Wheel of fortune

Published>Mon, Sep 06 10 06:37 AM

A dingy by-lane leads to a nondescript hotel, one of the many budget hotels in Karol Bagh. This is where the core members of the Indian cycling team rest and recoup after a hard day's work that begins even before the crack of dawn. This is a functional place, one which is far from fancy. None of these cyclists will think of complaining about the spartan environs. Not because they are afraid of an official reprimand. Rather, they would grin-and-bear even if they didn't receive basic creature comforts. It, perhaps, has a lot to do with their humble beginnings.

For the best in this bunch ? namely Rajendra Kumar Bishnoi, Rejani V, Rameshwari Devi, Rakesh Kumar and Okram Bikram Singh ? pedal-pushing has transformed their lives.

Three years after he lost his father in a road accident, Bishnoi took up cycling. He was just 14 when he made a mark at the national level. His family struggled to make ends meet. Being the eldest son in the family, it was his responsibility to get his sisters married. But things got better once he started winning.

"The financial situation at home was rather grave. Cycling was the way out because it is very popular in Bikaner, much like boxing in Bhiwani. So I took it up to earn money. My sisters are now married," he says.

Bishnoi has now taken his younger brother under his wings. "I want him to be part of the next Asiad squad. It will be nice if he can make cycling a family tradition. After all, everything our family has today is because of the bike." As the lengthy training schedules kept him away from home for months, he bought his mother a mobile phone. The only time he spends money without thinking twice is on those long-distance calls.

His pride possession today is a carbon-laden cycle worth Rs 3 lakh. It goes without saying that he bought it with his hard-earned money. Nearly a decade ago, Bishnoi's foray into cycling was on an iron contraption, much like the bike on which Rejani V, now a multiple national record holder, used to scurry around on, to-and-fro from the market to ensure the family's roadside provision store was stocked.

As it turned out, the road from the shop to the local market ran though a series of houses, one of which belonged to a state cycling coach, 'Usha madam'. Almost inevitably, Usha one day asked Rejani if she would fancy competing in races on a cycle. Rejani's mother, liberal in her views, agreed. Now, with 50 national gold medals in her kitty, Rejani is one of the stars in the team. Each gold Rejani won meant more money in her family's coffers, sometimes in excess of a couple of lakhs. Her mud and clay dwelling has given way to a brick and mortar house in Pallithura village in Thiruvananthapuram.

"My family has benefited after I took up cycling. I never thought of becoming a professional cyclist. Then I saw the coverage that papers back home had reserved for two cyclists when they won at the nationals and I realised cycling had the potential to change lives."

What about the provision store?

"My mother still runs it. But thanks to the cash awards, we also own a hotel and two more stores," she says.

There and back again

Running almost parallel to Rejani's career is that of Manipur's Rameshwari Devi, another multiple national record holder. Devi is back on the saddle after becoming a mother and is setting personal best timings. This CID inspector chanced up on cycling after dabbling in cricket and basketball. She took part in triathlon after being picked by a SAI talent search programme. But she hated running, so turned to cycling.

Devi is a medal prospect in the 500m time trial. But two years ago, after giving birth to her son, she had decided to devote time to her maternal duties. But potshots from peers about the two racing cycles which were left to rust, the ones she bought with the Rs 6,50,000 granted by the Manipur Police Housing Corporation, led her to return to the track.

Only on two occasions has Devi failed to win a gold at the nationals. The first time was just after a team mate was knocked down by a truck and died while training on the highway, the second when her mother-in-law passed away. "The snide remarks made about the expensive cycles did prick my conscience. Despite being a mother, I wanted to prove that I am still good enough. What I am today is because of the sport of cycling," says Devi, who wants to call it a day after the Asiad.

Like Bishnoi, cyclist Rakesh Kumar is also from Rajasthan. But the connection doesn't stop there. A chance meeting with Bishnoi is what fuelled Kumar's passion for the sport. One of his uncles from Sri Ganga Nagar ? his village ? enrolled the bright lad for further studies in Bikaner. When Kumar arrived to pursue his graduation, he met Bishnoi.

"I didn't want to do BA, I wanted to earn. My friends advised me to take up cycling because success at the national level guarantees a secure government job," Kumar said.

Now, 10 years after he first set his foot on a pedal, Kumar has been to Russia and Australia, among other countries. "I never imagined that I would leave my village."

If Kumar could've been a graduate, then Okram Bikram Singh could've become a doctor, if his parents had their way. This year he won a bronze in the Track Asia Cup. He first landed a job with the Indian Railways but has moved to BSNL in Nagaland now.

"Thanks to my cycling commitments I haven't had to report to duty for even a single day. My family is proud of my achievements, even though I never became a doctor," says Bikram, who hails from Imphal.

For these national cyclists, the humble cycle, in its carbon-fibre mutated form has made a world of difference to their lives.

Source: Web Search