Third eye on the turf

If you are a regular at any of the national or international hockey matches, it is impossible to miss Sardar Santokh Singh aka Raja Namdhari with a camera dangling around his neck. Sumati Mehrishi meets the lensman and finds out the reason behind his passion for the national sport in a cricket-crazy nation

Indian hockey is thoroughly an interesting family. There are the players, bravehearts who represent a dejected game in a cricket-loving nation with unparalleled grace and grandiose. Then there are hockey-lovers and fans who come with a distinct madness, in-born or acquired for the game and the players. Scores of Delhi-based Namdhari Sikhs are such ardent committed fans you could spot bubbling at the stadium stands over a nerve-wracking, war-like clash of rivals, like an Indo-Pak match during international hockey events.

While the elderly lot appear at the stadium dressed in white kurta-pyjamas and turbans, the young men, boys and toddlers cheer their team wearing T-shirts, Tricolour turbans, shouting slogans and claiming oodles of love for Indian hockey. Though Sardar Santokh Singh, popularly known as Raja Namdhari, is one of them but he is a bit different from the rest. He has a camera dangling around his neck, to capture a movement or a moment on the field that would translate into history.

During matches while other fans excitedly rush to the mesh that separates the stands from the turf to make midfielder Arjun Halappa hear that last cheer from their lungs before the first penalty stroke, Namdhari would stick around it, zooming over the customary huddle. At one such head-splitting match during the Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi, right before the breaking of the huddle, Halappa lifts his head and looks up to the crowds as if trying to be part of their prayers from the other side of the mesh. Namdhari, as if he can feel Halappa’s heart, clicks the moment the player raises his head up. He gets a heart-warming photo.

There are a number of photographs that speak of Namdhari’s players’ pulse, emotion and attitude. His D30 Nikon travels with him to tournaments abroad and domestic hockey with equal fervour. He was at the Azlan Shah Cup earlier this year in Malaysia to see Indians lift the trophy and last month at Lal Bahadur Shastri Tournament in Delhi cheering his favourite players. He says, “There was a strong crowd support for the Indian team in Malaysia plus there was no mesh separating the players and the spectators.”

A businessman by profession, Namdhari deals in garments but has been clicking match pictures for a few years now. Though he was born in Dehradun, his parents shifted to Delhi but Namdhari studied in Ludhiana where he picked the nuances of the game of hockey. He was trained with ace defender Sardar Singh, the robust player from Punjab, a regular with the Indian team and who recently made it to the International Federation of Hockey’s (FIH) All Star squad for this year. He says, “I admire Sardara. He is like a brother. If the team gets four more players like him, we will rock the international scene. I’m slightly senior in terms of years put into the game but unfortunately, I couldn’t continue playing owing to family circumstances. But I feel happy seeing him perform well. I’m closer to players in the Indian squad who belong to Punjab but I love taking photos of players like Arjun Halappa and Shivendra Singh.”

Today, Singh is one of the most clicked players. As for Namdhari, his match shots featuring Singh speak of his admiration for the national athleticism and defence skills. In most of them, Singh is either captured cutting the opponent’s shoulder with his own, eking the ball back with blade, saving a fatal offensive attempt. Or there are shots of Singh diving for the ball where he comes about as a committed warrior, tackling the world’s fastest, most envied players.

But there is something more than his camera that speaks of Namdhari’s serious commitment to Indian hockey. He has founded a hockey club that brings together people from all walks of life, including professional and amateur players. The club organises training sessions and weekend matches that culminate into an annual affair, the six-a-side hockey tournament with help from a few sponsors. “There are eight teams associated with the tournament. School-going children are taking a great interest in the club’s activities and it is popular with older members too.” Namdhari next hopes to attend the 2012 London Olympics.