I’ll tell you about what one thing I love a lot. There’s this thing called football that makes me ecstatic to the core.
How did it happen? Well, I have vague memories. So, to save the memories….I’m pinning them down.
I was always a sporty girl. We used to play in our neighborhood every evening. Football like kids…I remember scraping my legs everyday. This was with Arpita, Ankita…I remember scoring goals and Arpita was very good at it. I would go regular but was never crazy about it.
Now about my school St. Agnes that time, I remember something like 10% of my school years. I remember being a class leader and doing chores…being a teacher’s pet and stuff. Doing dances, and getting ready for a dance, missing classes for rehearsals. And I don’t remember playing at school or stuff. I remember so less of St. Agnes because I didn’t have fun. And didn’t have moments there to cherish and stuff. I HAVE to draw a conclusion like that because seriously I remember so little.
Okay then came this transition….I shifted to this new school, DAV Modal School. So, the first thing I was excited about going there was that Roshni was in the same school and at that time she was this huge idol. You know how you had big didis as your idols that age. Well Roshni was mine in class 5. J Well, that time I never knew that I’d love this school with all my heart, I never knew I’d make the best group of friends, I’d never knew that I’ll start playing football and fall in love with the game. But it happened. Thank God it did.
In DAV I found this new freedom and took it all in. We had a group of friends me, shankha, golu and anirvan and then I had Mona and Dipanjali as great friends…no wait, I won’t drift away from my topic.
In DAV the guys would play football every games period. Every. I would look at them and watch their matches. Playing a little football every evening at our para, I figured I wasn’t that bad in comparison to them. So I started begging Bera sir to give us a ball, so we could practice simple shots, play among ourselves. That time Mona was my partner in crime. We would rebel and whine until and unless the ball would come to us. Hence we practiced, most of the girls. However idiotic we played, we practiced and I kind of made up my mind to play better and better, I had to get in the guys game. Had to. I had to fight for it.
I got better I guess, could hit the ball high and stuff. The guys would then mock and pass comments. They’d say something like “Loser, that girl plays better than you. Feel ashamed” to some guy who’s just plain bad at playing.
So as the days progressed, we kept practicing and it was high time to fight for mutiny because we actually played better than some of the boys who were allowed to play. So it was unfair that we wouldn’t be allowed to.
So on this bright summer day, famous on the history of DAV, we girls rebelled with our little minds and fought for justice. The fight followed tears for little girls were told things that didn’t make sense to them and were said that they were weak, that guys were made powerful ( idiots ) and girls were fragile and feeble. I mean thinking about those comments now pisses me off with the same anger like those days. We didn’t lose hope….fought on with the Gandhian philosophy of not being violent and striking at the conscience of the opponent. :P HAHA. Anyways I remember not 1 person helping us in our little struggle. But once instance suddenly pops up. This was Shelley madam. We were sitting in our class, me and mona…morose and down and helpless. We had fought a lot with Bera, the princi and were tired of the sick society, the sick people around us. Then Shelley madam comes into the class for something and asks us what’s happened. That was the time we were so tired of everything around, that we spoke our hearts to her. I remember she said something like, it’s never easy to start something new, and that this society has always been impartial to guys and that at her time it was even a lot harder. She said that we had to fight along and it was of no use sitting down and feeling doomed. That there kicked our spirits and even now when I look at her, back of my mind I remember those words. I am so thankful to her even though we make fun of her, but I respect her for what she had done. So many things have happened since. This thing is making me nostalgic, my god.
So we fought with arguments to arguments, cursed the men around us, practiced even more.
Bera Sir let us play one day. But we knew this was some kind of an attempt to cool us down. We played that day, the guys weren’t helping, didn’t let us in the team like a team.
Bera comes us and tells us something like “this is not meant for you. Why don’t u stick being a “girl”? It was soo sad you have no idea. I still have the urge to kick that guy hard in his balls thinking about whatever he had done and said to us that phase. Fat old guy.
Anyways, we fought and fought and finally somehow the class guys saw that to stop this entire trauma in the games period, they had to say yes to us playing. Because our rebel was somehow disturbing there game. And this time the whole bunch said yes not because they wanted to but because they had to.
