My first interaction with PK Banerjee was in the washroom of Cooperage Stadium in Mumbai. A very unlikely place for an interaction between a coach and his ward.

It was the monsoon of 1971. I was all of 20-years-old and playing for Mafatlal Sports. The India camp for the Merdeka Cup was on and Mafatlal and some other teams used to play friendlies with the national team.

“You are in the mould of Jarnail Singh and have a bright future. Work hard,” was his advice to me. I soaked in every word he said and was soon called for the India camp. A lot of people were surprised that GM Basha and Pradipda had called such a young central defender. I could not make it to the national team then but he told me not to lose heart. Very soon, I would start playing for India.

I recall one incident during the India camp of 1971. After one of the practice sessions, we were trudging back to the dressing room when I saw Pradipda taking a shot and hitting the horizontal bar from outside the penalty box. The mud-splattered ball, after leaving a mark on the bar, went out of the Cooperage. “Did you see how I hit the bar?” he told me. On the spur of the moment I blurted out “Fluke”. He looked at me and took aim one more time. It again hit the bar. This time it was on the right. Once again I said “Fluke.” Now he got upset. “Fluke?” he asked me and told me to wait. Third time he aimed and it was a left-footer. This time the mud mark was in between the two shots. He looked at me with disdain and told me “Ask your father who is PK Banerjee. He would tell you. You have no idea!” He was a rare talent with an abundance of skill.

I came to Calcutta in 1976. Mohun Bagan, in a bid to regain the Calcutta League (East Bengal won six times on the trot from 1971-75) and also to extract revenge for the 5-0 drubbing in the 1975 IFA Shield, lured Pradipda from their traditional rivals. Dhiren Dey had asked him to give a list of players he would want to sign.

My name was on top of the list. I was playing for Tata Sports and when Bagan gave me the offer I could not say no. That, despite the fact that I was getting Rs 1,800 as salary.

Pradipda handled me with care in the first few weeks. Initially during the pre-season matches, he did not use me. I would warm the bench during most of the matches. Soon I got frustrated and confronted him. “There is a reason. Tumi bujhbe na (you will not understand),” was his cryptic answer.

Then we had a match against Crooke Town at Eden Gardens. “Your chance has come. You have to prove your mettle. You want to know why I was not using you. Most of the grounds where we were playing pre-season matches were unplayable surfaces. One mistake by you and the crowd would have booed. For a newcomer like you, that would have been shattering.” I then realised his every move was well chalked-out.

For a new player, Pradipda was like a godfather. Later on, when we became senior players, we saw how he made sure the juniors felt at home.

He knew coaching like the back of his hand. And since he was a player of that stature he used to show us how a centre would be floated in from the wing and when the striker would time his jump.

I consider myself lucky that despite being a mediocre player, I played at the highest level for so long. And for that credit goes to my Pradipda. Every player of my generation owes everything to Pradipda. Be it myself, Shyam (Thapa), Bhombhol (Subhas Bhowmick), Bablu (Subrata Bhattacharya) or Gautam Sarkar. We are what we are today because of this man. He used to be very clear. If your skill level is low, then no frills inside the box. Just clear the ball.

Before a Derby, he used to keep an eye on every player. He knew very well that when it came to the Derby what made the difference was the mental make-up. Whichever team was mentally strong, would have the last laugh. So before the match he used to charge us up with his “vocal tonic”.

In 1977, we had a brilliant year. But the most memorable match was against Pele’s Cosmos. Before that game, we had lost the Derby 0-2 to East Bengal. Two days after the “Pele tie”, we had the IFA Shield final against East Bengal.

Pradipda understood that if we concede five or more goals against Cosmos, our morale would be down. So he told us that the primary job would be not to concede goals. He asked Gautam to mark

Pele which the former agreed to reluctantly and formed a five-man defence. It rained heavily that day and we used the conditions to our advantage. The 2-2 draw was a huge boost to our confidence and we won the Shield final. We went on to win the Durand Cup and Rovers Cup also to complete a rare treble.

He was great company at adda sessions. During my SAIL days we used to have get-togethers where we would invite Pradipda. Once in one of those parties, the chef cooked the Hungarian dish goulash. Pradipda then told us stories about his Hungary trip and how much he enjoyed goulash. The way Pradipda explained the nitty-gritty of goulash to the chef, I realised he had done a crash course in cooking.

He was that meticulous, in every aspect of life.

As told to Angshuman Roy