On a brisk morning at Dr Nanjappa School campus in Tiruppur , the playground is buzzing. As we walk along the trees shimmering in the first beams of the morning sun, another quaint playground echoes with laughter. A group of men, all in their 60s, enjoy a game of tennikoit as they throw and catch a rubber ring over a net on a badminton-style court.
They are members of Tennikoit Association of Tiruppur, started in 1983 with a handful of friends led by Ditty Balu of the popular Ditty Knitting group. “Our club’s speciality is that the minimum age of any member is 60,” laughs V G Ravichandran, vice president and one of the founding members of the club which has completed 40 years. “It’s an energetic and fun sport that promotes hand-eye coordination, motor skills, and general fitness.
We started coming here in our 30s and our good health today in our 70s is due to this morning routine,” he says adding that the highlight is the camaraderie they share over crisp paruppu vadais and refreshing filter coffee after the game. The highlight is the camaraderie the members share| Photo Credit:M Jegadesh Kumar After Ditty Balu’s death in Poland in 1989, Ravichandran took over. “People turned up in hordes at Balu’s funeral procession.
He was a great role model in business and fitness. He got us all hooked on to the game and the routine has made us fit. It’s a get together akin to England’s Hyde Park where we engage in healthy debates and discussions, and disperse feeling.
