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Anand, India's sporting hero, was due to arrive in Chennai on Wednesday afternoon. The crowds at the airport defied imagination. It wasn't possible to get close to the champion without fighting your way through a sea of fans and press people. I managed to garland him, wading through people with a 15 kg rose garland. But on the whole I concentrated on catching the atmosphere of the fans that had gathered to welcome the new world champion.
Young boys and girls thronged the airport with the Indian tri-colour already
at 10.30 a.m. Anand's flight landed at Chennai at 13.50, after a slight delay
One of the many welcome signs prepared for the arrival of Anand in Chennai
Anand has always stood up for the handicapped, and says they are close
to his heart. Now, they show
their thanks to him by with an airport vigil.
The horns and drums made us forget that we were in the airport, as we no longer
heard any planes, just the sound these people made to receive the new chess
king
Ninety-year-old Bhau Padsalgikar (right), a former national player and veteran
organiser, had made it all the way from Maharashtra to meet Anand.
School boys from Zion Matriculation stand patiently in the background, unable
to compete with the massive crowd that has collected around Anand. Even some
photographers and videographers decide to film from atop a bus rather than jostle
with the throng.
Velammal School girls wait with flowers to greet the world champion as
the mercury sours to 36°C at the Chennai airport
Anand's mother Sushila Viswanathan together with Anand's
aunt and Madras High Court Judge Prabha Sridevan
Upcoming chess player Prasanna Rao (centre) of Mumbai and his mother pose
together with International Arbiter R.R.Vasudevan. They were among the people
who did not get to meet Anand, as tens of thousands of people were trying to
do it at the same.
India's high profile chess
couple, strongest GM pair R.B. Ramesh and WGM Aarthie Ramaswamy with their
daughter Varsha (sleeping). Next to them is the Sports Editor of Indian Express
Harihara Nandanan.
Ahead of the convoy, former world Under-2 champion N. Srinath with his father
Narayanan riding the bike. Pic was taken opposite Shangri-La, Anand's favourite
Chinese restaurant at Besant Nagar. Beside them is Indian National Coach and trainer Vishveswaran Kameshwaran, (with an Anand T-shirt from NIIT).
The first car of the Anand Chariot Convoy, with IM Manuel Aaron, 72, who
is the General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association. He carried
the Commissioner of Chennai Police order granting permission for such a procession
in Chennai city. In the same car is journalist Sakthi. Behind this was the police
patrol car followed by a police tow vehicle to remove any other cars which might
be blocking Anand's route.
Anand's dressed up limousine gets ready to leave. He is driven from the airport
to Trident for a brief lunch and then on to Kasturba Nagar from where the procession
took him five kms to his house on a chariot.
World champion Viswanathan Anand is transported in a special chariot to
his home
One part of the half a kilometre long convoy entering the street where the
legend lives in Chennai
The convoy reaches Anand's house
AICF Secretary D.V.Sundar (blue shirt) walks along with the convoy at Kasturba
Nagar in Chennai
Anand gets off a chariot to enter his house, as videographers climb the
compound wall for a shot of the star
King Anand in the chariot [photo R. Ragu for The
Hindu]
Anand won the world
championship convincingly in Mexico City
to gain the title and become one of India's greatest sporting heroes
Express
India: World class welcome for Anand
If chaos marked his reception in Delhi, it was a ‘royal’
welcome that was accorded to the World Chess Champion, Vishwanathan Anand,
from the moment he stepped out of the Chennai airport. Riding on a regally
decked-up two-horse chariot, along the crowded streets of Chennai, for a
short while even wearing a metal crown and holding up a scepter, a beaming
Anand waved, signed autographs, acknowledged cheers and was even made to
bless toddlers along the way.
With the sounds of the chenda (traditional Kerala drums), the mridangam
and the nadaswaram greeting him and hordes of school children, a few inmates
of a Spastics Home, fans, family, friends and members of the public hailing
his world title in Mexico, holding aloft placards and posters, Anand returned
to his home-city along with wife Aruna, flushed with the excitement of the
rousing reception.
The
Hindu: Hero’s welcome overwhelms Anand
Viswanathan Anand is seldom at a loss for words, but the World chess champion
was stunned at the reception he received in his home city. Huge groups of
children and chess lovers representing various institutions and associations
had assembled at the Chennai Airport on a hot Wednesday afternoon, hoping
to catch more than a fleeting glimpse of Anand. The media and his fans were
engaged in a tussle for vantage positions after the World Champion walked
out of the domestic terminal with his wife Aruna. “Never in my dreams
did I expect such a reception,” he said. “I’m at a loss
for words actually. It’s unbelievable. I did not expect this. I thank
all the people who made it, specially the children, for braving the heat
and waiting for me.”
The 38-year-old was then taken to Kasturba Nagar third cross street, where
a chariot was readied to take him to his residence via Indira Nagar, LB
Road and MG Road, with the idea of giving his fans and well-wishers an opportunity
to greet him. Calm and accommodating as ever, Anand obliged every single
autograph request and shook hands with all his fans through the course of
his chariot ride, which was part of the TNSCA’s and Velammal Institution’s
reception programme.
Indian
Express: Beating Kasparov was more satisfying
Anand in a press conference: What is happening is chess in India at the
moment? “Great interest, the numbers are growing, and in P Harikrishna
and K Sasikiran and Sandipan Chanda you have some very strong men. And I
guess Koneru Humpy is aiming at Judit Polgar. On a possible match: What
if Kasparov decides to give up politics and return to chess? “I can
say one thing, he will have a game with me waiting for him, if and when
he does,” said Anand, the smile never leaving his face. “I’m
open to it.” On entering into politics: “I don’t think
about it, I guess I will never be interested in that.”
CNN-IBN:
I have no plans of slowing down
"I think it's been a pretty fantastic year. If in January you had told
me that you are going to regain the World Title and become World No. 1,
and go back over 2800 the same year, I would never have believed you. I
don't feel that old in chess terms. My rivals are a regular bunch of guys
and when I talk to them I feel like a teenager anyway. As long as you are
physically fit and you are able to work hard, it's not a big problem. In
chess it's going to be difficult to be a top player as a 50-year-old, but
I still have got a (long) way to go there."
