From Harvard alum Anil Nayar, AB'69
"Lucky—Anil Nayar's Story: A Portrait of a Legendary Squash Champion is a memoir of my journey from Punjab to Cambridge to Bombay to NYC. It's also a sports story, with squash as its centerpiece and fame and honors while playing as a champion at Harvard and around the world as its crowning glory. Beyond sports, its a chronicle of crossing cultural bridges and a tale of a man from the Land of Five Rivers uniting with a woman from the Land of 10,000 Lakes to share memories of an exhilarating adventure filled with frictions, tensions, accomplishments, and joys." Find it through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Rakuten Kobo.
Raves and Reviews
A celebration of humankind at its best.—Tad Friend, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Cheerful Money: Me, My Family, and the Last Days of Wasp Splendor
Engrossing, exhilarating, and a cerebral yet sensitive tour de force on the pioneering life of an exemplary human being and principled sports champion in two countries and across the world, this uplifting and unputdownable rendition of Anil Nayar’s sports career is written with tremendous flair, insight, passion, and professional finesse.—Khalid A. H. Ansari, founder and former publisher of the daily Indian newspaper, MidDay, and chairman emeritus of the Squash Racquets Federation of Maharashtra
Anil Nayar’s story is urgently necessary in today’s fractured world. A legendary national squash champion in India and across North America, he bridged worlds and forged a deep legacy as a sportsman, as a leader, and as a symbol of cross-cultural diversity. Lucky is the gripping story of his unlikely and unsurpassed journey.—James Zug, author of Squash: A History of the Game
This portrayal of Anil Nayar’s legendary contribution to a narrow slice of global culture offers a vivid example not only of the unifying capacity of sport, but also of the inspiring influence of a stellar sportsman, one who played with integrity, artistry, and grace.—Sundaram Tagore, gallerist, art historian, filmmaker, and heir to the cultural legacy of India’s legendary Tagore family
Told in a seamless manner with sweetness, insight, and enough objectivity to give it both emotional and intellectual integrity and impact, this engaging memoir on the career of a great sportsman will be of great interest to squash enthusiasts of all countries, folks who follow sports of any kind, people interested in cross-cultural dynamics, those who lived through or have interest in the crucible of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and anyone who simply likes a good life story.— Thomas Webber, author of Flying Over 96th Street and Deep Like the Rivers