Slinging scribbles

(The above news was published in The Indian Express on May 31, 2012 http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bachcha-bada-ho-gaya/955933/ ) Medio Tyron Pereira has been the creative lynchpin for Mumbai hockey this season Very often owing to the already limited attention that hockey gets in cricket-mad India, it's always the strikers, drag-flickers and goalkeepers who end up hogging all available media-mentions. But, it is often the adroit game of midfielders that helps strikers in scooping into the nets and their resilient defence at the same time which drives back the oncoming attack. Yet, despite all that indifference towards midfielders, one name is quietly doing the rounds of popular hockey circles in India. Tyron Pereira, the 24-year-old right-half Mumbai player, who was instrumental in Mumbai's unbeaten run in the West Zone Senior National Hockey Championship has earned praise for his stellar performance in the hockey arena. The proficient athlete not only success...

(The above copy was published in Indian Express on June 12, 2012) It shouldn’t surprise anyone that he cannot do without his adrenaline rush. That more than anywhere else, he feels at home within the confines of his speedy four-wheelers. That Ameya Walwalkar’s idea of a routine day out mainly involves him notching up supersonic speeds in his race-cars. Setting breakneck paces and then trying his best to outdo them. After all very few would have gotten an opportunity to dabble with their wild side—quite literally—like Walwalkar did almost from the time he learned to walk. While his peers spent their youth indulging in the otherwise routine and mundane activities of youth, the 31-year-old Mumbaikar grew up feeding lions, running around with exotic and rare birds and riding atop elephants. All just for kicks. The Walwalkars, starting with the late Narayan Rao Walwalkar—Ameya’s grandfather—have owned and run The Great Royal Circus (GRC) for close to 50 years now. It’s no ordinary ...