By Madeline Tham
Tennis originated in France during the 12th Century. Its a game played only by the aristocracy. A servant would toss the ball into the court for the blue blooded men to hit back and forth, across the net. If a volley went out, the Lord would probably say, ’Service’, and another ball would be tossed into the court for the game to continue. As it was below the dignity of the nobility to touch the ball, hence the word, ‘Service’ at the beginning of each game. Sprinkled with French terms like deuce, I love the game because it is one of the few sports where you earn points from the mistakes of others.
Tennis in Shillong is not as unpopular as one might think. I remember a neighbour friend of mine who would forget all domestic obligations and sit glued to the television during the Wimbledon. Though fond of basketball in her youth , she has never held a racquet in her hand. Many like her, love watching the game and Federer, Djokovic, Sania Mirza, Leander Paes ,Maria Sharapova ,Martina Hingis to name a few, are household names. People have even named their sons and daughters after tennis personalities.
Growing up in Jaiaw one would have thought, what would those from the ‘west’, know about tennis. But though an almost unimaginable thought , the first tennis court I laid eyes on was at the then Welsh Mission hospital. It was right in front of the entrance to the European ward. Net and all intact, with the lines clearly marked. Signs that the court was still used by the doctors and nurses well into the seventies.
As one moved from junior classes to the mid-level section in Loreto we got more access to the school infrastructure. So from eating lunch in front of the junior classes, we could explore the campus and eventually reach the tennis court. We were fascinated by this huge empty space near the hall, where, during the day, girls would practise march past and in the late afternoons the boarders would play tennis. One of the sweetest memories of my years at Loreto was sitting in a circle with my classmates and sharing our lunches. We even called ourselves, ’The Traders’. From exchanging stinky goat cheese for deep fried roast beef to commenting on some, who had more parental attention and whose tiffins were so neat, that even the salt was folded in a square piece of paper and looked as though it had been ironed!
St Edmunds too had a court , on which the college library now stands. St. Anthony’s College has converted its tennis court into a parking lot.
Not so long ago, one could spot a tennis court at every turn in Shillong. To name a few, there is a tennis court in Polo, one at the BSF Garrison; in the compound of a house in Motinagar at the Lindhurst Estate in Laitumkhrah etc., The Raj Bhavan has two well maintained courts; the residences of the DC of EKH, Jowai and Nongstoin, all had a tennis court each. Shillong Club had three, two clays and a grass court but now only the clay courts are in existence. There’s one at NEHU campus lying unused. The armed forces based in Shillong ,the Air Force, the Assam Rifles and others of course I would imagine have well maintained courts.
A few years ago when the Meghalaya Tennis association was formed, it consisted mostly of those players who played at the Shillong Club. But what a ‘Motley Crew’ they are! From not so well off families, who would manage to somehow get a racquet , to the super rich and powerful. The love and passion for the game visible in every shot!
Tennis in Meghalaya has been denied its rightful place and the chance to produce great players for the country. Tennis could provide employment for people as coaches, ball boys, managers, staff for maintenance of the courts, promotion for the sale of tennis merchandise et al. But at present there is only a miniscule, almost pathetic amount of funding for tennis. There are no coaching facilities, hardly any visible infrastructure or hosting of any regional, national or international events.
Perhaps it is the only sport in the state that gets the least funding from the Government. The only indulgence that the government has shown towards tennis was the construction of two artificial courts in the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex in Polo a few years ago. These were used for less than a year or so when they were broken down for the not so apparent reason that they were badly constructed and I believe new ones have been made, literally replacing new courts with new courts! When my fellow tennis players from across Meghalaya come and compete in the annual State championships, I often exchange polite pleasantries with them and observe that their game is as good if not better than regular players at the club. When I ask them where they practise their tennis, the answer is almost heart breaking and unbelievable. Majority of them play and practise in the streets of their home town and villages, while learning about the rules of the game, from the TV. Our friends from Mizoram pine at the attitude of Meghalaya’s state machinery towards tennis. The present Sports Minister of Mizoram coming from an affluent background is a tennis buff . Therefore even in remote villages in Mizoram there are good quality and well maintained tennis courts. Other North Eastern states like Manipur and Assam have great infrastructure and a decent amount of the state budget goes towards this game. This has led to the production of players of great calibre where the quality of tennis is at par with the national level.
Strange are the ways of God and men, so too, the Shillong people . Golf as a game was started by bored shepherds in the highlands of Scotland , but at present considered very elite by the happening crowd, while tennis started by royalty in France is not ignored. Tennis in the twenty-first century is the most egalitarian sport. Anybody who can buy, beg or borrow a tennis racquet can simply join in, unlike golf where the equipment is expensive and the playing area runs into acres. But of course when playing tennis one has to concentrate on the game unlike golf, which Mark Twain described as , ‘a spoiled walk’, where people can afford to play and do a lot of social networking too.
Tennis could provide an outlet for the pent up energy of our youth and their general angst against one and all. The Government should take the initiative to build courts in the rural as well as town areas of Garo Hills, Jaintia Hills, Ri Bhoi and West Khasi Hills to promote and encourage the players who already have a passion for the game. Maybe and just maybe we could replace guns with racquets and hatred for our fellow human beings with the love and passion to win fair and square at the courts. For tennis after all is a game that begins with the call, ‘Love all’.
(The writer is Associate Professor of English, Lady Keane College)