A song for the road

It is one of those quiet streets, sandwiched between two busy roads. Not many in Bangalore have heard its name, nor the fact that some of India’s top sportsmen and women lived here in the 70s and 80s.

This is why for those living on the tiny stretch and around, there is something special about Cline Road in Cooke Town.

Kenneth Powell, India’s star sprinter in the 60s lived in a charming cottage tucked away at the rear with a long walkway from the gate. As one who wore his laurels lightly and cycled frequently, Kenny was an inspiring sight until he moved to another area later.
Two houses away was a beautiful bungalow that housed the Britto sisters — Elvera, Mae, Rita and Precy. The plucky foursome led India to several victories internationally in hockey in the 60s when the game received little encouragement. Elvera’s Arjuna award could be seen from the road when the door was left open.

After hanging up their hockey sticks, the talented sisters dabbled in various pursuits and one often saw them zipping down the road in their vehicles or taking their dog for a walk.
Somewhere in the 80s, Roger Binny rented a nice little house opposite the Powells.

Although he lived in relative anonymity, the neighbourhood was all atwitter with excitement for some weeks to have a popular cricketer in their midst.

My cousins who were his neighbours used to regale us with tidbits about how people on their road stood near their gates to catch a glimpse of Binny or how teenagers suddenly started playing cricket on the street. Later, Binny moved to Indiranagar.

Residing there was also Perminder Kohli, the shuttle badminton star and hockey ace Noel Rasquinha who donned Karnataka’s colours in the 70s.

Athletes apart, Cline Road also boasted some other residents who made a mark — Valerie Fernandes, a model and a Miss Bangalore, G I D’souza an indefatigable letter writer, journalist Shankar Chary and his novelist daughter Brinda.

Among the unsung heroes of the street was Selena Nunes who as a teenager ran a lending library out of her home. As regular visitors there, we occasionally caught a glimpse of the sportstars whom we admired and spoke about often those days when there was no television or internet.

On a recent visit, we strolled past Cline Road and when I showed my kids the homes of these achievers, they asked how I remembered. I responded by singing, albeit a bit off-key, the opening lines of the old favourite, Rhinestone Cowboy, modifying it slightly:
“I’ve been walkin’ these streets so long, singin’ the same old song
I know every crack in these thirty sidewalks of Cooke Town...”