Sushila floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee

Its a painful thought that I will never see the person I am writing about the one I admired and loved My mind goes back to the mid50s when I first saw Sushila ndash then Rege ndash for the first time at the Cricket Club of IndiaI had just started playing badminton and was getting to know the badminton world I was participating in the Junior then U16 girls singles I won my firstround match and was heading to the changing room On my way next to the spectators gallery a very beautiful tall attractive lady with bright red lipstick was standing ready to enter the court As I passed her she said Congratulations well played I was in such awe that I think I forgot to say thanks I even forgot to leave and watched her walking towards the court so gracefully I sat and watched her playing Her way of serving high fascinated me When I entered the game Sushila was already an established wellknown player with numerous great achievements in badmintonAlso ReadSunil Gavaskar A valiant Indian batsman of his timeIn the later years I experienced her fascinating high service while playing against her executed so gracefully It used to be so high that especially on CCI courts with high ceilings and darkcoloured walls the shuttle would disappear for a few seconds above the lights hanging from above When we slowly got to know each other well I used to tell her Sushila when you serve high in singles your opponent can go out wipe the sweat come back and wait for the shuttle to appear guessing the spot from where it would come down With her pleasant smile she used to say ldquoWhat is there You can also serve like this No certainly not and definitely not with that graceIt was a pleasure to watch her game As one of her fans wrote somewhere very aptly while playing on the court Sushila floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee How true Her grace on the court was unparalleledI remember one mixed doubles at CCI which I played against Sushila Her partner was Erland Kops who was then No 1 in Denmark I was partnering KD Seth We were one game down In the second game as we were leading Erland Kopss mood started changing Sushila very wellmannered on the court could be seen feeling very awkward due to her partners behaviour People had often experienced that whenever Kops lost a point he used to get furious In one of his mens singles matches against Nandu Natekar people had also witnessed him getting angry after losing a point and breaking his racquet It was amusing to watch him get so furious and Natekar on the other side maintained his cool nature whether he had won or lost a pointAlso ReadRahul Gandhi wrestles with PuniaAnyway during our mixed doubles at CCI we won the second game In the third Sushila changed her position and started playing only near the net She would not even go up to the middle court and let Kops play the rally It was not good to see her a player of high calibre just serving and standing almost on the sideline like a beginner They won the match but at least I did not enjoy playing that game Not because we lost but watching Sushila play the way she decided to playI remember after they won the mixed doubles title while walking to get the winners cup Kops tried to hold Sushilas hand and walk together very often in tournaments played in European countries partners walk hand in hand to receive their trophies Sushila quickly walked ahead not letting Kops hold her hand People noticed it and were amused to see it In the later years when I spoke with Sushila about our match at CCI and asked her why she played only near the net in the third game she laughed and said We all knew that Kops couldnt keep his anger under control In case I had made a mistake I did not want to give him any chance to get angry and say something unpleasant to me because then I would have walked out of the courtldquoOnce while travelling by a night train for the Gorakhpur nationals I got sick with food poisoning and was in a pretty bad condition There were four ladies in the compartment including Sushila Almost throughout the journey Sushila was the one who was caring for me She was so kindhearted I get emotional whenever I think of that episode I started admiring her more after our badminton careers were over and I got to know the Person Sushila in our private lifeAfter getting married I left India Whenever in India we used to meet in private or during the badminton players gettogethers Very often she used to travel from Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar On her way twice she visited me in Pune where whenever in India I have my base She used to show curiosity and interest in my family and my several other activities always very appreciative encouraging and showing admirationShe was so happy to have people around As a very generous person she used to invite young and old badminton players for a luncheon gettogether Whenever any badminton player from our time who is settled abroad came for a visit in Mumbai Sushila used to organise a gettogether inviting 1015 badminton colleagues The speciality of such gettogethers was her question to the visiting badminton players which used to be Whom all would you like to meet And the invitees used to be as per the players wish and of course some more One rarely experiences this kind of hospitality But that was her kind nature and she used to be very happy in everybodys companyI am so glad to have crossed roads in my life with Sushila a very affectionate extremely generous and downtoearth person in spite of her being a great player who loved having friends around She was not only an extremely beautiful and charming lady but had dignity and style ndash even at her high ageI used to be occasionally in contact with her calling her from Germany where I am based Every time I had to promise to meet her when I come to Mumbai About fourfive weeks ago I spoke to her and promised to see her soon when I reach Mumbai I was very much looking forward to seeing her It was not to beSushila a good soul would always remain in our memory and would definitely be well looked after wherever she isNirupama PradhanSonalkar is a former National badminton player Apart from participating in tournaments in India she took part in the Asian Games in 1966 and the World Masters Games in Canada Denmark and Australia winning 1 gold 2 silver and 2 bronze medals in these events