The Mudis Sports Day

by Rajesh Thomas 

 

The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation has five estates in the Annamallais planting district in South India. They are popularly known as the "The Mudis Group of estates". The Singampatti Group of the Company is situated much further south, almost touching Cape Comorin. It is a unique planting district, in the sense that it is in the middle of the Kalakad / Mundanthorai Tiger Reserve and there are no other plantations in the vicinity.

 

The author is highly indebted to Mr.M.L.Devassy, retired Personnel Manager, BBTC, & Mr. Prashant Aiyappa, Manager Dunsandle Estate, BBTC for the valuable information and photographs that they have shared. 

 

Some recent pics of the Mudis Sports Day

For an approaching visitor, the spectacle would have been novel. The sight of the road winding through the tea fields and suddenly sloping towards the sports ground, with milling masses vying for vantage spots. Towards one side of the ground stand eight ladies in a row in colorful saris hitched up with a pot of water on their head. At the sound of the starter’s gun the ladies, with the roar of the encouraging crowd spurring them on, sprint fifty meters and empty their mud pots on the two surprised young aspiring planters fresh out of college trying to judge the race.

The crowd roars in laughter as the young Sinnadorais (Assistant Managers in Tamil), drenched completely, return sheepishly to the pavilion. Welcome to the Mudis sports day and you have just witnessed the 'chatty' race (chatty means mud pot in Tamil). 

 

But not all Sinnadorais take it lying down: Kenny Sreshta was reputed to have taken one full round of the track trying to escape the speedy Mudis lasses - in vain. Sandy Gumoan, with presence of mind, ran straight to the refreshments tent, grabbed a soft drink bottle and retaliated by spraying the contents at the surprised ladies. The dapper Roy Machia, dressed smartly in jacket /tie and aviators, was taken totally by surprise much to every one’s enjoyment. It was generally acknowledged that this as the initiation for the young SDs into the company.

Come January 26th every year the day the masses from the surrounding group estates throng the lush green grounds of the Mudis Staff club. A day eagerly anticipated by the crowds dressed in their Sunday best- a full day of fun and entertainment. It is also a day when the workers and staff from the group estates put on their running shoes to show off their athletic prowess: the day of the Annual Inter-Estate Athletics Meet for the Mudis group of Estates. A unique feature in the BBTC estates, rarely seen in any of the other plantation groups in South India.

It is also a tribute to the olden days' planters' love for sports and the encouragement they gave all employees for participation in sporting activities. As children growing up in Mudis, every year we looked forward eagerly to the sports day along with the inter estate football and volleyball matches, cheering for the estates where our fathers were posted.

Petty shops and hawkers mysteriously turned up on the magic day: fleecing the crowd, hoping to make a quick buck, with the odd arrack seller selling his moonshine discreetly in the tea bushes. As the afternoon wore on, the crowds, suitably encouraged, would begin to take a more vociferous interest in the proceedings, shouting encouragement interspersed with the choicest abuses at the competitors who failed to measure up to their standards.

 The Mudis Staff club the day before Sports Day

Competitions were there for all, including the Managers, who invariably were given tasks generally unique; usually, it was the slow cycle race. One year, a table tennis ball throwing contest was organized for the Managers and Ray Steele (a favorite with the workers), a hulk of a man, without anyone knowing substituted a golf ball for the ping pong ball and threw it further than anyone who had thrown the ping pong ball much to the crowd's delight! The crowd of course was in the dark about the substitution..

As the afternoon wore on came the blue riband event of the day - the tug of war, when the heavyweights stepped on the turf to match strengths - followed by the Fancy Dress competition.

Both pix by Ratheesh Kumar

The credit for starting the sports day in Singampatti belongs to D.D.Khanwilkar much later in 1983. The athletics took place at the Kakachi Golf course. The starting years in Singampatti, to put it mildly, were simply hilarious. The workforce, not exposed to the nuances of athletics,  took some years to settle. It was difficult to dissuade the crowd from running behind the competitors during the race, as it was common to have a whole bevy of supporters cheering and running behind the competitors for the entire race!

