The karate kids

The Ansaris from Madgaon have created a record of sorts and the funniest part of it is that they are blissfully unaware of the fact.

Forty-year old Salauddin Ansari, his 36-year-old wife Shaheen Ansari, their daughter Sana (14 years) and son Ayaan (11 years) are all set to represent the country in the forthcoming Karate Commonwealth Championships which starts this May 31 at the Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh. They are all black belts of course.

Salauddin Ansari is the official coach of the Karate team, his wife is the captain of the women’s team while their children are taking part in the under-16 and under-12 legs of the event.
The fact, of course, makes you wonder whether it is a classic case of a family monopolising the seats and not allowing outsiders to get a berth in the coveted championships.

“I have won the national championships five times. I just gave up professional fighting last year and turned coach. Shaheen is also a national champion and is my former student. I am happy that all four of us have finally been selected to represent the country at an international event,” says Ansari, hastening to clarify that the chief coach of the Indian Karate team is Sensei Vispy Kapadia and not him.

We ask Shaheen about how they are training as a family for the games and she quips, “We end up discussing about Karate at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Whenever we are talking, we end up talking about the game. It sometimes feels a little awkward that we have nothing else to talk about but such is life,” says Shaheen philosophically, while picking up knick knacks, warm clothes and sports gear for the family in view of the Commonwealth games.

We catch little Ayaan running around in the mall and tugging at soft toys while his elder sister asks him to behave in front of the ‘Pressuncle’.

“I am a Karate kid, you know that?” asks Ayaan almost in a ‘threatening’ tone, “I try my karate chop whenever anybody tries to act funny with me.” It was his answer to the question about what he was feeling about representing India at the international event.

I take him a aside to a corner and ask him whether his teachers have complained about him fighting in school to his parents.

“Yes there were complaints against me but I am a karate kid, what can I do?” he asks.

His sister is a little more composed, “I am the head girl in my school (Christ Church in Byculla) and I make it a point not to neglect my studies whatever be the commitments for the game. I want to continue doing karate though I don’t know whether I would be able to make a career out of it.”

Her father joins in to drop a bomb. “I don’t want my kids to take up karate as a career. Till now, we haven’t got a sponsor for the team. I don’t want my kids to suffer,” says Salauddin.
Little Ayaan peeps into the conversation, “I want to become a footballer or a tennis player. Right?” he asks his papa.

His papa doesn’t answer. May be, the five-time national karate champion doesn’t really have an answer to that simple question.
s_banerjee@dnaindia.com