“…Pele, Your name is the synonym of football/ A precious gem in the crown of man…” goes a poem dedicated to the football legend. ‘Black Pearl’ is one of the many poems in the book Last Penalty Kick — Football poems by Vasisht M.C. of Calicut. And, N. Hariharan, a retired postmaster settled in Coimbatore, treasures the book.
“I got it from friends when I was in Calicut to watch a football match. The poems take you through the joys of watching World Cup football. The author calls it the carnival of humanity.”
In his introduction, the author recalls how his father, the late P. Sridharan, took him to watch tournaments in Kerala and how he was introduced to the star players of Bengal such as Subash Bhoumik and Surjeet Sengupta, and clubs such as Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedans Sporting Club.
Filled with emotionLater, through television, he got hooked to the English Premier League, Spanish League, UEFA cup. Vasisht says he chose to write poems to convey the emotions witnessed on a football ground.
His poem ‘Football’, which features in the book, was first published in the December 2001 issue of FIFA magazine and translated and published in French, German and Spanish. Hariharan picks the poem ‘Last Penalty Kick’ that discusses the thrills of the shot as his favourite.
‘A man called I.M. Vijayan’ takes you through the journey of the man with the golden boot, from the narrow streets of Thrissur to becoming a living soccer legend.
‘Golden boots of Bhutia’ calls him the fluent striker of soccer, who emerged from the mountainous country side breathing fresh life into the game.
Some poems are dedicated to David Beckham (Oh! Beckham, Dear David Beckham, we dedicate our hearts to you), Higuita, the former Colombian goalkeeper, and, of course, the king of soccer, Diego Maradonna.
The author also celebrates the football frenzy of Brazil in ‘Samba Soccer’ and has penned a poem on the African World Cup. Written in an easy conversational style, all the poems are accompanied by Sathyachandran’s brilliant caricatures of players and Aroon Varma’s pencil drawings.
For details, write to vasishtmc@yahoo.co.in