The sports day at Singampatti was held on May 1st and was preceded by the inter estate volley ball tournament. With the estates from the Singampatti group being more isolated and less exposed to the outside world the rivalry between the estates was much fiercer especially during the volleyball matches, leading to allegations of favoritism. This forced the company to bring a qualified referee from the Sports Authority of India, Tirunelveli, to officiate the matches.

Later on the same Ref, who was also a qualified coach, came to my school in Tirunelveli to conduct a volleyball coaching camp. When he found out my father was working in Singampatti he mentioned how tough he found it to umpire the volley ball matches due to the crowd fervor and involvement, which, according to him, he had not witnessed even when he was umpiring interstate matches.  

 

The final event of the sports day was the cross- country race, which invariably was won by the runners from the distant divisions. The sports meet saw some highly talented athletes who excelled year after year and became crowd favorites. From the staff, there were some champion athletes like John Philip, Thomas Joseph, Somasundaram, Arularaj and David Dhanaraj, who regularly won trophies every year and were crowd favorites.
 

Mrs.Kanchan Sanyal distributing the prizes. Pix by J Wilson

 

 

Mrs. Rani Jothikumar giving away the prizes. Pix by Ratheesh Kumar

                                     
At the end, there was an overall rolling trophy for the best estate. It was with a lot pride that the workers from the winning estate carried the trophy back, with a lot of sloganeering in Tamil.

Some of the athletes became so proficient that they began to flaunt their talent at state level athletic meets supported by the company. One of the most enduring stories was of Muniandy, a worker from Gajam Mudi Estate. His father was a bootlegger who had his operations inside the Eucalyptus Plantations of the company which bordered the Tea Fields, and young Muniandy used to sprint carrying the bottles on his head to sell them and on the return trip carry uphill the ingredients for the next brew.

This uphill/ downhill trip he did often every day. My father, at that time the manager of Gajam Mudi, happened to see this lad run. He persuaded him to take part in the cross country race in the coming sports meet, which he won with considerable ease. Then he was a made a permanent worker in Gajam Mudi and was often sent to participate in state-level meets across Tamil Nadu. Over a short period, Muniandy became a champion long distance runner and a force to reckon with at the state level. At one such meet, he was spotted by the officers from Tuticorin Port Trust, who recruited him on the spot, on their sports quota.

Well, who says dreams don’t come true!

 

Stalwarts of the BBTC Group Mr.Angus McNaughtan addressing the gathering at Mudis Staff Club function. Seated from Left Mr.Nikoo Rawley ( partly hidden), Mr.A.K.Hirijee, Mr.James Gibbons and Dr.K.T.Mathew. 

 

 

Author's Notes:

An intro to the Mudis Staff Club: The club was formed in 1929 and operated out of the building where the present Mudis Police Station is. The present clubhouse was built in 1948 and has remained as a social and sporting hub for the staff of the BBTC estates. The clubhouse is an imposing building situated at a height giving the spectators a bird’s eye view of the action below. A set of triangular steps lead down to the manicured turf below and it creates an electrifying atmosphere when the footballers and cricketers walk down the steps.

Chatty Race is a fifty meter dash for women with mud pots filled with water on their head. Before the race the participants are told the winner is the first competitor to reach the finish line and empty their pots on the judges. The judges are some greenhorn Assistant Managers who have recently joined the group and are not aware that they are going to be drenched. This is a regular event every year and eagerly anticipated by everyone.

Slow cycle race is generally over a short distance of twenty to thirty meters, where the winner is the last to reach the finish line without their feet touching the ground.

                                                                                  
Meet the writer: Rajesh Thomas

Rajesh is a second generation planter who was born and brought up in the tea districts of South India. Don't miss out on his other stories - Click on this link to read them: https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/search/label/J.Rajesh%20Thomas 

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