Football days
Like the Malgudi days
Ode to the three chooral kasera (Cane Chairs), these were the VIP chairs which were placed in front of the gallery, where the current players box is, just next to the main entrance to the stadium.
The beginning of my passion for Football, the name we call Soccer in our part of the world.
These 3 chairs became part of our heirloom in 1965, when Santhosh Trophy was played at Kollam, our dearest Thampychayan (Pallan Thoma) as he was fondly nick named by all, was the master of ceremony for any and all football matches I can remember of, which I have seen.
He was the son of my God Mother, Keeyath Annamma Kochamma, from Othara. After the match, the chairs were sold as memorabilia’s and because of him Appa got them and they have been part of the history of my life.
Those days everyone played football, open fields were in abundance in Kerala. Cricket became the new gen national game much later in our life.
Football is the perfect example of a team game.
It’s not practical for all 11 players to score goal!!
Each one has their own defined roles and responsibilities and we have to play ball. We have to pass, defend, and support to score the goal. There has to be a leader, a captain in the ship to mastermind and strategize, we cannot have too many cooks.
Appa used to take season ticket for the football matches at the make shift stadium in Kollam during every football season, and I used to ride with him in his bicycle, sitting on the machine of the cycle, doubles, and we went for every single match. Those days there weren’t many women who came to watch football. There was a designated area for players, player’s gallery, as you enter the stadium on the left side, Appa and I, we were allowed to sit there.
What intrigues me even today is the entertainment, even in 60’s there were band, horns, pipes, peeepee noise, waves, claps, yells, so much noise and all the fancy dress, there was one guy the lone entertainer dressed as a clown, who moves around the stadium making everyone cheer and laugh. The running commentary in Malayalam was so hilarious no one could beat the excitement.
When I was in High School, I used to literally drag my little brother, as soon as school bell rang at 3.30pm, take a bus and that’s when Lata my dearest buddy and me used to get down at Shankar’s Hospital Junction, near her home, and cross the railway track near Jyothi Nikethan and run to the stadium before the match started. We had the best vantage point to see both goal posts and the field.
The gallery was made with bamboo tied with coir from coconut husk, a pride of Kollam; it was very sustainable seating, totally Green made with locally available material. If there was an accrediting Green Building Council prevalent then, a platinum rated green certification for the largest temporary structure would have been awarded without a doubt.
Perfect structural engineering marvel, few days ago they were showing the temporary extensions made to the Russian Stadiums, good lord it truly looked like a Japanese fan unfolding in the sky.
The stadium gallery could withstand, the wind load, the weight of the people, and any sway. The poles were erected deep in to the soil and then the horizontal members were tied to the vertical members and planks were laid to form seats in each step or level, there were hand rails to hold and climb all the way up the gallery. It was amazing.
They used to give this job to contractors who would come in lorry with the bamboo poles and people clad in lunky and no shirt or banyan. They did all the work in the blazing sun with their bare hands, hardly any machinery or automation to talk about. but the structure would stand the sound, excitement, action until the match finishes.
I have stood watching the structure with mouth wide open, in my younger days. This place was just an open ground until the football frenzy started and in a few days the gallery structure would rise up from nowhere.
Amma used to pack for us all sorts of homemade goodies in our school bag, avalosunda, chakka halwa, upperi, ammas fruit cake, nancuts etc and there was always extra for the player chettans.
I remember some of their names Goalie Sethu Madhavan, Victor Manjila, forward Najumudhin and Titus Kurian from KSRTC back Prasannan from Premier Tyres and so many others, we used to be pen friends.
I remember making them draw in our rough book the positions and the offside rule, well to be honest it was very difficult to analyze the offside ever unless it was one or two players. Sometimes during a corner when they deny a goal saying off side it broke my heart.
The country Brazil came to my vocabulary when Appa and Thampychayan, started raving about a man called Pele No. 10, his bicycle kick, scissor cut, his amazing talent to handle the ball and his personality, a thorough gentleman.
My heart went for the people of Brazil, reading about the tough life they had in the ghettos, and how the kids would play football in the sandy beaches from their childhood to keep their lives progressing.
I adored them a lot, their perseverance and commitment and love for the game. When we were young none of the other teams were talked about. All we knew was Pele.
Now things have changed with the cloud and communication. So there are 100’s of favorites hence it’s all about watching the perfect game of JOY. I am grateful for the advent of technology which allows me to see and share the JOY’s of the ROUND BALL, the FOOTBALL.
This is one time my vision of One World, One People comes true to every sense of the statement. Sports, Games, Art, Music, Dance, Drama, Movies bring us all close to each other.
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