[Writes: Satya]

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हामीले (मैले) जान्दा पहाड़मा विश्वकपले लोकप्रियता कमाउन थालेको हो सन् 1982 -देखि। सन् 1980 -मा सानु खालको श्याम-श्वेत पोर्टेबल टिभी एकदुइजना हुनेखानेहरूको घरमा भित्रिएको हो। त्यो भित्रिनुको पछि पनि खेल जगतकै भूमिका छ। यसै साल भारतमा दोस्रो पल्ट एसियाली खेल सम्पन्न भएको हुनाले काङ्ग्रेस सरकारकी प्रधानमन्त्री इन्दिरा गान्धी, सायद आफैले सूचना अनि प्रसारण मन्त्रालय पनि सम्हालेकी थिइन्, -ले आम मानिसहरूले पनि यो खेलको आनन्द लुट्न सकून् भन्ने उद्देश्यले टिभी -लाई घरघरमा पुऱ्याउने योजना बनाएकी थिइन्। तर सप्पै घरमा पुग्नसकेन। किनभने महँगो अनि त्यतिखेर उपग्रहहरू धेरै मात्रामा स्थापित भएका पनि थिएनन् अनि अन्य कारण पनि केही थिए हुनन्।

यद्यपि भाग्यमानीहरूले दिल्लीमा आयोजित एसियाली खेललाई आफ्नो घरका टिभीमा दुइतीन दिनपछि नै भए पनि हेर्ने मौका पाएका थिए। कालेबुङमा त्यतिखेर पाँच-दस घरमा टिभी थियो होला। त्यसबेला घरको छानुमा रेलको लिकजस्तो गतिलो एन्टिना झुन्याउनु धनाढ्यको प्रतीक हुन्थ्यो। हुनेखानेहरूले दिनैपिच्छे आफ्नु घरको एन्टिनालाई टिलिक्क टल्काएर, सफा बनाएर सजाउँथे अनि बाटामा हिँड़्नेहरू ती घरका अघिल्तिर पुगेपछि एकपल्ट अवस्यै छानुतिर हेरेर छक्क पर्थे। ऐलेको जमाना भए सायद सेल्फी खिच्थे होलान्।

त्यसपछि बिस्तारी-बिस्तारी मध्यम वर्गमा यो टिभी पस्न थाल्यो। कालोसेतो औतारमै। पं. सुदामा र ओमकारको दोकानमा पाइन थाल्यो। अलिक साइज पनि ठुलो खालको आयो। यसरी सन् 1982 -को 13 -औँ विश्वकप फुटबल आयो। जसलाई धेरै कम्ती कालेबुङवासीहरूले हेरे। यो खेलमा इताली विजयी भएको थियो।

यौटा कुरा स्मरण गर्नुपर्ने के छ भने त्यतिखेर टिभीको प्रसारण सम्पूर्णतया सरकारको अधीनमा हुन्थ्यो अनि दूरदर्शन मात्र सरकारी च्यानल थियो। निजी च्यानलहरू त 90 -को सुरूआतदेखि मात्रै आएका हुन्। सरकारको अधीनको दूरदर्शनका सबै कार्यक्रमहरू समयतालिकाभित्र बाँधिएका हुन्थे। सुरूमा केवल साँझदेखि मात्रै देखाइन्थ्यो भने पछिपछि गएर बिहानको कार्यक्रम पनि थपिएका थिए अनि अझै पछि गएर दिउँसो पनि केही समयका लागि कार्यक्रमहरू देखाइन्थे।

यतिन्जेल पनि पहाड़मा आधुनिक सुबिधाहरू जस्तै टेलिफोन, जेरक्स, भिडियो आदि भित्रिहालेको थिएन। एकाध घरदोकान र अफिसमा ल्यान्डलाइन हुन्थ्यो। अँ, रेडियो भने घरघरको सामान्य सामान भइसकेको थियो किनभने यतिन्जेल सरकारले रेडियो बजाउनेहरूलाई लाइसिनमुक्त गरिदिएको थियो। उल्लेखनीय छ, यसअघि रेडियो बजाउनका लागि लाइसिन बनाउनुपर्थ्यो अनि त्यसको कर स्थानीय डाकघरमा गएर तिर्नुपर्थ्यो।

त्यतिखेर समाजमा भित्रिँदै गरेका तकनिकी सामानहरूमा टु-इन-वन रेडियो भन्थे कतिले, कतिले टेप रिकार्ड भन्थे, कतिले क्यासेट प्लेयर भन्थे। ग्रामोफोनको प्रथालाई तोड़्दै क्यासेटको दौड़ सुरू हुँदैथ्यो। घरको सिटिङ रुममा क्यासेट सजाउनेहरूलाई अलि हुनेखाने मानिन्थ्यो त्यतिखेर। युवाहरूमा क्यासेट साटासाट हुन्थ्यो। हिन्दी गीत, जोनी लिभरका हास्यहरू, गुलशन कुमारको टि सिरिजका भजनहरू अनुप जलोटाले गाएका, गुलाम अली, जगजीत र पङ्कज उधासका गजलहरू, पश्चिमे गीत मन पराउनेहरूका लागि अब्बा, इगल, बिटल्स, बे किटी रोलर्स, स्करपियोन्स, डायर स्ट्रेट्स आदि सङ्गीतप्रेमीहरूले खुब सुन्थे क्यासेट प्लेयर घन्काईघन्काई। यसैबेला ट्याक्सी गाड़ीतिर पनि स्टेरियो पसेको थियो र यात्रुहरू पनि गीत सुन्न पाइने वाहन नै धेर छान्थे। यति मात्रै हैन आफ्नो स्वरमा गीत गाउन पनि सकिइने हुनाले टेप गर्ने चल्न पनि चल्दैथियो त्यतिखेर।

