I had the good fortune and blessing of attending the Midfield Maestro book release function a fortnight ago. Here are my observations about the book.
Football. An emotion. A cathedral to its religion, a sentiment of the heaven up above.
The game has always had and will always keep finding new students and lovers regardless of how a country is doing on the global front. In India, we boast about and take the utmost pride in our national game, field hockey. And, of late, since the late 90s, cricket. But still, football never lost its charm among its loyal in my country. It is no exaggeration to say the European Football Leagues, based out of England, Spain, Germany, and Italy, has huge fan bases in India and Indians.
Former Indian football team captain Victor Amalraj (photo courtesy Telangana Today)
Is India so bad at football that its citizens pour their hearts out to clubs on a different continent from theirs? No. A big no. Was India any good in its continent? With two gold medals and a bronze at the Asian Games and eight gold medals, four silver and a bronze at the South Asian Football Federation Championship (SAAF), to name a few, India has done reasonably well.
From Gostha Pal to Dr. Talimeren Ao, R. Lumsden, Noor Mohammed, T. Rahim, Shoo Mewalal, Tulasidas Balaram, K P Dhanraj, Peter Thangaraj, I M Vijayan, and to the likes of Bhaichung Bhutia and from Pankaj Gupta, Syed Abdul Rahim, Balaidas Chatterjee, P K Banerjee, J Krishnaswamy, Stephen Constantine to the likes of Igor Stimac, Indian football has produced some of the finest players and coaches in the history of Asian Football.
From a broader standpoint, when we talk about football in India, many will associate themselves with the eastern state of West Bengal and the southern state of Kerala. Hyderabad, a multicultural city in the south-central region of India, carves itself a vibrant football history in the country. The modern-day citizen might equate the city to biryani, cinemas, and cricket. Still, the once “supply line of Indian club football’, Hyderabad produced six India captains – Sayed Khwaja Aziz-ud-Din, Syed Nayeemuddin, Syed Shahid Waseem, Mohammed Habid, Victor Amalraj, and Shabbir Ali. The latter still holds the record for the fastest Indian hat-trick. He scored three first-half goals against Indonesia at the Merdeka Tournament, Kuala Lumpur, in 1976. In the book, there is one full page dedicated to the origins of football in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Published by Notion Press
One among the heroes mentioned above, very little talked about and celebrated, is Victor Amalraj, a former midfield player and captain of the Indian National Football Team. In his newly launched autobiography, co-authored by Abhijit Sen Gupta, Amalraj narrates his life and times in Indian football. Titled “Midfield Maestro,” the book contains interesting personal chapters of Amalraj’s life, messages from his well-wishers, including top IAS professionals, former India players, and administrators – each reminiscing his playing days with pride and revering him for his kind personality.
Victor Amalraj played for Andhra Pradesh, Junior India Team, Bengal State, and the Senior India Team. His records for India in the President’s Cup, Pre-Olympic Tournament, Jawaharlal Nehru International Gold Cup, Goodwill Tour of West Indies, and Asia Cup, to name a few, speak volumes about his personality and personal and professional discipline. He also played and led three historic football clubs in India – Mohammedan Sporting, East Bengal, and Mohun Bagan.
The forward of the book by V.V.S. Laxman, one of the most artistic batsmen ever in cricket, has what Victor Amalraj is to Hyderabad and Indian Football. The blurb on the front page of the book carries a photograph from Amalraj’s playing days, and the commendation on the back page of the book contains messages from field hockey greats Ashok Kumar, Dhanraj Pillay, cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin and his fellow footballer, T Balaram. And a paragraph about the two authors, a little below.
The book contains eleven chapters. The authors talk about the footballer’s roots in Tamil Nadu, his early days in Secunderabad, his playing days in Kolkata, his India call-up, records, coaching, and his carrier with the Food Corporation of India (FCI), to name a few. The authors conclude by narrating Hyderabad’s Golden Years and Amalraj’s views on modern football and his retirement life. There’s another separate chapter that contains more than thirty rare photographs of Amalraj and newspaper articles that reported on him. A pictorial autobiography, if I may subtly put it across.
Courtesy Twitter
Believe me, when I say this, I have read the book at least 5-6 times by now and am very tempted to tell many things I learned and enjoyed reading. Long story short, Victor Amalraj is an exceptionally talented midfielder with the acuity, acumen to pass the ball, and conscious control from his position on the pitch. An elegant football player in himself, Amalraj hardly came across any booking. Co-author Abhijit Sen Gupta, a senior sports journalist with The Hindu for over three decades, has spoken about the technique, temperament, tasted successes, and memorable outings of Amalraj in his author’s note.
I had the good fortune and blessing of attending the Midfield Maestro book release function a fortnight ago in Hyderabad. Victor Amalraj’s humility, kindness, and respect for others are some values; the younger generation should imbibe.
Overall, the book chronicles the life and times of Victor Amalraj to commemoratory distinction. And as Amalraj himself wishes, I wish the youth of India to carry forward the legacy of Indian football and hope India will regain its lost perch in world football.
