Roger Federer - the chemical of happiness!

There are a few songs that I listen to every time irrespective of the mood and the time of the day. Despite an umpteen number of hearings, they do not seem to fade a wee bit or even set in boredom. Each time, these songs unravel a bit of themselves like how peels of onion come out one after the other if you start peeling. There is never a feeling of completeness that I have got till date listening to those songs even though I may have probably listened to them hundreds of times.

I stay astonished as I keep discovering a new, unheard beat every time or a specific line in the lyrics that strikes a chord on every listen or find out some new patterns in the structure of the song. In spite of such deep analysis, they have never left my psyche and keep auto playing in my mind in the most random situations as well. It's as if my mind is programmed to play these special songs as soon as it detects changes in the mood! 

To my bewilderment, I started noticing that I was undergoing the same pattern in awe of a person. A person so gifted and so divine that time stands still when he is on song. Have you noticed that you lose sense of time when you are immersed in music that you love? This man is as sensational and compelling as a mellifluous melody. Like a free flowing tune, this freak of nature plays an enthralling concert on the stage of tennis as the audience are left dumbstruck. 

Many call him the G.O.A.T(Greatest Of All Time), but Roger Federer is that special being who has the DNA of every animal injected into him, quite like how these superheroes are created in Hollywood blockbusters. He has the nimbleness of a peacock, the swag of a lion, the pace of a cheetah, the color changing astuteness of a chameleon, the strength of an elephant, the slyness of a fox, the venomousness of a cobra, the relentlessness of a woodpecker and of course the intelligence of a genius. Well, the point is that he is an amalgamation of many skills that have been ingrained in the most perfect manner to create an entity who has given immense joy to the world.

Over the past few months, I have been engrossed in watching Federer's videos over and over again on YouTube. The smart thing in YouTube is that once you watch a particular video, it keeps recommending similar videos in your feed and thanks to these recommendations, I watched so many videos that a mind library has already been created that keeps auto playing the shots anytime I want. What do we call this? Mindflix? 

No matter what time of the day it is, or what kind of mood it is, Roger Federer is that evergreen drug, that has no expiry date, no side effects, no cost, no adulteration, and that gives the highs that no other narcotics can give! The only word that repeatedly comes into your mind as you watch Federer play is BEAUTIFUL. 

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;

Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness;

-- John Keats

Perhaps, it would have been interesting to read what Keats would have written if he had seen Federer play, for he creates beauty out of nothingness as well. Beauty, sometimes, can be an abstract concept. How does one quantify what's beauty? Is there a one idea or attribute fits all notion for beauty?  Beauty is something that hits your soul and that brings out only the purest of emotions out of your system. Watching Federer play brings out that emotion. You forget that the opponent is getting pulverised, you do not even notice that there is a player opposite the net; the sheer beauty, range, grace, class and brilliance of this man overshadows everything. There have been some days when I have felt annoyed as to why there is even an opponent who is disturbing the divine show of this genius!

What makes him a cut above the rest is the unbelievable angles that he creates out of nowhere. The rules of geometry seem to bend low whenever Federer demands it. The astounding aspect in this is that he does not attempt these geometry defying angles only during comfortable situations, the awe inspiring facet opens up as he pulls off near impossible shots in the most risky and crucial of circumstances. The more pressure he is put under, the more his ingenious ways come to the fore. More perplexing is how he runs backwards sometimes and hits the most ridiculous shots in the exact area where the opponent cannot even think of returning which makes one wonder whether he has some hidden eyes in the back as well!

Realistically speaking, it's the effect of his most advanced intuition.

As precise, graceful and aesthetic as a ballerina!

Yes, Roger Federer makes everything look effortless in his sophisticated and artistic demolition of opponents, but his mind works faster than the speed of light many a times! He systematically plans at least 5 shots ahead and sets up a trap. Like a seasoned programmer would tell you, he has an elaborate setting of if-then conditions that get executed seamlessly. Beneath the calm exterior, there is a highly complicated neural network that works like clockwork. But the aesthetic pleasure that you get watching the alluring and audacious stroke play makes you oblivious to the intuition, the intelligence and the effort that goes behind each of those mind numbing winners.   