हाम्रो सङ्गीत जगतमा पनि ड्रम, हार्मोनियम, भायलिनजस्ता पारम्परिक बाजागाजाहरूको सट्टा केसियो बज्न थालिसकेको थियो। यौटै बाजामा एकसय वाद्ययन्त्रका धुनहरू सुन्न पाइने यन्त्रले साङ्गीतिक कार्यक्रमतिर सबैको ध्यान आकर्षण गर्थ्यो।

यसै समय राजनीतिक परिवर्तन पनि आउन थालेको थियो पहाड़मा। राजनीतिमा रुची राख्ने खुबै कम मानिसहरू हुन्थे। आम मानिसको यतातिर चासै हुँदैनथ्यो। कताकता नेपाली भाषा मान्यताको आन्दोलनमा आम मानिसहरू केही तातिन्थे तर फेरि सक्रियहरूबाहेक अरू चुप भइहाल्थे। भोट हुन्थ्यो। हलोजुवा, गाईबाछी, दुइ पात इत्यादिका चिनोहरू टाँसिन्थे। यसो गर्दैगर्दै सन् 1986 आयो। यो सालले दुइवटा मुख्य कुरा ल्यायो पहाड़मा। एक त गोर्खाल्यान्डको सक्रिय आन्दोलन अनि दोस्रो चाहिँ 14 -औँ विश्वकप फुटबल। आन्दोलन पनि चल्दैछ, फुटबल पनि चल्दैछ। एकातिर कर्फ्यु लागिरहेको छ, अर्कोतिर फुटबलको ज्वरोले समाजको एक तप्कालाई तताइरहेको छ। यतिन्जेल धेरैवटा घरका सिटिङ रुममा चारपाटे बक्साभित्र कालोसेतै भए पनि टिभी भित्रिसकेको थियो। हुनेखानेहरूकहाँ त रङ्गीन पनि आइसकेथ्यो सायद। यसपालिको फुटबल धेरैले हेरे। म्याराडोना भन्ने खेलाड़ी सबैभन्दा धेर लोकप्रिय थिए यो समय। उनकै दल अर्जेन्टिनाले जर्मनीलाई जितेर विश्वकप हत्याएको थियो यो साल। म्याराडोनाले हातले हालेको सिमी फाइनलको गोल खुबै विवादास्पद बनेको थियो। तर रि-प्लेको प्रथा नरहेको कारण, आजजस्तो भीएआर-को अनुपस्थितिमा रेफरीले नदेखेको चोर बाबुसमान मान्नुपरेको थियो। यी खेलहरू दूरदर्शन र बङ्गलादेश टिभी-मार्फत् हेर्नुपर्थ्यो त्यतिखेर। हावा-पानी चल्यो कि एन्टिना हल्लिने, चरा बसिदियो कि एन्टिना हल्लिने अनि टिभीको मनिटर नै भुइँचालो आएजस्तो हुने।

यसपछि तकनिकी प्रगति निक्कै अघि बढ्नथाल्यो। जस्तै – जेरक्स मसिन, मारुती गाड़ी, रङ्गीन टिभी, दूरदर्शनको कार्यक्रमको अवधि विस्तार, हुनेखानेहरूको पाकेटमा वल्कमेन र हेडफोन, टेलिफोन, बाहिरी देशका निजी च्यानलहरू जस्तै सीएनएन, बीबीसी, स्टार वर्ल्ड, एमटिभी आदि। यस कालमा फेरि सम्पन्न भयो फिफाको अर्को 15 -औँ म्याच सन् 1990 -मा। अब घरघरमा रङ्गीन अनि ठुलो आकारको टिभी पसिसकेको थियो। 86 -मा हेर्नेहरू सिनियर दर्शक भए। ऐलेका धेरै खेलप्रीहरूका लागि, जो त्यतिखेर पूर्ण यौवनत्वमा थिए, -का लागि 15 -औँ म्याच नै फिफाको पहिलो दर्शन थियो। 1982 -मा कालो-सेतो अनि सानु आकारमा हेरेको फुटबल 1986 -मा ठुलो आकारमा पुगेको थियो भने 1990- मा चाहिँ यो पूर्णतया रङ्गीन भइसकेको थियो। यतिखेर लाइभ नै भनिन्थ्यो तर वास्तवमा डिलेड लाइभ हुन्थ्यो। रेकर्डिङ गरेर केही समयपछि देखाइन्थ्यो। सञ्चारको व्यवधानको कारण अनभिज्ञ साधारण दर्शकहरूलाई यस्तो कुराको ज्ञान हुँदैनथ्यो। 1990 -को खेल पनि दूरदर्शनमै हेरेका हुन् दर्शकहरूले। यसपालिको खेलमा भने अर्जेन्टिनालाई जर्मनीले मात दिएर अघिल्लो फाइनलको बदला चुकाएको थियो। यसपालि विश्व च्याम्पियन ब्राजिललाई पहिलोपटक देखा पर्ने क्यामारुनले सुरूआती खेलमै जितेको थियो। 90 -को अघि नै मनोरञ्जनप्रेमी दर्शकहरूका लागि भिडियो सुरू भइसकेको कुरा यहाँ भुल्नुहुँदैन। सन् 1983-84 -तिर समाजमा भिडियोको मनोरञ्जनले जरा गाढ़्नथालेको थियो। गाउँघर, गल्लीगल्लीमा भिडियो पार्लरहरू सुरू भएपछि चल्दै गरेका सिनेमा हलहरूलाई धेरै धक्का लाग्नथालेको थियो। 5 रुपियाँ तिरेपछि डबल एट्रेक्सन अथवा दुइवटा सिनेमा हेर्न पाइने छुटले त झन् युवाहरूको मन पुरै जितेको थियो मात्रै हैन बुढ़ीबुढ़ीहरू पनि चम्कीचम्की रातब्याल नभनी फिल्म हेर्न तम्सेर लाइन लाग्थे। कालेबुङमा यतिखेरका जग्गु भिडियो, सिन्कु भिडियो आदिको धार्मिक पुजास्थलभन्दा कम मान्यता थिएन।

