COMMITTEE MEMBERS & PORTFOLIOS PATRON Lt. General Jagbir Singh SM, VSM, General Officer Commanding, HQ Dakshin Bharat Area PRESIDENT **MR. P.V.S VENCATASUBRAMANIAM [email protected] | 9444000767 Golf & Gym Mag From the Secretary's Desk 00 VICE PRESIDENT **MR. S.B.P ANAND MOHAN [email protected] | 9840379707 An Enchanting Tale of Legal & Software Endurance and Endorphins 00 VICE PRESIDENT **#BRIG ANIL BENIWAL [email protected] | 7871695058 The significance of HONORARY SECRETARY mehendi at weddings 00 **MR. A.P SURESH KUMAR [email protected] | 9445022566 I too had a dream 00 Staff & Service HONORARY TREASURER **MR. S.M ISPAHANI I BELIEVE I CAN FRY 00 [email protected] | 9444943917 MR. ARVIND C. MEHTA GYM 3S - LITERARY HUB [email protected] | 9841019475 Terror Attach : A view from the inside 00 Chess, Darts, Badminton & Squash MR. A.R. BALAKRISHNAN [email protected] | 9840033034 GYM 3S - LITERARY HUB Library Announcement 00 MR. M. FAZAL MOHAMMED [email protected] 9841021234 Glimpses of the celebration House & Residential Quarters "The first anniversary of **DR. T. GUNASAGARAN the Mixed Bar....2.0" 00 [email protected] | 9442126998 Swimming, Snooker, Garden & Environment MR. N. KUMAR Tennis Madness Tournament 00 [email protected] | 9841031562 Cricket & Gymnasium Waiting - Movie Review 00 MR. K. PARTHASARATHY [email protected] | 9884590999 Bridge, Tennis & Table Tennis Group Show - DakshinaChitra 00 #COL. RAJESH SINGH, S.C.,S.M., [email protected] | 9445602610 Bridge - Backward Finesse 00 #Col. Antony Grossy [email protected] | 89033-31777 Congratulations 00 MR. SEKHAR ALAGAPPAN [email protected] | 9841075705 Catering **MR. C. VENUGOPAL [email protected] | 9952007711 Bar MR VIVEK DHANDA [email protected] | 09841040805 Entertainment & Gym 3S ** Members of the Executive Committee # Members nominated by GOC FROM THE HONORARY SECRETARY'S DESK After a hectic summer and a race for school and college admissions, I assume members must have settled down to their daily schedules. In this message, I would like to shed some light and clarity on the Emeritus Membership, since we have quite a few senior members opting for it. To convert to the status of the Member Emeritus, the member should firstly be 65 years of age and above and should have been a club member for a minimum of 25 years. A Member Emeritus is exempt from all subscriptions but has to pay for any use of catering, Bar and facilities like the beauty parlour, the usage of lights and marker charges. The Member Emeritus will also be charged for guests they bring to the club. Moreover, these senior members do not have the right to vote, propose or second a candidate for club membership or propose a resolution at any meeting. Based on the vacancy created by the members, who have opted to become a Member Emeritus, seventy-seven members in the Invitation category have been approved for Resident Membership, after verifying their usage of our club. The first anniversary of the renovated Mixed Bar was celebrated with great offers on premium liquor, excellent music, wonderful ambience and a great response from our members. It was well-organised, and for their hard work, we need to raise a toast to the Bar Committee- Cheers to them! We have three sporting events programmed in July. The Vasanth Chari Memorial Intra Club Tennis Doubles Tournament; the Water Polo Inter Club Competition at the Boat Club on July 3rd and the Gym Olympics on July 30 and 31. I wish all the participants the very best for these tournaments. On the entertainment front, we have scheduled a Fashion show, Music and Dance programme on July 9th and Independence Day celebrations on August 13th featuring a music programme by a Chennai-based music group Aarohi. Once again, I request you to register your email id and your mobile phone number with the Club as soon as possible, as the payment gateway will be activated and members can utilise this facility to pay their bills online. But, if you wish to use this facility, it is important that the email and mobile number is registered with the club. Members who have not registered kindly do so, at the Reception. Keep smiling and have a great July. Best Wishes, A.P. Suresh Kumar, HONORARY SECRETARY 6 | JUNE 2016 An Enchanting Tale of E T LU Endurance and Endorphins A S R. Chandramouli A day like this would tremble to begin! Thomas Harris, in the novel Hannibal In most parts of the world, Sunday, June 12, began like any other day. Yet, in Queensland, Australia, in the scenic city of Cairns, the first rays of dawn