Hey… Sorry buddies… I am late today”, Sidharth walked in apologizing to his badminton buddies.
“I had to tackle a last-minute issue that came up when I was just about to wind up the day’s work.”
“It’s okay, Sidharth. We had had an extra moment to play for ourselves”, chuckled Aayushi and missed the shuttle flying her way. Clement was generous enough to serve again to accommodate her miss while talking to Sidharth. Clement walked towards Sidharth, gave a high-five to Sidharth, and handed his racket to him.
“Go ahead, buddy. We played enough today. And yeah… we all could taste some victory today while you were still on the way."
Aayushi laughed out loud at the comment by Clement. Riyaz and Smita joined her and laughed too. They all know what Clement meant. Sidharth gave a graceful smile, grabbed the opportunity, and jumped straight into action.
Sidharth is known as a perfectionist in his circle. As per him, there is nothing called a small or big occasion. He always feels all actions are to be given equal attention. This approach to life enables him to accomplish anything with ease. Even in the game, he is the ace most of the time. That was the reason for the laugh when Clement mentioned the group could taste some victory. It is always Sidharth who makes the winning shot at the end.
Sometimes he gets mocked for his perfection. He describes when you can do something right at the first moment with the same effort of doing it wrong and correcting it later. That is an utter waste of time and resources. His inspiring words are, ‘How you do anything is how you do everything”.
Sidharth grabbed the opportunity to hold the racket instantly and jumped into action straight away. Taking aces with most of his delivery. There was a sudden spurt in energy as the game shifted to an even faster pace.
They had to pause occasionally to give way to the vehicles entering the lane. That was a hindrance every time they played. They were used to it. They cannot complain. After all, it's they who have converted the public road into a private game arena. They have no other option but to pause their game.
They all sat near a vacant plot on a long stone that looked like a bench to have a closing chat before they walked into their own dens and settled down with their respective families for the rest of the day. The owner of the plot might have brought these stones to put a wired fence. But was too lazy or held up elsewhere to ignore this task. The stone could accommodate only three people. The rest of the two had to stand. Today, Sidharth and Smita stood while Riyaz, Aayushi and Clement sat on the stone bench.
The conversation went all the way from their day at the office to the welfare activities in the community. While the conversation was at the intersection of too many interesting topics, Smita exclaimed interrupting the conversation abruptly. This is not a pattern or nature of anyone in this group to divert a topic in discussion. They all feel complete only when nothing is left to talk about it. They all love to go as deep as possible into any subject they start. But the unusual happened today. Everyone looked at her to express herself.
Smita, “Hey… guys… I have got an idea!”
She continued, “Look over there”, she looked beyond the folks sitting on the stone. Sidharth looked past them too. Clement, Aayushi and Riyaz turned around to see what Smita was showing. Everyone turned back to Smita curiously to hear more from her.
“Look at the debris in this vacant plot. Why don’t we clean this up and make it our own private badminton court?”
The idea intrigued everyone, and they exchanged glances filled with excitement. A private badminton court would be a dream come true for their group. They would not have to worry about pausing the game for passing vehicles anymore, and they could play whenever they wanted without any interruptions.
Clement was the first to respond, "That's actually a brilliant idea, Smita! We could clear up the debris, level the ground a bit, and even put up a makeshift net. It won't be a professional court, but it'll be our very own space to play without any disturbances."
Aayushi added, "And we can bring some old rugs or mats to mark the boundaries. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it'll be our little badminton haven."
Riyaz nodded in agreement, "It's worth a shot. We all love playing and having our private court would be so much fun. We could even invite a few more friends to join us occasionally."
Sidharth, who was known for his practicality, chimed in, "Let's not get too carried away with the idea, but I think it's definitely worth trying. We can start by cleaning up the area and seeing how it goes. If it works out well, we can think about making some improvements."
Smita beamed with enthusiasm, "Great! Let us plan a day when we can all get together and start the cleanup. I will also find the owner of this plot and check if they are okay with us using it for a small badminton court. I don't think they would mind, considering it's just a vacant space." She eventually forgot it.
Over the next few days, the group put their plan into action. They coordinated with each other to bring the required tools for cleaning, like brooms, shovels, and trash bags. They worked tirelessly, removing the debris, and levelling the ground as much as possible. It was arduous work, but the excitement of having their private badminton court motivated them to keep going.
The cleaning of the ground has almost ended. The friends were busy tidying up the place while Aayushi felt like someone was staring at her from back. Her woman intuition proved right again. This man was standing in the aisle of the vacant plot looking at the busy people. He was not staring at Aayushi as she felt so. He looked amused and looked interested in the activities of the team.
Aayushi looked straight into the stranger’s eyes and felt herself smiling to herself and warmth. She walked forward to the stranger.
“Hello, I am Aayushi.”
The stranger replied, “Hi, Aayushi! Nice to meet you. I am Praveen.” Praveen continued, “I was passing by the place and saw you folks cleaning up this place.”
Aayushi replied with enthusiasm, “We just removed the debris and tidied this plot and converted this place as a makeshift badminton court to play badminton during the evenings.,” She told, “All these days we were playing on the street that was too intriguing and a disturbance to the passing vehicles and us. Once this place is done, we shall have an uninterrupted game session all evening.”
Praveen said it is a brilliant idea, “I appreciate this initiative. Can I too join to play with you, people. I am all set to dirty my hands too along with you in bringing up the court.” He further added I live three houses from here at 203. Aayushi spurted, “That’s where my friend Pallavi lives.” Praveen smiled back, “Yes. It's such a coincidence. I am her husband.”
