‘There won’t be another like Shiv Kumar Verma’

Uthra G Chaturvedi

When India’s defeat in the hockey final of the 1960 Olympics brought together a group of people to form the Nehru Hockey Society, Shiv Kumar Verma was at the forefront. Since then, ‘Vermaji’, as he has always been known, has been inseparable from not only the Nehru hockey tournament but Delhi hockey as well.

The 88-year-old secretary of Nehru Hockey Society breathed his last on Tuesday after prolonged illness, and the Delhi hockey fraternity is unanimous in saying that there won’t be another like him. “He was there when I was a player way back in the late 60s. I don’t remember a more dedicated person to hockey. For him, there was no life besides the game. He was always concerned about the proper organisation of the tournament and the desire to ensure the best possible facilities for the players,” recollects Brig HJS Chimni.

Now a member of the managing committee of the society, Chimni remembers Vermaji’s readiness to help others. “The army organises Maharaja Ranjit Singh hockey tournament every year. And he would be the first to offer any help required. Many times he has taken it upon himself to ensure proper facilities. And to keep a domestic hockey tournament in India alive and uninterrupted for 47 years — that calls for some effort,” he adds.

Former Indian women’s hockey secretary Amrit Bose, who shared office space with Vermaji at the Shivaji Stadium for many years, remembers him as a firm man who never lost his temper. “Shivji never raised his voice, and he had no ego issues. He was as open to helping others as he was in seeking help,” she says.

Vermaji was instrumental in bringing the jr, sub-jr, women’s and colleges tournaments under the Nehru Society fold. He was also the secretary of the Korfball federation of India for a while before going back to hockey. “I only hope the tournament officials continue Shivji’s good work and keep the tournament alive. After all, some of the legendary players including Harbinder Singh first made an impression in Nehru hockey,” Bose says.

But Chimni is clear: “Nehru hockey and Vermaji were inseparable and in his death, the tournament has lost its face.”