For two former India football captains, Shabbir Ali and Victor Amalraj, it was a nostalgic trip when they recalled their interactions with the great Tulsidas Balaram on Saturday.
The two shared their thoughts at the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival in Bhubaneshwar when there was a panel discussion on a book ‘Tulsidas Balaram: The Boy, The Hero, The Tormented Footballer’, authored by Sudipta Biswas.
Sudipta stressed the difficulties he had faced in researching to bring out the biography on Balaram.
“It is a terrific gesture to bring out a book on someone like Balaram whom the entire football fraternity adored during his playing days. He was one of the finest gentleman footballers the country had ever seen,” Shabbir said.
“Balaram sir briefed me a lot about the likelihood of issues one faced when moving over to Kolkata which helped me a lot and he had genuine concern for any young talent growing up the ladder,” he added.
On the other hand, Amalraj, who had the rare distinction of leading all three famous clubs — Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting of Kolkata — said he was privileged to be born in the same area, Ammuguda, from where Balaram hailed.
“Naturally, football greats of those years like Balaram had a great influence on us and I remember him being a very simple human being despite his stature in the world of football,” Amalraj said.
Like many great footballers from the Trimulgherry-Bolarum belt in the City during that golden era of Indian football, Balaram had a huge following especially when he played for East Bengal, according to the former national team captain.
“Balaram Anna’s career is truly inspirational, being a key player in the scheme of things of the great coach S.A. Rahim in 50s and 60s, and if not for health issues, he would have had a longer career,” Amalraj said.
“He was an embodiment of discipline, commitment, passion and hard work. His advice to me was to always have a good attitude despite reaching highs in the sport,” he added.
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