No Malice In Wonderland

Finding the appropriate formula

Narain Karthikeyan in Melbourne. Photo copyright: DAVID McMAHON

The Indian flag: not part of his racing helmet. Photo copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It's been a strange 18 months for Narain Karthikeyan, the first Indian driver on the Formula circuit. He made his F1 debut for the Jordan team at the Melbourne Grand Prix in March last year, but is now a test driver after the shuffle in ownership and team branding.

He even ran into controversy over his design for a racing helmet, featuring the Indian tricolour and the chakra on the top of the helmet. No, he was told by the Indian authorities, he could not display the national flag in such a manner, even if his motives were purely patriotic.

Just before his historic Melbourne debut, I asked him where his obsession with cars really began. Like most Indian lads, did he lean how to drive on an Ambassador, the Indian-made clone of the English mid-1950s Morris Oxford?

He chuckles. ``Yes,’’ he says. But he’s keeping his cards close to his chest. He doesn’t give much away. It’s as if he’s enjoying the cat-and-mouse character of this interrogation.

Was it his father’s car? Affirmative, he says. And, like most Indian petrolheads, did he learn how to use the unforgiving clutch and awkward gear lever long before he reached the legal driving age? Correct, he concedes. He doesn’t give much away, this bloke.

Somewhere in the world, there’s a poker school waiting for Narain Karthikeyan.

Then he cracks. The pressure’s too much for him. ``I might have been about nine or ten years old at the time,’’ he volunteers, his eyes shining.

His father’s car? Yes. Did he get caught? Yes. Often? Yes. Did any of the consequences dissuade him from his love of driving? Er, no.

There’s a couple of other people in the room now, so we’re carrying on this conversation across them. Did he have a teacher who despaired at his obsession with cars? Of course, he admits, laughing.

The teacher told him that driving cars, in essence, would get him nowhere. The teacher wanted him to study, go to university, get a real job.

And does he ever bump into the teacher? Now he’s so animated, the words are rushing out.

After he was given the break of a lifetime, when Jordan signed him to their Formula One team, he caught up with his former teacher. Both former pupil and former teacher obviously enjoyed the irony of how wrong the advice was and how endless prospects now loomed on Karthikeyan’ horizon.

I have one final question for him. Did he bear any ill feelings against his old teacher? No, is the quick answer. Not at all.

There’s no malice in wonderland.

If you'd like to read my interview-based feature with Narain Karthikeyan, just click on this link titled RACE AGAINST TIME? featured on the Anglo-Indian Portal.