A publisher in Delhi once sneeringly suggested to me that my Olympic medal was bought. Paid for by daddy, like some parental birthday gift. Give the kid a top-class gun, build him a range, pay for coaches, and hey presto, it will come. I smiled thinly. I guess the Ambanis and Tatas never thought of this. Medal for hire for their progeny, that sort of thing. It bothered me, not the personal accusation, but the facile idea that medals are for sale. As if there is some shop where you buy desire, purchase sweat, get resoluteness on sale. There is a lack of comprehension here, about digging, about
...more
