BK Subramani donned multiple roles with acclaim: famous field hockey player, decorated Army Officer, successful coach and now a farmer. The midfield maestro was a bundle of energy and his onfield dynamism was seen to be believed. He candidly shares shares many hitherto unknown childhood memories in yet another episode of the exciting MY STORY Series. — Editor

ERROL D’CRUZ

For the most part, BK Subramani wore apparel he cherished. Be it the sky blue of the Indian national team or the olive green of the army, he wore it with pride.

The 59-year-old retired from the armed forces last year and back home in Coorg (now Kodagu), the picturesque and exotic district in Karnataka, he reflects on careers that brought him great joy and satisfaction.

Energy was the byname of  BK Subramani. Photo: Ashok Vahie

“I can’t recall any sorrow or disappointment that either hockey or the army brought me,” Subramani says. “Except perhaps in the days of my boyhood when my protective older brothers kept me from joining them to play hockey, fearing I would get hurt. I sat over the sidelines sad and frustrated,” he recalls. “Later on they relented and allowed me some five minutes of playing time towards the fag end of the matches. I used to wait so patiently for the last 10 minutes of play!”

Hockey came naturally to Subramani. “In Coorg you are either a soldier, coffee plantation worker or a hockey player,” he says with a chuckle. “Almost every family had a hockey player and mine was no different. His brothers Ramesh, Suresh and Uthaiah – all accomplished players —  acknowledged BK Subramani’s talent and natural affinity for hockey.

“Most of all, it was my fitness that stood out and I could run up and down the pitch,” Subramani recalls. In later years, Subramani was picked up by scouts from Madras Engineering Group (MEG), Bangalore, an army unit but also famous for its exploits on the hockey pitch.

“I had no idea what MEG was at the time. I was just overjoyed at being selected to join a hockey team. I travelled to Bangalore (now Bengaluru) and joined the unit – it was the start of two careers, hockey and the army. My coach was the famed Olympian VJ Peter. He was appreciative of my talents and especially my fitness and advised that I play centre-half,” Subramani fondly recollects. “It was hockey and more hockey for me. And I travelled the length and breadth of the country playing tournament after tournament.”

Olympian BK Subramani being graced by the late Sultan Azlan Shah, Asia Cup, New Delhi 1989. (l-r) Ajit Lakran, RP Singh, Jude Felix, BKSubramani, Thoiba Singh, Vivek Singh (hidden), captain Pargat Singh, Azlan Shah, RK Prasad (IHF President) & Rahman (IHF Vice-President). Photo: Ashok Vahie

In 1981, he was selected for the Junior World Cup qualifying tournament in Hong Kong before going on to play the 1982 Junior World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  “I was overjoyed,” Subramani flashes back. “It was a great moment for a boy from a remote place to be in the team of a country which had won eight Olympic gold medals. I can’t explain the feeling…”

Subramani went on to play for the senior India team in 1984, making his debut at a four-nation tournament in Amstelveen, The Netherlands. He eventually donned the country’s colours at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 1986 Willesden and 1990 Lahore World Cups.

But the busy campaign in domestic hockey continued unabated. During one season, Subramani lost his mother.

MM Somaya, Vineet Kumar, Joaquim Carvalho, RS Rawat & BK Subramani defending a penalty corner, 1986

“I returned from the Muruguppa Gold Cup in Chennai and was to catch a train to Patiala the next day. When I reached Coorg, I learned that my mother (Neelama) was in hospital for a heart ailment. She passed away seconds after she saw me. My family members said she held on just to see me… She was my source of support and encouragement like my father (Kalaiah).”

Subramani, you might say, beat the odds to go the distance in the sport. His brothers protective stance extended to every activity. Including a long-distance road race in Coorg which he was keen on participating in. “As a 12-year-old, I was forbidden to take part. My brothers thought I was too young to do so and I was, clad in school uniform, sitting at a bus stop, totally dejected. An acquaintance noticed me there and offered me a lift to the marathon start. He happened to be the chief guest who would flag off the race. I was thrilled. I disappeared in the crowd and took my place at the rear group of runners so as to escape being noticed by my brothers who were among the participants.

