The gathering was small, but impressive. The arrangements were simple, but befitted the occasion, oozing an aura of solemnity. Two triple-Olympians (Col. Haripal Kaushik and Harbinder Singh) and assorted hockey personalities assembled at the lawns of the capital's National Stadium, about 100 feet from Major Dhyan Chand 's statue, on the evening of Friday, the 5th May.
This day was the seventh day since Shankar Lakshman last breathed; those present were to pay homage to the departed soul. Jalandhar's Haripal Kaushik, often Shankar Lakshman's room mate, and peer in both the domestic and national hockey team, was thoughtfully invited for the occasion. Kaushik, like Lakshman, played in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics.
Before the condolence meeting commenced, all the dignitaries assembled near the Dhyan Chand statue at the National Stadium, garlanded Shankar Lakshman's portrait and observed a minute's silence.
Kaushik was invited to garland a big size portrait of Shankar Lakshman that was placed at the podium on which legendary Dhyan Chand's statue stood. The same was followed by triple Olympian Harbinder Singh, irresistible R.S. Bhola, 1956 & 1960 Olympian, World Cup hero Ashok Kumar, fellow team mate from the 1975 World Cup winning team H. J. S. Chimni, Dronacharya Puraskar winner Rajinder Singh Sr. and J. N. Tyagi, IHF treasurer.
A stream of hockey trainees from both the Air India National Hockey Academy and the Hockey Training Centre participated in a floral tribute part.
40 odd jawans from the Maratha Light Infantry (the unit Shankar Lakshman belonged to) led by Col. R. K. Sharma, Officer in-charge of Mission Olympics in the Indian Army, were there in upright uniform, lending an aura of dignity to the Condolence Meeting.
Back to the stage on the grass grounds, one of the organisers of the function, yours truly from the Hockey Journalists Association, gave a brief introduction on the life and times of Shankar Lakshman, a unique player who played six finals for India, 3 each in Asiad and the Olympics, in a decade that stretched between 1956 and 1966. A handout extolling the achievements of Shankar Lakshman was simultaneously distributed.
First to speak was Col. R. K. Sharma, who in the true army traditions, was brief and pertinent in his points. "To keep up the spirit of Shankar Lakshman, the army will endeavour to produce many players like him", Sharma looked honest.
Sqdn. Ldr. Kamal Choudhry, former Member of Parliament, and the organizer of the popular All-India Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey Cup, paid his sincere tributes. Commander P. K. Mahanand, noted weightlifting champions and writer, expressed sadness that Lakshman's welfare was not properly taken care of by the powers that be. HJS Chimini, on his turn, reminisced his boyhood vividly; "I was in sixth standard and we used to go and see games in which Shankar Lakshman played".
R. S. Bhola, who brought with him an album containing vintage images, was at his best. He informed that Shankar Lakshman was second goal-keeper for the team that took part in the 1956 Olympics. "I saw potential in Shankar and recommended more training for him. Shankar grabbed the chances with both hands and went on to figure in three Olympics".
R. S. Bhola pleaded, "I request the IHF and the institutions for which the players belong to, should do more and evolve a system of recognition of players' services. Why not a fix a honorium to the family and a condolence meeting for every Olympic medallist? It's not going to cost much, but only some efforts", he said.
Accepting a view expressed from an earlier speaker - who said that Shankar Lakshman stopped 90 percent of the shots he faced - Harbinder Singh minced no words. "The 1964 Olympic Gold and the 1966 Asian Games gold were largely due to him. In 1964, Pakistan got a penalty corner a minute before the final whistle which awesome Munir Dar executed. Lakshman took it on the chest, and the Pakistanis got three rebounds but every time, Shankar's defence could not be pierced. When a sardar player got injured during the final, he exhorted him, "What kind of sardar you are, come and play".
Harbinder urged the sporting public to be more conscious and aware of our great players. "The present generation does not know much about former Olympians as they are hardly projected in the media."
Ashok Kumar, son of the legendary Dhyan Chand, suggested the staging of an exhibition match in the memory of Shankar Lakshman. "My father liked Lakshman for his committment and dedication to the game," Ashok recollected.
Chief guest Col. Haripal Kaushik expressed happiness that someone thought of remembering a great player as Shankar Lakshman. He felt sad the Indian legendary stable is getting depleted as time passes by.
Having said these words, he turned furious on authorities. He fumed, "Influential people are heading the organizations like the IHF and the IOA, which also get a lot of public money. Why are they so indifferent towards legendary players who brought India Olympic medals, and allow them to die unsung and unheralded? Not only do they fail to organise a condolence meeting, they don't even bother to send a condolence message to the bereaved family".
The only help Shankar Lakshman received from the state was a Rs. 25,000 cheque towards his treatment from the Madhya Pradesh Sports Ministry. The Indian Hockey Federation had long forgotten its former captain. "They did not even know whether he is still alive or dead," his grandson Vikram had once remarked in an interview.
Only sore note on the otherwise thoughtful function was near absence of media. Just two television channels and a few from print media were there to record the occasion for the posterity. I tried to justify this to the fact that rarely in Delhi has a condolence meeting been held to pay homage to a departed Olympic hockey player.
Photographs and text courtesy Arumugam of Stick2Hockey.com
