FROM A SEPOY TO A MAJOR - DHYAN CHAND'S HOCKEY JOURNEY - PART II

The selection to host the tenth Olympic Games was taken at the 23rd IOC session at Rome in 1923, a good nine years before the event. Los Angeles in United States was given the honour as no other cities made a bid to host the Games. From India's perspective, travelling to Los Angeles would involve twice the cost than it did to travel to Amsterdam.

A lot of critics pointed out since a lot of teams were not taking part at the Olympics, was there any point in sending a hockey team all the way to LA, spending a lot of money? The IHF under the new administration of M. Hayman and Pankaj Gupta were firm in sending a team to LA and to defend the Olympic title.

NO SELECTION TRIAL FOR DHYAN CHAND

A selection trail to select the team bound for LA was organised in Kolkata. Unlike the previous time, Dhyan Chand was not given any permission to take part in the selection trial. He was now part of the Punjab Regiment and the Army sports board felt he should be an automatic choice to play for India. Moreover, the army sports board no longer presided over IHF - it was now down to civilians and this matter of Dhyan Chand did not create any fuss. Dhyan Chand felt he was given a royal treatment and had no choice but to accept the orders while his teammates from the winning squad played in the inter-provincial tournaments for a place to play in LA.

WHAT IS HOCKEY?

One must remember, India was a good decade and a half away from independence. Funds exclusively for sports and for teams touring abroad was uncommon. Back then in 1932, a lot of influential Indians were busy involving themselves in the freedom movement. While IHF was looking for funds, backing from one of these Indians and namely Mahatma Gandhi would spark up the interest and pave the way for receiving funds from banks or donors.

Charles Newham in his capacity as a journalist was asked by IHF to contact Mahatma Gandhi and tell him about the hockey team and their desire to compete at the upcoming Olympics. Mahatma was busy with his political activities and Newham, with great difficulty managed to reach him and explain him the situation from IHF's perspective. All he heard back from Mahatma was - 'What is hockey'?

Mission unsuccessful. a crest-fallen Newham returned back with no success. It was left to Hayman and Pankaj Gupta to convince banks for a loan and they finally managed to get a loan from Punjab National Bank in Kolkata.

AROUND THE WORLD

With IHF left to themselves in arranging for the money, they came with a lot of ideas to generate funds. One such idea was to play a lot of games at selected centres till they reached LA via Pacific Ocean. For their return, Pankaj Gupta came up with an idea and suggested players that few matches will be arranged post the Olympics in the Europe continent which would generate money to pay back the loan.

All players agreed with the idea of playing in Europe and were prepared to forgo their daily non-playing allowances of £2 per week while on tour in Europe. Instead of a simple return fare ticket, all players had round-the-world tickets. Onward via Pacific and return via Atlantic.

WHEN IN TROUBLE, TURN TO BENGAL   

In a repeat of 1928, Bengal was again trusted with the task of creating a financial success out of the 1932 inter-provincial tournament. Ten teams (Bengal, Sindh, Delhi, Gwalior, Mumbai, Rajputana, United Provinces, Bihar & Orissa, Punjab and Railways) as against five in 1928 took part and an exhibition match was held to satisfy the provinces of Bundelkhand and Manavadar which Manavadar won 3-1. Punjab beat Bengal 2-0 in the finals. A further two matches were held and a final decision was made based on these performances. Bengal Hockey Association contributed an amount close to 21,000 INR for the Olympic journey and expenses.

SELECTION WOES

With more teams participating and with Olympic win at stake, each association tried to squeeze in their player. Punjab was represented heavily with seven players while Bengal had just two players with rest coming from either Mumbai, Railways or UP. Along with Dhyan Chand; Richard Allen, Leslie Hammond and Eric Pinniger were the only members who had earlier participated in the 1928 Olympics.

This 15 member squad was headed by Lal Shah Bokhari, a player from Punjab who after partition held an important position in the External Affairs Ministry of Pakistan government and was posted in diplomatic roles in foreign countries. Eric Pinniger who had captained the team at the latter stages in the previous edition was unimpressed with this decision. If not for timely intervention from Charles Newham, Eric Pinniger would not have travelled with the squad.

G.D Sondhi, the then honorary secretary of Indian Olympic Association was chosen as the manager. He alongside his wife travelled separately, stayed separately and left players on their own post Olympics in Europe. Though, Sondhi represented well in social functions, his role as a manager is something I would question, if I were to be present then! Luckily, the team had Pankaj Gupta as their assistant manager. 

