A tribute to R D Sharma

A tribute to R D Sharma....

Rameshwar Dutt Sharma was an ordinary man, born  in  Purmafi , a sleepy village in Muzaffarnagar  District of Western Uttar Pradesh, where people mostly breath hookahs , talk politics and harvest  sugarcane. He neither breathed, talked or  harvested like the rest of them, he only played Volleyball. He might not be an Arjuna awardee, but he was a perfectionist not less than Lord Arjuna himself. He was not a political leader but had followers across the Nation, not a management graduate but inspired many a management guru. Perhaps he was not God but among the people who knew him, he was worshipped from their hearts.

Courage or wisdom, determination or humanity, honesty or humour....... name it, he had it.

After brief stints with UP police and Mohan Mekins , Pandit ji as he is popularly known joined  ONGC volleyball team in the early eighties.  That was just the beginning of a glorious era. Throughout his career he never lost a single PSPB meet. Together with Mehar Singh, H M Bhangari, Vegresh, KP Prabitran, Jagpal Singh, Arshad Khan, Suresh Pundir, A K Sood,P K Walia, J Waris, B Singh,J Singh and rest  took ONGC to the zenith of Indian Volleyball. The tiger of the fifth set, he holds the distinction of being the best player in his maiden and the last PSPB meet he had played. In the 1982 Asian Games at Delhi, he entertained all the spectators with his thundering performance, where India finished an unlucky fourth. The reason for his spectacular performance may lie in the numerous “Desi Ghee Dabba”, which his father used to bring from his village, while he was training hard for the Nation’s glory. The then German coach in charge of the Indian senior men team had high admiration for this Purmafi boy for the amazing fighting spirit he displayed in the crucial matches. Be it erstwhile USSR  volleyball team or  Kerala Police none could ever match the striking power of his ‘lengri shots’ and for the unfortunate lesser seeded teams at home , his famous one-liners were enough to send them packing.

His spontaneous wit and lively spirit was just unmatchable. A plate of paneer pokora and a few sportsmen around, was enough for him to spend hours without a main course. His witty remarks and laugh might be the reason that kept him young at heart till he left us. As In- charge of ONGC volleyball team he took the initiative of building the best team of the Nation, winning almost all the major tournaments of the country. A legacy which is still continued .For students like us, his very presence in the ground brings in a wave of positive energy to all the players. Such was his unusual motivational ways, that players were left with only two option either “you win”” or “don’t dare to lose”.

 A true family man at heart he was always surrounded by relatives and friends. For the children of his brother and friends he was more than a fatherly figure, attending to ceremonies of all his relatives  and friends without fail. His values and ethics have been inculcate by his children and their behaviours speaks volumes of the parents they are born to. His first twin girls were born at a time when he was away playing Volleyball somewhere in south India. The only individual he could not ever match was his ‘better half’, dearest not only to him but to all of us, preparing countless numbers of ‘paneer pokoras’ to keep the countless flow of guest happy. She was the pillars of strength behind ever welcoming Pandit ji

I along with thousands of others around the country salute this ‘ordinary man’ for his un matching contribution towards sports and society. And for few hundreds of us who are fortunate to share his vision and received his love, we will miss our mortal God forever.

Abhijit Bhattacharya