ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to read…yes, I said read and not watch for a change ... a brand-new book “Dreams of a Billion – India and the Olympic Games” by Boria Majumdar and Nalin Mehta and published by Harper Collins. Books have always been part of my prized collections and my earliest memories of sports related books were two dog-eared nondescript ones – the first laid out all the fielding positions in cricket on a green oval and served as my first lesson before taking the field; the other captured the story of Pheidippides and his run from Marathon to Athens and how be breathed his last. Tucked away in that book was also the story of a short man – the 5ft 3 in Baron Pierre de Coubertin, father of the modern Olympic games. Many years later, I had the good fortune to witness the Athens Olympics where Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the silver in Men’s double trap shooting. ‘Dreams of a Billion’ arrives at the opportune moment to stoke the fancy of not just my imagination but that of a billion Indians and captures the story of India and its tryst with the Olympic games over the decades.
Tucked away in “Dreams of a Billion” is ninety pages dedicated to the fascinating story of Indian Hockey. This comprehensive section tells the story of the years when India was a superpower having won six straight Olympic golds between 1928 and 1956 and a record twenty-four consecutive matches. Also featured is the pyrotechnics at the Fuhrer’s Berlin Olympic games in Berlin in 1936 where besides the fantastic run on the field, the Indians were the only contingent not to perform the raised-arm salute to Hitler, save for the Americans. The story then moves to how hockey caught the imagination of a new India and emerged as ‘the National game’ in the post-colonial era and the debacle in Rome 1960, followed by the sweet revenge in Tokyo 1964. The book stands out for its astute dissemination of the events leading up to India’s meek acceptance of the international shift to astro-turf on the one hand and the domestic politics and the North-South divide on the other. The origins of the problem are detailed out exceedingly well with a plethora of interviews, first hand anecdotes and backed up by mail trails. The decline of Indian hockey is not on account of lack of facilities; on the contrary it is the reluctance to adopt scientific coaching methods and the development of a strong succession pool of youngsters. Not withstanding all this, the development since Rio 2016 bode well for the sport and three triggers of fitness, confidence and international exposure are bound to yield results in Tokyo.
The highlight of the book though is the delightful narrative dedicated to a ringside view of the athletes who have made India proud in recent times. Titled ‘The Ringside’ it is the story of PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar, Abhinav Bindra and Mary Kom. The writers weave in the arduous journey of Gopichand as he sets up his academy that goes on to become an assembly line for manufacturing world class athletes and overcomes logistical hurdles to emerge as “Guru Gopi”. There are five recurrent themes to watch out for as you flip the pages. The first one revolved around the brutal sacrifices that go into the ‘smelting’ process to create champions. It is quite amazing how this feature transcends the story of all the athletes whether it is early morning training or stringent diets for days on end or even discipline in giving up access to phones! Second, is practice and more practice. As Bindra says upfront “The Olympics don’t come every five years, they come every day”. Each and every story talks about how you need to perfect your craft at the international level. Third is the stories of inspiration. Dipa fights poverty and lack of facilities while Bindra overcomes epilepsy to shoot for gold. Fourth is the story of humility and sacrifice. As Mary Kom says “The maid hasn’t come today, and I will also be doing the dishes in a while” says the five times world champion a month ahead of the Olympics! And finally, an amazing insight into what it takes to deliver. Gopi’s academy in Hyderabad got no media interest in the first four years and is now the cynosure of all eyes. He says “A champion to me is a player who knows how to keep winning consistently. To know how to win is an art”
Hidden away towards the end is an emotional section that you cannot afford to miss. This captures the story of the forgotten heroes that include stalwarts of their time like K D Jadhav who won bronze for wrestling in Helsinki in 1952, the references to India’s hey days in football showcasing the legendary P K Banerjee who passed away recently and on to Milkha Singh. The section also pays tribute to Leander Paes who can potentially make history in Tokyo with his seventh Olympic presence. P T Usha and her loss by one hundredth of a second to Romania’s Cristina Cojecaru is of course the stuff that caught the nation’s fancy for many years! Needless to say, one must mention the contributions from Sir Dorabji Tata and the Maharaja of Patiala who actually set the ball rolling for India’s entry into the Olympic games well before Partition.
The book also sets up a nice cameo on the commercial side of sport that makes you reflect. Globalisation and the advent of satellite television soon after India’s 1983 World Cup win unlocked the commercialisation of cricket and the huge advertising outlays meant a new consumer economy. As the authors go on to say “The rise of commercial television formed the basis of a new notion of collectivity, expressed as the middle class and based on the idea of the democratization of aspiration”
And finally read “Dream of a Billion” to understand the intricacies of India’s sports system. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has introduced the TOPS program that has reached out to a lot of talent across the country and is a sure-fire catalyst for the future. The references to ‘class racism’ leading to food being allotted basis rank and not requirement make you sit up and contemplate at the challenges that our champions have to contend with. The opportunity for the private sector and the new beginnings made by select corporates delineate the headroom for constructive partnerships in the area of sports development.
Needless to say, there is much much more in the book. Notable are the sections related to the Army’s contribution to sports as also the woefully brief story on India’s Paralympic sportspeople. The stories of the exploits of Deepa Malik in shotput and Devendra Jahajaria in Javelin are emotional and gut wrenching. It leaves you asking for more and this is the only section where the research and anecdotes fall short.
In conclusion though, I struggle to find that one word or phrase that can do justice to this wonderful and authoritarian work on India’s journey through the Olympics as a prelude to the Tokyo games which will possibly have the largest Indian contingent as also the highest medal chances. More than the facts, documents and inspirational lessons that the book has to offer, what stood out for me is the lucid style of narration, peppered with anecdotes and quaint little incidents laced that take you virtually to the arena that houses the world’s most prestigious athletic pursuits. The authors have painstakingly put together want I would describe as an anthology that pays tribute to India’s Olympic history and inspires the generations to follow!
