Eyeing Gold

He could have been an ace swimmer. He had represented North 24-Parganas at the junior level swimming during his school days.

Sudeep Pakrashi in conversation with Tirthankar Nandy who is on a mission for gold in C8217;wealth games in karate

He could have been an ace swimmer. He had represented North 24-Parganas at the junior level swimming during his school days. But the pressure of education forced him to quit swimming. He also could have established himself as an actor on the celluoid. For he modelled for a city-based popular garment company for a couple of months. But Tirthankar Nandy didn8217;t want to walk down the streets of glamour and so-called fame.

Nandy can best be described as the lone karateka in the city in recent years who was branded by one of the city8217;s renowned schools in its publicity campaign at the time of its launch at Pailan in South 24-Parganas.

But Nandy, one of the city8217;s popular karatekas in hudokan style, has preferred the way of teaching would-be karatekas. He begun his career with the game in 1986 under Sanchit Saha Nandy and he sharpened his skill and performance in the hudokan style under Chew-Choo-Soot and then under his son Richard Soot through a two-week training in Sydney in 1998. But Nandy is also grateful to Vasant Shetty in Mumbai.

Nandy said: 8220;Shetty, uncle of Bollywood star Suniel Shetty, didn8217;t have a bright career as a karateka. But he was simply brilliant as a teacher. I improved my technique, skill, psychological drill under his careful observation for around four years in Mumbai. I used to travel at that time from Kolkata to Mumbai.8221;

This black-belt karateka who had mastered the art of yoga since 1984 had another wish to work as action director in movies. And he fulfilled his desire in a telefilm named 8216;Good bad guys8217; directed by an NRI which was released in the UK also at the end of 90s.

Nandy began teaching aspiring students from 1992 at a small centre in Manicktala. He had only around 25 students. Nandy today struggles to recollect how much fees those students paid at that time.

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8220;It might not have been more than Rs 20 each of those 25 students used to pay,8221; Nandy said.

In the past 16 years, Nandy8217;s work has been hectic, to say the least. Not only has the school in Pailan roped him in as a karate teacher, the pressure from students all over the state has led Nandy to introduce karate in 13 schools in the city. Besides, a new school in Jharkhand has also roped in his services. But apart from his job in the school, Nandy receives the same amount as fees from each of his 5,000 students in the other 14 schools.

He has so far produced nine black-belt holders. Many of his students like Samir Singh, Bijon Fadikar, Kartik Basak have already graced Bengal with their impressive show. But the 33-year-old teacher8217;s aim is to prepare his bright students so that they can earn gold medals in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in 2010 in New Delhi. Before he signed off, he said: 8220;It will be one of my most cherished dreams even if one of my students can win a gold in the 2010 Games. When I am totally dedicated in my job, can8217;t I expect results from them?8221;