Adda at Calcutta Customs Club Will Miss The 'Sparrow'

DECEMBER 28, 2012

By Sumit Dutt Majumder

LESLIE WALTER CLAUDIUS passed away last week. He was a hockey legend - Dhyanchand described him as a 'sparrow', for he was all over the field, either defending or attacking. K D Singh Babu playing opposite Claudius grudgingly appreciated his tackles. The London Times had this to say during the 1948 Olympics - ‘Hockey is not worthwhile seeing if Claudius is not playing.' Claudius, the hockey genius is well known all over the hockey world. I would today talk about Leslie Claudius as I have seen him as perfect gentleman and a proud Customs officer.

I know Claudius since I was a school boy in a small town in Assam in the late fifties - through newspapers, of course. He was one of my heroes whose photos and clippings had a pride of place in my ‘scrap-book'. In 1975, I came to Calcutta Custom House as a probationer in a group of six. In the course of our schedule we proceeded for the on-the-job training in ‘rummaging' of ships. That was the time I met my boyhood hero for the first time in flesh and blood. It's difficult to explain my feelings when I met Claudius first. The person in photo of my ‘scrap-book' was right in front of me as my colleague - telling us about the greatness of the Customs Service! The rummaging team of Calcutta Customs was then the best in the country. We heard how the rummaging officers recovered smuggled goods like gold and diamond from the false cavities in the wall of the cabin, Scotch whisky bottles from the oil tank in engine- room, Japanese textiles and watches from almost inaccessible areas of the hatches below the deck of the ship. The rummagers had to be hundred percent physically fit so as to enable them to reach every nook and corner of the ship. It was therefore no coincidence that most of the competent rummagers were sportsmen. It's a pity, with the decline of smuggling of traditional items, rummaging lost the importance it used to receive. Given the trans-border national security concerns, one hopes that rummaging of ships would receive due attention once again.

During the period of my first posting at Calcutta Customs in 1976-79, I was a frequent visitor to the Calcutta Customs Club, where I interacted with Claudius with lot of reverence. On my second stint in Calcutta Customs in 1993-97 I got to know Claudius more personally. By that time he had superannuated as Assistant Collector of Customs. We used to meet mostly at the Customs Club. Kolkata is the only city in the country where the Customs has an independent club in Maidan, the sports world of the city. It is the second oldest club in the Maidan with a licensed bar. The club members used to adore him, just as Claudius used to love them. I never found Claudius talking ill of anybody. He had a benign presence in the club. But for ill health or his absence from the city, Claudius would visit the Customs Club every evening enjoying with the compatriots and mentoring the young ones. He was truly the Praan Purush of the Calcutta Customs. I've no hesitation in saying that because of the presence of the seniors led by Claudius in the Club, there was always bonhomie amongst the officers in the Club and that one never heard of any brawl in the club. It is hoped that the seniors would continue to visit the club regularly and act as mentors to the juniors. I have many a sweet memories of adda with Claudius after the sunset at the Customs Club. He used to talk on various topics like the past greatness of Indian hockey, ways to bring hockey back in the Indian milieu, role of Customs in supporting and shoring up national sportsmen, need for more involvement of senior officers in promoting sports in the Department etc. His comments and observations would always be laced with wit and humour, but without any rancour.

In the winter of 1994, a few sports enthusiasts of the Calcutta Customs Club thought of honouring Claudius in a fitting manner. They came up with a proposal before S.K. Chaudhuri, the then Commissioner of Customs to organise a ‘hockey-fiesta' in honour of Leslie Claudius. The Commissioner roped me in, and we set out for having a grand hockey fiesta. Almost all living Indian hockey Olympians of yore came over to participate in the ¶Leslie Claudius Hockey Fiesta.¶ As far as I recollect, they included Perumal, Nundy Singh, Keshav Dutt, Vace Paes, Haripal Kaushik, Rajagopal, Gurbox Singh, Merwyn Fernandes, Zafar Iqbal, Ashok Kumar and Bhaskaran. We could not get Udham Singh, the four times Olympic partner of Claudius. Barinder Singh (Bunty), the hockey enthusiast put me on phone with him. He had a wedding in the family around that time and regretted that he missed something to do with Claudius. All the former Olympians of different ages from late sixties to late forties, played for ten to fifteen minutes in a friendly match in honour of Claudius. What a sight it was to see the proud Olympians of different ages playing together in the Calcutta Customs Club ground for honouring Leslie Claudius!

