Balaji, P.O Box: 18–19, Memory Lane, NIT - Trichy
Don’t just roll the ball of life - kick it.
The evening sun shone blissfully on the grains of sand lying still on the football ground of NITT, casting a hue of bright orange and gold. With eyes glued to the ball resting on the gilded sand, which they would play with foot to foot for one last time with each other, stood a group of players in white jerseys.
NITT Football team’s farewell match, where one would witness the graduating final years play against their juniors in the team, was to begin shortly.
Gazing at each of his teammates and back to the ball, for once, Balaji, couldn’t help but recall his fresher self who, on 25th of July, 2015 — the very first day of his college — out of prodigious excitement walked straight up to a senior on the ground in hopes of joining the team right away, his innocent self being unaware of the “Induction” process that was yet to happen. He acknowledges Taveen Singh, the then Vice Captain, as the greatest man to have walked on the campus’s football ground, a source of pure inspiration to whom he owes a lot — for the countless bits of advice and motivation. Bala’s mind rushed with a lot of memories altogether — of talking to Taveen, being nervous during his inductions, getting selected for the centre-back position, practice sessions and tournaments since then.
His thoughts were interrupted as Uzair Iqbal, the team’s present captain began addressing them, probably for the last time on the ground. Bala was once again busy, rewinding the days till the one he first met Uzair. They had met on the first day at the hostel, but only as people belonging to adjacent rooms were bound to, and not as football enthusiasts bonding over the game. These people who barely knew each other, had walked together to the ground for inductions, to be later selected into the team for the same position. They’ve come a long way since then, playing together for 4 years, and captaining the team together in their final year.
Captaining alongside Uzair was a sublime experience, Bala summons back,
Uzair knew what was right and wrong in each player. When he saw remarkable potential in a player, he made sure that the latter was in the right track, at any cost. Though he was very strict and particular about fundamentals like showing up on time, he knew how to hold the team high.
Bala gushes about Uzair, with whom he could complement impressively throughout his college days. Together, they successfully managed to set a mark as captains for the team.
Working as a team, particularly without a coach, meant extra efforts from everyone in the team. Having hectic schedules being technical students, practice sessions tended to be the only time where they could play together and make memories worth a lifetime. But there was always a pressure of attaining the maximum possible count of players for the sessions since the past few years. Today, Bala proudly says that his batch had seen a remarkable increase in attendance and commitment levels from their juniors. Although the repercussions for missing practice were dire, the sole reason for the above said improvement was the way every session was panned out. These seniors would regularly watch videos to learn new drills in order to implement them in the training sessions. They even employed one batchmate, Malan Karthikeyan, especially for this, who would stay up all night watching videos, just for the sake of teaching his juniors and keeping them engaged on the field. Though the team knew they were lacking in a coach, who usually would analyze them and their tactics from an outsider’s perspective, the captains never gave up on the team nor let anyone down.
Though they themselves were still learners of the game, and couldn’t analyze the team like a coach would, while still being in it, they, along with their batchmates pitched in every little effort they could. They were constantly concerned about the juniors being bored or discouraged by the seemingly similar drills, for which they had to increase the time spent on carefully planning each practice session. Nevertheless, their efforts paved way and they managed in building an excellent team of immensely talented footballers.
A non-hierarchical mindset was that which helped Bala and his batchmates stay together. They had always discussed things that would benefit the team, together, without letting any trace of superiority brush past one another.
All my batchmates were regular for the practice sessions and I take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of them. I am definitely going to miss them and the team more than anyone else.
His mind wanders off yet again to the sessions where they bonded as a family, cracking jokes about each other, pushing one another to the ground, and tackling them to death. He would definitely miss all the tournaments they’d been to, during which 16 of them had to pack themselves into 4 seats, smartly working on taking turns to sleep for specified periods, after which they’d be kicked down from the berths — no matter what. All those struggles were worth it, for now, Bala only looks back, wishing for more of them.
During the game, watching his juniors in red chasing the ball with utmost focus, Bala says he couldn’t stop admiring the raw talent residing within them. He believes that they could definitely make the best team in the history of NITT.
I just have one request for my juniors- maintain your loyalty to the game, regardless of what the college throws at your already tight schedule. Never slack off at any point. You may have to do crazy multitasking, which definitely won’t fail to give you memories worth treasuring. Do not let yourself regret and yearn in the future, for you may play football at many a place later, but nothing shall match your team and the vibes within this ground.
Bala says with concrete trust in his juniors, who will be lead by Nusri and Akhand next year; the duo, who, according to him, will definitely work harder with dedication and outperform himself and Uzair.
As they assembled for a group picture later that evening, Bala wondered what it would have been like if Uzair wasn’t in the same hostel as him. He adds, reminiscing his college days,
But that is life, right? You expect something and you get something that is completely different from what you had expected. I am utmost happy with what I had these four years.
From being that 90’s kid who grew up in Chennai, loving cricket, with the idea of football nowhere at the back of his mind, to being the 12 year old who never lost faith in himself or the game, regardless of getting frequently smirched on the pitch, it is indeed a huge pat on the back for Bala, for he himself succeeded in taking the spot of Taveen Singh, the man he always looked up to. He says he is out of favour with the captaincy displayed by Taveen and Varun Koundy, the then head. He had witnessed a few of his majestic seniors hit the ground during his time at college, like Vishnu Balakrishnan, Ramakrishnan Natarajan, Satrujit Mohanty, Varun Vimal, Ameet Majhi and Sai Vinayak, who moulded the team to what they are today.
It was quite hard for all these seniors in their white jerseys to play their “farewell” match without instances from the past buzzing via their minds every few seconds. After it concluded, one could see them leaving their much-loved Football ground, where respect was never demanded, but earned. The ground’s faint lighting, which they always considered a snag, seemed to be flickering at their tired faces for one last time.
Uzair, Bala, Srihari, Bhogal, Neeraj, Muhammad, Alok, Advait, Malan, Pani, Noga…the juniors smiled in a mix of emotions as they watched their mentors, an epitome of sacrifice, dedication and hard work, leave the ground, having handed over the team to themselves to take over the future of NITT’s Football.
While Nusri and Akhand are gearing themselves up for a special journey of captaincy, wherein they will be leading what will be one of the most prominent teams of the NITT Contingent, they say they owe every ounce of their confidence in the game and trust in their team mates, to their seniors.
It’s going to be quite hard in adapting to the leave of 12 team members out of which 7 were in the playing XI. For the level of dedication and hard work our seniors have displayed, we definitely have a huge task ahead of us. Evidently, we are going to miss their presence on and off the field. Without their guidance, scoring 13 goals and serving a nightmare to our opponents would have been beyond impossible this year. We’ll strive to maintain the same level of intensity in practice and in keeping up to the principles they have built the team on. Looking forward to winning more tournaments, scoring more goals and living up to the hopes they have vested in us. The Gilphonsi Malpova flag shall keep flying higher.
— Nusri Irfan
Captain, NITTFC 2019-20
Undoubtedly this was the best set of footballers NITTFC would have ever had. They have worked hard, day in and out to shape our team to what we are today. It has been a privilege to play under their guidance and leadership. Our team has undergone a significant transition in terms of fitness, attack and dedication. We promise to take the team further towards success. Thanking our seniors for being our idols of inspiration. Love you :’)
#GilphonsiMalpova #UzBala
— Akhand Singh
Vice Captain, NITTFC 2019–20
