Tulsidas Balaram, the last of India's golden trio, dies | Football News - Hindustan Times
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Tulsidas Balaram, the last of India's golden trio, dies

By, Kolkata
Feb 16, 2023 09:44 PM IST

The forward, along with Chuni Goswami and PK Banerjee, once helped India rule the continent

So removed from being a public figure was Tulsidas Balaram, who died on Thursday aged 85, that it never felt wrong to mention him after Chuni Goswami and PK Banerjee in that magical trio of India forwards that once ruled the continent and flickered in the Olympics.

Tulsidas Balaram, the last of the holy trinity of Indian footballers, is no more(Indian Football/Twitter)
Tulsidas Balaram, the last of the holy trinity of Indian footballers, is no more(Indian Football/Twitter)

It didn’t matter that Balaram had scored in the Olympics; Goswami, unarguably the best flair player in the high noon of the national team, had not. It didn’t matter that he was given the Arjuna award in 1962, one year before Goswami, and after only Banerjee in football.

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This was largely because Balaram was protective of his privacy in the way actors Greta Garbo and, closer home, Suchitra Sen were known for.

There was more than a hint of rancour in his decision to move away from the limelight. Not being given the Padma Shri hurt especially because Banerjee and Goswami got it decades ago. Not being taken seriously as an India selector too stung this mild-mannered man. Last year, Balaram refused to be part of a book launch because it was close to the East Bengal tent.

And, so from East Bengal and the Kolkata Maidan, which had embraced him as their own when he shifted from City College Old Boys in Hyderabad in 1957, Balaram moved away. Across the river and into the municipality of Uttarpara in West Bengal’s Hooghly district. A bachelor, he lived alone but was never made to feel that way by neighbours, local shopkeepers and vegetable vendors.

Football was something he excelled at in another life, almost. His career was brief, cut short in its prime following a severe bout of pleurisy. But Balaram’s 36 internationals included two Olympics, two Asian Games and the Merdeka Cup. He scored 10 goals for India.

Players came to Kolkata to make a name for themselves. When Balaram joined East Bengal in 1957, he was an Olympian having debuted for India in the 1956 Games in Melbourne. From his first match for India, in the 1-4 loss to Yugoslavia in the semi-final, till he retired, Balaram was always one of the first names coach Syed Rahim would pencil in.

It was Rahim, the architect of Indian football’s highlights from 1951 to 1962, who called the teenager from Secunderabad for Santosh Trophy trials. Money was a deterrent so Balaram was hesitant. It was only when Rahim paid him to hire a bicycle that he came to Hyderabad for trials, the journalist Novy Kapadia has written. It was the start of a wonderful relationship that like most India players of Balaram’s generation ended with Rahim’s death in 1963.

By then, Balaram had scored against Hungary in the 1960 Olympics and against Thailand and Japan in the 1962 Asian Games where India won gold. Between 1958 and 1962, India won 12 of the 16 games Balaram, Goswami and Banerjee played together. The trio scored 20 of India’s 36 goals in that period with Goswami and Banerjee netting seven each and Balaram getting six.

On way to the 1962 Asian Games gold, the three scored nine of India’s 11 goals. They combined for India’s first goal in the final against South Korea, the move being started by Balaram with Goswami providing the pass for Banerjee’s strike. India won 2-1 with Jarnail Singh scoring the second goal.

In the days of five forwards, Balaram played outside-left for India to accommodate Goswami whose preferred position was inside-left. But for East Bengal, for whom he was the fastest to 100 goals, and later BNR – he moved to the railways team in 1963 because it meant a secure job – he also played outside-left. As he would for Bengal for whom he won three of his four Santosh Trophy titles, the last as captain in 1962. Known for his ball control and the ability to produce defence-splitting passes, Balaram was comfortable playing on the right side of the forwardline too.

Banerjee and Goswami died within 41 days of each other in 2020. With Balaram’s passing after prolonged illness, Aroon Ghosh and DMK Afzal are the only living members of the 1962 Asian Games squad.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Dhiman Sarkar is based in Kolkata with over two decades as a sports journalist. He writes mainly on football.

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