Wheels of fortune

He seems almost in freefall, skating downhill with an air of complete abandon. On these eight wheels, Mohammad Fareed feels invincible. Inline skating is his passion and he has been skating since 2000.

It’s not been an easy ride. Though he got badly injured while skating in the same year, instead of getting deterred, it just made his resolve stronger. “Wounds heal easy,” he says. “It’s the passion that doesn’t get satisfied.”

Rollerskating shares the fate of all sports that are not cricket in Pakistan — it is doomed to fade into the background. You would find more aspiring cricketers in Karachi alone than potential roller skaters in the entire country. But for 26-year old Fareed rollerskating is both a passion and his bread and butter.

Fareed goes onto his next stunt, manoeuvering through intricately placed cones on a slope. Just when your gaze wanders elsewhere, Fareed notices and delivers a punch. He is now skating on one foot, the other level with his head as he looks at you with eyes hungry for appreciation.

Fareed has learnt many solo stunts on his own, since coaching for this sport is rare, but now he works as a trainer at some local clubs and is a teacher at three different schools.

“There were no facilities when I started and I learnt these skills on my own. But now I want the younger kids to have someone to look up to,” explains Fareed. He started his coaching sessions in 2001 and is now employed by various organisations and schools who want rollerskating to be part of their sports curriculum.

As long as he’s on skates all eyes are glued on him, but this time he’s going for his bag, taking out smaller skates for the students walking towards him.

Sheharyar is 11 and Alizeh is not yet nine, but their skating skills are phenomenal.This brother and sister pair are perfectly in sync and their light, easy movements encourage me to put on some skates myself. It isn’t as if the two kids were doing something out of the blue. How hard can it be to balance oneself on eight wheels and move and shake a bit? If the kids can do it, so can I.

Barely three seconds after kicking into gear, I fall out of balance and learn my lesson the hard way. The experience is not pleasant. As I put away the skates, I see the kids passing each other mischievious smiles while continuing to skate in perfect rhythm. Right now my pride is hurt more than my rear end

It’s getting dark but the party has just begun. Fareed and his pupils are soon joined by his brother Usman. The 20-year-old is as unlike Fareed as possible, a tall, rough-looking young man. But like his brother, as soon as the skates go on, grace and elegance soon follow.

Looking at these four, one can’t help but wonder why this sport remains on the margins.

“It requires a lot of time and hard work,” says Usman as he skates up the slope. “You have bikers doing stunts while driving, though there is no infrastructure or facilities for them. This is the kind of talent this country has. It shows the passion that people have.”

How else would you explain all the good news — be it extraordinary O’levels results or 19 girls fitting into a Smart car to break world records — that still manages to spring out of Pakistan, despite all the doomsday predictions? Passion is what drives this country, and Fareed and Usman have truckloads of it. They display it in their next stunt on the road: cat’s eyes on the roads have just been used for another purpose, that of an impromptu obstacle course. The track, designed to separate the road, has become a skaters’ paradise. Fareed displays immaculate balance and before you know it, he reaches a speed of 50 kilometres an hour, disappearing into the sunset as we watch in wonder.

TIPS ON ROLLERSKATING

1. Go for quality. Buying a pair of fancy-looking but low-quality skates may end up costing you more in the long run as they will not only break faster, but may end up causing you injuries.

2. Invest in protective gear. Wear a helmet, knee pads and elbow pads. Looking a little geeky is a small price to pay for avoiding serious injury.

3. Watch where you skate.  Avoid skating on or near busy roads for obvious reasons.

4. You should know how to use your brakes. You must also know when and where to use the brakes. Brakes can save your life.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, April  3^rd, 2011.