In the evening, a ‘Ball' was organised in a makeshift wooden platform in the same club ground. Apart from the participating hockey Olympians, all the leading national players of different sports disciplines in Kolkata had a ball in the said ‘Ball'. They included Chuni Goswami, P. K. Banerjee, Tulsidas Balaram, Naresh Kumar, Jaideep Mukherjee, Akhtar Ali - just to name a few that I could recollect. Tarun Roy, the then Member in the Central Board of Excise & Customs graced the event. On many occasions when I met him later, Tarun Roy spoke nostalgically about the ‘Hockey Fiesta.'' The response that

Page 1 of 2 we received from the players of all ages from across the country speaks volumes of the popularity of Claudius, the perfect gentleman.

Claudius, a shy and sensitive person who was initially reluctant about the idea of a fiesta in his honour, hugged me late in the night and said, ¶I'm so happy that my Customs Club did it for me — thanks buddy.¶ I remember to have told him - ¶It was all our pleasure. You deserve much more. Also, you are only about five years younger to my father, and I thank you for calling me ‘buddy'.'' The Leslie Claudius Hockey Fiesta was a grand success. That was primarily because of the personality in whose name the fiesta was held. Also because all members of the Calcutta Customs Club put their best foot forward in the name of Claudius to make it a memorable event. I recollect a few names like Bunty Singh, Chandan Banerjee, Raghu Chakraborty, Asit Dey, Bharat Chopra, R. N. Singh, Nandu Rai, Chanchal, Sujon, Mrinal, Prithivi Raj, Manab, Tapan, Tarun, Bhowmik, Ashim, Sohail and Tapas. There are many more, whose faces I remember, but names I can't recollect - blame it on my age. Claudius was loved and revered by all who came near him. Besides the Asian Games of 1982, with which I was associated as an organiser, this was one event whose memory I would cherish all throughout the rest of my life.

Since 2000 I had been posted outside Kolkata. But whenever I visited Kolkata, I would spend one evening in the Customs club, and Claudius was always kind enough to drop by, if he was in Kolkata. I met him for the last time in September 2011 on my final visit to Kolkata as Chairman of the Board, and of course the venue was the Customs Club, and the adda was without any officialdom. Some of his special friends like Chandan Banerjee and Raghu Chakraborty were also there. I saw Claudius as healthy as one could be in one's mid-eighties. But his spirits were high, and his wits and humour had not deserted him. I just could not fathom then that it would be our last rendezvous. We spoke in November last year after he received my letter written to him on the date of my retirement. He said, he was touched by my letter. I said, it was his greatness and humility that he felt so.

I spoke to him last around four months back. He was not at all keeping well. He had been visiting hospital frequently. He was suffering from within and without. His well wishers like Nandu, the Customs Club Secretary, S. K. Chaudhuri, K Chandramauli, an ardent admirer of Claudius, the Central Board of Excise & Customs, TIOL and many others joined hands to help Claudius springing back, just as he used to do in the hockey field like a ‘sparrow' moving from the center-half position to the opponent's D in a lightning speed. But then, one has to gracefully accept God's will! I conclude my tribute by tweaking what Keshav Dutt had to say on the sad demise of Leslie Claudius - ¶With his death, the Indian hockey [ and the Calcutta Customs Club ] have lost their joie de vivre! ¶

(The author is Indirect Tax Ombudsman, Delhi, and the views are his personal.)

(DISCLAIMER : The views expressed are strictly of the author and Taxindiaonline.com doesn't necessarily subscribe to the same. Taxindiaonline.com Pvt. Ltd. is not responsible or liable for any loss or damage caused to anyone due to any interpretation, error, omission in the articles being hosted on the site. )

Page 2 of 2