Dear Mr. Bhupathi,
Congratulations on the completion of the first ITPL India leg. Watching Roger Federer and other greats like Novak Djokovic, Pete Sampras, Goran Ivanisevic, Ana Ivanovic, etc., play live was a dream come true to everyone that took time off from their busy schedules to come for the event from different parts of the country. The event that was held in Delhi was one awaited by many.
However, while dreams did come true, the reality of my existence was just as shocking by the way I, a common person with a not so high pay package, was treated at the event.
Not only was it difficult to afford actual seats at the event, but I was made to sit on a cement step that seemed to have been cleaned last when the British still ruled our country.
Please accept my point of view and the sarcasm that is ingrained in my tone as not just constructive criticism but also as thorough disappointment.
With excitement overwhelming me I started my journey to Delhi from Mumbai not knowing that I would actually miss being home on my couch watching the event on a television set.
I hope you take a little time off from your busy schedule to read my views of the event as I take you through a step by step account of what I faced while at the event.
I reached the venue at 13:35 as I received a notification that the gates would open at 14:00 on 6th December afternoon to be greeted by a line that was 7 people long. This, while was good news for me since I was the 9th person in the line, behind my friend who travelled with me, to reach the stadium and get a seat (read: cemented step level) of my choice, should come to you as bad news since not many were as excited as me to reach the event and get to see the greats practice and not just play the final matches. This was exciting for me, yet disappointing as it was now brought to my notice that since I paid 3000 only I would not even have a seat attached to my ticket.
But the excitement to see the players play live was more overwhelming than the seat itself
and I moved on.
The gates opened at 14:00hrs on the dot. Yet the security was completely unaware and unprepared. Being the second in the women’s line, which was by the way just one counter as compared to the mens cues that were 4, I had to wait in line for almost 20 minutes to be frisked and checked as the security personnel had not yet arrived or been briefed about the terms and conditions.
After they arrived, the table at the counter had to be covered with a black cloth and nailed down. This took another 5 minutes.
It was now brought to my attention that cameras were not allowed as opposed to the ITPL page that suggested that cameras with a lens of below 200mm would be permitted. I now had to find a way to leave my camera behind. I had to call a friend to come pick it up from me. Not only were cameras not permitted but my camera phone was a topic of debate which I fought for and refused to give up.
Now it came to the coins I had in my wallet which I had to leave behind. Nowhere had it been mentioned that coins would not be permitted. Yet I left behind money at the counter. While it may not be a legal offense to take 2 rupees from a person, it is still morally wrong.
After almost half an hour at the counter waiting to be frisked and checked, I had to wait for my friend to reach the venue to take my camera. While awaiting his arrival, I met another girl who had
been told to leave behind a chain of value. While it was blunt at its tip, the security thought it could be used as a weapon and did not permit her to wear it to the venue. She had to call someone and make them come and take her chain too.
After 45 minutes of all this drama, I reached the indoor stadium and walked the entire circle to find gate 4A as sign boards were not up yet, nor did the BMS staff or any other of the crew know where the gate was at the time. While I did get a walk and shed a few extra calories, there were some who found it difficult to do so, due to age or disabilities.
I reached the venue and realized that I had to sit on cement steps behind the screen on the South West side of the court. Not only were the steps dirty and covered with a line of dust, but the seats even below us had not been cleaned. You made us sit in filth. Whether the cost of my ticket was 3000 or 24000, the seats were dirty. This is disrespectful on humanitarian grounds.
Yet the spirit and the excitement lived on.
One hour and fifteen minutes later the matches began at which time, the stadium was empty. Like all at the event who paid a measely 3000, me and my friend along with everyone else, decided to move down onto an actual seat. While we sat down on seats that may or may not have been paid for, we were asked to get up and move back up. While this may be fair to the people who paid a larger sum of money, was the stupidest thing ever. Let’s face it, there could only have been 2 possibilities, either the ticket was bought and the person did not care enough to come for the event or the seats were not paid for at all. In both the cases, why shouldn’t I be allowed to sit on these seats? Wouldn’t the stadium looking at least partially full have been more beneficial to you and the players who played tirelessly to entertain the Indian audiences? Wouldn’t it have been a better way to start the ITPL in India?
Maybe you’re right. Maybe since I hadn’t had enough money to pay for seats I shouldn’t deserve to sit on them. But I definitely didn’t deserve to sit in filth on cement steps having travelled all the way from Bombay for this event. Nor did I deserve to be chased away from a seat that didn’t want to be filled by the person who paid for it or the seat that was never paid for.
But the spirit still lived on.
The food at the event was another disappointment. 250 rupees for a sandwich that wasn’t tasty or hot.
DON’T EAT HERE should be the name of the caterer and cold and tasteless 250 rupees sandwiches, its slogan.
The next day with a spirit even stronger and above these issues, I came back, knowing that today I would get to see Roger Federer play live.
But this time, I went in without a camera and without spare change. Yet, they found something new to hold against me, the number of clips in my bag. So what if I have 5 hair clips in my bag, I was made to wear them all and prove that I needed them. Hillarious!
Reached the stadium now, and surprise surprise, the cement step I was sitting on was still dirty. The seats below my block were dirty too. What must a person do to get respect?
The stadium still empty when the legend Roger Federer was stepping on to the court, my friends from the cement steps and I decided to move down to a respectable seat. But now, we were stopped by a man in a moustache who had less respect for other human beings than he probably had for himself. Pointing his fingers and waving his hand around, he dictated terms to me and my friend who moved back to our cement step immediately. Yet people who were sitting with me were allowed to sit on the seats irrespective of what their ticket said. I sat there in disbelief.
I went up to him and told him that if he wasn’t going to get everyone back to my block I would go down too. But he refused to listen and told me that he had checked their tickets. Having been there on Day 1 too, I told him that I would prove to him that there were still people who had tickets like mine sitting in seats that weren’t theirs. Yet, he refused to listen and didn’t even care to respond politely. Shook his head and walked away.
I continued to stay in our poor person’s corner, but now I stood at the railing. Not blocking anyone’s view or being asked to sit down, I continued to stand to watch the great man play a brilliant game. Now the security asked me to sit.
WHY? Why should I have sat in filth Mr. Bhupathi? Am I not a human being? Do I not deserve to be treated with respect? I refused to sit Mr. Bhupathi. I watched the match standing. I left soon after as I refused to be treated this way anymore.
Crowds of people walking up and down during matches right behind the players, why would they come back to our country when you can’t give them just enough respect to stop and wait till the point was over if nothing else, celebrities and common folk alike.
In a country where sports like tennis are not very popular or supported, shouldn’t the people who respect the sport, its players and are enthusiastic about it be treated with some respect too? In a country where sports in general are not given respect, shouldn’t the people who are enthusiastic about it be treated respectfully so that they are left wanting more and not wishing they had never come?
I ask you these questions as an enthusiast of the game, of sports being given equal importance in our country, and as a human being. Should I not be treated with respect? Or am I too poor to be given any respect at all?
I know I’ve written a long letter, but I hope you read it.
And if nothing else, make sure that next year or whenever you plan to host it next, when people come for this event, they are treated better than I was treated.
I am very thankful to you Mr. Bhupathi, for bringing these great players to our country and giving us an opportunity to see them play. I congratulate you on the success of the India leg. Yet, I hope things will turn around next time around and I hope people around the world are never treated like this again.
With best wishes for the Dubai leg, I sign off.
Natasha Anchees,
A disappointed Indian Tennis Enthusiast
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