Sanjay Sharma, Hardy to everyone who knew the JK Tyre & Industries Head of Motorsports, was many things to many people, but the first things that would spring up in everyone’s mind when thinking of him would be his large heart, sharp mind and ready wit. And each of them will find it tough to believe that he has passed at age 61.
He mentored and encouraged racing and rally drivers alike. The amazing thing is that he would have as much time to lend his ears — and shoulders, where necessary – to a karting youngster as he would racing and rally drivers. It was almost if he knew every single component that went to make motorsport in India.
From Hari Singh to Gaurav Gill, from Narain Karthikeyan to Karun Chandhok and from Armaan Ebrahim to Jehan Daruvala, India’s ace motorsports drivers have been beneficiaries of Hardy’s vision and unconditional support through the professional JK Tyre Motorsports programme that he conceived.
Hardy could have been in the driver’s seat in the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, but he selflessly enjoyed being the engine that powered motorsports in the country. He would take on challenges with a smile – except, of course, in dealing with grief at the passing of his son Raghav in 2023.
Over the past couple of years, he was keen that the Federation regain its recognition by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, helping the office-bearers understand the requirements of the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011, and to find ways to secure exemption from certain clauses. But, typical of the man, he let the office-bearers make the critical calls.
When I last met him in his office, he was his usual gracious self, treating me to chaat while abstaining himself. “I have got my lunch from home,” he said, indicating the care he was exercising after a kidney transplant. Sadly, his health deteriorated after a recent heart surgery, and he breathed his last on Wednesday.
They do not make many like Hardy, especially when it comes to being there for everyone who needed some support and for anyone dealing with an uncertain future. I will never forget that he gave me the opportunity to consult with the JK Tyres media relations team 15 years ago after my tenure with the Organising Committee Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games drew to a close.
And when I mailed him in gratitude, he sent four words in response: “Sirji tusi great ho.” To me it was not so much about me as it was about Hardy and his warm methods of encouraging people around him. I also remember him gently chiding me for not getting the mathematics right in a draft I shared with him. “Journos as weak in finance,” he texted with a grinning smiley.
He touched more lives than can be imagined simply by being there for everyone who crossed his path. His heart beat for motor sports in the country, unhesitatingly conducting and supporting events in the north-east so much so that the pall of gloom over Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland is palpable even in faraway New Delhi.
As his soul sets off on a new journey, Hardy leaves behind a richer legacy than many would know.
