Indian Hockey & Sansarpur Hockey

I was born in 1947 in Sansarpur village in the Kullar family . I was the third youngest son of my father Gajjan Singh who also had two daughters both elder to me. Traditionally Kullar clan was a warriors community . My grandfather Jagat Singh fought in the First World War and my in the Second World War . Family tradition was carried on by my elder brothers , Pritam Singh ,Balbir Singh (Services) both of whom are at present Colonels In Indian Army . I was also interested to join Indian Army to maintain family tradition . My elder brother Pritam Singh compelled me not join Army and I changed my hockey career to education .

But the fond memories, at present I had of my childhood are all centered around the game of hockey. Game of hockey was a passion with all members of my family as well as other residents of the village. As soon as a boy was old enough to hold the stick in his hands , his presence in the village hockey field on all evenings was a must . Other minor games were also popular among young children , but they were played in leisure time only after it was too dark to play hockey . When I started going to school, I remember both my elder brothers playing hockey for their College/ University and discussing hockey all the times among themselves . All elders of the village were staunch hockey lovers and patronizers of hockey . I still have the vivid memories of the day when India regained Olympics hockey gold medal in 1964. Whole village was tense and glued to the radio commentary with bated breaths when the final between India and Pakistan was being played in Tokyo . As we had lost to Pakistan in previous Olympics in 1960 in Rome and the defeat has spread gloom all over the village . I still remember how the whole village was in tears on that day as if a calamity has befallen the village so when finally the 1964 game had the last whistle of referee and the news of India winning the final was announced by the commentator , whole village started dancing in joy , sweets were distributed , congratulations were exchanged and the lighting village had with Diyas and all turned the evening into a day time . This Olympic winning team had four players Udham Singh Kullar , Darshan Singh Kullar , Balbir Singh Kullar ( Punjab ), and Jagjit Singh Kullar from my village . The heroic welcome they received by the people when they come back with the medal had to be seen to be believed . I still remember my mother Darbar Kaur’s words which she uttered to us when she comeback after congratulating family members of great Sansar-purians, who won gold medals in Tokyo . She said to all three of us and my cousin Modan Singh who stayed with us . Sons, “one day you will also make me proud as they had made their mothers proud”.

The most dominating in inculcating the love for the game in village’s children played by the parents in general and mothers in particular . No words can do justice in describing the motivation provided by mothers of Sansarpurians hockey players to their children in taking up the game of hockey and the way the whole village truly worshipped the game. However, in the following an effort is made to describe some of the happenings. I still had fond memories of, in order to give glimpses of the village atmosphere viz. a viz. hockey of those days .

I personally was also interested in Cricket , as a boy , but my mother would laugh at me and disallowed me playing in . She wanted her sons to play only hockey. If it was good enough to be the national game , it was also good enough for her boys. As usual , she made the right decision. The game and my interest in it, saw me through college and many interviews, later on it became the stepping stones of my career beside a most integral of my life . Little wonder there that I choose it for my research .

Having grown up in such and atmosphere , my love for hockey was natural and second to none . Like all village children I started playing hockey from a very early age in the field of Sansarpur. The earliest training I had in hockey did not only teach me the basics of playing the game but also inculated in me the love for other aspects of the game. The importance of being present in time on field in all days , taking proper care of kit and gear , doing regular exercise and above all importance of maintaining the ground and other organizational aspects which went a long way in shaping my later days were all inherited by me in those fermenting years from the very soil of Sansarpur .

During my schooling, which I had in Cantonment Board High School in Jalandhar Cantt , I played hockey for the school team and also developed interest in organizing hockey games. The first lessons in need and importance of innovations in organization village Ram Ill . There I learnt how to make shift stages, how to make optimum use of meager resources for staging the show etc. These were the earliest lessons , I had a subject of organisation and provided me the motivation and courage to organise hockey game. At the tender age of 23 , I organised six hockey tournaments in the Sansarpur village from 1970 to 1976 . In these tournaments various teams from neighbourhood villages participated and all aspects of the tournaments including orgnisation were much appreciated by the village elders . I have learned the administration and organisation from the historical Sansarpur hockey ground. This is all due to my mother who always encouraged me to participate actively in the various functions related to sports, dramas, whether it was giving speeches in the tournaments, to form a team, to maintain hockey play ground , to organise a tournament and to organise a Drama/Ram Leela etc.

