The play at noon

Jagvinder Singh Brar

THE Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton”. It is a significant historical statement. It implies the importance of school system and the quality of learning in the later lives of students and society. 

It was noon. The April 21 sun was ablaze at 39 degrees; the wind was the relieving feature. Yet it was difficult to be in the sun. At this hour of the day, in University Campus School, about 25 students aged 13-15, accompanied by their teacher, appeared in the playground.

The teacher, standing on a raised platform, addressed the students who were standing in a square formation. After the brief address, the teacher disappeared.

The students started playing football in the ground, without any goalposts and referee. They had divided themselves into two teams. Three of them just chose to sit on the side and talk, with their backs towards the players. Some went away. In all, 19 were left in the ground.  

The match started. It was all hotchpotch. The game was picking up at its own pace. Some were going out and coming in at will. But three or four students were playing with their heart. A few forwards were making effort to take the ball past the opposite team. The same was true of the opposite team. Without a referee, it was a self-regulated exercise. They amicably settled the dispute in case of a foul. The game went on for over half an hour. 

I was privileged to watch this unique match while sitting in the car in the parking, at the far end of the adjoining playground. 

At the international level, the flame had been lit for the 2016 Rio Olympics, from the sun’s rays reflected in a parabolic mirror, to bring the world closer through sports. Here, the sun was directly shining on this school team, bringing me closer to the school system through the medium of sports in this part of the country. 

This football match was enjoyable for its naturalness. The self-regulating mechanism of the teams was praiseworthy, being improvised by these budding sportspersons. The countries that showed the quality of meaningful self-regulation have created a niche for themselves in the sun.  

 Football as a team sport is liked by many youngsters. Only a few states in India have shown a keen interest in this game. At the international level, India’s presence in the field of football is not equal to its size.  

 The entire school system got conjured up before my eyes. The energy of youth was evident, as was the response of the authority. All acts of omission and commission acquire importance when an exercise for improvement is undertaken, to test the veracity of the statement — The Battle of Waterloo was won in the playing fields of Eton.