Kolkata: Olympian and Asian Games gold medal-winning footballing great Tulsidas Balaram has undergone brain surgery at a city hospital here on Tuesday.
Balaram suffered a blow on his head after falling at his residence in Uttarpara, Kolkata on Tuesday. He was soon rushed to the hospital with the help of neighbours. Doctors found a blood clot and soon performed an operation. He is now stable and under medical observation.
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Initially, his medical expenses were borne by his former club East Bengal, later West Bengal Government came to the footballer's aid.
Dr. Shanti Ranjan Dasgupta, assistant secretary of East Bengal, said, “He was diagnosed with subdural hematoma (a type of bleeding inside the head) on Saturday. He was operated upon today."
Balaram was a star footballer of his time. He was contemporary of Indian greats Chuni Goswami and P.K. Banerjee, and Balaram was not less elegant and effective than them.
Balaram is one of the rare Indian footballers who had the skills to play for any top-notch European club during his heydays. Despite achieving so much in his distinguished career, he never got his due. He loves to hate Indian football because of its concession culture. In 1990, his name was nominated for Padma Shri, but shockingly his file was lost at the last minute. Even police verification was done, but he never received the award that he deserves.
Now, he doesn't want to be recognised as a former Indian footballer. Till today neither AIFF nor the sports ministry thought about recognising his larger than life contributions to the Indian national team.
The Ammuguda borne footballer now doesn't enjoy being called a star or great of Indian football. He is rather happy being known as a common man of Secunderabad who settled down on the bank of river Hoogly falling in love with Bengal's football culture. Balaram has been living in Kolkata since 1957.
He doesn't watch football anymore. He is not fond of the appeasement culture of Indian football and the way the sport is being run in India. Last year, when East Bengal invited him for its centenary, Balaram rejected the invitation. He turned his back to Kolkata Maidan where he enthralled thousands of fans in the late 1950s and early 1960s because of unknown reasons. There are many theories but Balaram never himself opened up about why he doesn't want to return to Maidan.
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On Tuesday, once he regained his sense post-operation, the octogenarian refused to take any help offered by the East Bengal club and the West Bengal government. He told them that he has medical insurance, so he doesn't need any help.
Balaram, 84, has been struggling with various age-related since late 2020. Since then he was bed-ridden and was looked after by a nurse. The footballer from Secunderabad was the most understated among the famous trio of Indian football - Chuni Goswami, P.K. Banerjee and Tulsidas Balaram. Goswami and Banerjee were accorded the Padma Shri award, but Balaram was ignored.
While Goswami and Banerjee passed away last year, Balaram is among the few players of the 1962 Asian Games gold medal-winning team who is still alive.
-- By Sudipta Biswas
