Patil Jr shining knight of father’s vision

It was in the mid-sixties that Vasant learnt the game, feeling the pieces with his fingers, a friend willingly acting as tutor.

Vasant balanced his many roles — that of a budding music teacher, a husband and a father — with his passion for chess. Chess took a backseat as Vasant built up resources, working hard to rally his family around and giving them some respectability.

Vasant lost his sight when he was 10-years-old. “My parents were not educated and were unaware of the consequences when I contracted chicken pox,” said the 54-year-old.

As he grew up, he kept this unfortunate incident in mind and brought up his three sons with zeal. And once his three sons — more particularly the two elder ones –got a toehold in life, Vasant returned full-fledged to his passion. He is one of the founder members of the Maharashtra Chess Association for Blind.

The rebirth of chess in Vasant’s life began in 1983 when he went to Ahmedabad to play in a tournament for blind. Life had turned a full circle now and Vasant was at peace with himself.

If chess was his passion, then music was his life support system. Vasant, a graduate in music from the ’65 batch, teaches the Guru Vandana to students in a municipal school.

Shirish, 23, and his older brother, Yogesh, 25, learnt chess from their father. “The atmosphere at home was congenial. All top blind players would join my father and chess would be discussed throughout the day,” said Shirish, who was born with a defect in one eye.

Shirish learnt the game when he was in the sixth standard. “My father taught me but not for a moment did I get the impression that I was learning something. It was a very enjoyable experience,” said Shirish.

Over the years, Vasanthas proved more than a good teacher. “He has sacrificed for me during tournaments when we met each other,” said Shirish.

A rare coincidence here. Vasant and Shirish have met during the final rounds of many tournaments. “Inevitable, it would be the last round,” said Shirish.

In fact, when Shirish won his first tournament — the junior state title in 1987 at Nagpur — his father won the senior title.

Now the Patils are well established. Shirish takes charge of the communication centre at Parel they establised in 1996. Yogesh is a civil engineer. Youngest member of the family, Chetan, will be doing his first year in college.

The Sundays at the Patil residence in Thane is a big mela. “There is chess from morning through the day. My wife, who used to get irritated initially, has started to understand the game. And when Shirish won the title in Ireland, there were celebration lasting a week,” said Vasant.

“It was a great feeling. Shirish was the first of the family and among all ourrelatives to step out of India and he brought laurels for the country,” gushes Vasant.