To pen a life story at 82 will need to have been a life-long want achieved late in his profession however then Jaidip Mukerjea, one among India’s best-known tennis stars, does an honest job. Titled Crosscourt, co-authored by Papri Sen Sri Raman, and printed by Vitasta, it’s a welcome addition to India’s tennis literature.
“Whenever we lost a vital point in a big match, Jaidip always charged back. I never saw him `steal’ a point. For camaraderie and performance level, our 1966 team was the best ever team to represent India,” says Ramanathan Krishnan, one of many biggest tennis gamers in India. Krishnan, Jaidip and Premjit Lall shaped the Three Musketeers of Indian tennis, successful the hearts of their followers internationally.
Krishnan and Jaidip featured in India’s Challenge Round finals in opposition to Australia in 1966. India misplaced the competition 1-4 however the one win, within the doubles in opposition to John Newcombe and Tony Roche, stays a feat to recollect. Newcombe and Roche had received all of the Grand Slam occasions and Krishnan considers that victory the most effective within the doubles for an Indian pair.
Jaidip holds the distinctive document of reaching the final 16 of each Grand Slam. “This is an outstanding achievement, which shows that he could play on any surface under different conditions,” writes Krishnan.
Among the numerous pleasant anecdotes, Jaidip remembers his assembly with the `Big Man’ in the home of his maternal great-grandmother, Basanti Devi. “On the way, I was repeatedly warned to be on my best behaviour. When I saw him (Mahatma Gandhi) I exclaimed to my mother, ‘You told me that a big man is coming but this person is a small man’ The Mahatma had heard Jaidip’s remark and smiled, “Yes beta..my son you are right. I am a small man.’’ Jaidip’s mother and grandmother were very upset. But Jaidip was not done with his pranks. Later that day, he playfully hid Mahatma Gandhi’s footwear which he restored. “That day, for the first time, she (mother) thrashed me,” writes Jaidip.
Jaidip’s mom gave him one other spanking when she caught the eight-year-old attempting to steadiness on the parapet of the second-floor veranda, 25 ft above the bottom. She got here up from behind and introduced him down. “She then proceeded to spank me soundly.” It was a matter of satisfaction that she watched Jaidip in motion solely as soon as on the courtroom on the South Calcutta Club. “That day, in 1966, I defeated Ramanathan Krishnan to lift the Asian Championships,” remembers Jaidip.
Jaidip laces his life story with particulars of India’s rise in tennis, together with time spent with Amitabh Bachchan, who hung out in Calcutta searching for a job earlier than venturing into the movie world, and taking part in in entrance of matinee idol Dilip Kumar on the Delhi Gymkhana and successful the Davis Cup tie in opposition to Germany.
Jaidip, who counts Arthur Ashe and Margaret Court amongst his buddies, got here in for reward from the legendary Rod Laver. “Jaidip was a very fine player, a gentleman,” says Laver. And that sums up Jaidip Mukerjea, who charges Anand and Godfather as his favorite films and Sophia Loren his favorite feminine actor.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com