       Indian team for the 1932 Olympics, Image Courtesy - Bharatiya Hockey

THE JOURNEY

May 14, 1932 - most of the Olympic bound players assembled in Bhopal. In the next few days, a series of matches were held as a part of fund-raising through gate receipts. Hockey matches were played with the local teams at Bhopal, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Colombo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kobe, Tokyo where the Indian team registered wins in all their matches.

From Yokohama (June 24th 1932) the players left for the Olympics. A lot of Olympic passengers took the same boat (Tatsuta Maru) and the ship resembled a miniature stadium with practice matches on the top deck had Indians playing hockey. 100m running course, swimming pool gave enough athletes some much needed practice during this journey.

In total, India's Olympic contingent had N.C Malik (swimming); Sutton, Venieux and Mehr Chand (Athletics) and the hockey team represented India out of 400 million population! The contingent disembarked in San Pedro, California and then further 10 miles ride to Los Angeles was arranged by the organising committee.

Olympic village made its appearance for the first time - temporary cottages with each having two rooms with a small toilet. Community dining hall and common bathrooms with a separate provision for women as they were not allowed to enter this Olympic village.

HOCKEY IS NOT JUST ICE HOCKEY

A lot of Americans had never seen field hockey before. Ice-hockey remained the only knowledge of hockey to most Americans. Wherever little hockey was played, it was due to the presence of Englishmen and women; mostly women players from Philadelphia. A local Los Angeles daily wrote:

"All the colour, glamour and pageantry of Rudyard Kipling's India might well have found its incarnation in the personnel of the Indian hockey team, which is to represent the land of Mahatma Gandhi.

So agile are the members of the team that they can run the full length of the hockey field, juggling a small wooden ball with the flat of a hockey stick. One who knows nothing of the rigours of hockey should take a warning here. Don't get in the line of fire on a hockey field, for the hockey ball, driven by a forehand or a backhand, is almost as deadly and as accurate as a cannon ball.

Should one doubt this, just let them watch the Indian players in their daily practice on the turf of the University."

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

In absence of US President Herbert Hoover, the Games were officially declared open by vice-president Charles Curtis. Indian clothing comprised of brown shoes, white flannel trousers, a light blue blazer coat with Star of India monogram as the crest and Punjabi turban as the headgear got a loud applause from the crowd during the parade of the nations. Lal Shah Bokhari, captain of the hockey team carried the flag for India - a Union Jack flag with the Star of India embossed on it. 

                  At the parade of the nations, Indian contingent at LA 1932 Olympics    Image Courtesy - The Hindu 

THE MATCHES

On August 4 1932, India played their first match against Japan and won it easily 11-1. Yet, they were disappointed with the fact that, they had conceded a goal - a first for India in the Olympics. Dhyan Chand scored 4 goals.

Next up against USA, a week later and it was a goal feast. Indians won the match 24-1 with Dhyan Chand scoring 8 goals and his brother Roop Singh netting 10 goals. The lone goal by America was from Bodlington.

Three teams took part at the Olympics and India by a huge margin won the gold medal and thereby defended their 1928 title. All fifteen players who were selected took part in these two games and a happy contingent was prepared to leave USA on a high note.

A lot of Indians watched the match and some were generous enough to organise funds to the extent of $200 to meet the deficit of the Olympic fund.

RETURN JOURNEY AND MORE HOCKEY

The Indian contingent visited few of the touristic sites in California before they left for New York. During this journey, they relaxed by bathing at some of the famous salt lakes of Salt Lake City, played hockey at Omaha under floodlights and in Philadelphia before stopping at New York. Some more sightseeing before they took the boat 'Mauritania' which carried them to Southampton.

Like I had mentioned before, no interest was taken from the English hockey authorities to field in their team to play India. Instead, German Hockey Association offered generously to meet all the expenses on the Continent. The Indian team had a hectic schedule and played their matches against Holland, Germany, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. The quality of hockey was much better than the ones played at the Olympics.

While in Prague, the hockey team played a match against a women's team. With Hayman being the umpire, a lot of restrictions were imposed on the Indian team and most notably the Indian team ended up playing left-handed. Dhyan Chand was to excel here as well and a smitten young Czech girl, a hockey enthusiast told him - 'he was an angel' and made many attempts were made by her to kiss him post match. A shy guy that he was refused each time! This incident was also part of the tour report written by Hayman.

From Budapest, the team left for Naples and en route they halted at Vienna, Florence, Rome and finally the team boarded the ship from Naples to Colombo on September 18, 1932.

