Bhubaneswar, April 11: Incidents such as women draped in saris dribbling it out in a hockey match or parents selling the small land they own to buy sticks for their kids might be a rarity for the world, but not for the people of Sundargarh district.
Such passionate attachment for a game called hockey has been prevailing for decades in this distant district. Now, it has been rightfully captured on reel by Odia boy Piyush Puty, who was recently in news for his short documentary Amdavad Ma Famous that won him a National Award this year in the category of best non-feature film.
His 80-minute documentary titled The Tribal Scoop tries to capture the century-old tradition of hockey in the district. A large number of national and international-level players have come out from the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district over the years, including Dilip Tirkey.
“The idea to make the documentary was natural when I thought about Sundargarh,” said Puty. He and his friend Biswa Ranjan Pradhan — Bollywod film editor from Odisha — are making the film.
“During our first visit to the region in 2014, we found out about ways people grow up with hockey. From a seven-year-old kid to a 70-year-old man, the eagerness to play the sport is enormous,” said Puty.
Since then, the duo visited the district many times and witnessed the daily lives of the people from close angles. The trailer of the film will be launched in a fortnight’s time and it will be completed by October.
Puty says both men and women are equally excited about playing hockey there. “We saw a number of women’s hockey tournaments happening. While the ladies play, their husbands, brothers and fathers stand among the crowd, cheering and celebrating every move. It is a sight to behold and you realise that there is so much of positive attitude,” said Puty, an alumnus of BJB College.
The team also met Dilip Tirkey and a number of hockey coaches to know more about the hockey traditions of the district.
“We have met players also who have been selected to stay at the government hostel and train themselves in the sport.
For most of them, getting a place there is a tremendous thing,” Puty said. But, he admitted that the movie is a lot beyond the “good things” about the hockey traditions of Sundargarh.
“These days, not as many players from the district are getting a berth in the national team. There was a time when five players from the district represented the national team. Our attempt is also to question this fact and seek answers to it,” said the 29-year-old cinematographer, who has been associated with Bollywood films such as Wake Up Sid and Lootera.
