Former India and Bengal sprinter Anima Brahma has kept a low profile since her premature retirement in 1983. The athlete had to swim through her fair share of rough waters during her nine-year career. She missed the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games and the 1980 Moscow Olympics despite being India’s express runner in 400m around that period. She was a victim of internal politics due to friction between her coach, Sujit Sinha, and an office-bearer in the West Bengal Athletics Association.
Brahma couldn’t participate in the top-flight events even after being a two-time national champion in 400m in the Inter-State Athletics Championship in Kerala and the Open Athletic Championship in Punjab in 1978. After more than four decades of silence, she has revealed it all in her autobiography in Bengali. The book, Baagher Baccha Tui (Dey’s Publishing), which roughly translates to “You Are A Tiger Cub”, was officially launched at the Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club at Maidan on February 24.
‘All that I got were fake promises about fake trials’
The cover of ‘Baagher Bachha Tui’
Speaking to My Kolkata on the sidelines of the event, Brahma underlined that she did not dare to let things out during her active years. “I had participated in the Asian Athletics Championships (in Tokyo, in 1979) before the Olympics. Then, I got selected for the pre-Olympics in Moscow. Nobody had any problem sending me, but an official in Bengal with strong connections raised objections. It put an end to my Olympic dreams. I was India’s No. 1, but I couldn’t compete internationally. This hurt me the most,” said Brahma, who has not named the individual in order to avoid controversies. “I haven’t named the person, but everyone in the fraternity knows who it is,” she added.
During her prime, Brahma was stopped at the trials at the Sports Authority of India, Patiala, even in the 100m relay. “The same person had orchestrated the situation after taking then chief coach, Kamaljit Sandhu, into confidence. I confronted the Bengal official out of frustration. All that I got were fake promises about fake trials. Later, I used to see new faces in the 400m category, sprinters who had never even competed with me,” narrated Brahma.
‘If I broke someone’s record, they’d misbehave with me’
Brahma claims to have been ‘tortured’ by senior athletes who wanted to “tire me out before a race”
Brahma’s book also delves deep into the ragging culture prevalent among the seniors at the players’ hostel in Bengal. “I had to endure torture from senior athletes, who wanted to tire me out before a race. If I broke someone’s record, they’d misbehave with me. They forced me to run a race twice and snatched my mosquito net at the hostel, so that I couldn’t sleep the night before the race,” said the 64-year-old, who finished on the podium in 100m, 200m and 400m at the State meet in 1981. She was the State champion in 400m for nine consecutive years between 1975 and 1983 before hanging up her boots.
After her athletic career came to a close, Brahma continued her railways job and started writing diaries to offload her mind. Those stories later got transformed into the book with help from her family. “My son did a lot of research to find articles about me, and then my daughter and son-in-law, both filmmakers, decided to dig deep. My husband helped me complete the book,” said Brahma, who currently lives in New Town with her family and occasionally attends sports programmes. She was last seen on the track in 1999 as coach-cum-manager of the Bengal junior athletics team.