“At the 2 km-mark I was going strong and I overtook my oldest brother Ramesh. I kept going finally winning the race. My father was at the finish line at the College ground to watch me cross the finish and must have been shocked to do so!  I stepped up to receive my prize – a handsome sum of Rs 21! I collected it and disappeared, fearing being scolded by my brothers for defying their orders and taking part in the race. But, far from that, they congratulated me later at home!”

Subramani put the twenty-one rupees to good use. But he needed it to be supplemented by his mother and father. “You see, I was longing to buy a new hockey stick with a towelled grip but the money I had was way too little for it. My father handed me Rs 50, my mother another Rs 40 and an uncle used his motorcycle to take us some 60km to the centre of Coorg to buy the stick.

“The trip also gave me the opportunity to witness an exhibition match between the triumphant 1975 World Cup winning India team and a local side. I was simply delighted at how things worked out. I picked up my stick and took it along with me to the stadium. Things didn’t end too happily however. Rain washed out the match and I didn’t get to watch many of the stars which included two, MP Ganesh and BP Govinda, from my hometown Coorg in action. But I didn’t stay sad for long. I brandished my stick with pride and joy. When I reached home at night I flashed it all over the place!”

BK Subramani  flanked by MM Somaya and Pargat Singh in the thick of nail baiting action 

It was this raw enthusiasm and talent that held Subramani in good stead. His fitness was a key factor in his adjusting to artificial surfaces despite having little or no exposure to them.  In time Subramani took his place among the seniors and he packed his stick – now made from fibreglass, not the mulberry shaft he so proudly purchased almost a decade ago.

“The coach at the tournament in Amstelveen was BP Govinda, from my hometown Coorg. Among the first things he showed me was the penalty stroke spot from which he failed to score in the 1973 World Cup final against hosts The Netherlands! I remember listening to it on All India Radio’s commentary. My entire family was near the radio listening to the commentary that went on nearly till midnight. I remember how sad we felt when India lost in the tie-breaker. We couldn’t recover from that defeat for a week…

“But I fondly remember the voice of famous commentator Jasdev Singh,” Subramani says. “His exciting commentary was one of the reasons that drew me to hockey.”

Services captain Subramani receiving the Madurai Nationals crown at the hands of  the IHF President MAM Ramasamy, 

Subramani represented Services at the Senior National Championship for a decade. They won the title twice, first at Palakaad 1985 and Madurai 1992, under his captaincy. But Subramani was then dropped from the India team. “I vanished from the international scene and took to coaching. I acquired an NIS diploma after which I coached the women’s junior national team for a year but after that I focused on my army career,” he explains.

Subramani eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, served in Jammu and Kashmir and joined the famed Maratha Light Infantry in Belgaum the unit which was served by hockey legends Shankar Laxman, Bandu Patil and Shantaram Jadhav.

But in the main, it was the army and its many assignments for Subramani after he hung up stick. “I’ve enjoyed every challenge in the Olive Green as well,” he says. “After retiring last year, I can now get back to sport and in doing so wish to give something back. I have involved myself in coaching government school kids in several sports, not just hockey,” Subramani reveals.

“There’s a lot of talent around but these children get little opportunity to play and I want to change that. I helped organize six-a-side football, athletics and kho-kho for school children last year but I want to take that further.”

Subramani and his wife Anju have a son Ronith Pemaiah who is studying law in Pune. Retired he may be but endeavours to remain active. “I exercise regularly and I am a keen golfer,” Subramani reveals. “And to keep busy, I have got involved in the coffee plantation business. You could say that after ‘Jai Jawan’, I’ve moved to ‘Jai Kisaan’,” the ever-cheerful Coorgi declares.

But, one wagers, that between the sickle and the rifle there’s always been the hockey stick and the role he played in the sky-blue India shirt that Subramani cherishes most of all.

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www.stick2hockey.com is India’s oldest hockey website. Launched in 1999, the website, edited and owned by hockey historian and author K. ARUMUGAM, has covered all major tournaments and events with precision. www.stick2hockey.com is the first site in the hockey world to bring viewers live text commentary and duly entered the prestigious Limca Book of Records. If vintage stories are what you are looking for, this site is the right one for you. You will also find pictures, some of them among the rarest, images of precious newspaper clippings, match reports, news breaks, interviews, features, statistics and history on a site respected by one and all in the hockey world.