They played few matches in Colombo before they left for Chennai, then to Mumbai, Delhi and finally to Lahore where they went separate ways on October 16. All these matches were played to repay the expenses of the trip and they still ended up with a deficit of more than 3,000 INR - which was taken care by Hayman.

The team in total played a total of 37 matches in this five-month trip scored 338 goals and conceded just 34 goals. Dhyan Chand alone accounted for 133 goals! It was time for him to go back to this home town, Jhansi where he had series of receptions hosted by his friends and well-wishers.

END NOTE

Hockey was represented poorly at the 1932 Olympics with just three nations taking part. If India would have not done this long journey, would the status of hockey still remained as an Olympic sport or would it have been scrapped by the IOC following a poor turnout?

From Indian point of view, it costed them a lot - but the hockey fraternity internationally benefitted by this tour of India, where they not only saw Indian winning the Olympic gold medal, they also witnessed the demonstration of this skilful sport.

Dhyan Chand was now ranked Naik in the  Indian army and was offered a lucrative civilian job with the railways as Hayman, president of IHF was also a senior member in the railway board. Dhyan Chand was caught in two minds and decided to stick with the army after being assured by the Army General personally that he would be looked after well.

In the next part of the series chronicles the events that Dhyan Chand and the Indian hockey fraternity had to endure in their quest to defend their Olympic title amidst the hoopla of Nazi regime in Berlin. 

FROM A SEPOY TO A MAJOR - DHYAN CHAND'S HOCKEY JOURNEY - PART I

I write this as a memoir to Major Dhyan Chand who remains the best hockey player the sport has ever produced. He was instrumental in India's first three gold medals at field hockey and to capture the hearts of many a fans globally. Be it in New Zealand, or continental Europe, in Americas or in Asia - he played the sport with such talent, it was not surprising India naming hockey as its national sport post independence.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

To begin with, hockey was not a straight forward choice he had to make growing up. In fact, if one thing was certain, it was joining Army and that he did. His father was with the army and so too his elder brother. Growing up, hockey to him was merely a sport which he played outdoors with his friends occasionally as he put it in his autobiography - 'for the fun of it'.

By the time he was seventeen years of age, he had enrolled himself as a Sepoy with the First Brahmin regiment in Delhi. That was in 1922 and six years separated him and India's first Olympic gold medal. It was a long shot as Summer Olympics had resumed just two years prior (1920 Antwerp Games) after the World War I and Winter Olympics had not even started. Without any formal education he started his career with the Army as a Sepoy and 34 years later he would retire from the services as a 'Major'. And if not for field hockey, he would have been just another 'jawan' whose story would not have seen the light.

HIS FIRST MENTOR

It was by accident Dhyan Chand encountered Bale Tiwari  - who then was a Subdedar-Major in the army and a keen hockey enthusiast. Luck has it, hockey remained the only outdoor sport which was played by the first Brahmin regiment. Bale Tiwari initiated Dhyan Chand into playing this sport and thereby became his first mentor so to speak. There were no restrictions on the play times; they played whenever they found time. An aloof individual who seldom socialised outside the hockey field, Dhyan Chand expressed himself the best with his hockey stick and his play - a trait which remained with him throughout his life. His seniors took good notice of his play and his big break came when he was selected to play for his regiment at the annual military tournament in Delhi.

Dhyan Chand's regiment won and since then his position as a centre-forward never came under threat. Bale Tiwari taught him two important lessons - 'Never to dribble for a long time and keep passing the ball as one has no right to keep the ball to himself' and 'Marksmanship at the goal'. These two advices served him in good stead as he performed remarkably well in the years leading up to 1926 when his first international call came about.

A TRIP ABROAD

Dhyan Chand had restricted himself in playing hockey in army tournaments and his first trip abroad was to New Zealand representing the Indian Army. The tournament was more seen as an extension of military expedition than a friendly tour. He was an 'Other Rank' by then and had many of his mates from the same cadre who accompanied him on the tour.

They played near to flawless games in the three months they spent in New Zealand travelling to many places and leaving a everlasting impression of the way Indian hockey was played. Dhyan Chand emerged out as a champion and was feted in many a places and parties during the tour. In total, the team played 21 matches winning 18 of them, losing just one with the other two games ending in a draw. A total of 192 goals were scored and a mere 24 goals were conceded!

