Standing by a champion

There goes a famous saying, ‘Behind every successful man, there is a woman’.  But in the case of ace chess player, Padma Shri award recipient, Viswanathan Anand, it’s his hardworking wife, Aruna Anand. When Aruna married the chess champion, little did she know that her life was about to change completely. But it did and how. Post marriage, it was a mutual decision for Aruna to become the non-chess playing member of Anand’s team. “The decision was mutual, but the shift into the role was gradual. Initially, I would only accompany him as a wife and take care of things that any wife would – his comfort, food, etc. But soon I was also taking care of things like travelling, parking, appointments, contracts, the press, events etc. This gave Anand enough time and space to concentrate on chess. But now since I have a baby, I can only go for the important tournaments, not all.”
However, the loving wife has no complains about the switch in the role. “In a sportsperson’s career everyone needs to make sacrifices. He has got the chance to make it big with tournaments like the world championship. A lot of his time is divided, between the game and the travelling. But when I think about it, I don’t see it as a sacrifice.” But organising is just a small part of Aruna’s big work profile. Her most important role till date has been the ardent, loving wife in Anand’s life. She says, “When you play a game, there is one person who will be happy and one who will lose. Anand knows that come what may, I am always by his side. In chess, it is very difficult to gauge how well to play. Whether it is bad or good, you need someone to speak to. I see to it that there are no distractions, the environment is conducive and comfortable. That he doesn’t have to deal much with the press. It is a clichéd but true, behind every successful man there is not a woman, but a tired wife. But jokes aside, it has come to love and care for him and do everything irrespective of the delivery.”

But there are times even Aruna’s patience is put to test. Like the Chess World Championship. She says, “The World Championship is an important game. At the time Anand doesn’t speak to anyone but me. There are times when Anand wants to disconnect, think of unrelated things, so we talk about gardening or just joke to lighten the mood. These are tense moments before a big game. For a sportsperson it is very important to have an emotional balance. When it happens from within, I try to keep it simple for him.”

“Like this once when we were in Tokyo for a tournament, we went for a 45 minutes walk. We didn’t speak a word because Anand was so tensed. At times he just needs the physical presence. I am the one who is always on his side no matter what. I try to motivate him.”

But for every nerve breaking tournament there are perks too. And for Aruna there come in as handful.  “When Anand wins a game, the happiness is completely different. He feels ‘My God it is over and I won’. You feel tiredness and relief because it has been a tense championship. And Anand always looks for me first, and there is an instant smile after the eye contact. For us, that speaks more than words. After each game the whole team goes for dinner and celebrates,” says Aruna, who doesn’t like to take all the credit for her job well done. Anand, she says , “Has never been a complaining person. He has always kept his calm, even in some trying situation. Like in April 2010, we had problems while we were travelling for a match. We had to hire a bus and then after two days of travelling he played for the world championship and won. I completely admire his quality of play.”

So what are the two biggest achievements for this all-out-there wife? ” Anand winning the world championship and the birth of our son, they are like two equally great victories,” concludes a smiling Aruna.