Get Set Play
Author : K Kunhikrishnan
Publisher : National Games
Though nothing good can be said about this year’s National Games, which happened in Kerala, and were enmeshed in corruption, scandals and scams, the book Get Set and Play is an exception, writes KUMAR CHEllAPPAN
Coffee table books are not meant for serious reading. Such books are collected by people during their travels as a memorabilia to be displayed on the coffee table in their house for others to see. They could turn out to be an ice-breaker for those who are meeting for the first time and are in a dilemma about where and how to begin a conversation. These books stand out because of their size and contents. The write–ups are brief but the photographs are captivating. Coffee table books are ideal gifts to be presented to those who love travelling and reading but may not be in a position to spend a lot on such activities.
I have seen coffee table books on coffee, tea, spices, art forms and places of interest inviting one’s attention to be picked up and read. There are business establishments which publish such books about their history, activities and self-glorification. Most of these books belong to the read and forget kinds.
K Kunhikrishnan, a media consultant, author, translator and himself an avid traveller all rolled into one has come out with Get Set Play, a coffee table book on the 35th National Games held early this year in Kerala. Though there is nothing good to speak about the Kerala edition of the National Games, which was enmeshed in corruption, scandals and scams from the word go, the book Get Set and Play is an exception.
The title Get Set Play is derived from the motto of this year’s National Games. It is a 200 page kaleidoscopic view of Kerala’s culture and sports sans scams, corruption and scandals. The National Games began way back in 1924 as India’s Olympic Games as a biennial event where athletes and sportsmen drawn from all over the sub-continent could participate against each other and win laurels. The 1940 edition saw the name of the event getting changed to National Games. The degradation of Indian ethos which set in early 1960s saw sporting organisations too getting afflicted with maladies like corruption and favouritism. This resulted in a long gap of nine years between the 24th and 25th editions of the games. The Cuttack National Games of 1970 was followed by the Hyderabad edition in 1979. Please don’t ask uncomfortable questions like why the delay and inconsistencies.
The 26th edition of the Games was held in New Delhi in 1985. Kerala hosted the 27th Games in 1987. It took another seven years for the sports administrators to hold the 28th Games. Now it is a free for all event. While National Games of countries like Japan, China and Korea see athletes setting new Asian and even European records, India’s National Games have degenerated into carnivals! The events are organised as per the whims and fancies of the organisers. The quality of our sports administrators were in full display during the New Delhi edition of the Commonwealth Games which made the country a laughing stock in the global arena.
Sports in India is yet another synonym for corruption and mismanagement. The less we speak about Indian sports the better. People who head sporting organisations behave like feudal landlords, cruel, tyrannical and dictatorial. That could be the major reason why Indian sports remain where it was in the 1920s.
let’s come back to Get Set and Play. A distinct feature of the book is the write-up by Kunhikrishnan about the traditional sports and folk arts of Kerala. Pothottam or buffalo race and Maramadi (Ox race) are spectacles one would see only in Kerala. These offer an insight into the strong bond existed between man and animals. He has also included Onathallu (an indigenous form of wrestling) and Kilithattu ( a team event where six players of one team take on six players of the opposition) which may not have the glamour associated with the Indian Premier league but is a combination of arts, physical power and intelligence.
Kunhikrishnan’s effort to highlight traditional and rural sports is commendable. Efforts should be taken in right earnest to document such rural sports played all over the country. Who knows, a day will come when Kilithattu too would have a premier league!
The 1960s and 1970s stand out as the golden era of sports in Kerala. Each district had an annual all-India football tournament. The three giants from Calcutta, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting were household names in Kerala. Inder Singh, the legendary footballer from Punjab once told this writer that he had more friends in Kerala than in his home State! Thanks to corruption and lack of vision, quality of sports in Kerala as well as India has taken a beating.
Some of the great sporting personalities of Kerala and their achievements find mention in the book. Tennis, rated as a rich man’s game, is a popular sporting activity in Thiruvananthapuram. One will come across casual labourers and people from lower strata of society serving aces and smashes in the tennis courts in the capital city thanks to the efforts of Col GV Raja, a prince from the Travancore Royal family. This writer had a tennis coach by name Vijayakumar, an attender in a Government office!
One is reminded of the books of excellence on cricket, hockey and football brought out by a leading tobacco country in the 1980s. Get Set Play is a book of that genre besides being informative and entertaining. Kunhikrishnan has managed to present some of the best known names in sports journalism like Raveendra Das to pen their recollections about the sporting past of the State. That’s why it remains as the only product worth mentioning about the 35th National Games. Good work Kunhikrishnan and team!