Kolkata: Ashwini Kumar Barat, the name may not seem as familiar as his contributions have been in Indian football. The football-saint from Chawk bazaar, West Bengal had produced innumerable footballing talents to Indian football, who later on became stalwarts for the national team as well. Football legends like the great Surajit Sengupta, Tanumoy Bose, Swarup Das, Anit Ghosh, Falguni Dutta, all got nourished and trained by respected “Bhola da”. The 81 years old football saint who didn’t take a single penny from anyone throughout his life as “help”, is now critically ill at his place, lost all his glorious memories which made the country and its football proud.
The “football-saint” doesn’t have anyone in his family these days apart from his student Debu Biswas who used to play for Dempo back in 2008. Talking to www.xtratime.in, Debu became emotional, “Whoever I’m is because of jethu(Bhola da), I am pursuing my ‘C’ license coaching right now and all what I am learning right now on books are exactly what we learnt from our coach. He didn’t have the bookish knowledge of the game but had the basics of the of the game in his veins.” He added,”Jethu started crying the moment he came to know that I was going to join Dempo. The tears were more for going far away from him, such has been his love for me.”
It is learnt that Indian football legend Surajit Sengupta used to play cricket till the eleventh standard before Ashwini Kumar Barat scouted him from an inter-class football tournament at Hooghly Branch School. The incident changed the story of Surajit’s life. Even in his senior career, Surajit used to go to the Hooghly Branch School for rectifying the subtle technical things about his game. The ever beloved student Surajit also helped his guru to operate the knees as it got affected for shooting at least 2000 shots per day to train his students. Such was his dignity that Ashwini never consented his students to arrange any benefit match to raise money. Surajit even wrote in his autobiography,”I could never become a complete footballer unless Ashwini Kumar Barat were there in my life. Whoever I’m now is because of him.”
From Satyajit Bose to Falguni Dutta, Indian football got enriched by this “unsung Dronacharya” who never got any recognition of his tireless dedication of producing quality football to enrich the game of the country.
Another bright student of everyone’s favourite Bhola da was former Indian international Anit Ghosh. Anit had mixed feelings speaking to XtraTime, “Anit Ghosh is nothing without Bhola da. His present condition reminds me more of Galileo who could not see his recognition when it happened. Thanks to XtraTime that they are giving this tribute to our Guru.”
Disappointments engulf his voice when Anit says,”Murari Sur also also contributed a lot to Indian football like Bhola da. But unlike Murari Sir, Bhola da didn’t get the deserving recognition Murari Sir got.”
Anit becomes nostalgic when he says,”He didn’t do it for money, but for the love towards the game. Hours and hours of training with a simple, comprehensive method – Receive, look out and pass, never lose the possession of the ball as its hard to get it back and never wait for the ball to come to you, you have to go and get it. He made the game simple for us. He was a perfectionist who used to polish our skills as long as he himself got satisfied.”
Anit’s gratitude comes with aura when he says,”Late Amal Dutta used to call me as the best complete midfielder after Sudip Chatterjee in Indian football and I earned that compliment because of Bhola da. Apart from the football training, he taught us how to become an honest and humble human being.”
Former Indian defensive wall Swarup Das was also another proud student of Bhola da. Swarup’s vision towards the game and skills when the ball was in the air were trained with perfection by Ashwini Kumar Barat.
The deprived, unrecognized Dronacharya of Indian football has lost all his memories because of his age. The saint is still as precious for his students, as he was when his students used to have his training. Ashwini Kumar Barat might not get the recognition he deserved from the Indian football fraternity, but the love and respect he still gets from his bright students will make him alive in the halcyon of immortal satisfaction.