Even at the age of 37 and with at least 15 years at the top, players in their twenties and also a majority of the players in the top ten have not yet figured out how to silence this wizard. The few who do manage to beat him have been made to work really hard. What explains this longevity and this dominance? Despite the most advanced technologies that dissect a player and his game, and the most advanced fitness regimens, opponents have scratched their heads in disbelief at the level of tennis that he plays and how he outfoxes and hoodwinks them repeatedly.

The Superman?

Watching his breathtaking game makes one doubt whether he is a human. But the losses he faces and the dejection that gets written all over his face after a loss affirms that he is indeed human. The emotions and tears that flow after every tournament or grand slam victory shows how much he loves and cares for the game and how much it means to him. It is an indication of the amount of expectations that he has of him. Despite age catching up, he is still hungry for victories, hungry for getting those unimaginable angles right, hungry to add more artistry to his game  and hungry to feed all his followers the world over with unparalleled joy.

At times, he makes us believe he is superhuman; at times he shows his human side. In a nutshell, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he is humanly superhuman!

What separates us from Federer? We do things out of compulsion for our livelihood. Federer does things out of immense love and devotion that makes us love him for doing what he loves! That is the difference between us and him!

So what makes Federer tick? It goes without doubt that he is a phenomenally gifted player. But talent alone would not have made it possible for him to conquer the world of tennis. Hours and hours of practice honed his skills, he controlled his aggressive streak and transferred all of it to his game that took him to a different pedestal, developed an indefatigable will and an insatiable hunger, constantly updated himself, never wilted under criticism and crushing defeats, knew exactly where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do, and most importantly developed himself into a perfect role model worthy of emulation.

In the Mahabharatha, Arjuna asks Lord Krishna to show him his transcendental form and the lord obliged with his Vishwaroopa Darshana that encompassed the whole universe. In the same vein, I wonder who pleaded with God to show the way in tennis as he has obliged by gifting this extraordinary man who has encompassed every great attribute of tennis.

Or is it God himself playing it?

If it sounds like hyperbole, please pick up a racquet and try to reproduce the shots that Federer plays! It would be a good test of your physics, psychology and geometry.

The man is so phenomenally versatile that he can play the same shot in a hundred different ways. But the same shot played the same way induced a hundred sensations in me. It all seemed like a hallucination to watch the unfettered beauty in those forehands, those gorgeous backhands, the deft drop shots, the extra time that he gets to pull off unfathomable shots, the exquisite footwork, the nimble balance, the pinpoint accuracy, the immaculate precision and the quixotic nature of his game. The more you try to analyse him or his game, the more he seems elusive. Is that not a character of gods? The moment you try to analyse them, you do not quite arrange the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.

That brings me to the fundamental point: "Do not try to dissect beauty, do not analyse it. Just let it be and savour it till it lasts. This is the rule of nature"  

We have been treated to some of the most sublime symphonies by this artist called Federer. How he does it, why he does it, what does it take are all outside the realm of our understanding. Keep away all the W's and just relish the dulcet tunes that he creates every single time, for such people rise only once in a century probably. Like with your favourite songs, Federer's mastery and magic will not fade away, nor will he ever bore you! By the way, have you noticed that there is also RF in peRFection!

Do you know about the happiness quartet? There are 4 chemicals produced by your brain to create happiness. Endorphin(Triggered by phyiscal pain), dopamine(Triggered by rewards), oxytocin(Triggered by trust) and serotonin(Triggered when you feel important). These can also be injected to your body artificially. Well, regardless of my state of mind and time of the day, watching Federer play is the only drug that guarantees happiness and joy for me, as with many others. 

Is it time for adding one more chemical to the happiness quartet? The FEDEX chemical. My take is if you have this chemical, you would not want the other four at all!

Let me repeat a line written at the beginning of the post : "No expiry date, no side effects, no cost, no adulteration, and that gives the highs that no other narcotics can give! " This is how effective and pure this drug is. Ever feel low, dejected, demotivated, or even happy, you know what chemical to take now!

Thank you YouTube.

Thank you G.O.A.T FEDERER.