FORMATION OF IHF

At the end of the tour, Dhyan Chand was promoted to the rank of Lance-Naik. Around this time in 1926, an association of hockey was formed in India. The IHF (Indian Hockey Federation) took no time to persuade IOC to reinstate the sport of hockey at the Olympics. Hockey was scrapped for the 1924 Olympics edition and there was uncertainty hovering many enthusiasts if hockey would ever be included at the Olympics. But there were other questions which had to be answered. If India were to send a team to the Olympics, will the civilian team include men from the army? Dhyanchand until then had never played for any civilian team and this he feared - should not play against him when the Olympic team was to be considered. Those initial fears were brushed aside as the president of the IHF happened to be Major Burn-Murdoch.

India's request to participate at the Olympics was accepted by the IOC and thus began a grand process of selecting the team bound for Amsterdam. The IHF had these worries - whom to select from the very few provincial teams that were available? and what would be the manner of selection. In the end, IHF decided to hold selection trials in Kolkata - as the crowd always turned in good numbers be it for any sport. And other reason being, the Bengal Hockey Association remains the oldest hockey association in India established in 1908 and many of the provincial hockey associations only came into existence after 1926.

INTER-PROVINCIAL TOURNAMENT

Five teams namely - Punjab, United Provinces (UP), Bengal, Rajputana and Central Provinces took part in this tournament which also served as a selection trial for the selectors. Kolkata hosted the tournament. Dhyan Chand on the basis of his birth was asked to play for UP and he was as nervous as any player could be for many reasons, with one being; he was playing for a civilian club with many unknown faces.

Going into the first match he was visibly nervous as many selectors eyes were on him and wondered whether an army man would fit into a civilian team? Dhyan Chand played the game the way he knew - displaying the skills of irresistible variety which included dribbling, moving past the opponents with ease, giving prudent passes to his teammates and scoring goals whenever opportunities came along. Then came the finals which the UP team won with ease. The Statesman of Kolkata wrote - "The United Provinces were the most impressive side of the five teams which have taken part in the tournament, and they fully deserved their success. UP won the final virtually in the first seven minutes when they scored two goals."

  

Thus on 16th February 1928, history was created by the United Provinces team as they became the winners of the first national hockey tournament. Few players from the winning team would also be part of the historic team which won the Olympic gold: Dhyan Chand (forward), George Marthins (forward), Frederic Seaman (forward), William Goodsir-Cullen (half-back) and Leslie Hammond (back).

THE FIRST EVER OLYMPIC TEAM  

The difference between players who took part in the inter-provincial tournament were small and often negligible. Yet, there were decisions that had to be made to select a team of players who would represent India at the Olympics. A further two matches were held. IHF XI vs. Central Provinces (as they had been knocked out in the first match) on the same day as the finals. The second game was played on the next day between Probables and Possibles.

Very next day, a provisional Olympic team was supposed to be announced, only to be delayed by another match between Probables and Rest of India. The two selectors Major Burn-Murdoch and Colonel G.P.W. Hill had a tough few days and it was decided that only thirteen players would be chosen from the list of players available.

A few hockey players were already in England studying and representing the university in hockey. Jaipal Singh, a full-back player for Oxford University was a natural choice to captain the side and were to join the squad in England. A. B. Rosser, a founding member of IHF and the secretary of Bengal Hockey was a natural choice for the post of the manager. 

                                           The Indian hockey team selected for the 1928 Olympics                      Image Courtesy: The Hindu

FUNDS SHORTAGE

Owing to funds shortage, only eleven players were guaranteed to take the boat. Bombay, Madras and Burma all turned a deaf ear when an appeal was made to raise the funds. The entourage needed 15,000 INR and two players namely Shaukat Ali of Bengal and R.A Norris of CP were sidelined as a result of it. Bengal Hockey Association stepped in again and ensured funds were raised and the team of thirteen players were set to make their journey.

Also before embarking on this historic journey, the top governors from IHF had a meeting with the players taking their points of view on continuing the national championship event. Players were encouraged to give their views and this resulted in having a national championship tournament every two years at a different venue. The second edition was decided to be held in Lahore. When compared to today's situation, administrators seldom interact with current hockey players which explains the pathetic state the sport is in at the moment when compared with the golden years of Indian hockey.

QUIET SEND-OFF

The team selected for the Olympics assembled in Mumbai on March 8th 1928. They played a match against Bombay XI - which they lost. Not a good omen for their long journey ahead, however no issues were created. On board the P&O Kaiser-i-Hind, the players were given a quiet send-off. 

