CHENNAI: Around six canines surround his feet as he sits on the antique wooden swing on the porch of the bungalow inside CP Art Academy on Eldams Road. “I was born into a vegetarian family. It’s been over 15 years since I turned vegan,” says Chinny Krishna, co-founder of Blue Cross and the first supplier of the vegan tennis racquet in 1973. “I have always loved tennis. I grew up playing it. The idea of a vegan tennis racquet came to me around 44 years ago, when the grip of the racquet was made using leather,” he says. He had used the highest quality of nylon for the strings of the racket and aluminium for the frame. “The biggest challenge was to replace the use of leather for the grip,” Krishna adds.
As a young boy growing up in Bengaluru, Krishna’s family always had dogs. “We always had too many,” he says. “We were raised to care for all living beings around us. I would always bring an injured or ailing animal and provide them with a home in mine.”
The idea to switch to veganism also came from this love he had developed for animals. “The meat industry has become like a manufacturing unit. We are mass producing these animals just like we do with chips packets. Leather is one of the by-products of slaughterhouses and I wanted to find an alternative to use for my vegan racquet,” he says.
Krishna then contacted Bohr Industries for a vinyl rexine, a material that works as a perfect replacement for a grip. “I wanted the material to have a good grip and absorb sweat. The material from Bohr Industries fit the bill. They sent me an entire bale which I used to produce at least 50 racquets,” says Krishna. Vijay Merchant, the then director of Bohr Industries, had sent him a handwritten note that conveyed his support for the idea as a vegetarian himself. In 1974, Krishna started Aspick Engineering. However, due to less demand and high production margins, Krishna had to stop production of the racquet in 1974.
Existing pieces were distributed among family members and friends. Krishna continues to be vegan, “My grandson is born vegan and my son turned vegan around 12 years ago. It’s not only a healthy option but an ethical one too,” he says.