90 -को दशकपछि भने घरघरमा टेलिफोन पस्यो ल्यान्डलाइनको रुपमा। टिभी -मा रामायरण, महाभारत, चन्द्रकान्ताजस्ता धारावाहिकहरूले इतिहास रचे। त्यसपछि 94 –को 16 -औँ विश्वकप सम्पन्न हुँदा नहुँदा भारतकै निजी च्यानलहरू र क्याबल टिभीको परम्परा बनि बस्न थालेको थियो। आम मानिसहरू अब दूरदर्शनको भरमा नपरेर निजी टिभी च्यानलहरू पनि हेर्नथालिसकेका थिए। पहिलो देसी हिन्दी च्यानल थियो जिटीभी। सन् 1992 -को गान्धी जयन्तीको दिनदेखि यसको सुरुआत भएजस्तो लाग्छ। त्यसपछि दूरदर्शन र निजी च्यानलहरूमाझ पेसागत प्रतिस्पर्धा सुरू हुँदा सरकारले पनि नियम कानुन लचिलो गरी प्रसार-भारती बिल ल्याउन बाध्य हुनुपरेको थियो। किनभने डा. मनमोहन सिँह भारतका वित्त मन्त्री रहँदा नै आर्थिक उदारीकरण सुरू भएको थियो जसअन्तर्गत बाहिरी निवेशको प्रारम्भ भएको थियो। निजी व्यवसायीहरूसित जुझ्नका लागि दूरदर्शनले पनि आफ्ना कार्यक्रमहरूमा व्यापक फेरबदल ल्याउन बाध्य भएर कतिपय भारतीय निजी कम्पनीहरूसित मिलेर आकर्षक कार्यक्रमहरू थालेको थियो जसमा प्रमुख थिए – द वर्ल्ड दिस विक, आजतक, सुरभि इत्यादि।

यही सन् 1994 -को विश्वकप सम्पन्न भएको बेला दार्जीलिङ-सिक्किममा यौटा ठुलो होलल्लाले मानिसहरू आतङ्कित बनेका थिए जसलाई भनिन्छ आरसी पौड्यालको भविष्यवाणी। उनले गरेको भविष्यवाणीमाथि भर परेर धेरै आम अनि अचेत मानिसहरूले आफ्नो घरबार-जग्गा-जमिन-सम्पत्ती बेचेका थिए। यतिखेर टिभी पनि धेरैजनाले कम्ती दाममा बिक्री गर्दा तल्लो स्तरको परिवारमा पनि यो तकनिकी सामग्री पसेको थियो। पौड्यालले सायद मई 16 तारिखका दिन महाप्रलय हुने दाबी गरेका थिए अनि यसै समय विश्वकप फुटबल पनि सुरू हुनलागेको थियो। रोजर मिल्लाजस्ता खेलाड़ीको उदय भएको साल थियो यो अनि कोलम्बियाका खेलाड़ीले आत्मघाती गोल गरेबापत् उनको हत्या भएको साल पनि थियो। यसै खेलको अवधिमा म्याराडोनामाथि लागु पदार्थको मुद्दा दायर गरिएको थियो अनि उनलाई रहल खेल खेल्नबाट वञ्चित गरिएको थियो।

यतिखेर तकनिकी प्रगतिले उस्तो खासै प्रभाव पारिरहेको थिएन समाजमा। ल्यान्डलाइन भने घरघरमा पस्दैथ्यो अनि गोलका स्कोरहरू साथीभाइलाई आफ्नो टेलिफोनबाटै सुनाउने कामहरू हुन्थ्यो। एसटिडी बुथहरू गाउँघरमा निक्कै स्थापित भइसकेका थिए। त्यसपछि सन् 1998 -मा 17-औँ विश्वकप सुरू भएको थियो। समाजमा कम्प्युटरले आफ्नो प्रवेश लिइसकेको थियो। तर प्रायः नै डस मोडमा चल्थे। आधुनिक भर्सनको विन्डो 95 कम्ती कम्प्युटरमा पाइन्थ्यो। सहरबजारमा कम्प्युटरका तालिम केन्द्रहरू स्थापित हुनथालेका थिए। क्यासेटको बजारलाई सिडी -ले ढाक्नथालेको थियो। सिनेमा हललाई बन्द गर्ने भिडियो पार्लरहरू पनि बन्द हुनथालेका थिए किनभने अब आम मानिसहरूले घरघरमै सिनेमा हेर्ने उपायहरू पाइसकेका थिए। सिडी प्लेयरमा पनि हेर्थे अनि कम्प्युटरमा पनि। यो सालको विश्वकप म्याचको फाइनलमा घरपटी फ्रान्सले विश्व विजेता ब्राजिललाई शून्यको विरुद्ध 3 गोल दिएर भविष्यवक्ताहरूलाई आश्चर्यचकित पारिदिएको थियो।