Just three persons bid them god-speed at the Ballard Pier which included the IHF President and Vice-President and a journalist S. Bhattacharjee. 

Major Burn-Murdoch, a pioneer who will be remembered for his work to promote hockey in India was responsible for Indian hockey's first overseas tour in 1926, formation of IHF and for sending the team to Amsterdam for the Olympics. Charles. E. Newham, the Vice-President was a journalist by profession and was the President of Punjab Hockey Association. He was also the editor of Military Gazette, Lahore and later edited 'The Pioneer' in Allahabad.

THE LONG JOURNEY

The journey which started from Mumbai had to pass many places en route to London. The voyage passing through Aden, Port Said through the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal. The weather changes from the tropical zone to the temperate zone was foreign to most players. Then came the Bay of Biscay, rounding the Cape of Gibraltar - known for this rough seas affected these players with sea sickness. Dhyan Chand kept a serious watch on his colleagues throughout the journey. On March 30th, 1928 the ship dropped anchor at Tilbury Docks, London.

It was beginning of the spring season in London, so it was still wet and cold - a different kind of weather something which Indian players were unaccustomed to. Barring few representatives from Britain's hockey fraternity there were hardly many members from the press. After all, this was the hockey team from India, how relevant were they?

PRACTICE GAMES IN ENGLAND

Indian team played 11 matches in England. The first match was played on a soggy ground as a result of heavy rains and Indian players had no footwear to cope with the English conditions. They lost their first game against Combined Services team 1-2. The next ten matches featured teams which at the best were second best. The British hockey authorities repeatedly refused to field in their international team and by the way Indians started scoring and winning - the refusal to field an international team became firmer. 

At the Folkestone Festival, Indian team played Hockey Association XI (included 9 international players) which they won 4-0 comfortably. In fact, after the Folkestone defeat, many rumours persisted that England was scared of losing to India and hence withdrew from the Olympic event.

And the legend goes, as long as India remained a colony of Britain, they never participated in the Olympic hockey event or played any international hockey match.

Dhyan Chand never had an opportunity to play against the colonial masters, who were responsible to create the culture of hockey in India!

So after losing the first match, the rest of the ten matches yielded in nine victories and one draw. The Indian team and in particular Dhyan Chand was at the receiving end of some praise and kind words from the English press and some even went on to call him the 'Hockey Wizard' and 'human eel'.

Jaipal Singh, S M Yusuf and Nawab of Pataudi. Sr played few games with the Indian team with the former two joining the squad for the Olympics.

   

PRE-OLYMPIC PRACTICE

Bye bye London and hello Amsterdam. The hockey team landed the shores of Holland on 24th April 1928. The first match was scheduled for 17th May and in between they managed to play four practice games in Netherlands, two in Germany and one in Belgium. The party travelled from Amsterdam to Arnheim and then to Hague winning each of the matches by a margin in excess of seven goals.

Then they travelled to Hannover in Germany and won the game 10-0 and defeated Berlin XI in Berlin 5-1. And while on their way back to Amsterdam, they stopped at Brussels, played a game against a Brussels team and won by a score of 10-2. These games not only provided the team much required match practice - but also provided enough time for all the players to get used to the continental conditions.

The grass on the turf was also not properly trimmed which provided with few set of challenges as the ball slowed to the flick and push play of the Indians as compared to the hit and run technique of their opponents.

OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS

Finally, the day had arrived when the entire Indian team could go and realise their dreams of winning the Olympic gold. The first step was to win the round games and then the semi-finals and in the end, the finals.

Who would have give these Indians as favourites except for the teams who watched them play? The first game was against Austria. India winning 6-0 with Dhyan Chand scoring 4 goals. Next up was Belgium, the very next day and quite comfortably Indian won that game 9-0. In the next match against Denmark, the goals continued to flourish from the sticks of the Indian forwards as they won 5-0 and a place in the semi-finals. Switzerland was swept away 6-0 by India and thereby stormed their way into the finals.

The crowd gathered in huge numbers as the hosts were the other finalist. Indians had few players missing, the likes of Feroze Khan, Shaukat Ali and Kher Singh who were sick and Jaipal Singh was removed as the captain for the finals owing to political and with hints of racism. Eric Pinniger, the vice-captain filled the mantle to lead the side.  Yes, the team manager was bullied by ex- Indian Army men in England from the beginning of the tour and they might have had a big role in this sudden ouster of Jaipal Singh.

Dhyan Chand was running with high temperature which persisted throughout the game. But he was an army man, brought up in tougher conditions. He was a soldier and he was playing for his country and the manager had just one simple message - Do or Die.

