In hockey, Shah Rukh was the centre forward. Though he loved cricket the most, it was hockey that he excelled in. And he admits it without any shred of modesty. "I was fantastic at hockey. I was a very good wicket keeper in cricket. But as far as importance for a team goes, I was a fantastic centre forward. Main kahin se bhi gol kar sakta tha (I could score a goal from anywhere)."
But it was a skill that got him a few blows too. While playing for Hans Raj College once, he'd executed a masterly last-minute rescue operation, leading his team to win against the favourites, Khalsa College. The Khalsa team was a formidable one, many with no serious interest in anything but the stick and the ball, some even having failed their college exams thrice in a row. There were five minutes to go, when a young boy in red shorts scored a surprise hat trick. After the first goal, even as the Khalsa team went hoarse yelling, "Lal chaddi ko pakad, lal chaddi ko pakad (Catch the one in the red shorts!)", the light-footed boy made two more goals, to win the match for his college.
The Khalsa team, however, made up in blows for the goals that they lost. And the one appointed to beat up Shah Rukh was none other than Gauri's brother! But that is another story, which I will come to later.
Did I mention that Shah Rukh was an athlete too? Hundred metres, 200 metres, 400 metres: he'd won championships in these races. "I was very fast," he confides. It was a talent that apparently landed him with the nickname Mail Train.
Excellence seems to have been his motto in every aspect of school life. But it could be gained only through hard work. He abhorred jotting down notes, preferring to listen instead. If at any point, he was asked a question he could not answer, he would writhe in shame. He needed to know the answers. He still needs to know all the answers. He still feels cornered and ashamed when he doesn't understand what the other person is talking about.
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