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Journalism of Courage
It’s difficult to miss John Peter Fernandes at the Mahindra Stadium. Not just because he stands out as a near outcast considering the demographics of the smattering spectators who generally make their way here these days. Or that the 73-year-old hockey fanatic,skinny and bespectacled,hasn’t shifted from his preferred seat in close to a decade now.
Fernandes has after all made the top tier at the south wing stand at the Mumbai Hockey Association (MHA) ground his own. It’s from this vantage point that he’s sat,slippers kicked to the side and his legs crossed,and watched generations of hockey players from the city and elsewhere ply their trade. And you can’t help but be shocked when he tells you that his love affair with the sport and venue had begun with an unmistakable sense of serendipity.
“I had never played hockey before. Though I had seen a few matches at the Police Gymkhana earlier. I remember sitting outside the grounds as a boy and watching the matches on the grass surface. But I just made an immediate connect with this venue from the first time I came here,” says the Dhobitalao resident.
Fernandes though claims to have always been a sports nut. And even during the 32 years he worked for Forbes & Company after starting out as a technician with Godrej,free-time was spent at one of the many maidans in south Mumbai regardless of whether it was football,cricket or hockey that was in progress. In the septugenarian’s words,he’s in the 60th year of satiating his sport cravings in this part of town. These days,however,the MHA is right up in the pecking order.
I come here to relax, he says. I enjoy watching hockey and Ive been coming here regularly since the Super League started. Its a great way to pass the time and there are also some really good matches.
An avid footballer in his native village on the outskirts of Panjim,Fernandes moved to Mumbai in 1953. Then just 13,he soon became a regular at Azad Maidan and Cross Maidan,playing football or cricket. Hockey somehow kept eluding him.
But then I started watching hockey matches at the University ground and Police Gymkhana. I also used to go to the Goan Sports ground and the Karnatak,as well as the Cooperage for football, he adds.
Though he’s kept himself abreast with the cricket and football scene this season,September has been all about the Mumbai Super League for Fernandes. For someone nearing his platinum jubilee,the hockey nut still manages to be an active presence. But isn’t really one for vociferous cheering.. Mainly,Fernandes just sits and watches on quietly,occasionally indulging in a show of appreciationa unmemorable clap at the most.
Going down memory lane,the Western Railway fan declares that the biggest change in watching matches here is the atmosphere. There used to be so many people who used to come here to watch. The stadium has lost its charm without that, he explains while pointing towards the empty stands.
For now,Fernandes is just ecstatic that his favoured Western Railway side will feature in Wednesday’s final of the Super League. But the end of the Super League doesn’t mean that he will have a dearth of options to catch sport. It’s a return to the MHA though that he’s looking forward to the most.
As soon as this is over Ill probably go to watch football at Azad Maidan. But Im already looking forward to the Gold Cup next month,” he explains.
With hockey fans really not privy to elaborate schedules generally,Fernandes has made it a habit to prepare a mental calendar of events,and the Gold Cup,he insists,ranks right up among his favourite tournaments to watch. But football still remains closest to the Goan’s heart,even if he’s called Mumbai home for close to six decades now. And the Dempo and Salgaocar fan hopes that someday he would get a chance to become a regular at another historic sporting venue too.
Says Fernandes,I miss watching the I-League at the Cooperage. Its been too long since theyve closed the place,and I cant wait to watch more games there.
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