It is that time of the year again…

When the sheer passion for the sport would wake me up as early as 5:30 in the morning (or sometimes 5 AM) for three months in a row and I wouldn't complain once.

When every morning I would curse my ma under my breath for making me drink a tall glass of porridge (used to taste yuck) at 5:45 before I left for the club. Eventually, I was grateful she made me drink it!

When PR was as important as knowing the right rowing skills if you want the boats when you needed them

When the daily morning run would stop and the circuits would begin! How we hated doing it.

When my coach would give me a “tch tch” if my endurance wasn't good enough compared to the other guys on the land-work

When our calf muscles would beg for us to stop working out and rest them for a while

When the post-lunch nap at work cannot be avoided

When we dreaded the ergo-meter race more than any other race

When our head-coach’s call to flip the toss would make us weak at the knees clearly reminding us of the impending win-or-die race

When all around us, we would hear one seemingly important mantra … “Die on the boat”

When what appeared to be the most troublesome crew of all, sat quietly bundled up in one corner of the club wondering how much ahead of the other crews we are, or how far behind

When all the bars of chocolates, energy drinks, and red bulls would be our only life-savers between races

When I would eagerly await the knock-out races rather than do the circuits at the end of each race :-/

When we’d feverishly wait under the bridge, my heart pounding against my chest, waiting endlessly for what seemed to be never-ending passage of time, before we got the final call for the race-starts.

When eventually the success of the entire crew would be too sweet for any of the less trivial coxie problems to matter

The year of 2003 was by far the most fantastic rowing season for me! Yet again, it is that time of the year, except this Fall I’m not rowing! But the prestigious M&B corporate regatta is on and is at the Madras Boat Club, Adyar, on the last Saturday of this month. If you are in Chennai, be sure to attend it after 3:30 PM! You don’t have to row, but at least you can be there to witness and confirm that all of the above statements are accurate.