NOT JUST A GAME

NOT JUST A GAME

“ team is not about talent, its about taking a talent and converting it into a system”

                                        ----- Major Dhyan Chand

October. It is the month which makes me most nostalgic about my school days. It is the month after unit tests and before the half yearly exams. It was the month when the winter slowly and hesitantly made its way into our life. It was the month when the moon appears smudged. It was the month of continuous drizzle. It was the month of continuous joy and anticipation.

It was in such a month of October that a remarkable thing happened.

It was year 2002. I was in class 10^th. In class 10 we are under undue pressure to perform. Every didi and bhaiya and uncle and aunty keeps giving us tips on how to perform well in the boards. In order to release the tension we were provided with ODA i.e out door activities period in school. The idea behind it was to ensure that our heads do not explode with tension…!

It was 16^th October. The previous night it rained heavily. On 16^th the sky was  heavily clouded. And a strong breeze was blowing.  It was the kind of day when the heart fills up with joy. And also since it was Wednesday, we are looking forward to our double ODA period.  According to the schedule section G and section F used to have their ODA period together.

Now there exists some sort of profiling in any institution. It was same in our school also. Section G was supposed to comprise of “BRIGHT” students. And given the fact that it had some heavyweights of academics, like HIMANSHU, SNIGDHA, DEEPTHI, it was justified. While section F had the repo of being “NOT SO GOOD” in studies, but they excelled in sports. And they too had the names like SOHANPAL, RAVISH, GOPAL, JATIN to justify their tag.

So in a way the pairing for the ODA period was a pairing of odds. Both the sections had to play together. Most of the guys used to play football. And we used to get handsomely thrashed by them. We too had some players like HRISHI, VIPUL, SIDDHARTH, ISHNATH, ASHISH even our ABHILASH was a handy defender. But we were no match for the coordinated attack of section F.

Due to continuous and heavy rains the previous night the ground was wet. Water had accumulated at places. Though our football ground was not approved by FIFA (!), but still it was playable. But that day some parts of it were real tricky.

Our sports teacher Mr. Ejit Singh declared in the class prior to the ODA that today’s ODA is cancelled and we guys are supposed to stay in class and study. And since the teachers for 2 subjects after lunch were absent those 2 lectures were made arrangement for him, so we have got lots of time and we must utilize it constructively.

There was huge uproar in the class. None of us were willing to stay inside in for 4 hours, especially in such a lovely weather. Ultimately sir had to agree to our persistence.

1^st half:

For the first half we got the goal post located on the side of staff quarters. the writer (urs truly..!) was the goalkeeper. Though I was not the best goalkeeper but I wasn’t very bad either. I used to stop few. And my height was a great advantage for me.!! But our half of the field was very wet. Water had accumulated in most of the parts. But still we decided to get on with the game.

Section F had guys in their usual positions. They had a specialist for every position. Sohanpal, jatin, sheru, and Gopal  for forward. Rahul as their goal keeper. Ravish, ravishanker, karan as their defenders. And such was their talent they could play in any position with perfect ease.

We on the other hand did not have any such fixed position, apart from my position as goal keeper because I was too lazy to run around…! Hrishi, vipul, aashish, nikhil, they all used to put in their efforts. But the team work was not up to mark. And anyways, we were not very serious about the game.

The game started. And within 10 minutes they section F scored their first goal. Well I was not a very bad keeper, but I was no match for their coordinated attack. They used to lure out the defenders and then used to get the ball inside D. after that it was just a matter of time before they scored the goal..!

Apart form their skills, that day they were using some thing else to their advantage. In our half of field water logging had taken place. there was mud. In fact on some portion of the goal line itself, water had accumulated. Thus my movement was limited on the goal line. Also they were taking the ball straight to the muddy areas on the field and were closing in towards our goal without ant tackling from our side, because we section G guys were too proper for it. We were not used to this rough style of playing. We were waiting till they get the ball out of water clogged area, but by that time they were in a good position to shoot the ball and their attackers were also in good places. And thus they were scoring with almost mocking ease.

After the first half which constituted of the 2 ODA periods before lunch the score line was

Section F 5-----section G 0

It could have been far worse if not for some valiant efforts from players on our side. We were not as talented or coordinated, but that day we were just determined not to lose without fight. The 2 arrangement periods after lunch were supposed to make up the second half.

While going for our lunch we were listening to constant teasing from section F guys. We were used to it but that day, something snapped inside us.

For the first time we charted out a strategy on paper. We defined position fro our players. Me as goalkeeper (I was still lazy to run around..!). Vinil, Abhilash and Bhatti as defenders. Siddharth, Nikhil, Hrishi, Himanshu as mid fielders. Ishnath, Vipul and Ashish as forwards. We figured that we concede a goal mostly by passing of the ball, they seldom take a straight shot at goal. So for stopping them from scoring we must cut their cross. For that I was supposed to direct the defenders to check the crossing.

2^nd half:

This time as per rules the goals were interchanged. The new goal post and its surrounding regions had heavy grass covering. And although there were patches of water but they were not as troublesome as the other half.

