Good bye maestro, it was a joy watching you

Legendary shenai player Bismillah Khan during concerts would always take pride about his roots in Banaras (Varanasi). “Hum to Banaras ke hain. Bana-ras (I am from Banaras, that is made from sweet juice),” he would say when awe-struck fans asked him what made his music so mellifluous. 

There is something in Banaras, which mentors artists who bring joy to the world. One such performer passed away at Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon at the age of 56. Mohammed Shahid, too, was an artist and like Bismillah Khan used an instrument made from wood. In his case it was a wee-bit longer – the hockey stick.

However, he too like Khan Sahib made the world swing with enjoyment as he made the ball dance and dodged past the best in the world. Mohammed Shahid the maestro of dribbling on the astro-turf is no more but his memorable performances would be remembered for long by the generation that once followed hockey religiously.

If cricket had Bishan Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh hunting in pairs, hockey had Zafar Iqbal and Mohammed Shahid.

They belonged to the era when the names of the Indian hockey players were not part of a quiz test. Shahid belonged to the team which had the likes of  V Bhaskaran, Zafar Iqbal, Mervyn Fernandez, Charanjit Kumar, MM Sommayya, Surinder Singh Sodhi and MK Kaushik. But it was Shahid who made the moves.

Like an illusionist he would cut through the toughest of the defences, dribbling and dodging past the sturdiest of defenders and then pass the ball to touch artists who brought up the flanks of the Indian 

forward combination.

Such was his artistry that he would have the entire opposition defence pouncing on him leaving the flanks unguarded, and then in a fraction of a second the ball would be with another maestro of the orchestra. He played a pivotal role in Bhaskaran’s team winning hockey gold in Moscow in 1980.

Like Bade Mian of shenai, Shahid too chose to never move out of Banaras. His love for the city was however greater. By staying back in Banaras Shahid chose oblivion to a post-retirement assignment in a metropolitan centre.

He remained true to his roots and his first team – UP Sports Hostel. In fact it’s said that on the day of his India debut against arch rival Pakistan, Shahid was told by his captain, “Think you are playing for the sports hostel.”

The match ended in a draw and in applause for the newbie Shahid from legends like Akhtar Rasool, Hassan Sardar and Hanif Khan. Watching Shahid make defenders dance to his tune was a sheer joy. The tune has finally fallen silent. Adieu, Mohammed Shahid.