ushered in a date with destiny for over 1,500 athletes gathered to participate in the Iron Man challenge. Median age 38, oldest participant 83, all super fit to take part in a life-changing event. One among the 1,500 is well known to many of us at the Madras Gymkhana Club. He has been a member since 1983, and can be spotted occasionally on the lawn or at a bridge table. He is affable bordering on reticent, and the toughest thing is to get him to talk… about himself, and the arduous training that led him to emerge as an Iron Man at the age of 66. What does it take to be an Iron Man? You have to complete a Triathlon, which comprises three rigorous sporting activities in one go, swim in the sea for a distance of 3.8 km, come ashore, move straight on to a bicycle and ride like the wind for a distance of 180 km, hop off, and then begin what is normally an endurance trial by itself – a 42.2 km marathon run. Two weeks after the event, Gym Mag caught up with K.K. Arun Krishnan, starting the interview with the question that must be on the mind of every reader: “What motivates you to take on such a Herculean challenge?” Arun’s answer was as straightforward as his persona, no frills, no grand statements, just a desire to live life to the fullest, and create a distinct personal identity beyond his professional pursuits and social ecosystem. “It is something that I have also asked myself, especially during the middle of an event. I do wonder in the 38th km of my run, why am I doing this? The answer is: We are all in our own way endorphin addicts. An endorphin high is far superior to an alcohol high, or any other substance. My high after the Iron Man event lasted for almost a week. Also, I like intense sporting activity because it relieves me of stress and tension, and is something I look forward to at this stage of my life.” 8 | JULY 2016 Club of Madras, which in the mid- frequent leg cramps, but for an 80s had just 15 members, but their adrenaline rush aficionado like energy and commitment drew Arun, it was exhilarating. On sponsorship and support from the cycle, he completed the 180 a fellow sports enthusiast, T.T. km distance in 7 hours and 53 Raghu of the TTK Group. Arun’s minutes. He once again chose to first full marathon was in 1987 at change and rehydrate. Pune, and his Personal Best was The last segment was what his 3 hours 34 mins in 1989, in the friends believe he is born for-- TTK Marathon that culminated marathon running, but a tall order at Muttukadu. He continued that day in Cairns, considering running in the new millennium the burn rate and exertion in the and has taken part in marathons prior segments. He had been on at Chennai, Singapore, Chicago, the move now for nearly 10 hours, Paris and Berlin, finishing under and he knew that to qualify as Iron 4 hrs 30 minutes in most events. Man, he had to run against the It takes a special kind of athlete clock. to attempt a triathlon, and you He started running the Marathon can see how Arun’s diverse sports with a large crowd cheering him background helped him to tackle most of the route. Somewhere, the ultimate physical challenge. after the 38th km, he knew he The Cairns achievement is actually was running out of time (the his third Triathlon, but in terms of certificate and title is awarded cut off time for finishing the three only if you finish within the segments, the toughest (he has stipulated time). He had not come competed in similar challenges in all the way to Australia to turn Austria and in Chennai). away at the moment of truth. All Arun says he is “semi-retired,” For the Cairns Iron Man event, the years of competitive running, his personal life is well-rounded, Arun followed a 6-month training rowing and swimming, all those like his sporting interests. He schedule which encompassed early mornings out on the water is a family man who enjoys swimming, cycling and running. and road, and all the endurance spending time with his wife, sons He was aware that the sea swim built up over the last 6 months and granddaughter. Arun’s wife, would be his greatest challenge, so revitalised him at that moment of Nandita, is a renowned educator, he landed a few days earlier and reckoning. He had been running on the Boards of several schools, practised at Green Island near for almost 6 hours now, yet he and slated to take the mantle as Cairns. renewed his pace and ran like a man possessed. He completed the correspondent of a leading “I had to unlearn swimming, and the 42.2 km distance just a few school in T.