2002 -को विश्वकप आउँदा नआउँदा प्रायः सबै घरका छानुहरूमा रहेका एन्टिना इतिहास बन्नलागेका थिए। क्याबल र टेलिफोनको तार मनिप्लान्टका लहराजस्तै सिटिङरुमभित्र लत्रिएका देखिन्थे। निजी च्यानलहरूको भिड़ बढ़िसकेको थियो भने लोक्कल टिभीले पनि आफ्नो प्रवेश लिइसकेको थियो। इन्टरनेट भन्ने सञ्चारको नयाँ माध्यमले पनि बिस्तारै आफ्नो हुकुमत सुरू गरिसकेको थियो। यति मात्रै हैन, मोबाइल फोन पनि यदाकदा देखिन थालिसकेका थिए। अब दूरदर्शनलाई बाईबाई गरेर मानिसहरू ईएसपीएन र स्टार स्पोर्ट्सतिर पुगिसकेका थिए। एसियामा पहिलोपल्ट आयोजना भएको यो वर्षको फुटबल म्याचको फाइनलमा ब्राजिलले जर्मनीलाई जितेको थियो।

यसरी नै 2006 -को फुटबल खेलको समयमा मोबाइल फोनले साधारण परिवारतिर पनि आफ्नो प्रवेश लिइसकेको थियो भने इन्टरनेट धेरै नै लोकप्रिय बनिसकेको थियो। फुटबलप्रेमीहरूले फिफा कपलाई आफ्नो टिभीमा मात्रै हैन, कम्प्युटरमा पनि लाइभ हेर्नथालेका थिए अनि स्कोरहरू मोबाइलबाट पनि एसएमएस -को माध्यमद्वारा प्राप्त गर्नथालेका थिए। यसपालिको खेलको विजेता बनेको थियो इताली।

सन् 1982 -अघि एकाध खेलप्रेमीहरूले रेडियो वा संवादपत्रहरूमार्फत् समाचारको माध्यमद्वारा मात्र विश्वकप फुटबलबारे जान्ने गरेको नतिजा अब 2010 -को खेलमा आम मानिसले आफ्नै हत्केलामा पाउन थालिसकेका थिए। यतिन्जेल हरेक हातमा मोबाइल फोन पुगिसकेको थियो भने पीसीओ बुथहरूले यति चाँड़ै विदावारी लिने मानिसहरूले सपना पनि देखेका थिएनन्। तकनिकी प्रगतिको दौड़मा यतिखेर डिजिटल क्यामेरा, भिडियो क्यामेरा, हातहातमा पेन ड्राइभ, चिप्स आदि पुगिसकेको पनि धेरै भइसकेको थियो। यति मात्रै होइन आफ्नै गाउँघरका कार्यक्रमहरू पनि मानिसहरूले घरमै बसेर टिभीमा लाइभ हेर्ने गरेको निक्कै वर्ष पुगिसकेको थियो।

सन् 2014 –को त के कुरो गर्नु र हिजोअस्ति त हो। फेसबुकले समाजमा प्रवेश गरेपछि विश्वकप फुटबल पनि यस सामाजिक सञ्जालबाट अछुत रहन सकेन। मानिसहरूले यो खेलको जानकारी फेसबुकबाट पनि लिन थालिसकेका थिए यतिन्जेल।

अनि यसपालि सन् 2018 -को खेल आफु जुन ठाउँमा छ त्यही ठाउँमा हेर्न सक्षम बनेका छन् दर्शकहरू। तकनिकी जादु अथवा इन्टरनेटको माध्यमद्वारा हत्केलामै सम्पूर्ण खेल हेरेर आनन्द लुटिरहेका छन् खेलप्रेमी दर्शकहरूले यसपालि थ्रीजी आनि फोरजी –को प्रगतिको कारण। अब आउने वर्ष 2022 -मा कतारमा सम्पन्न हुने विश्वकपमा कस्तो किसिमको तकनिकी विकास देख्न पाइने हो? त्यो भविष्यले नै बताउला……

सुरुमा हुनेखानेहरूको घरमा सीमित मानिसहरूले हेर्ने विश्वकप बिस्तारै छरछिमेकको घरमा गएर हेर्नसकिने भयो। हेर्दाहेर्दै यो खेल गाउँघरमा कसैको घरमा थुप्रिएर राती गफ गर्दै हेर्ने भएर टेलिभिजन आफ्नोआफ्नो घरमा भित्रिएपछि परिवारले मात्रै हेर्दा पनि हुने भयो अनि त्यसपछि बिस्तारै बिस्तारै यो खेल एक्लैले हेर्नसकिने, जता बसेर पनि हेर्न सकिने भयो। यसरी तकनिकी प्रगति हुँदै जाँदा समाजमा पनि जीवनशैली धेरै परिवर्तन हुँदै गएको छ। आज हामी देख्छौं विश्वकप खेलको हरेक पलको विवरण सामाजिक सञ्जालहरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम, ट्विटर आदितिर आइरहेका छन्। फेसबुकमा साथीभाइमाझ यो खेलालाई लिएर विवादहरू चर्किरहेका छन्। यसरी 36 बर्खाको अवधिमा विश्वकप फुटबल खेलको प्रगतिसँगसँगै समाजमा पनि परिवर्तन आइरहेको छ।

