CHENNAI: The life of an aspiring Olympian is pretty simple — a regimented lifestyle which follows a timetable. When to sleep, what to (not) eat and when to practice. To chase glory, to overcome herculean odds, to go down in history... to stand on the podium, while reciting the national anthem.
Ever wondered what happens to medallists in the immediate days and weeks following the Games? When the question is put to Sakshi Malik, her response gives the impression she is living in a totally different ecosystem to the one she had before going to Brazil. “Whatever life I had,” she says to Express, “It’s totally changed. 360 degrees.” Here’s a sample. “Now, people respect me. Those who used to taunt me in the village are receiving me with flowers.”
Her timetable doesn’t read ‘workouts, eight hours sleep, a cup of protein shake’ anymore (it will once she takes to the mat again). Right now, she exists in pin codes next to airports, being received by well-dressed, important-looking government officials. “I have not kept track of time or schedule as far as flights go. It’s been one day in Mumbai followed by another in Bengaluru and so on.” You could paraphrase that Rolling Stones song to make a case for saying ‘Sakshi doesn’t wait for time’. Yet, here’s the thing. She has never felt tired during this near two-month cross-country ride. The secret? ‘I’m the same Sakshi.’
“It does get tiring but I feel this is important. I am the same Sakshi to my mummy, papa and brother. Parents scolded and loved me then. They scold and love me now.”
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It’s a morning in the last week of August. Or in the first week of September but P Vijaya, PV Sindhu’s mother, doesn’t remember clearly. They are in Mumbai, having breakfast. The alarm beeped at an ungodly hour but the trio of Ramana (Sindhu’s dad), Vijaya and Sindhu don’t complain. They are booked in for a quick meet and greet. Then, they are whisked to the airport to catch a flight to Bengaluru. Lunch is had before another set of well-wishers meet the family.
As the dying embers of a late summer sun falls on the tarmac at the Kempegowda International Airport, the family is off again. This time to Hyderabad for dinner with the extended family. Twelve hours, three cities, as many functions, formal and informal, and more than 1500 air kilometres clocked.
This, give or take, is the routine Sindhu and her parents have been living through after she returned home with a silver. In a crazy 10-day period, they made four trips to Mumbai from Hyderabad and vice-versa. They are not jaded though. “Why will we be,” Vijaya says. “These are the best days of our lives and we are living every moment of it.”
At one point during the conversation, she admits ‘there hasn’t been much of sleep,’ but both Ramana and Vijaya always go back to the same conversation as a point of reference when they feel drained from all the festivities.
“There was a time when Sindhu, whenever she lost in opening rounds, would call us and wonder: ‘why am I losing even after practicing. I feel really bad’. We used to tell her ‘don’t worry. There will come a time when all your work will come to fruition’. Now that it is here, it would be bad to not celebrate her achievements.”
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It’s time to say goodbye to Sakshi, who has been getting ‘10 calls an hour ever since the bronze’. You get the feeling more calls are being diverted to a waiting facility as she patiently explains her new life. “I sometimes wonder how I do this (going from one city to another). You asked me whether this constant meeting of new people has made me feel like a rockstar. I don’t know. Continuous flights and non-stop phone calls... maybe that’s how rockstars live.”
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Fame doesn’t fulfil you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary — Marilyn Monroe
No one can perhaps argue with Marilyn Monroe on what fame is and what it is capable of doing. Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh’s observation too was not far from hers. Fame is something that can scorch you or soothe you. It can either make you or destroy you. Vijender Singh, who survived the Beijing-Olympic-bronze moment and rose to Number One in the world in the following years sniffed and felt the idiosyncratic world of money and celebrity-hood. As he quietly prepares for his next professional bout in England, he recollects those days when the heady concoction of stardom and riches turned his life upside down. But as he says, it’s not easy to handle those moments.
Jet-setting across the country, sometimes he did not have time to even say hello to his mum and dad back home. He was led away from his friends. Only people he could see around him were the stars he had dreamt about as a child. And suddenly sitting and eating with them made him wonder whether everything was real. “First few months it was surreal,” says Vijender. However, one thing he surely did – enjoy. “One must enjoy everything and I enjoyed every bit of it,” he says. “Those few months were crazy. I had never been to Mumbai and then there I was with the set of people, who I use to see in movies and in my dreams. It was crazy. I have seen places whose names I don’t even remember now.” What started as mirth turned into addiction for Vijender. “I was just blown away,” says Vijender. “There were moments when I used to get fidgety when my phone stopped ringing for a while or people don’t look at me. Then I realised how much I loved stardom.” He went on to even act in movies and be part of a few reality shows.
Vijender knew one thing. He realised that in that lonely region of stress, strife and stardom, no matter how famous and rich one is, when there are challenges you will be fighting alone. “So one should never forget his or her roots,” he says. “One must realise that the sport has made you famous. You are here because of the sport. After the first couple of months of madness, I made it a point to at least find time for myself and my sport. I used to hit the gym as I wanted to stay fit. I did my shadow boxing sessions. But it’s not easy. Getting your concentration back was difficult. Even Sakshi (Malik) and (PV) Sindhu must realise that to build your brand, one must keep winning. One must be in the news for what he is.” Pearls of wisdom, they are!
swaroop@newindianexpress.com