The year was 2006. I had just began watching professional football, and sat transfixed as Zinedine Zidane, playing the biggest and last match of his career, headbutted Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final, in one of the most memorable and heartbreaking moments of contemporary football. Rishabh Bala, the protagonist of Kautuk Srivastava’s debut novel, also sits glued to the TV at exactly the same moment. Zidane’s red card baffles him; little does he know that in the days to come, another red card will change his life.
Red Card is a coming-of-age story told through four football tournaments spanning a year. Set in Shri Sunderlal Sanghvi School in Thane, it tracks the life of the school’s scrappy football team, with Abhay Purohit, team captain, Abel Floyd Thottapalli, defender, Rakshit Dave, wise-cracking goalkeeper, and others. The challenges they face are many and diverse — from having to convince a player that heading the ball will not result in hair loss to finding a new coach. But driven by passion, the team perseveres — first alone, then under the guidance of the tough but fair coach Mehfouz Noorani. But when Rishabh gets a red card in a crucial match, he finds himself wondering, was it worth it?
Most sports fiction follow a template — spunky team faces an adversity, finds a coach who believes in them, fails but gets back on their feet, and finally emerges as victors.
Srivastava does not veer from that, but still manages to steer clear of clichés. His years of experience as a stand-up comedian and writer shine through: for diligent fans of his stand-up shows, a few of the punchlines may even seem familiar.
Credit goes to Srivastava in how he perfectly recreates the atmosphere of an upper middle-class school, with its monotonous lessons and lackadaisical approach to sports. The characters are relatable — the irritable English teacher, Poulomi Bobde, Ghadge Sir, with his heavily-accented English — but they often leave you craving for more details. If you can overlook these flaws, then Red Card is a nostalgic walk in the park for anyone who has played or is interested in football.
navmi.krishna@thehindu.co.in
Red Card; Kautuk Srivastava, Penguin, ₹299
