Herlihy Cup: A Heritage and Social Capital of
Darjeeling
This
time of the year, football enthusiasts, are for a treat in the region of
Darjeeling hills. Everywhere some football tournament is held, to commemorate the
independence of the country, and culminates with a grand scale celebration on
15th August, the independence day. In Kalimpong and Kurseong it was known as
the Independence Cup. In Darjeeling, it is the Herlihy Cup, a tournament in memory
of Ms Herlihy, who is buried along with her personal history, in the soil of
Darjeeling. However, her memory lingers along with the celebration of
independence day in a scale as evident, only in the hills of Darjeeling.
Herlihy
Cup started in the year 1917, the same year, when on
8th November the Hillmen’s Association submitted a refined version
of the 1907 memorandum, to the Chief Secretary of the Government of Bengal
demanding a ‘separate administrative unit’ comprising of the present day
Darjeeling district with the Dooars areas of Jalpaiguri district. The Cup
completes 100 years and is one of the oldest tournaments in the country, and so
is the demand for Gorkhaland. It serves as a constant reminder of the number of
years that have passed in the pursuit of Gorkhaland.
With
colonialization of the India, like in many of other places, football also
arrived. With the expansion of the Empire the popularity of football increased.
In particular, it was after the ‘first war of Indian independence’ in 1857 that
football began to assume wider social significance in the subcontinent (Burdsey
2007). Similarly, when the British first came to Darjeeling they introduced
football to the inhabitants of the place. The
initial football matches were played between army teams. The involvement of the
army is also evident from the list of winners of the Herlihy Cup. Football
gained recognition, in Darjeeling, when St. Paul’s School was transferred to
Darjeeling from Calcutta in 1864. The physique of the Gorkhas was also
favourable to the game of football and provided much-needed recreation and
leisure (Sundas 2014). It is presumed that the natives learnt from informal
kickabouts, it was likely that they would play in a way less constrained by
rules, tactics or conventions. Many have narrated playing a game of football
with a 'sangkhatra' as a ball and that too barefoot. I, myself, have
witnessed playing with rags rolled into a shape of a ball. Playing the game of football was an accessible social
activity for the young and hardy men (now it is gaining popularity even among women).
It was a way of socializing with friends and community members in a
recreational way and required the minimum of economic and social capital which
facilitated the growth of the game (Sundas 2013).
Historiography
of the region has not been reliable, moreover, there is no social history of
the region which gives lucid accounts of people as well as other social
activities of the region. The absence of historiography has led to the loss of the
history of Herlihy Cup. Because football is and has been second only to
religion for the people of the region (now this can be contested with the rise
of cricket) the history of the Cup would have been able to reflect other
spheres of people's lives. Unfortunately, only the names of the winners are
there as remnants of history, and it does not say much of the region and
people, apart from reflecting how dominant the army teams were in the sphere of
football. Were there Gorkha people as part of the winning teams? Whether there
were or not is not important an issue, but the impact it had on the sporting
behaviour of the people is.
The
tournament socialised the people to the game of football. It made people play
the game which was most appropriate for them in terms of physicality as well as
the economics associated with it. Traditionally, and not till the end of the
1980s Gorkhaland agitation, North Point College ground was the venue where most
of the tournaments were held. Only with the Mahakal Cup did Lebong Ground, the
present venue for the tournament, became popular. The former is an idyllic
venue. The Himalayas in the background, the hill stand that people enjoyed,
made it a special venue. The legendary goalkeeper of India, Bhaskar Ganguly has
gone on record saying that the North Point Ground was one of the most picturesque
he had ever played at and wanted to come year after year to this ground for
this sake alone. Shyam Thapa, another legend of the game in India has said that
the atmosphere on this ground was no less than any of the top venues of world
football. The colourful clothes and umbrella that was a perennial part of the
hill stand in the ground would make it a lovely sight for the eyes for anyone,
whether football-loving or not (Sundas 2014).
The
final of Herlihy Cup was the most awaited event in the calendar for the people
of the place. Herlihy Cup is an event with which many from Darjeeling and the
region can associate themselves with. Many young people watching games of the
Cup took up football as a pursuit and it also helped in spreading the game to
other parts of the region. The beautiful game became very popular among the
masses and many from the region went on to win laurels. Herlihy Cup inspired many to play and the
region has produced some very talented players who have represented many big
clubs of the country.
