The grounds and the greats

Growing up in Fraser Town in the 1970s, children of my generation were fortunate to have plenty of lung spaces to play all kinds of sports. Everyone was game for spending some quality time outdoors. School sports brought the best out of us and were even covered prominently, sometimes with photos, in leading dailies. These printed sports chronicles, yellowed and brittle, have weathered the years and become much-treasured family heirlooms. But newspaper reporters gradually distanced themselves from school sports.

Kanteerava Stadium, with its cinder track, hosted several sports meets. The athletic events were huge draws, attracting a large audience. A few prominent athletes from Bengaluru who had their training here included Kenneth Powell, Reeth Abraham and Ashwini Nachappa. In 1952, Milkha Singh, also called The Flying Sikh, attended his maiden national camp at this venue.

Before the Chinnaswamy Stadium came up in the early 1970s, cricket buffs hung out at the Central College Ground and the RSI stadium to watch first-class games. Many careers took shape on these grounds. One memorable match played at the Central College venue was the 1979 one-off Test between India and the West Indies. Old-timers may recall the ‘Big Cat’, Clive Lloyd, clubbing the leather into the opposite Government Arts College ground for a maximum.

But my maiden brush with an international match was the 1978 Hockey Test between India and Pakistan at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The game drew a world-record 50,000 audience. I also watched the 1987 cricket Test match, again between the subcontinent’s arch-rivals, at the same venue. Unfortunately, India came off second-best in both.

We seldom played football but joined the throng at the Bengaluru East Ground to watch teams lock horns for the Independence Day Cup. In the old days, the winners clambered on the back of an open truck and rolled through the town proudly displaying their trophy.

Hockey lovers used to frequent the Sullivan Police Ground in Ashoknagar (earlier, the BRV Grounds also hosted hockey matches). The gravel field hosted hockey tournaments: Centenary Shield, Father Eric Vaz Memorial, Father Mervyn Coelho Trophy, Clarke’s Trophy, Maharaja’s Gold Cup, Travancore Cup, and BUS Cup (for non-medallists), besides local league matches.

The Bengaluru women’s hockey team had carved a niche for itself, winning eight Nationals on the trot. One witnessed the cream of Indian hockey turn up for the Maharaja’s Gold Cup, a popular fixture for men. The ground always overflowed with spectators; more often, one bumped into a friend or relative who would turn up to root for their favourite team.

As the action shifted to the Karnataka State Hockey Association (KSHA) Turf ground at Akkithimmanahalli in 2011, now Field Marshall KM Cariappa stadium, tournaments became few and spectators fewer. Cricket stole a march, and hockey took a backseat.

Today, empty seats greet you during a game at the KSHA ground, a far cry from the glorious past. As for me, I now prefer to watch sports on television.