‘This is probably my destiny’

It was a hectic day for him, and the Coimbatore man was busy switching mobile phones right through the conversation. ‘‘Introduction, handshakes and interviews… that’s been the order of the day.’’

Yet through the buzz and clamour he saw the bigger picture. ‘‘This is probably my destiny’’, he said when asked if he’d ever dreamt about landing up at Red Square. ‘‘The high-profile sport that F1 is, it doesn’t predict what’s in store for anyone.’’

The noontime ceremony itself was very real, made more so by the bitter cold. Braving the minus 16 degrees temperature were over 100 journalists and a huge security cordon. ‘‘No one was allowed anywhere near the area of presentation,’ Narain observed, ‘‘the place was quite like a fortress.’’

Appropriately enough, given the proximity of the Kremlin, a former castle. It was a day of pride for Russia too, with Jordan’s new owner Alex Shnaider giving the country its first-ever Formula 1 team. ‘‘There was a buzz, heads were turning, the journalists were very well-informed’’, Narain said. ‘‘Everything has begun on a great note.’’