1982 –मा विश्वकप हेर्ने दर्शकहरू आज कति छन्, कति छैनन्। धेरैजना आफ्ना नाति-पनातिहरूसित हेरिरहेका होलान्। त्यतिखेर प्रचार-प्रसारको अभावमा खेलप्रेमी दर्शकहरूले विश्वकपलाई केवल खेलकै रुपमा लिन्थे भने आज यो खेलदेखि केही हटेर रमाइलो उन्मादको माध्यम पनि बनेको छ। यसमाथि गीतहरू रचिएका छन्, भिजुअल बनिएका छन्। आफ्नो प्रिय दलको जर्सी लगाएर, झन्डा फहराएर प्रशंसकहरू रमाइलो गर्नथालेका छन्। मानिसहरूको आनन्द र उत्साहलाई उजागर गर्ने माध्यमको रुपमा पनि विश्वकप फुटबल खुबै लोकप्रिय बनेको छ आज।

– हीरा छेत्री
एन्टप हिल, मुम्बई-37

The post विश्वकप फुटबल र हाम्रो सामाजिक स्तर appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

If one questions the generation belonging to “chiyashi ko andolaan ” to the teenagers of 90 ’s, everyone gets nostalgic remembering the way world cup was watched in those days. Most vividly remember those times as glory days of watching football “together”.

Not everyone could afford a television set those days and most villages had two to three television sets and the entire village swooped upon the house whose owner was benevolent enough to let everyone watch.

The entire village assembled here, armed with ‘muda’, ‘pira’(wooden stools) the owner too threw some ‘chamal ko boras’(rice bags) on the floor. Groups armed with ‘piroo aludum’ ‘bhutekoo chana’ watched the magic of Schillachi, Roger Milla, Jurgen Klinsmann, Caniggia in 1990, Romario in 94, Zidane in 98, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Oliver Kahn in 2002.

There used to be two groups in my village, one which religiously followed Argentina and the other followed Germany; now the question arose why a section supported Germany and not Brazil or any other team? Well, the entire ‘marad and auraat’ (male/female workers of tea estates) came to know that ‘German paisa’ was coming to the tea estate funding various social schemes for the benefit of tea garden workers. There would be open fights between these die-hard German fans with the fans of the opposing teams. Such was the craziness during world cup matches, madness spilt all over intoxicated with local ‘rakshi’ and ‘jand’. Yet in all these craziness there was a sense of belongingness, of the ‘we’ feeling, unity oozed all over the nooks and corners of the hills, not having a television set at home was beneficial for the society at large.

The only problem of watching football matches those days was the naughtiness of the television set and its antenna. With emotions on an all-time high and viewers on the edge of their ‘ pira ‘ and right at the crucial moment, the only television set in the village started to play its game.

Theet! Tesko Baw Ko” everybody shouted in disgust. Experts on television shouted on the top of their voices ‘tyoo Vartical mila na haw! The owner sometimes gave the television a big slap and loo.. the transmission continued. While sometimes he had to adjust the flat cable of the antenna at the back side of the television, ‘ayoo-ayoo’ shouted every one…’Oi tyo taar tetakai pakdi baas hai…na halli bas ni. The fellow holding the flat cable had to stay put without moving an inch.

Sometimes the cable had to be adjusted by which ever item came in handy, like locks and even books, so that the pictures came uninterrupted. If this also didn’t work then the teeth came into use, with one bite of the cable the expert tore apart the plastic coating of the cable, bend the two thin wires carefully with the fingers and attached it again to the back side of the television.

With the unpredictable weather of Darjeeling, the antenna too played mischief almost all the times, the antenna mounted on a long thin “bansh”(bamboo pole) moved every now and then, especially when the favourite team was about to score a goal. One had to slowly rotate the antenna sometimes clockwise and sometimes counter clockwise depending on whether the picture was clear or not.

“Ayaeoo…!…Ayaena.!… Ayaeoo..!…Ayaeoooo…was the communication that flowed to and forth. Now, this antenna had to be carefully tied in the exact position with “toondoori”(the thin ropes that came with the chamal ko bora).

Such were the days, this generation will never experience while watching world cup football in villages’ now. This phenomenon, of the collective experience of watching football, has vanished altogether and so has our unity.

The post Nostalgia of Watching World Cup Football Together appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

In Brazil when football was introduced, the natives were not allowed to come into physical contact with the white players. That’s how the native Brazilians developed their fantastic dribbling skills as a technique to avoid contact and any resultant punishment that might be given to them. As the natives developed their footballing skills and started winning matches, a policy was introduced which made it mandatory for the players to sign their names if they wanted to play. As most of the native players were illiterate a club, Vasco Da Gama came up with the idea of giving the players short nicknames so that they could at least sign. Today the Brazilian dribbling skills and nicknames that are known in almost every household were actually modes of resistance against racial discrimination. (Goldblatt 2014). The Black American Football players during the National Football League in 2017 expressed their dissent by not rising up when the national anthem was sung. President Trump tweeted this action as, “total disrespect for our great country.”Michealson wrote in the Daily Beast that “to respect –for whatever cause, left or right wing- is to make real the best ideals of America; freedom of speech, democracy, the rule of law. Protesting brings those ideals into reality. It is the opposite of disrespect and despair: It is to call our country to account and to say that we can do better” (2017). The Tibetans highlighted the Chinese occupation of Tibet and their “Free Tibet” movement during the Beijing Olympics. Closer home, East Bengal Club was formed to protest against the treatment meted out to the Bengalis of East Bengal by those from West Bengal. And Mohammedan Sporting Club came into existence to preserve the identity of the Muslim community.

