take a serious, long look at Olympics, the list of greats is very, very long. 

Let us pick Emil Zatopek as a short and crisp case study. Emil was a Czech long distance runner and what he did in 1952 Helsinki Olympics, may well remain a record forever. His feat is unlikely to be repeated ever. He won golds in 5,000 m and 10,000 m and then suddenly decided to have a go at the marathon, his first ever! And he won gold! Three golds in three excruciating races within a short span of eight days was something no one had ever planned to do. After winning the 5,000 and 10,000 m races, he was still unsatisfied and decided to try out marathon, a race he had never run. He decided to test his nerves and his stamina and the limits he could push himself up to. He was also known the world over for setting himself an unbelievably hard and brutally tough training methods. Searching for the last minute guidance, the scrawny Zatopek approached world record holder Jim Peters of Britain at the starting line. Since the Czech knew nothing of marathon strategy, he planned to shadow the champion. He even checked with Peters en route if his pace was OK! He set the pace and gradually increased the lead, finishing the race in a new record time. Earlier he had broken 5,000 and 10,000 m records. All this in eight days time frame! He had been warned by his doctor that he should not compete in Olympics at all as he was recovering from a severe gland infection. But he defied his doctor and how! His pet quote after winning the marathon became, "If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon."

Emil dominated the long distance racing between 1948 and 1954, winning 38 consecutive 10,000 m races, 11 of them in 1949 alone. He set 18 world records in races ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 m and won a total of four golds and one silver in two Olympics.

Zatopek was the first athlete to break the 29 minute barrier in the 10,000 m run in 1954. Three years earlier, in 1951, he had broken the hour for running 20 km. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest runners of the 20 th century.

Born on 19 Sep 1922, he died on 22 Nov 2000 in Prague. Ron Clarke, an Australian middle and long distance runner, who himself set 17 world records, said "There is not, and never was, a greater man than Emil Zatopek."

 

ABDUL HAMID ADAM: WINE N MISCHIEF

"Saaqi mere khuloos ki shiddat (excessive, going beyond the usual) to dekhna,

Phir aa gaya hoon gardish-e-dauraan (worldly affairs) ko taal ke."

If ever there was a synonym for wine and mischievous communication together, it was definitely Adam. Abdul Hamid Adam, one of the most recalcitrant poets ever, was rebellious by nature. He did not believe in the shackles of our society and lived his life on his own terms. He refused to be dictated by other people or even life itself. He made his own rules and followed them till as long as he was in a mood to, altering them altogether when he wished. Wine was his weakness that made him feeble. His life revolved around wine.

"Main maiqade ki raah se hokar guzar gaya,

Varna safar hayaat (life) ka kaafi tabeel (lengthy) tha."

It was a short cut to the destination, cutting the long and treacherous path of life short.

But Adam was also a lover and a philosopher.

"Saahil ke rukh na aaoon agar mera bas chale,

Toofan mein doob jaoon agar mera bas chale,

Kyon motriz (objection) hai meri khamoshi pe ae nadeem (friend),

Kya main na muskuraoon agar mera bas chale,

Main aur teri yaad ki taqleef ka azaab (pain),

Khud ko na bhool jaoon agar mera bas chale,

Ik baar 'gar nizaat (relief) mayassar (gain) ho hosh se,

Phir hosh mein na aaoon agar mera bas chale,

Zillat (humiliation) ki zeest (life) maut se badtar hai 'Adam',

Ye zahar to na khaoon agar mera bas chale."

Adam never lost an opportunity in exposing the truth:

"Dil khush hua hai masjid-e-veeran dekh kar,

Meri tarah khuda ka bhi khana kharab hai."

HELL WEATHER HEAVEN FRUIT

I know what you are thinking! You are thinking about the title I have given to this blog. Yes, it is absurd. Actually the last few days have been hellish in terms of weather: hot, dry and disgusting. We had been waiting for the rains to come and wet us and the wait has been agonisingly long this year. Generally monsoons hit this part of the country in Jun third week but this year even 04 Jul was bone dry. But today as I was driving to work, there was a sudden appearance of clouds, black clouds, towards the northern foothills and by the time I reached office, a heavy downpour had surrounded me and there were pools of water and splashes all around.

I was at once reminded of my teens in Nainital where I mostly grew up and studied. I was reminded of hot, humid days spent in my childhood without electricity and then on the other end of the spectrum, heavenly weather of Nainital as also various fruits locally available free of charge! A lot of contradictory things from the past flashed through my mind today. Hence, the title.

As a teenager those days when we did not have ready to eat, fast food, canned juices and preserved eatables, I looked forward to eight fruits in a year. They formed a real variety. These were: Custard apples in summers, mangoes in summers, raspberries in summers and monsoons, guavas generally all round the year, wild, mini muskmelons in monsoons, sugarcane in winters, kaafals (I don't know their botanical or English name) in I don't remember which particular season and black berries in monsoons. All free and all in abundance and in purely organic state.

Kaafals were always a great attraction, something which we cherished and fought with one another to lay our hands upon as they were in short supply. They still attract me whenever I visit Kumaon Hills. They are succulent and sweet and tangy in taste. See the photo below.

You can be anything and you may live in any part of the world, take it from me, you will always be pulled to your roots and also to things which are simple and plain in nature.