Aayushi, “That is wonderful to know Praveen. Really glad to meet my friend’s husband. I have been insisting she join us sometimes. But she is usually busy at this hour at her boutique.” Praveen nodded in agreement.
Praveen, “I get to see her only after 9:00 pm every day. You rightly mentioned. She is usually busy at this time of the day.”
Getting back to the conversation about the court, Aayushi welcomed his offer. But she hesitated and said, “I need to consult with my other partners. We had pooled-in money to shift the debris and clean up this place.”
Praveen without any hesitation offered instantly to contribute to the expenses. His offer turned her hesitation into a grin.
Aayushi called out for Clement, Smita, Sidharth and Riyaz. He guys… come one here. Meet Praveen. Praveen is keen to join us in our makeshift badminton court project! He has offered to share the expenses. I just learnt that my close friend Pallavi is his spouse.
They all were happy to meet Praveen and appreciated his offer to join them in their project! He shook hands with Clement, Smita, Sidharth and Riyaz. The whole team gladly accepted his friendship and his offer to share the expenses.
Praveen instantly jumped into action and joined the craze. The cleaning went on for the next two days. They paused their games till then.
Once they completed the cleaning, they brought old rugs and marked the boundaries. They decided to use makeshift markers for the net and practiced playing to see how it felt. The joy of playing on their own court, even if it was simple, was incomparable. They knew they had made the right decision. Their happiness doubled knowing eventually that Praveen is of their own mindset. Praveen was an amicable chap and jelled with the team with ease.
As word spread among their friends and the community, more people showed interest in joining their badminton games. The group gladly welcomed them, and the court became a gathering spot for badminton enthusiasts. They made new friends, and the bond among the existing members grew even stronger.
With time, they made improvements to the court, like adding some lighting for evening matches and painting lines for a more professional look. Though it was a humble setup, it held a special place in their hearts.
Their private badminton court became a symbol of friendship, unity, and the joy of pursuing a common passion. It was a testament to their determination to make the most out of any situation and turn a simple vacant plot into something special. Every time they stepped onto that court, all of them were reminded of the power of their collective efforts and the beauty of sharing simple pleasures with good friends. And so, the Badminton Buddies' private court continued to be a cherished part of their lives.
They thoroughly enjoyed playing uninterrupted games every evening. They had occasional visitors who played one or two sets of games. Their circle of friends was expanding. They laid down seats at a corner of the court to relax in between the game which also served as served as an intellectual corner after the game time.
Sidharth continued to hold the status of ace player. Clement, Aayushi, Riyaz and Smita tried their best to beat him. Praveen too joined them in the struggle to beat Sidharth. In fact, they improvised their technique by observing Sidharth’s talent in playing with ease.
One evening after the game, Riyaz suddenly remembered that they were to find out the owner of the plot. He turned to Smita, “Smita, did you find out the owner of this plot. It's not fair on our part otherwise.”
Smita gave an apologetic look, “Riyaz, I totally forgot about it. It slipped off my mind, amidst the excitement of getting our own place to play.”
Smita, Clement and Aayushi looked at each other with concern. Smita apologetically offered to find out in the next few days. They all nodded at each other.
Sidharth and Praveen did not join the game this evening. Sidharth had a late evening meeting and texted the Badminton Buddies group that he will not be joining for the game this evening. Praveen had texted too that he is caught up with work with an assurance to join the post-game conversation.
Aayushi said, “Maybe the owner of this plot does not live here. Else, he might have already had the information.”
Clement agreed with Aayushi and added, “Probably the owner might have known this and has silently allowed us to use the place until he or she plans to construct a house here.”
Just then Praveen arrived and got worried looking at the pensive faces of his friends. “What makes my good friends so immersed in some serious thoughts today? Hope you enjoyed the game with some good wins without Sidharth.” He smiled. All the others returned an uncomfortable smile.
Praveen insisted, “Come on folks, enlighten me. Allow me too to immerse in your serious though.”
Smita broke the silence, “Praveen, actually when we got the thought of cleaning up this place to make it our private court, I had volunteered to find out the owner of this plot and seek their permission to play here until they decide to construct their home.” She continued, I somehow missed out on doing so in the whole excitement of getting our private space. I should have been thoughtful about this. What if, suddenly the owner turns up here and asks us to vacate at once.”
Praveen threw back a relaxed look, “Oh well! Now, I see your concern. Never mind, the owner of this plot is not planning to construct a house until his wife’s boutique business stabilizes. Not before two more years”
Aayushi was the first one to react, “What? Are you going to surprise us once again? Are you the owner of this plot?” Clement, Smita and Riyaz joined along with Aayushi’s question to Praveen.
“Yes, Aayushi. The other day I walked here to question you folks for encroaching on my property. Eventually, I found out that you did not encroach, but were only making this a better place, a place to play and have meaningful meetings. I used to commute five kilometers every day to play in a club. Looking at your company, I thought it would be a better idea to join you people and save my travelling time to the club and I can play the same game here.”, he concluded with a sheepish smile.
All others were dumbstruck. Praveen continued, “I am glad that not only I found a place to play, that too on my own plot, I am also so happy that I found a good friendship in you all that is too close to my rented house. Technically, we have two more years to play in this plot. What next? Yes. After two years, let's start again in search of the next owner who does not have a plan to construct a house for two years and is also an avid badminton enthusiast.”
Upon listening to Praveen’s long speech, Smita breathed a long sigh of relief. Clement, Riyaz and Aayushi jumped and unanimously exclaimed, “We have a story to tell Sidharth tomorrow. He really missed it today. Thank you, Praveen! You had been such a nice guy and we must reprimand you with a treat for keeping us in suspense all these days.”
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