Seen in this context of football as a political tool, the recent carnival in Darjeeling sponsored by the State and executed by its cronies can be seen a classic example of state exercising its control in the guise of a celebration. It could have been an opportunity for the people to rise to the occasion and express dissent against the atrocities of 2017/18 . It could have been a platform  to say that normalcy has not returned and will not return till our dreams are fulfilled. Football has always been the game of the common people, the proletariat, and throughout history it has been used as a tool of protest against the dictators and authoritarian leadership. The recent event in Darjeeling to celebrate football was ‘carni-evil-ish.’ The grandiosity of the celebration was astounding especially in the context of the terror that the people of the hills recently experienced. Football has fuelled numerous political movements, but in the case of Darjeeling it was used to douse any fire of freedom that may be alive inside the Gorkhas. The idea was to use the carnival as an opium to lull the people. The Arab Spring which changed the course of history in Egypt owes a lot to football fans. Truce between the fans of Cairo’s two arch-rival football clubs, Al Ahli and Zamalek, was instrumental in fuelling the Egyptian revolution. “The Moslem Brotherhood were joined” by these fans “who had agreed on an unprecedented truce in order to express their opposition to the autocrats in elite positions of political power” (Dorsey 2011). Mubarak was ousted on February 2011 and football fans played their part (Duerden 2012). In the former Yugoslavia, ethnic groups have used their respective clubs to raise nationalism. Red Star “fans clubs played a pivotal role in the revival of Serbian nationalism- the idea that the Serbs are eternal victims of history who must fight to preserve a shred of their dignity” (Foer 2004) and Red Star fans consider themselves as agents of political change.  Barcelona Football Club has been the symbol of Catalan nationalism. Barcelona represents the Catalan way of life and also its desire to separate from Spain. Pep Guardiola has been a vociferous supporter of the Catalan movement and makes it a point to  participate in the demonstrations. Recently he wore the yellow badge in protest of the thousands of Catalan nationalists who have been jailed by the Spanish government. From Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia to many of the former Soviet republics football and fans have been instrumental in politics. Every victory for the Dutch over the Germans is considered as a revenge for the five years of occupancy of the former by the latter. The point here is that is football is intrinsically related with politics and can play a huge role in spreading and arousing nationalism and that the football lovers of Darjeeling missed the opportunity to dissent and resist the oppressive political authorities when an opportunity was provided in a platter.

The clamor surrounding the World Cup was just the opposite of what is happening to football at the local level. Even the presence of a fourth, of those ‘celebrating football’ in Chowrasta, at Lebong Stadium, to watch the local match would have been a ‘normal’. The plight of the local tournaments, clubs and players has been pathetic for quite some time now.  It all started after the GNLF came to power in 1988 after the signing of the DGHC Accord. Prior to this period football in Darjeeling was one of the most cherished games. Gold Cup was like a festival. But it all changed once DGHC came into existence. The zeal to show its authority and control over the hills the then dispensation introduced the Shahid Cup with 2 lakh prize money. The money was good for the clubs and the game itself, but its illogical and irrational way of implementation ruined all sports in the hills. The existing sports associations were rechristened and the officials with loads of experience to run the sports were replaced by the sycophants of the leadership. All the funds were diverted into the Shahid Cup thereby making all other tournaments redundant. (There are other factors as well but would be discussed separately). More importantly, the most prestigious of all, the local leagues were completely scrapped from the local calendar. Prestigious tournaments like Jasoda Giri, Harley Cup in Darjeeling did not take place for a long time. RBGM in Kurseong does not take place till now. These were tournaments were the best teams of the country would come and participate and the local players would get an opportunity to test their skills against better teams and players. In an amateur structure where people played for fun, the lack of tournaments destroyed the spirit and enthusiasm of the players as well as the spectators. The politician would strut on the ground, donate some money and demonstrate his control in the administration of the game. Had there been any ethical office bearer in the sports association, things would had been different. Similarly had there been anybody at Chowrasta to stand up to  the authorities, the endeavor to show that normalcy has returned to Darjeeling would had been unsuccessful and the rest of the country would have known that Darjeeling is not smiling and is still mourning the death of many. As a football player and a Gorkha I bemoan these lost opportunities.

The post Darjeeling, Football and Politics appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Getting back to the story, Thuley seemed extraordinarily happy, which was very unusual as he had been visibly very angry for past few days. Having had to go for CM duty forcefully at the peak of season time hadn’t gone too well with Thuley, but that phase seemed to be over.

“Bhai cigarette le ta ewta” – said Thuley extending his hands towards Mukesh, the Paan Dokan guy, as he quickly returned back to his yet to start conversation with Dhiren asking, “Kun team ho haw maams anta?”

“India” replied Dhiren, as our national team had just routed Taiwan 5-0 in the ongoing Four Nations Cup. Like almost everyone else in Darjeeling, it was apparent Thuley had no clue, he was dumbfounded.

Diren then noticed the Brazillian flag painted on Thule’s cheeks, and inquired, “Gaala ma chai kata banaayo haw maams jhanda?”

It almost felt like Thuley was eagerly awaiting for Dhiren to ask him precisely that question, “Carnival ma haw bro!! Gayenaw timi?” said Thuley, to which Dhiren shook his head depicting a negative gesture.

