Lucknow :
Her curly hair swayed and sari fluttered in the air as she rode down Hazratganj, on a bright green Vespa scooter, back in the 1960s. This is the picturesque memory of ace badminton player Meena Shah several Lucknowites shared on Tuesday, after she breathed her last, early morning following a cardiac arrest at a city hospital. She had just celebrated her 78th birthday on January 31. At a time women could not move out of the four walls of the house, Meena flicked her wrist effortlessly with a badminton racket in hand. Unmarried, the Muslim woman taught the game to three generations of her friends and their families.
An Arjuna awardee and Padma Shri recipient, Shah ruled the badminton circle for several years. Winner of the singles title in the Senior National Badminton Championships for seven years in a row (1959-1965), Meena was among the first Indian women in sports. She had also won the women’s doubles title thrice and the mixed double’s crown twice. Shah had also been conferred with the prestigious Uttar Pradesh Laxman Award.
“Meena and I have been friends since 1960 and since 1979 and I had been taking care of Baby as I used to call her fondly,” said Mauveen Shaw, who had been her support at their home in Qaiserbagh, recalling how Shah would help any stray animal. “I remember we saw an injured horse lying on the pavement around Parivartan Chowk area. Everyday both of us took grass from La Matiniere Girls College, where I taught and we fed the horse. For the next few days, every time the horse heard the scooter horn, it would neigh in response,” shared Meena’s closest friend. There were times Meena would forget to refuel the scooter and stranded till the next fueling station, they would drag the vehicle to the horse, added Shaw.
“We used to play gulli danda together at the Lalbagh grounds, even before we were coached by T N Seth for badminton around the same time,” said Shah’s childhood friend Ann Marie Kalra, adding, “With one agile movement of her wrist, she would make her opponent run across the entire court, running and gasping for breath, while she stood there smiling triumphantly.” Ann’s daughter Jaya Kalra said, “The scooter was called ‘Chhappan battees’ by everyone in the social circle, and she would always take along more than three people on it at a time. I remember the times when because of her illness in the later years, she would tie the shuttle to a thread on the clothes line and keep hitting at it. She could not walk without support at that time, but her love for the game was phenomenal. She taught everyone and children she loved most.”
Recalling the first time he saw Shah playing at the Asian Badminton Championship held in Lucknow, retired officer K K Bali said, “She was playing there with the likes of Nandu Natekar, Suresh Goel and if I remember correctly, Prakash Padukone. Her heavy frame never came in the way of her game. She had racy movement and fast reflexes.”
Mohammad Haider, head, legal and regulatory affairs in a private telecom major said, “I remember being taught by her in the badminton court outside her house. Her turns and technique were sharp.”
An admirer Rana Safvi recalled, “I had met her in school when I was in class VII. She was an icon, not just for budding badminton players, but for all women of that time.”
‘Loss for entire baddie frat’
President of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) Akhilesh Das Gupta condoled death of Padma Shri Meena Shah on March 10. Gupta said it was a loss not just for Lucknow but for the Indian badminton fraternity. General secretary Vijai Sinha informed that two minutes of silence were observed at BBD Uttar Pradesh Badminton Academy, as a tribute to the seven times senior national badminton champion.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Yusra Husain, TNN / March 11th, 2015