Anyways we had won the chance to play, but still had to win the team. That happened when I started playing well. I remember I was a pretty strong girl physically and could kick the ball pretty hard. So it wasn’t that hard for me to come up with surprises mid way through the match.
You know why the guys and girls didn’t patch up those days…it was because of how we thought about things, the guys would think girls were nuts, girls would think the guys were idiots. And there was this huge competition between the sexes.
I started playing better day by day, and thank god started making friends with all the guys. I remember the other girls other than monalisha didn’t stick longer to playing. Monalisha would be there.
Then came the point where I started playing with them in every game not only football, I would hang around with them and they would be my friends. Monalisha was the only girl in the same group. Progressively, being good at sports and all, beating the asses of some guys….I would be stereotyped as a guy. However stupid that may be. :P
Anyways football became a very important part. I would play in the evening with the same group. The best part now was that the guys would take me as a teammate. Would let me play in the important matches, the inter class ones.
Meanwhile I had bought a football, my parents finally said yes to my long cherished desire of owning one.
Seeing the same group that would protest against me, now accepting me as a good player and fighting for me if some team would disagree to play in a match with a girl in the opponent, that would make me feel so proud.
The seniors coming up to me and saying things like “You are the only representative of us girls fighting out with the guys”, the seniors coming up and asking me to give them lessons in soccer. These would make me proud.
And then came Nesha. I remember teaching her football in my own small way. She would join me and Mona in football. I even remember her scoring a goal. It was amazing. That made me proud again.
Meanwhile I became a good player in the team, would shout out commands and stuff, would score goals, and was a player the team needed in defense. We would skip classes, bunk them and run out to play. Now the whole school was fine with me playing and thought that I somewhat a good palyer. We even started playing volleyball and I was good at it. So latterly I would hang out with the guys and talk to them the whole day. They were my friends.
Class 10 got me playing my best game. This year I learnt a lot of football. And now I’m pretty good at it. Class 10 gave me the best of friends who I love a lot and they love me back. And football became a part of my life. We started playing with other schools….it was all so normal now. And now when I think about the whole fight, it’s incredible. Makes me feel I did SOMETHING good after all.
Now when I look at these girls from class 6 or 5, I’m not sure which class, who play in their class team, I feel the proudest. As if our fight had some meaning. And then they come up to me and go giggly and say things like “aap humlog ko thoda sikhayenge” They tell me when they have their games classes and would very seriously ask me if I would be free that time. I feel the proudest.
And even though I want to get training somewhere because I lack at the technique, but you don’t get whatever you desire. I mean where would I get so much field to play on if it wouldn’t have been for IIT. It’s never struck me that I want to play to achieve stuff, I’ve always wanted to play soccer because I love doing it. I love defending. I love stopping goals. I love scoring them. I love how I have this huge adrenaline rush seeing the attacker chase with the ball. I hate it when I play bad. Yes, I take this whole thing seriously. And that’s only because I love doing it.
It has been a long story and there has been so much more than what I’ve mentioned here. And the best thing is that I still have the same rush of excitement in me thinking of playing football. The best thing is that there hasn’t been a day that I haven’t thought about football. The best thing is that I long it to strike 4 pm now so that I can rush off to play. The best thing is that I get to see such awesome players in my contemporaries who inspire me and push me to play better. There’s so much more to say….and as I ponder on those days and ask the guys if they remember, they say they do. And there side of the story is a whole new thing. I’ll leave for anyone of them to type it down. HEHE. Just kidding. And here’s what’s the…
Bestest bestest part, the game is ON guys. 4 pm today. Let’s hit TATA steel.
LOVE LOVE
SAM B
----Wrote this a week and a half back. When I started writing it I just wrote it in one flow and got so overwhelmed in the process. That's only because this whole thing is a big part of me. Hope you enjoyed...
It's awfully bad. Had to do with my webcam. And you can't even see me. And had to keep it short because of the video size restrictions :P
Anyways thanks for stopping by,
SAM B