Indian team victorious by three goals to nil against the hosts thereby winning their first Olympic gold medal. Richard Allen, the goal keeper did not concede a single goal in the entire five matches which saw the Indian team rake up 29 goals out of which Dhyan Chand contributed 14 goals including the hatrick in the finals.

Two days later on 28th May, the team was felicitated with the Olympic gold medals. It was a pity the hockey games were held in May - a good two months prior to the Olympic opening ceremony and other events. Notably, the Olympic atmosphere was missing and India's win provided just the right start for the 1928 edition.

GRAND WELCOME

If there were three who waved goodbyes in March, there were sea of heads welcoming their heroes on their return. A triumphant homecoming for the deserving champions given by the Mumbai hockey fraternity which dispelled all the apprehensions team had.

Mayor of Mumbai Dr. G.V Deshmukh and along with representatives of Indian political circles were among the cream guests which received the team. This grand reception was ended by a hockey match against Western Hockey Association XI (which had won just before the departure). This time the scenario was different, the Olympic team was oozing with confidence. They were not just the Indian Olympic team, they were the current Olympic champions. The Indian team won 6-1 and aptly avenged their defeat of March 4th match which was held before they left for Amsterdam.

END NOTE

The win was possible with the help of many people at many junctures in the past few years leading to and during the tournament. One name was highlighted repeatedly for being the glue for binding the rest of the team in winning those games quite comfortably. 

Dhyan Chand would continue his remarkable journey with Indian hockey as he was instrumental once again for India's gold at the next edition in Los Angeles - which is covered in my next article.  

Dhyanchand or Sachin Tendulkar - Bharat Ratna Debate

Yesterday, I was part of an interesting conversation on Whatsapp group chat - a group of four friends at different locations discussed the merits of Sachin Tendulkar being awarded the highest civilian award 'Bharat Ratna'.

Though no one disputed the man for being awarded, all of us did express our surprise of him being awarded on the day of his retirement. Personally, I am huge fan of his and I would have waited for at least five years or ten years before bestowing this honour on him.

Now that he has been awarded and thereby the first sportsperson to be recognised with the top civilian award - another topic came up. Why isn't Major Dhyanchand recognised for all this hockey achievements?

How many of us remember Major Dhyanchand? A lot of them do but not as much as Sachin Tendulkar and that's the modern day truth. I try to make sense to myself on why Dhyanchand's legacy is caught in a maze of illusion when compared with Tendulkar.

A friend of mine had illustrated about India in which the legend of Tendulkar took its birth. It was a time in India when people had few TV sets manufactured by handful of companies. There was no satellite television and national television had one channel for the whole of India - which then were customised depending on which region you belonged to. Cricket was edging field hockey slowly by the day and Tendulkar accelerated that process.

That was the India I was born and by the time I was barely six, Tendulkar had made his debut and before I was eight years of age, he had excelled in Pakistan, England, New Zealand and Australia.  

Every country loves to have their own set of heroes in any field. The fundamental difference being the nature of fellow countrymen and their reactions. Cricket became the preferred sport and Tendulkar became the hero and much more.

TV sets were on the raise and soon there was cable television with multiple channels - people of India could witness a Indian taken on the best of the teams across the world and excel. Everyone could see Tendulkar bat, or bowl or even field and was well appreciated. There were famous Indian cricketers from the past but none reached out to the common man like the way Sachin did.   

Ardent sports fan always found ways to keep in touch with best of sports stories. Which individual or team stories can one think of - purely from Indian sports context in the 90's? Vishwanathan Anand taking on Gary Kasparov for the world title; Leander Paes winning the bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics comes to my immediate mind. Where was hockey, our national sport? Lost in the past glory and refusing to accept the present.

There were performances by other athletes here and there - none matched the consistency of Tendulkar. Mind you, he was still in his 20's at the turn of millennium and his aura had reached grandly proportions.

 The commerce industry was on the increase in the 90's which resulted in the creation of 'Brand Tendulkar' which became a story in itself. One cannot fault a individual if he is getting a raise in his pay because of his performance. His personal life is set as an example for a lot of families in India.

Then came the darkest hour of cricket - the match fixing scandal. Bulk of the senior Indian cricketers were exposed and out of few guys who came out clean - Sachin Tendulkar was hailed as a saint. The year 2000 was very crucial for Indian cricket and to the world cricket in general with few of the cricket fans choosing the dark side of cynicism over a new hope.

