Meeting The Meiteis

By Bharat Sundaresan

With clubs coming up closer home, players from Northeast don’t need to migrate thousands of kilometers to pursue their dreams, unlike a bunch of youngsters from Manipur whom Bharat Sundaresan met a couple of years ago as they tried to carve out a life for themselves in a quiet corner of Mumbai.

IT was a balmy February afternoon in 2009 and a joyous commotion could be heard from within Flat No. 2/1, Air India Colony in Mumbai.

The inhabitants of the tiny two-room kitchen house were seven Manipuri players, part of the various junior and senior teams of Air-India Football Club, and they had just realised that the chef for the day, according to the list they had drawn, was Narendra Meitei.

And the striker, they knew, prepared a delectable 'Jingda fry'. They may have provided the perfect north-eastern flavor to both Air-India and Mumbai football, but the likes of Meitei, Samson Singh, Uttam Singh and the others admitted that their palettes couldn't handle the city’s spicy, oily food.

"We prefer to eat more boiled food, especially after practice sessions, as it is easier to digest," explained Samson, who had been plying his trade in Mumbai for more than half a decade. Food though was not the only issue that they had to endure living away from home. "There are a number of vibrant festivals that are celebrated back home, but we rarely get to know their exact dates," Samson, who also owned the only laptop in the house said.

The paucity of job opportunities and acute corruption in Manipur then, had been the major reason for them leaving home, Meitei had revealed, a sentiment shared by all.

"Most parents back home encourage kids to go to bigger cities for better futures, than become a part of the system there," Meitei, who'd visit Gangtok whenever he could to meet his wife and kid, had added.

Football thus became a huge gateway for young boys, helping them spread their wings. "I grew up hearing tales of these great Manipuri footballers, who made it big, represented the country. They were my heroes growing up, and emulating them my dream,” Meitei who had to fend for his younger brother Naresh and brother-in-law revealed.

There were other problems as well. In spite of reveling in each other's companies, the accommodation provided by the club gave them no personal space. “Under-19 players are forced to shack up with us. But it is something we get used to,” Meitei said. The single 14" TV in the front room, which also doubled up as Meitei's bed-room, blared out loud Hindi music.

Samson had revealed that the boys did not prefer going to malls, as there were too many people there. "We aren't used to crowds, and do our shopping from the stores within the colony," he had said. Meitei also had admitted that the odd stare on the road was quite usual, and being referred to as a 'Nepali' did have its depressing effects. "I used to get violent in the beginning, but now have just gotten used to it," he had said.

The fish by then was ready to be consumed, and it was that time of the day, when the seven would sit together, and plan their day. The juniors had a match to play in the evening, and were asked to go easy on the Jingda, while Samson and others gorged on the rest, chatting about the movie they had to catch later in the day.