#Throwback: When Federer spent time with 3-year-old orphan in Cuddalore

Around Christmas in 2006, Roger Federer and his significant other, Mirka, came to Tamil Nadu. They were on a Unicef visit to the tsunami-hit town of Cuddalore.

Federer was 25 then. And it would have been gorgeous in the first world at that time of the year. But he made the effort to come to India. Our film and cricket idols would have done something more worthwhile with their time - like shopping and launching housing complexes. But more on that another day.

Federer met local officials and sat through an audio-visual presentation of tsunami relief activities. He made sure he sipped water. Later, he visited a school, moving from one small classroom to another. He made small talk with the teachers and played games with the kids.

There was the obligatory photo op playing cricket. Journalists trailed him but quietly, in a charming old school way, snatching moments with Federer when they could. Recalling the tsunami, Federer said he was in Dubai at the time of the catastrophe.

He watched on the news footage of big waves wiping out towns.


Around Christmas in 2006, Roger Federer and his significant other, Mirka, came to Tamil Nadu. They were on a Unicef visit to the tsunami-hit town of Cuddalore. (Image: BCCL)

In the afternoon Federer visited an orphanage. A three-year-old girl named Abhinaya held his forefinger and put her head in his lap. "She likes you," Mirka said. It was a tender, unscripted moment. Federer smiled awkwardly.

It was a stunning scene because it momentarily bridged the unbridgeable gap between the worlds of Federer and Abhinaya. While one class gulf was narrowing, another was widening. Tension had been building up for a while between English speaking Unicef guys and a regional media feeling marginalised. It escalated at the orphanage. A section of the press was barred entry inside. Furious at the treatment, the journalists started banging on the door. Inside, Federer and Mirka went about their duty with professional calm. But it is possible that deep within, they were freaking out.

Even at that time Federer was a world No.1 and a winner of multiple majors. But he wasn't as inaccessible and consummately elite as he is today. Mirka would answer media emails herself those days. And Federer had only recently started working with his no-nonsense manager Tony Godsick, who some call Tony Soprano. Godsick wasn't present in Cuddalore. And when organisers requested Federer to meet some reporters in the room, he ambled over. Nowadays, it is unlikely he will answer impromptu questions.

He is not going to amble over either.

The commotion outside had subsided. Federer was relaxed during the interaction. In loose jeans and sneakers, he looked like your brother's university friend doing India. But the discerning knew he was a genius on the verge of becoming a legend. They were in awe of his skill. After the conversation, a journalist with a classical Indian face admitted to asking Federer a question not just for professional reasons but also because "I wanted him to see my eyes."