Once bustling with fans and supporters, the Motijheel ‘club para’ has become a refuge for those who live and breathe sports with the glory of the past acting as an indestructible tonic.
On an October evening, we came to the area where much of the discussion often resolves around teams, coaches, strategies for the next game with a generous dose of nostalgia thrown in.
As we walked towards the gate of Wari Club, established in 1898, the gateman seemed to be in a buoyant mood.
A line of rickshaws pulled up near the gate, carrying players from the first hockey league match this season; young hockey gladiators carrying bags entered the club premises looking elated.
Victory is always sweet because everyone is in top spirits, remarked the guard and, as we walked in, the cacophony of the commercial area seemed to fade into oblivion.
Wari Club is 128 years old and sport is the key driving force here, said the club general secretary Md Nazirul Islam, known to all as Nazu bhai.
Once a footballer and a hockey player, Nazu bhai, like many others who played for the club, devotes his evening time to the club.
I feel a sense of uneasiness if I don’t come here in the evening, he said with a hearty laugh, adding: “every evening, the club verandah is abuzz with former players, officials and patrons who come here and spend a few hours to unwind and talk about sports.”
The most interesting feature of the club to strike this writer was the contrast of the historic and the modern.
A line of spanking new cars parked by a colonial bungalow style building where the walls have countless tales to tell.
To be honest, the setting looked perfect for the shooting of a film, showcasing the period before 1947.
When I mention the famous line of 1985: ‘Wari Ailo’ (Here come Wari), Nazu bhai’s face lights up.
Ahh, those were the days, he recalls, looking wistfully at the club’s motto: “Ek hridoy, ek mon” (One heart, one mind).
Wari was then a formidable football side in the Dhaka first division league and struck fear into the hearts of giant clubs like Abahani and Mohammedan because they often managed to either take a point from them or walk out with a victory and full three points.
The giant slayers of the Dhaka league, Nazu Bhai observed enthusiastically.
We may not be in the top tier of football anymore but Wari is still a solid side in the second tier or the Bangladesh Championship League (BCL), contends Nazu Bhai.
While talking, two officials of the hockey team walked in, talking animatedly about the next game.
Nazu bhai got busy with a list, selecting the first eleven when a young player came in with a tourniquet around his thumb.
I am telling someone to take you to the pharmacy to have that properly cleaned and bandaged, Nazu bhai assured the player while the two officials, seeing the player’s look of apprehension, observed: “don’t worry, it’s just a fracture, not a major wound.”
Wari Club still participates in several sporting disciplines, including cricket, volleyball and table tennis and the general secretary pointed to a large runner up trophy won recently in TT.
The club looked pristine while the atmosphere underlined a professional sporting ethos.
Unlike many other clubs, which have shrunk their sporting engagements, here at Wari, we actively nurture a sporting culture, said one of the coaches.
So, where does the finance come from? I asked Nazu bhai.
“Our patrons help us; since this is a club with a long history, many established and prosperous Old Dhaka business people extend their hand of support.”
However, financial constraints persist because we have teams to maintain, players to pay, and the cost of maintaining the building only rises, he laments.
We met the honourable state minister for sports recently and made a request if a regular government subsidy is possible to help save clubs like Wari, which have deep roots to Dhaka’s past, Nazu bhai comments.
Wading out of the evening’s sporting triumph, Nazu bhai, alludes to the existential angst felt by most mid-level sporting establishments due to the dwindling number of patrons.
One way to save the clubs may be to seek support from development partner nations that are mostly involved in traditional development areas, remarked one club member.
He feels some tangible, long term initiative by foreign partners should focus on safeguarding and preserving Dhaka’s heritage, which includes old buildings, clubs and literary organisations.
“This may also be a joint move involving the government, an international organisation plus a local business conglomerate.”
An interesting fact about Wari Club is that since inception, the club president has always been the DC of Dhaka.
Current DC Farida Khanom is therefore the club president and takes keen interest in our sporting pursuits, says Nazu bhai.
Reminiscing about the glorious days of the 80s, several club members recalled the cricket team back then which featured Sri Lankan stars Samara Shekhara and J.C Gamage.
When plates containing a banana, a piece of sweet and two sliced breads were placed before the table, I realised, many of the lost gastronomic traditions of Dhaka are still followed here.
No one offers sliced breads with sweets anymore!
This attachment to old ways is truly uplifting.
As we were planning to leave, a person in an exuberant mood walked in, congratulating the general secretary for that afternoon’s victory.
He was on the field and saw the game.
This is Manos Bose, a devoted club patron plus a hockey lover, said Nazu bhai as it became clear: far from the banality and tedium of urban life, this place is mostly about sport.
The current generation is not aware of Dhaka’s thriving sports club culture but they should come to the club para one evening for an unconventional experience: sports, history, nostalgia and yes, two slices of bread with sweets.
