Neon lights at the Blue O flicker across a table occupied by a family of four. At first glance, they seem a typical Indian family out to have some fun. But once the Sarda clan get to the tenpin bowling lanes, emotions blur and the inevitable competitiveness sets in.
For the duration of the game, family turns foe, no quarter asked for and none given.
It’s often said a family that prays together stays together. The Delhi-based Sardas have redefined the age-old adage. Bowling is their prayer. It’s their daily dessert and a little more than just a weekend recreation.
The Sardas, led by 57-year-old former national champion Harshvardhan, have been hooked to the game for over two decades. Harshavardhan, the proud owner of five international medals, has got his wife Anuradha and children Dhruv and Suganda to embrace the sport.
“I’ve been bowling from 1989,” Harshavardhan said. “Right from my college days I wanted to play a sport which can keep me fit, in which I can represent the country and a sport in which age is not a deterrent.
“My options were bowling and golf. I chose tenpin bowling because it’s an indoor sport and can be played through the year. A few years later, my wife joined me in competitive bowling and soon my children followed.”
Suganda, who gave up a lucrative job in Mumbai and moved back to Delhi to concentrate on bowling, believes the sport has helped keep the family together.
“The sport has definitely helped in family bonding,” said the freelance décor stylist. Echoing Suganda’s view was her younger sibling and national champion Dhruv. “It surely helps to have common interests. As a family we support and complement each other.”
Dhruv is quick to add that emotions hardly come in the way of their competitive spirit.
“We have an unspoken rule amongst us,” he said. “When we compete against each other we forget our personal relationships and give it our best. We are family again only after the event.”
The story of the Salujas, Monica and Akshith is no different. The mother-son duo competing at the ongoing nationals took to the sport for recreation and a mean to do something together as a family. They soon were bowled over.
“We lived in Mumbai and moved to Delhi a few years ago and lost touch with the sport for about three years. But a couple of years back we got back to bowling and have been playing since,” said 47-year-old Monica, who is in her third nationals.
Akshith, who is 24, reveals that the sport is a common family activity with his father too joining in. His parents, he says, are more like friends.