There was dirt all around when the exposé took place and Indian cricket had to re-build its image. Cricket in general needed a fresh start. Sachin Tendulkar along with Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, VVS Laxman took up the mantle and took Indian cricket to new heights. Their performance was one of the reasons cricket became and still is one of the heavily invested property in India. Unlike other sports federations in India, development was taken seriously and Indian cricket has never been healthier at the grassroots level.

When you talk about Sachin Tendulkar, he is beyond the statistical world. His personality is strong enough to overlook the petty fights of who's the best cricketer in the world. What does one achieve if he is the best? Will he escape death? Will he cease to become a human being? I am curious to know what does one benefit from being the best. Cricketing wise - he has been a complete player than most of the cricketers in the history of the game. On a personal front though, he is in a stage of infancy without cricket.

What are his next set of challenges?

To understand his two teens at home; help his wife in day-to-day matters; start a new career in development of sports; take up politics; become an entrepreneur or become the recluse he wished to be - the options are plenty.

The opinions will always be divided no matter what and when it comes to Tendulkar both sides of the argument attract tremendous attention. As a cricketer he had to cope with simple expectations multiplied by countless ocean of people from different backgrounds and cultures; he was expected to help Indian win matches and score runs every match. Now what are the new set of expectations?

He had a flawless professional life and personal life thus far - but he knows with each passing day the responsibilities will only increase. It will not be as a player and life outside of cricket field. 

People would continue to have expectations more than any athlete in the history of sports. The 22-yards and the cricket field provided the perfect refuge from all the pressures - it was one place where he felt at ease irrespective of the opposition he faced.

As he prepares to lead a life of an ex-cricketer - he is now bestowed with Bharat Ratna and with it comes scrutiny of another level. Such is a life of this persona that he can never lead a simple life. His own talent, extraordinary abilities and discipline have made him to lead this uncommon life in a country of common men.

Give me a worthy guy to succeed and I shall find a cynic who thinks otherwise. And now the debate of Dhyanchand or Sachin Tendulkar is becoming a battle of egos.

Who would benefit from Dhyanchand winning the award? What has been done to Dhyanchand's legacy in the name of National Sports Day in India? What is happening to Indian hockey?

Yes, Indian hockey has won eight Olympic gold medals since the time they made their debut in Amsterdam in 1928. Six gold medals on a trot and the first three involved Dhyanchand - which included the famous victory at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in front of the Nazi regime and Hitler.

What is its relevance now? The last time India won a hockey gold medal was helped by the cold war which saw many of the countries boycotting USSR led Moscow Games. That was in 1980 and my parents didn't even know each other. It is part of history.

I love history but history to me is convoluted. It does not give me the right answers to my questions - it always leaves me with unexplained situations and on top of it all it narrates countless myths when it comes to specific people or events.

We like metaphors because it is soothing, appealing, poetic and dramatic as compared to simple reports or bland narrations. I, like many would get lost in these metaphors created by few writers. For Tendulkar there are plenty of written and visual evidence; on the other hand Major Dhyanchand, sadly very few saw or has been written about him.

The Union Government of India had instituted Dhyanchand lifetime achievement award in 2002. The National stadium which hosted the inaugural Asian Games in 1951 was later renamed as Major Dhyanchand Hockey stadium in New Delhi. The National Sports Day which falls on August 29^th of each year also happens to be his birthday.

How many of us remember where he is from? The town he hails from is more popular by a woman patriot by the name of Laxmi Bai. Who can accurately prove which place he was born? Do people know he was an ex-service man who served for the Army in pre-independence and for a decade after independence?

Major Dhyanchand's statue in Jhansi

The famed four hands and four hockey sticks myth of this hockey wizard remains a mystery though it is very much part of Indian sports folklore. He played for pride because he mostly played in the pre-independence era. For independent India, it was all about helping Indian hockey unlike his playing days.

He was short of money towards the end of his life and was unrecognised by nation and at some of the tournaments he went. He died of liver cancer in 1979 in AIIMS in a general ward. Is that the way one treats an icon never mind a potential Bharat Ratna candidate?

Indian hockey and its decline over the years have not helped to elevate Dhyanchand's legacy. The best way to honour according to me would be - To make the national sport, a sport for the nation. Make it a governmental priority through Sports Ministry as BCCI does not need any help from the government funds. India has a lot of space for team sports outside cricket.

Any institution is governed by politics and this aspect is magnified when it concerns Government. Governmental awards over the years have always had political influence in some way or the other. People have different opinions of the same topic and awards are no different.

