A playground in south Calcutta’s Ruby area. That wet, noisy Sunday morning it is full of boys in orange jerseys and red sneakers. Most of them are children of slum dwellers in neighbouring Kalikapur and Anandapur.

The playground, locally referred to as Jheel Para Maath, is on RR Plot that might be just a kilometre away from the slums but in terms of realities, a different world altogether. RR Plot is where the affluent residential complexes are, the billboards, the restaurants, the malls…

Asim Majumder, 57, is a resident of the RR Plot. He works in a manufacturing unit in Hazra. He is also the founder of the NGO Anandapur Swami Vivekananda Seva Samity, which works for the uplift of slum dwellers.

In 2008, Majumder founded a football club. He says, “When we started work, we had found that in the absence of proper discipline at home, these children often became addicts. But football helps channelise their energy, keeps them from straying.”

These boys are resilient. “They eat panta bhaat before they come for practice. At the camp we provide chhola badam in the morning. But we cannot afford to give them nutritious food every day,” says Majumder. “This year, we received a grant from Deepak Industries Limited, Hazra.

The chief executive officer, Manish Khanna, visited the club and made a generous donation. This is the first time we have got some financial help. Otherwise, we pool in money to train these 70 boys here,” he adds.

When he started the football club, Majumder enlisted the help of Chinmoy Sarkar, who used to play football for the Behala Youth Club. Sarkar has been the coach from the very beginning. About three years ago, Alok Banik, another footballer, started training the boys. Both Sarkar and Banik have day jobs that have nothing to do with sports.

The football camp has placed young people in some of the local clubs. Tapas Patra, 37, who is also a coach here, is a product of this very camp. His father was a rickshaw puller and his mother is a domestic help.

Patra says, “I could not buy shoes. I used to wear second-hand keds. But I became a goalkeeper.” He used to play with Bosepukur Young Star Club but had to give up after he injured his spine. He adds, “These days I drive an app cab for a living, but every Sunday I come to train these youngsters.”

Perhaps the most well-known alumni of this camp is Ritwik Das. Das is with the Indian Super League team Jamshedpur FC. His first break came when he was selected by the Calcutta Customs department to play for them. “He has never had to look back,” says Sarkar proudly.

Most others have to give up football when things come to a crunch. Majumder talks about Dipankar Halder who now works in a mall. There are many others as well. He adds, “Some have gone into catering, while others have taken up jobs as night watchmen in residential complexes.”