Having matriculated from school , I shifted to Lyallpur Khalsa college , Jalandhar, where I represented college team and I played in my first Inter-College tournament at Punjab University, Chandigarh, in 1965. Subsequently I represented Punjab University thrice in 1968 , 1969 ,1971 and Guru Nanak Dev University in 1970 for four consecutive years . I was the first captain of Guru Nanak Dev University in the Inter-University hockey tournament held at Jammu in 1970. It was difficult to obtain Punjab University Colour as for obtaining University Colour one has to represent University team for three consecutive years; and I became a proud owner of Punjab University Colour in 1971 .I represented Indian Universities in the Nationals held at Jalandhar in 1970.

My first love for hockey took me to Punjab University Chandigarh from where I got the degree in Physical Education in 1973 .After passing out from Punjab University , I joined Jamia Millia Islamia in 1973 as first Director of Physical Education . Jamia Millia Islamia was a small University at that time and standard of sports in Jamia Millia Islamia in general and in hockey in particular was dismal to ay the least . But with in few years I was able to mould Jamia’s hockey team into a force to reckon with at Inter-University level, Jamia hockey team for the first time finished 3rd in the North Zone Inter-University Hockey Tournament held at Jamia Millia Islamia in 1991 and also won bronze medal in the All India Inter-University Hockey Tournament held at Gwalior in 1991 .

When I joined Jamia, there were no facilities , worth the name , available for playing game. We not even have a proper ground. I took this as my first priority and developed a ground which is now considered one of the best in Delhi .

In 1980 , I shifted to Faculty of Education as a Lecturer in Education , where I was given the charge of teacher trainees . Now my students were budding teachers who had to be motivated to take part in sports and given training in organisational aspects , in order to enable them to proper use of games and sports in their future professional eye. This was very challenging and although different task . I had to make various innovation in order to succeed here as now . I had to develop games and sports for common man, I have introduced a new game called the combined cricket in the Institute of Advance Studies in Education in 1982 .

The I.A.S.E ( Formerly Department of Teacher Training & Non-Formal Education), Jamia Millia Islamia , is well known for it’s innovative and experimental attitude towards games and sports which comprise a remarkably wide range of events . Studies of B.Ed. and Diploma in Basic Training participate in these events in large numbers , either in the form of inter-house competition, or on individual basis. There has been a consistent and sincere efforts on the part of Popinder Singh Kullar, Reader. Incharge of games and sports , to modify the rules of the games as and when needed and to introduce new games which would incorporate a balanced combination of recreation and physical exercise . Since most of the games are played jointly by boys and girls, Popinder Singh has been particularly aware of the need to frame the rules in such a manner as to suit both the sexes . ( Newsletter,I.A.S.E,1995 )

I was the organizing secretary of the first ever North Zone Inter-University Hockey Tournament in New Delhi , for Jamia Millia Islamia ( 1985-86 ). I was the coach of Indian Universities hockey team in the Nationals held at Bangalore in 1986 . I was the manager of Indian Universities hockey team in the 1989 National Championship at Delhi , in 1990 at Bikaner .

I being a Physical Education Teacher in the university , former Director of Physical Education of the university and hockey player of yester-years have always been conscious of the role of my village Sansarpur in the Indian hockey . I have been concerned that where is the golden days of Indian hockey which the whole world was proud of us. Thus , the various career opportunities I had so far and different responsibilities , I shouldered as hockey player, coach, manager , organiser , administrator , and teacher had given me the required experience, expertise and motivation to take up the present study.

Thus ,the various career opportunities I had so far and different responsibilities, I shouldered as hockey player, coach, manager, organizer, administrator, and teacher had given me the required experience and motivation to take up the present study.