Darjeeling
has always lacked the infrastructure for football but this did not become a
deterrent in developing skills. There was always the scarcity of a proper
playing field and players had to hone their skills on their own. (The grounds
belonging to missionary schools were most of the time out of bounds for the
locals). The culture of coaching the youngsters on the finer points of the art
was perennially absent. However, as the adage goes ‘where there is a will,
there is a way’ many from this region have been able to play the game at the
highest level and carve a name for themselves. The greatest name that comes to
mind when thinking of the superstars of Darjeeling football is none other than
the legendary Chandan Singh Rawat. Though he was not born in Darjeeling and did
not come till late in his life, contributed immensely to developing the game.
He represented the country in numerous occasions and the highlight of his
career was being part of the Asian Games Gold Winning team. He was the backbone
of the national team of the 1950s and 60s.
He was part of the formidable North Point Team, coaching and playing,
which won almost everything, including the Herlihy Cup. His forays and deeds on
the football field are still talked about among the football-loving common
people of his generation.
The
other notable star of football in Darjeeling is Benu Subba. He was a feared
striker. At the very tender age of 15, he went on to represent his battalion
and later played for East Bengal as well. Another prominent name that comes to
my mind while writing about the football legends of the hills is Suren Pakhrin
of Ghoom. He represented Ghoom Jorbangla Sporting Club in the local tournaments
and was a prolific scorer. He was good with both his legs and with his head.
His feats in the local tournaments spread like wildfire and were soon called by
Rajasthan Club of Calcutta. He was highly skilled and would make accurate
passes with his outsteps and insteps which were at that time not seen in the
football circuits of India. Many others like Dinesh Thapa, from Kurseong, dynamite
in himself but only 4 feet 6 inches, Tarun Mukhia, a stopper back, went on to
play in Calcutta. Many other prominent names who have done tremendously well in
the sport hailing from the hills of Darjeeling are Raju Rai, a stocky
goalkeeper from Kalimpong. He was invited by the Bhutanese government to
represent the Bhutan Football Association. Keshav Pradhan from Gurbathan received
the same prestige from the Bhutan Football Association. Among the host of players
who were offered this prestige was Urgen Lama, popularly known as ‘Mini’ for
his height. He was a highly versatile player. He represented Bhutan in numerous
tournaments and has played the Santosh trophy for Sikkim a number of times.
Many others like Mahendra Subba, Rajen Golay,
Suman Tamang Ladup Lama, Subash (Pittaley ), Thendup Bhutia (a fine goalkeeper
from Kalimpong) Ajay Tamang, Uday Subba, Uday Lama, Ugen Lama (from Kurseong),
and many others could have played for the big clubs in the country but due to
the lack of opportunities pushed them to oblivion.
In
recent times many players from the hills of Darjeeling have done well. Crispen
Chettri and Jiten Rai from Kurseong have represented the country at the under-19
level and represented numerous big clubs in the country. Dinker Chettri has
represented East Bengal and humbly yours represented Eastern Railways in the
Calcutta Super Division Football League.
The
political situation of the hills in the 1980s led to the discontinuation of many
tournaments and the Mahakal Cup initiated under the aegis of DGHC led to the
lowering of the stature of Herlihy Cup and many other popular tournaments. This
rendered many other popular tournaments like the RBGM tournament in Kurseong to
disappear. However, Mahakal Cup did not survive though it received tremendous
patronage from DGHC and favour from the cash-starved clubs of the region for
the 2 lakh cash prize it offered to the winners. It only led to the diminishing
of the sporting culture in general and football in particular. The local
culture of sports is at present facing a lot of challenges being posed, not by intrinsic
forces but rather extrinsic for its survival, sustainability and revival. Herlihy
Cup has survived all the adverse environments and sustained itself. It is
therefore very significant for us to save our heritage and social capital like the
Herlihy Cup for restoring the sporting glory of the region. The winners of this
year's competition will have a special place in the history of the Cup and I hope
UKFC comes up triumphant in this hundredth edition.