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Fun ’n’ introspection

Photos: Bhagya Prakash K.

OPENNESS Robin Uthappa: ‘When I was 18, I decided it was Christianity for me’

Clad in a black Pathan suit and with a firm handshake, Robin Uthappa drawls, “Tonight I am going to be my sister’s bodyguard.” A hint of grey flits across his face, eyes narrow, a pause and then laughter all around as Robin lets the mask slip. He is about to head out for the night, sister in tow and they are off to watch “Kung Fu Panda”.

But before that there is time for conversations about life sans cricket.

Robin lazes in the large drawing room in his favourite hangout in the city – the Bat and Ball Inn, located in a leafy lane off Richmond Road. Vested interests? Obviously yes! Robin with S. Sreesanth and cricket connoisseur J. K. Mahendra own the inn, which is rich on cricket memorabilia and has the added tang of an attached café on the lawns and a cook on call. “I hang out here or we go out to Mocha or to any other restaurant. People in Bangalore are considerate and they give that space. Obviously I am not that big a cricketer for them to hassle me also!” Robin quips.

Off days? “I sleep. My dad tells me ‘Robin the biggest thing you miss now is sleep.’ I always take his word and push myself to sleep till eleven. When I do that, he is so proud. I then have brunch and in the evening I meet friends,” Robin says.

Incidentally, most of his friends are sportspersons – Pankaj Advani, Shikha Tandon, Sheetal Gautam and Ryan Ninan. And how else does he unwind? “When I am in Bangalore, I go out for a drive. It could be the ring road or any other place, it helps me switch off,” he says.

Robin has mixed lineage – Roman Catholic Malayalee mother, Hindu Kodava father - and the blend is evident as his phone conversations have snatches of Malayalam and Kodava besides English. “How many languages do I know? Hmmm… English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Kodava. I picked up Tamil from the watchman at our apartment and I also watch Vadivel and the other Tamil comedians on television along with my dad,” Robin says.

The Robin chronicles roll on… “I am basically a coffee, dinner, ice cream types,” the sentence is cut mid-air as the question pops up, “What about the odd drink? Surely a few beers down the belly after the Twenty20 World Cup win in South Africa ?” It’s confession-time. “I don’t drink, don’t smoke. Not even at the Twenty20 World Cup. I have tried everything though as a kid, I mean as a Coorgi it is the ‘Rum and Pork’ that makes us, right? I remember at around 10, I had about 11 glasses of wine and I was completely gone. That is my only memory of drinking,” Robin says.

And what about that old weakness for “pandi curry”, the eternal Kodava favourite? “I have given up pandi curry though I have it occasionally, maybe at a marriage. Now it’s a lot of beef, less of chicken, little bit of more mutton, lamb actually, and fish – seer, crabs and stuff like that,” Robin says.

For a 22-year old who loves the good times, Robin is also firmly grounded in religion and introspection. “My parents were kind with my sister and I and let us choose our religion. When I was 18, I decided it was Christianity for me and mom introduced me to a pastor who helped me with the Bible. When I played for India, I had such a great experience and it was the finest testimony I have had of the Lord. When I made my debut, I was in the worst form of my life, but I was so calm and got an 86 against England,” Robin says.

The discourse on God and His strange ways dissipate soon as it is time to catch up on “Kung Fu Panda”. “You know, we are a family of movie buffs,” Robin says, before rushing off for the 8.15 p.m. show.

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