Dhiren had seen some pics on Facebook on his phone with a cracked screen, and had nearly mistaken it to be the inauguration ceremony of the World Cup.

Though Thuley was aware of Dhiren’s absence from the biggest festival of the World Cup Town, he still went ahead with an expression of disbelief, “Amboooooo teichh maams. Kasto darlagdo progyaam. Heavy miss garechaw ta som”.

Dhiren, as any other ignorant fool, started to question the idea behind the holiest event ever to have been organised on the soil of the World Cup Town. He wondered, “alikati laaj garnu ni haw, shahid haru ko khoon chihaan ma aaloi cha, k ko carnival”?

This might have been the biggest mistake of Dhiren’s life, just that he didn’t see it coming. Afterall, to be challenging someone as knowledged and bright as Thuley, you need to have all your cards right. “K vaneko haw maams? Aabo Gorkhaland ra shahid ko naam ma hagnu ni na jaanu hola?”, said Thuley, with a slightly raised voice. Dhiren couldn’t hold back his stupidity and replied, “hawama k ko carnival. Mukh ma moi chaina, kuni k ma ghiw chahiney harey..”

Thuley’s Brazil flag had already started gaining a reddish texture. He challenged Dhiren by reminding him that people of Darjeeling had the right to celebrate and that they should have such carnivals more often. “Array.. World Cup ho, kina enjoy nagarnu? Gorkhaland na paayinjel kei na celebrate garnu hola?” he furiously retaliated.

Dhiren’s half-baked brain didn’t know how to put his perspective through, he blurted out, “begani shaadi mei Abdulla diwana bhaneko jasto, eating getting nothin leather cap putting Darjeeling ko manche haru.”

Thuley though didn’t have the time or patience to hear inane criticism of the greatest event ever organized from the likes nobodies like Dhiren, dismissing everything Dhiren had just said, Thuley further continued, “Charity ko laagi gareko event ho… Yesko katti paisa Clinical Wheels ma jancha, yaad cha? Haami ta array, the World’s Nicest Place celebrate gareko… Darjeeling chai peaceful thaw vanera dekhaako!!” This time, Thuley even got Mukesh’s support, who shouted, “Ho ni Da.. Thikai ho”, while arranging the films of Paras Paan Masala on the hanger.

“Peaceful Harey!! Aaile pani 200-300 gaari manchey haru jail vitrai hola. Daily police le dhamki dinu chodeko chaina, raids hundai cha, ghar jalaudai cha, peaceful harey? Ama bau police ko dar le bhagera nani haru bichalni bhako cha. Sahid ko nani haru school padaune kharcha na bhayera bizog bhai rako cha. Celebrate na garnu vaneko haina ni.. Celebrate garnu parcha. But kolley k organise gareko, kun motive le gareko, tyo pani ta yaad garnu paryo. Yo sab propaganda ho”, thankfully Dhiren could retain and deliver whatever Prakash Mama had said to him while holding a newspaper inside of his arm, and more thankfully, he could remember the word propaganda, though he didn’t know its meaning. Prakash Mama had earlier in the Morning had briefed Dhiren about how a few close-to-the-power-center had staged theis jamboree as a distraction. The same team who had brilliantly run an Anti-Gorkhaland Campaign during the agitation time. Their words would bother Dhiren more than the aftermath of the Police ko Batti balney roll ko blow.

“Popyaganda na Sopyagyanda, timaru jasto manche le garda bigreko Darjeeling. Kasto normal banaunu hatar pari rao bela ma, peace and development lyaune bato ko khalda ho timaru”, yelled Thuley, who absolutely refused to see any substance or credibility in Dhiren’s arguement.

Dhiren responded with a calm yet obnoxious smile, “Timaaruko ko jhanda, timaaruko team, aafnu ta k cha ra? Hariyo jhanda ko maalik ta minister vayo harey. Gorkhaland Cup chai kahile na huney harey. Gorkhaland Cup khelne team haru sabai Kolkata ma biki sakeko cha harey. Tara j hos, timro Brazil le jitney chance ramro cha.” He didn’t wait for Thuley to reflect on his response and reply to destroy him intellectually.

He carried his bag of Dabur Lal Toothpaste and tos-roti, and started walking to his home.

The post ONLY IN DARJEELING – Homeless in World Cup Town appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

It was in the summer of 1986 when I was just about twelve years old that I watched my first World Cup. It was at a neighbour’s house uphill, who owned one of the few colour TVs back then. Those beautiful sets that had to slide wooden door to keep it encased. A rarity and an opulence only handful of people owned in the village I grew up in called Bhutia Busty, mushroomed up on a face of a hill that plateaued on Chowrasta, a retreat-able gathering place, where six roads meet and where the sun-scorched, stressed denizens of the Indian plains, come to soak in the pleasant Darjeeling cool sun with its fresh pine breeze. It’s also a time in 1986 less than thirty years since Tibet lost its independence that many Tibetan refugees hoped to retrace their footsteps back to their homeland.

Since all the World Cup fixture matches were played on the Western Hemisphere and due to time differences thereof, matches were telecast around the middle of the night on Indian national television broadcast way before satellite dishes came. We would wake up all night with bloodshot zombie eyes to witness the game live and at the same time, pray like the desert would for the rain, to keep the electricity from blacking out. Load-shedding was a common problem and character trait of a Third World utility problem we endured.

