New tennis mom's dignified presence

CHENNAI: Watching them take a walk together after the evening's round of matches, away from the media glare, you'd immediately know they share a special bond. In the hurtle of tennis tournaments, Somdev Devvarman and his mother Ranjana seem an island in themselves, at peace and unaffected. You wonder what they could be talking about. Maybe the day's tennis? Maybe things on the home front? Maybe even the new tune he may have picked up on his guitar?
Ever since he was 12, Ranjana has been by her son's side as he travelled the length and breadth of the country playing tennis.Now here at the Chennai Open, she has been doing the same in her quiet, dignified way ��� sitting far behind, away from the seats reserved for VIPs and other dignitaries that frequent this ATP event.
In the area reserved for players' families, mom Ranjana watches her 23-year-old son rise on Centre Court. Unblinking, impassive but silently proud, nevertheless. It's a far cry from the tennis mom stereotypes Indian sport has known to breed.
One look at the two together and you instantly know that it's not just his looks, but where Indian tennis' newest star gets his off-court poise from. Talking to reporters, Somdev exudes a wit that prevents them from going one-up on him. He's got the comebacks, the riposte and the good-humoured smile. Conversations with the Devvarmans are short affairs.
Try talking to the mother and you'll realise how useful brevity can be. It's easy to see where Somdev gets this skill from.
Still, you persist and the lady that she is, she relents. But only just. For Ranjana, the Chennai trip is not just another case of looking over Somdev during his tournaments. It's a return back home.
The Devvarmans spent almost a decade in Chennai, where father PK Devvarman, a high-ranking income tax official, was posted. They stayed very close to where the stadium stands today, and it was at the IT grounds that young Somdev picked up his craft.
So, apart from meeting up with old friends, the Chennai jaunt is also an opportunity to indulge in a very lady-like vice: Buying sarees.