<p class="bodytext">Hockey and Kodagu are synonymous. My love for the game began in the 1950s, when, as a schoolboy, I played hockey with my friends on makeshift fields. We used wooden sticks, including home-crafted jungle wood ones, and ordinary cork balls, as regular sticks and balls were expensive. I have plenty of memories that evoke mixed feelings.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I joined Government High School in Somwarpet for my secondary school education. The school had a good hockey team, and watching the team play rekindled my interest in the game. At weekends, matches were arranged against prominent teams from the district. Locals thronged in their hundreds and enjoyed the matches! Though I was not on the school team, I nearly perfected my game playing with friends.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After PUC at Madikeri, I joined KREC, Surathkal (now NITK), for engineering in 1960. We had a balanced hockey team captained by Archibald Britto, and I too was a player. We regularly participated in the Monsoon Hockey Tournament in Mangaluru and failed to impress the first two years. But in the third year, we were runners-up. While playing a match against KPC Polytechnic, we were 3-1 up just past halftime. Due to an emergency, one of the referees pulled out. The play stopped suddenly.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After a discussion among the tournament official and the two captains, I was given the privilege of officiating as the referee! Eventually, my college won 4-2, and the captains complimented me. Later, our captain, Archibald Britto, remarked, “Muthappa was a rule book.” A feather in my cap!</p>.<p class="bodytext">Though selected for the army, I chose to pursue postgraduate studies at IISc in 1965. Dr Satish Dhawan was the director. I played hockey to destress. During one such game in my second year, I was injured with a deep cut above my right eyebrow. After a few anxious moments, I was relieved that the doctor sent me back. I thanked my lucky stars and my friend HMM Swamy, my ward attendant!</p>.<p class="bodytext">The next day, with the odd-looking bandage on my face, I attended my professor’s class. He was none other than Dr A Ramachandran an eminent personality who later became Director, IIT-Madras, then Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, and then Under Secretary General, United Nations. He was also a Padma Bhushan awardee. Dr A R inquired about my injury and advised me to be careful.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Back in my hostel room that day, I decided to quit playing hockey. A few days later, I returned my hockey stick to the Gymkhana Sports Store of the institute, thus ending my tryst with hockey. Even now, as an octogenarian, my passion for hockey is undiminished. India’s victory elates me, but defeat upsets my mood!</p>
<p class="bodytext">Hockey and Kodagu are synonymous. My love for the game began in the 1950s, when, as a schoolboy, I played hockey with my friends on makeshift fields. We used wooden sticks, including home-crafted jungle wood ones, and ordinary cork balls, as regular sticks and balls were expensive. I have plenty of memories that evoke mixed feelings.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I joined Government High School in Somwarpet for my secondary school education. The school had a good hockey team, and watching the team play rekindled my interest in the game. At weekends, matches were arranged against prominent teams from the district. Locals thronged in their hundreds and enjoyed the matches! Though I was not on the school team, I nearly perfected my game playing with friends.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After PUC at Madikeri, I joined KREC, Surathkal (now NITK), for engineering in 1960. We had a balanced hockey team captained by Archibald Britto, and I too was a player. We regularly participated in the Monsoon Hockey Tournament in Mangaluru and failed to impress the first two years. But in the third year, we were runners-up. While playing a match against KPC Polytechnic, we were 3-1 up just past halftime. Due to an emergency, one of the referees pulled out. The play stopped suddenly.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After a discussion among the tournament official and the two captains, I was given the privilege of officiating as the referee! Eventually, my college won 4-2, and the captains complimented me. Later, our captain, Archibald Britto, remarked, “Muthappa was a rule book.” A feather in my cap!</p>.<p class="bodytext">Though selected for the army, I chose to pursue postgraduate studies at IISc in 1965. Dr Satish Dhawan was the director. I played hockey to destress. During one such game in my second year, I was injured with a deep cut above my right eyebrow. After a few anxious moments, I was relieved that the doctor sent me back. I thanked my lucky stars and my friend HMM Swamy, my ward attendant!</p>.<p class="bodytext">The next day, with the odd-looking bandage on my face, I attended my professor’s class. He was none other than Dr A Ramachandran an eminent personality who later became Director, IIT-Madras, then Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, and then Under Secretary General, United Nations. He was also a Padma Bhushan awardee. Dr A R inquired about my injury and advised me to be careful.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Back in my hostel room that day, I decided to quit playing hockey. A few days later, I returned my hockey stick to the Gymkhana Sports Store of the institute, thus ending my tryst with hockey. Even now, as an octogenarian, my passion for hockey is undiminished. India’s victory elates me, but defeat upsets my mood!</p>