Of freebies and tennis

It is customary to set one’s favorite song as the dialer tune and announce to all the living beings in one’s vicinity, whenever it buzzes, that this is the song that has captured one’s imagination. Being the one who follows the customary rules diligently, I have set a song from a tamil movie as my dialer tune. To this day, even I must have heard that song only about as many as 21 times, let alone people around me hearing it. The fact that a certain service provider - whose name I wouldn’t air or tell - has contributed massively to this total, during the course of it’s vain attempts to make me pay my long due bills, is something that I shall keep it dark from you.
Naturally, any man in my position is bound to leap six feet in the direction of ceiling and run around like a headless chicken when he finds that the silence of his mobile is broken by the sound of an incoming call. I too would have done that, if I wasn’t sleeping when that rare occasion occurred. I opened my heavy eyes with all my might and my sight fell on the clock - 5. 30am it was. Cursing the caller with all the unparliamentary words I had picked up during my tenure at boy’s school, I proceeded towards the source of commotion.

The conversation between me and the caller ran as below:

Caller: hey dude… were you sleeping?

I paused for a few seconds to overcome the urge to utter something that could have caused disgrace to his great-great-grandfather. Having done that, I replied.

Me: yes, what’s the matter?

Caller: Nothing much. I’m going to play tennis. Just wanted to know whether you would like to join?

I’ve always regarded tennis as a great sport. It is right up there at the third position, after cricket & tikilona, in my list of best games ever invented by mankind. I even signed up for tennis coaching last year and attended the training religiously for a month. My love for the game grew exponentially and I even built castles in the air of beating Nadal on clay court. And that too at French Open finals. I’d definitely have gone on to realize my dreams if my trainer, on a fateful day after a month of training, hadn’t asked me for the fees. I never visited that place again.

The memories of the past came floating into my mind and sent a shiver down my spine as the owly face of the trainer flashed before my eyes for a nanosecond.

Me: Tennis? No, I’m not coming. I’m very busy with my work these days. I can’t come.

I still have no clue as to how being busy with work renders one unable to play tennis in the morning. But I did say that.

Caller: I know man.. why you are not coming. {Chuckling amusedly} Don’t worry dude.. it’s absolute free. All you have to do is flash your id card. that’s it.

If there is anything that human beings have not learned, it is the quality to refuse something that is offered free of cost. Anything that is free is always welcome. Being a human being myself (thus putting to rest all doubts a few people had about me), I gracefully accepted the offer.

Me: Ok then. I’ll come.

So thus began the story of dashing young man who started to play tennis again. Not to mention those dreams of beating Nadal. The french open has begun this year. Perhaps, I’ll be there next year, thus giving Nadal a chance to break the record this year itself. Poor chap, he deserves it

But the flip side of the story is that I have to get up early everyday. My friend rings me everyday in time to wake me up. I always clung to a hope that someday he would say “dude.. a female mosquito bit me in the a$$ last night and it caused a big swelling… I can’t play today.. play called off”, but that never happened. I wonder what mosquito coil he uses. Sigh!
P.S 1: Reader can expect a follow-up post on what’s happening on the tennis court and how well the ball I hit struck the middle of the head of a man playing three courts away.