Rugby requiem

EVEN as the rest of the country begins to acknowledge rugby with mild surprise, a 72-year-old man seeks the lonely solace of the Kolkata Mai...

EVEN as the rest of the country begins to acknowledge rugby with mild surprise, a 72-year-old man seeks the lonely solace of the Kolkata Maidan8217;s wind-swept vastness to make room for his memories. Of times that have probably passed on forever. Arsham Sookias often thinks of the three-plus decades of his life that has been signed over to Armenian Rugby.

Of distant 1947 when he began playing for the Armenians as a wing forward. That was the year the Central Asian expats won the Calcutta Cup for the first time, under the captaincy of his elder brother Malcolm. That began one of the longest careers in rugby, lasting till 1980, after which he used his experience in teaching young Armenian kids the game.

Tough, fit and fast, the Armenians dominated the national scene for several decades during the latter half of the 20th century. It8217;s now been two years since the Armenian rugby team was disbanded, with a finality rooted in changes in world politics and, consequently, the dwindling Armenian community of Kolkata.

Their list of triumphs across a century of rugby in India is the stuff legends are made of. Participating in the annual Calcutta Cup and the All India and South Asia Rugby Tournament since 1930, they have won the former 17 times with a triple in 1996-98, and the All-India six times.

		MEN OF MONEY

			Among the many foreign communities 8212; British apart 8212; that came to Bengal in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Armenians have had possibly the most lasting impact. They came overland, possibly to escape persecution back home, and first settled in Akbar8217;s court. But they soon gravitated towards Calcutta, where they lived, along with the Greeks, Jews and Portuguese, in the 8216;grey8217; zone, the buffer between the British and the Indians. The city8217;s oldest grave is that of an Armenian, Rezabeebeh Sookias, c. 17th century. They soon established themselves as traders, but it was their work in the fields of real estate, education and philanthropy for which they are remembered. Foremost among them was JC Galstaun, whose palaces still bear testimony to his grandiosity. The largest, most fanciful of them, Nizam8217;s Palace, is today a government office 8212; but even years of red tape have failed to conceal the grandeur. They built schools, too, and colleges. The Armenian College, once home to some of the best-looking and most vain young men and women, is today a sad shadow of that past. In much better condition, of course, is La Martiniere, built by a Frenchman but rescued from crippling debt by old boy and millionaire banker Paul Chater, still remembered in the school prayer.

This, besides the All-India and South Asia Sevens on several occasions and contributing to the National XV at all three Asian Rugby Tournaments at Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. Now, says Arsham Sookias8212;rugby player from 1947-80 and manager at the college for several years8212;there8217;s no one left behind.

In Chennai, the last captain of the Armenian rugby team, Emil Vartazarian, couldn8217;t agree more with Sookias. 8216;8216;A few other boys and I were what was left of the Armenian rugby team. We formed a team and participated in the Chennai Sevens in 2001. That was the last time we participated under the Armenian banner.8217;8217;

Now working with the Indian Rugby Football Union IRFU as technical director in the South Zone, Emil says that till 1987 the going was great. 8216;8216;From then on, the number of Armenian students began to shrink. By 1990, there were only 17; by 1999, only three. Many gave up the game once they were 19, passed out and began to think careers. Many left for Australia, Canada, America.8217;8217;

Emil now is about the last member of the team that once had tested sides like the CC038;FC and Bombay Gymkhana. Among the Indians who played for the Armenian side in Kolkata towards the end, Tanvir Alam will always remember the team he was once part of, with pride.

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Alam, who played for them from 1995-99, moved on to the CC038;FC team when the Armenian side ceased to exist. 8216;8216;For someone new to rugby, they were the best side to play with and pick up the game,8217;8217; he says.

The present lot of kids at the College are very young, say Emil and Sookias, but add that if they are started off with the game from a young age, they can probably go on to regain past glory. Sookias, who was part of the first overseas tour by India in 1970 under the captaincy of English international scrum-half Steve Smith and has himself captained the Armenian side from 1966-80 before taking over as manager from 1981-2000, says the Armenian Sports Club formed in 1945 thus no longer has the feeder base for its team.

The Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy, founded on April 2, 1821 has been home to local Armenian boys and to Armenian children fleeing war-torn Armenia. Sookias says the Iranian government has become very strict when allowing Armenian children to study abroad. 8216;8216;In recent times, students who go home to Iran and Armenia on vacation often never return,8217;8217; he says.

At the college, honorary manager Sonia John admits that rugby has taken a backseat. 8216;8216;Yes, there was no school rugby programme in place last year. I will allow a coach to teach touch rugby to the kids only if the IRFU sends an official coach,8217;8217; says John.

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Kolkata-based IRFU vice-president Noomi Mehta counters. 8216;8216;We have sent them a proposal but are still to receive any response.8217;8217;

A shrunk community intermingling with the local population has reduced the Armenians to near-memory in a city where their community once boasted its own quarter in the city and contributed to society, commercially and culturally.

The game has been one of the casualties of the change, and remains part of a diverse smorgasbord of talents and skills the Armenians no longer offer.