PUNE, Jan 1: He continues to go against all odds. Dev Lahiri, headmaster of the Lawrence School, Lovedale, Ootacamund is one of those rare and daring riders who continue to ride. Many would have hung up their boots and given up the saddle. But passion for the sport has probably kept him there. Currently in Pune, leading a contingent of twelve riders and nine horses, he has travelled all the way from Ooty.At 45, Lahiri has undergone two major operations last year. He walks around with a pace maker with a defibrillator device. His doctors describe him as the country's first bionic man. Against their orders, he continues to mount horses. ``I'd rather die on the saddle than die out of depression,'' asserts Lahiri.An Oxford graduate, he has been riding from a young age and his affection for horses is worth watching. He won a bronze medal in the hunter trials event at the senior nationals in Mumbai in March last year. The Lawrence School, a residential school, is 142 years old. On a 700-acre sprawling campus amidst scenic hills, the school caters to 700 students from standards IV to XII. Their riding school has 20 ex-race horses. The school has about 200 riders and though the sport is expensive, the charges are a nominal Rs 200/- per month. The sport is considered an elite one. But Lahiri discloses,``We do not make any difference among the students and expect everyone to do the dirty work by themselves which includes cleaning out the stables''.Lahiri would like to put the academically-not-so-inclined students on horseback. The skill to command an animal would do wonders for their academic performance as well, he says.The maintenance of the horses is a heavy expenditure running into lakhs of rupees every year. The school has a sponsor in K N Dhunjibhoy, the owner of Five Star Shipping Corporation and the Nanoli Stud Farm. The man generously picks up the tab. On occasions, he even buys more animals for the school.The school has also champion horses. Two horses Big Ben and Tornado were part of the Indian equestrian squad which was to participate in Asian Games at Bangkok. Unfortunately, the squad did not leave the shores due to technical reasons. Lahiri says plans are afoot to start a middle and long distant riding school. Negotiations are on with a shoe giant. Plans to start a tennis academy at the cost of Rs 15 lakhs are on the anvil.