Why the reluctance to award Dhyanchand, the top honour of India all these days? Why blame Sachin Tendulkar if he is being awarded instead of Dhyanchand. Why should Tendulkar step in and say who deserves the award or not? How does their value legacy diminish by not honouring this award?

Dhyanchand's autobiography ‘Goal’ starts with the lines “Needless to say I am a common man.”  Looking at the legacy and upbringing of Tendulkar, he too is a common man. Their achievements in the sports field are uncommon. Their names are, have and will be exploited and used as means to spark debates of all kinds.

Will it silence the debate once in for all if both these sportsmen were awarded jointly? I guess not... 

A Man with Four Hands and Four Hockey Sticks - Dhyanchand's tryst with Mythology

Major Dhyanchand would have celebrated his 108th birthday today if he were to physically present. Like his son Ashok Kumar once mentioned – “My father became more popular after his death”.

Field Hockey, being India’s national sport was consumed intensively among people until the 1980’s. Gold as a metal is not deficient in India and is a national treasure linked with traditions and rituals; the same is for Olympic gold in hockey. After 1980 Moscow Games, India has tried hard and each occasion we have failed. Not just gold medal, even silver or bronze is a destination too far in field hockey at the moment. We have eight gold medals including a six-game streak since the time India made its Olympic debut in hockey way back in 1928 at Amsterdam. If not for the World War II, there could have been two more added to the list. ‘If’

There are lots of stories linked to Dhyanchand, who by the time retired from the army had contributed enough both in his field of work and more so for hockey. He was a ‘Major’ at the time of his retirement and the name has stuck since the time it was conferred upon him.

August 29^th is officially India’s National Sports Day. A lot of events take place commemorating the occasion and many of the national sports awards are given away by the President of India. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (the highest honour for an Indian athlete), Arjuna Award (excellence shown by an athlete), Dronacharya Award (excellence in sports coaching), Dhyanchand Award (lifetime achievement award) and Sports Development Award titled ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar’ with categories such as: Nurturing the young talent, providing financial assistance, establishment and management of sports facilities and academies and employment and welfare measures for Sports persons.

The National stadium in New Delhi, which hosted the inaugural 1951 Asian Games, is an exclusive hockey stadium at present. It is more popularly known as ‘Major Dhyanchand Stadium’ since 2002.

Along with these above mentioned highlights, there are many stories that involve Dhyanchand. He is known to be Pele of hockey or for that matter Sir Don Bradman himself had admitted and compared to Dhyanchand goal scoring abilities to his run scoring ability in cricket.

Legend has it, Hitler after seeing ‘The Wizard’ humiliate the German hockey team at 1936 Berlin Olympics offered him a higher rank in his army and a German citizenship. Dhyanchand declined this offer and went on with his life, the way he knew after having picked up his third gold medal.

Sometime in the late 90’s, at a quiz forum there was a question on an athlete whose statue with four hands and four hockey sticks being erected by the residents of Vienna. Who else but Dhyanchand? Yes, that was the most popular guess and it has been a popular trivia for a long time. When I was researching for sports questions, I always wanted to find a picture of this statue and put it as a question. 

After good number of years, my patience finally ran out and I began to wonder if this story has any basis. If it were to be true, why isn’t a single photograph of this on Google or atleast the location of this statue? Indians travel a lot and out of these tourists, I would expect a small percentage to have knowledge on Dhyanchand. They would have surely found this. And isn’t this matter a curious one for the field hockey fraternity?

While the search for this picture or the location was on, I realised and asked the Austrian Hockey Federation directly on this. In one sentence they wrote back to me “Nein, die Geschichte stimmt nicht. Es gibt keine Statue in Österreich”; which translates to - “No, the story is not true. There is no such statue in Austria”. This is in response to me asking if they had ever come across a statue of Dhyanchand with four hands and four hockey sticks.

Honestly, I would have loved to see it being true. However, the sheen on Dhyanchand exploits does not diminish an iota by the mere absence of a statue, a symbol if not anything else. The legend of this story continues even today that such a statue exists. It might be an exaggeration or a poetic license or whatever you call it in literary terms. I could relate to it being true and I do not need any physical presence of a statue to tell me this. Such was his domination and I say no more.

As I conclude writing this, the kid in me wishes some resident of Vienna would one day discover and exhibit this statue, which was found while he/she was cleaning or looking for some antique or precious stuff of their ancestors at the cellar or roof of their house.