Darjeeling town like most football craze cities that you would normally relate to, the fanaticism and obsession that you get to see from the slums of Calcutta to the beaches of Rio, would be in full celebration mode month before the kick off and every corner of the street would be draped in fluttering Argentinian, Brazilian or the German flag, the local favorites. Every locality small football clubs would raise donations to pay for the banners and festivities. Lotteries would roll for the highest scorer of the tournament and winner of the World Cup and so forth. Everyone was captivated for a month on this football fest.

On one occasion, I have seen a huge cardboard cut size mannequin of Maradona on a syndicate, with candles and burning incense, white scarfs and flower garlands, to wish him and the Argentina team well on the finals and they would eventually end up winning the World Cup.

I would walk up the hill accompanied by my younger brother and my childhood friend into the wee hours of midnight to the whistle of crickets, screaming foxes and barking of the stray dogs into the flickering streetlamp with its bulb abraded and yellowed by the elements, protesting tirelessly to be replaced by the corrupt municipality, ambling on unpaved road and narrow alleys flashing the long Indian torchlights to knock a welcoming neighbors door with the color tv packed to the walls. Many brought their own stools to sit on and pillow to lean on too. It’s a time before the smartphones and the room would be lively with exchanges of jokes, social interactions and laughter.

There were times when we missed our favourite matches we were dying to watch despite entrusting our parents in vain to wake us up. We would all fall asleep, only to wake up to the cry of the rooster, at a time when alarm clocks built into our phones these days were things of the future one could faintly imagine.

There were other times when we would be awake just until the match started and only found ourselves snoring to glory, due to the toll on our bodies of a previous day football game, mania unleashed on the fields because of the World Cup fever. We would role play avatars of one’s own favourite players and I was already living and breathing Diego Armando Maradona. I handmade my own Argentina jersey and wrote with a black marker as big as I could the number 10 on the back.

Since I have been living in the States now for almost two decades, the word football could have a different connotation and meaning. Just like bats are flat for cricket and rounded for baseball, football here is for giant big players, made even bigger by those shoulder pads and who wear steel helmets and run with the ball in hand as many yards as they could before they get crushed by a three hundred pound defence linebacker.

But since I am here catering to my people, I would love to use the word football for what it actually means, since I loathed to call this beautiful game soccer. And talking about championships, the real world champions unlike the self declared world champions of NBA, NHL and the MLB, are the ones who are the winners of the FIFA World Cup, held every four years, where over hundred nations compete through a brutal competitive continental qualification games and many nations fail to qualify during those qualification rounds that are played two years in the making. They are the real world champions and not some winner of some world champions where only states that make up a nation play.

Football is imprinted into our DNA just like Buddhism is. Even our monks find some respite from their hard spiritual quest and the tiresome memorization of ancient scripts to the mundane special joy of this game. They can’t wait to pull their robes and tie them around their waist to kick that ball into the corner of their imaginary nets or run outside the monastery to catch a glimpse of the score of the games shown on tv. An even corporate behemoth like Pepsi has tapped into this secret obsession embedded in the monks and has been able to monetize them through their advertisements.

For historical context, football was brought to Tibet in the early part of the twentieth century by the British Raj. Long story short, Tibetans on the sidelines watching the British and the East Indian Company Indian soldiers by the garrison quickly fell in love with the game. A known first Tibetan football club known as the Lhasa United was formed around 1936 and along arose many regional teams too. Lhasa United also played against the British mission. It’s also said the Kham football team also played against Chinese provincial teams and that they had a small stadium that was later destroyed when Mao came into power along with hundreds of monasteries.

The obsession for football also spiralled into the diaspora world, where GCM tournament, a prestigious one that is played every year between many Tibetans teams from all over. There is also official Team Tibet that has played many international games barring FIFA sponsored ones.

I would believe if Tibet was an independent country, we would definitely have a strong team that would easily compete with the Asian giants like that of Japan and South Korea. Our feudal days like that of the rest of the world, albeit hundred years later would evolve with the fast-changing world around and eventually pave way for public engagement and democracy, had the hungry Red Dragon not swallowed us, when the rest of world was busy freeing the chains of colonial yoke and minting new flags and composing new national anthems.

With their tough physique and legs for football, the fire in the belly and the passion for the game, the Tibetan football world would emerge victorious on many fronts. Even though with a tiny disenfranchised population, Tibetans inside and outside and some who trace their ancestry to Tibet have excelled in many sporting fields, from mountain climbing to football, from marathon to kickboxing and many if not few made a name for themselves sadly playing under a different country’s flag and I don’t blame them but the tryst of destiny they were caught in.

Every time during the World Cup, when the players come out of the dugout with tiny hands escorting them and that familiar FIFA symphony played in the background and when the national anthems are played, I am sore at heart and left imagining how much of an adrenaline rush would that be if Tibet would actually play the World Cup and our national anthem would be orchestrated with the dignified grace and our triumphant players would walk gracefully. And, when that camera starts moving from one player’s face to the next with their hands in their chest, the emotions run so high that only passionate citizens of a stolen country could only imagine.

Our boys from Team Tibet will soon be in London to play the Conifa tournament, a mini World Cup of a sort and I want to take this opportunity to wish them all the luck and I want them to roar like the snow lion, bark like the Tibetan mastiff, play defense like the Yak and run like the Tibetan antelope. I also want to for the fun of the game predict that this World Cup 2018 will be won by France. But since the first kiss is the deepest, my support for Argentina and Messi will always remain.

The post Dreaming World Cup for Tibet appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.