Review: 'Goal' is as bold and shockingly honest as Subhas Bhowmick was

Published in Bengali by Deep Prakashan, a Kolkata-based publisher, the book has shocked many because Bhowmick narrated his soccer and love stories, scandalising almost anyone and everyone associated with him during his heydays. And he praised a handful, calling them Gods from heaven.

For the record, it was amazing how he talked to the author Supriyo Mukhopadhyay. He called the seasoned sports writer from his hospital bed where he was undergoing dialysis and dictated large chunks of the book. He, actually, told Mukhopadhyay that narrating chapters during dialysis is very refreshing. And that he had convinced the doctors to allow him to talk.

Probably the doctors knew Bhowmick would walk out if not allowed to talk.
He was not worried about anything, including death. Doctors had given him many warnings but Bhowmick would rarely listen.

Actually, he was both bold and confident. He once told Usha Uthup, Kolkata’s top singer, to wait for over an hour before he would allow his team members to shoot a promo for ESPN Star Sports. The crew was shocked but Uthup said she would wait. “For Bhowmick, I will wait for even two hours,” said Uthup.

Bhowmick showed he was bold in the book. “I repeatedly asked him if he was comfortable narrating such stories of life so vividly. Bhowmick said nothing should be hidden from life, everything should be told,” Mukhopadhyay said in a brief interview.

Throughout the book, Bhowmick talked about taking on the mandarins of India’s soccer world and how he openly challenged them. And how he walked away because he felt he was the best. And - true to sports management in India - someone would always try to mess up his show.

The book details how Bhowmick once chased Parimal Chuni Goswami from the VIP box during the nationals in Kerala, blaming India’s best known soccer captain for deliberately dropping Bhowmick from the national selection. Bhowmick did not care that Goswami was a true sports person, who represented India in the 1960 Summer Olympics, captained India to win the 1962 Asian Games soccer gold and the silver in 1964 Asian Games. Goswami also played high quality cricket to help Bengal reach the finals of the Ranji Trophy in 1971-72.

Bhowmick did not care. He squarely blamed Goswami and chased him out of the stadium. And then casually said sorry. The book says how during the same tournament Bhowmick made friends with two dancers at the bar of the seaside hotel and continued drinking with the two - a mother and daughter duo - till late hours of the night. When his coach, Lyangcha Mitra, told Bhowmick to return to his room, Bhowmick asked: “What do you want? Me in the room or the trophy?”

And then, very calmly, he talked about his date with a hotel receptionist in Bombay (it was not Mumbai then) two days before his marriage in Kolkata. The book repeatedly highlights the confidence Bhowmick carried with him, and how he openly said what he wanted. He helped his club East Bengal beat a Thai club to win the ASEAN Cup in 2003 but Bhowmick says in the book that the best East Bengal team in the mid '70s would not have won the ASEAN Cup. The news came as a shocker to many because its rare for a coach to downplay the best years of his club.

But that was Bhowmick, and his swag. Kolkata’s top editor Gautam Bhattacharya, who mentored Mukhopadhyay to write Bhowmick’s book, says it was very difficult to understand the player, and the coach.

“He was a fanboy to Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson. He adored them, wanted to train under them and called them the world’s best coaches,” says Bhattacharya.

Bhattacharya remembers an incident when Bhowmick wrote a long e-mail to Ferguson, requesting the latter to help Bhowmick learn modern coaching. Ferguson did not respond. Bhowmick managed to procure Ferguson’s mobile number and called the legendary coach. Ferguson did not respond.

“Bhowmick was crestfallen. He really wanted to train under those coaches. He said Indian football has miles to go before reaching international standards. He knew what Indian football was missing,” adds Bhattacharya.

Probably Bhowmick knew what he was missing, and what India was missing. And he knew it would not be easy for him to train under his favourite coaches. It was among the misses of his life, like being dropped from the Indian selection at the peak of his career.

So let’s drop liquor and sex for a while and try to understand who Bhowmick was and what he meant for Indian football.

He played when there were no breaking headlines, he never got a national honour like an Arjuna award, or a Dronacharya or a Padma Shri. But broke into a paroxysm of sobbing some months before his death when the East Bengal club installed his bust in the club premises.

Bhowmick knew he had been a maverick, and lived his life like Conan the Cimmerian without being ruled by anyone, not even his family. He was a player with a devastating gift.

The book vividly details how Bhowmick told his coach, Pradip Banerjee, on the afternoon of September 29, 1975 that he had had sex with his wife before reaching the East Bengal club for the IFA Shield finals. A shocked Banerjee - says the book - wanted to know if Bhowmick was tired but the frontliner said he was on top of the world and would wreak havoc in the Bagan defence.

Bhowmick did not score but East Bengal’s 5-0 victory over its arch rivals is still a record. That day he was just unstoppable, time and again tearing through the flanks and setting up passes that wrecked the Bagan defence like ninepins.

Mohun Bagan officials - a friend from Kolkata said - were alarmed and distressed at what Bhowmick said in the book. He had blamed the legendary Sailen Manna - almost an icon for Mohun Bagan - for fixing matches, and said often P.K. Banerjee, who coached both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, and India, would encourage Bhowmick to dope.

Now no one can ask him to stop, Bhowmick is no longer alive.

So what did the book miss?

A few incidents Bhowmick wanted to include in the last chapter, which he wanted to title atonement. That did not happen, India’s most colourful footballer had to be wheeled into a hospital for treatment. This time he could not call from his bed.

And also in 1973, when he was in his prime, Bhowmick missed the Merdeka tournament in Kuala Lumpur. The reason was bizarre. The then Bengal CM Siddhartha Shankar Ray wanted top Bengal players to drop out of the national selection and stick to playing the Calcutta league and IFA Shield.

Why? So that crowds in the city would fill the stands and not get distracted into the Naxalite movement that was still simmering throughout Bengal. Bhowmick felt he missed showcasing his talent to the Asian giants. For him, it was a great miss.

The joke in Kolkata is that the mandarins of Indian football are reeling under the impact of the book. They are just unable to react, or comment. Actually, it is a brilliant read. Like their game, sportspersons must reveal everything about their game and life.

Wish the book had an English edition.