We had made a strategy that no matter what happens we won’t lose our positions and will play a passing game. We were playing to our strategy. Stictly to our strategy. But section F guys were more used to play according to strategy and they were taking the attack to us. And if we were able to stop them from scoring straightway in the second half, it was because of our combined will to fight. We were not going to give them freebies.

Bhatti was the shortest of us all. He had some sort of hormonal disorder and had stopped growing in height. But despite of this physical setback he was  running all around to keep them away from scoring. Hrishi, siddharth, vipul they all were putting everything to get a good shot at goal. But the water clogging at the other half of the field and the mud was proving to be a nemesis. The ball was staying mostly around the center line.

Meanwhile, that day basket ball coach was absent. So Vikramaditya was free. I mean, he used to play basket ball and since that day the coach was not there he was just whiling around. He saw the match going on the field. He came there and asked us to include him in playing. One guy from section F also came there. So we halted the game and decided to play one player extra on each side. Apparently our rules for the game were not approved by FIFA, just like our field..!!!

Vikram was a fairly stocky guy. And the guy who joined section F was good at football. I guess all the guys of section F were good at everything. So I thought that the slight modification of rules were not exactly in our favour. But I was wrong.

Sheru of section F was constantly making an attempt to our goal and was employing the same water route strategy. But due to some gallant defending by Abhilash, Vinil and bhatti we didn’t conceded any goal in the second half. But still we were under constant pressure.

Vikram who had just joined got fed up with this water approach of section F. getting the first chance, he ran up to me and took off his shoes and kept them by the goal post. He folded his trousers up to his knees and ran back to his position. Almost at that time karan of section F passed the ball to sheru and sheru straightway took the ball into the water and started closing in towards our goal. Vikram ran straight towards him and skidded on the mud, taking sheru down with him and thus canceling the shot at our goal, then quickly getting up and kicking the ball far outside.

This was the moment. This was the moment when section G had shown the raw intent of fight. The desire to win. The audacity to stand up to the best team in the school.  This was the moment when we gave up our studious identity and were ready to fight section F in the manner which they understood. All the guys cheered this tackle by vikram. Each one of us got rid of our shoes. We all folded up our trousers and were ready for real action. We no longer cared to be decent or well behaved or well mannered. We just wanted to show that we too are capable.

The ball was back and the game resumed. At this point of time we were all pumped up with energy. We were shouting our throats out. Encouraging each other. The intent and the desire was evident in our approach. Section F never saw us like this. Guys like himanhsu, abhilash, the writer (urs truly.!) were supposed to be well behaved and decent guys. But today we all wanted just one thing. Just one damn thing.. RESPECT. Our faces were contorted with focus our vocal cords strained from shouting.

Ram of section F, got the pass from Karan around mid field and was skirting past our players. He dodged nikhil, out ran himanshu. Vikram dived with his legs outstretched but couldn’t stop him. He was closing in towards our goal.

Bhatti being hi usual quick self ran up to him and engaged him. He was not a great tackler. But he made his task difficult. Abhilash was checking sheru to cut the pass from ram. I was constantly directing vinil to cut out any angle which may be forming from our movement.  But forget passing, ram was having a tough time just holding on to the ball. Bhatti was quick so he couldn’t beat him in running and bhatti was small and sharp and ram was not bale to make any headway towards our goal. What bhatti did was he  effectively stopped ram for about 20-25 seconds on his own. And then something wonderful happened.

Seeing bhatti’s single fight abhilash left sheru’s side and ran towards bhatti, I was screaming vinil to go and check sheru, himanshu was running in from mid field. Due to the attempted dive vikram may have pulled a muscle because he was slightly limping while running in from hi sposition.

Abhilash, himanshu and vikram they all reached bhatti almost at the same time and they all simultaneously dived at the ball.

Ram was knocked down by this impact. All three of them were fairly healthy while ram was a wiry frame..! The ball was free. Bhatti ran up to it and gave it a kick towards section  F’s goal, as hard as he could. Siddharth took it and passed it to hrishi. Hrishi dodged ravishanker and took a mighty shot at the goal and the ball flew past Rahul (their keeper). It was our first goal of the match.

Vikram rolled over on the field in celebration. Bhatti came running towards vikram. Himanshu and abhilash got up to hug bhatti. I went and jumped over them. And after few seconds I could feel more and more bodies piling up over the huddle. Our TEAM had gathered. And we did what we thought was impossible.

But that is not the end of the story. After the first goal section F never really recovered from the shock. They din’t understamd what hit them. Was it the mad, raw energy of hrishi and siddharth who scored 2 goals each. Was it the griity passion of vinil, abhliash, vikram, bhatti and the  writer (urs truly..!) who didn’t let them score a single goal in second half. Was it the delicate skills of vipul, ishnath and ashish who scored 1 goal each. Or was it the effervescent eagerness of himanshu,  and nikhil in the mid field who choked the travel of ball beyond their point. Himanshu scored one goal too.!

After end of second half

Section F 5------section G 8

Yeah we won the game. Our clothes were completely spoiled. Scolding was due at home. But still we were all smiling. It was the only time when we could beat the mighty section F. we were no match for the type of game and talent which they had, but we had something that day which they didn’t had. We had the heart.

October makes me nostalgic for school. It reminds me of the day when we beat section F. the day when desire overcame talent. The day when I understood the true concept of unity.