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Ghachar Ghochar
Vivek Shanbhag
Translated by Srinath Perur
‘That single moment’s intensity hasn’t been matched in my life before or since. A woman who I didn’t know has chosen to accept me, in body and mind.’
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‘Feelings can be very obscure but numbers never lie.’
Kevin Brazil on metrics, obsession and fitness.
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‘An intense workout is an ecstasy of punishment packaged as self-improvement.’
Mary Wellesley on exercise, ritual and Barry’s Bootcamp.
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‘I was not good at sports because I would not do sports because I did not have the body for sports because I would not do sports.’
Saba Sams on girlhood, embodiment and avoiding sports.
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‘Following United rarely brings me any great joy and most often it depresses me. If I could disengage, I would.’
Jonny Thakkar on Manchester United.
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‘I deployed my body against an opponent like a blunt and effective instrument.’
John Patrick McHugh on playing Gaelic football.
Vivek Shanbhag
Vivek Shanbhag is the author of five story collections, two plays and three novels, including Ooru Bhanga (Hometown Breaks). He is an engineer by training and lives in Bengaluru.
More about the author →Translated by Srinath Perur
Srinath Perur translates from the Kannada and is the author of the travelogue If It's Monday It Must Be Madurai. He lives in Bengaluru.
More about the translator →