At the dawn of December 25th where the entire island was pre- occupied opening their Christmas gifts and spending quality time with their friends and family, it was just another day in the less privileged community.
The jive and the glitter of the celebration had not quite reached these people who lived in disparity and isolation from the world and this Christmas was not to be that different for the people who live in the shantytowns of Nittawela.
A sudden commotion in this part of Nittawela; as almost the whole neighbourhood in the area which is situated just below the grounds, home to hundreds of low income persons gathered. In a gesture of tremendous goodwill, the Kandy Sports Club overseas players together with coach Neil Foote took them by surprise as they stood in front of the housing village wearing the traditional Christmas hats armed with five to six gunnies which were filled with toys to be distributed among the kids. This was a joyful moment for these less privileged children as they readily gathered around the visitors, who circulated different types of gifts to those who tugged and jostled to get to them in anxious excitement.
The kids though seeing the Christmas celebrative customaries in town and on the electronic media, would have buckled down to the usual low-key to nothing Christmas cheer that usually accompanied their part of town and joy these lads brought to these little minds was indeed breathtaking.
The Kandy Sports Club players Hallefouna, Fata’nu and Sonisami with the rest instead of spending Christmas morning in their own retreats took initiative to spend time to light up the lives of these kids. Not only were the gifts exciting, but receiving their heroes in their own homes clearly overwhelmed them and the gesture is worthy of high praise. Without a doubt Kandy’s legacy of Rugby would have found a few more sparks among those young present that morning as receiving your idols in such fashion surely would.
This is probably the first of such initiatives by a rugby playing club and the players must be commended for their thoughtfulness and the thought of tough fighting giantess men pausing to spread a little gentleness and love is heart- warming to say the least.
Kandy Sports Club ever since its inception as a rugby playing side in the early 1970’s has mesmerized the whole of the Kandyan community regardless race, creed or caste to join together as one force behind the rugby team. In a fan’s perspective I had the privilege of speaking with one of the spectators who was passionately waving a red, blue and white (the Kandy colors) shouting his heart out at the Air-Force Kandy game.
Nimal is a proprietor of a personal business which he runs near the tunnel which leads to Nittawela. A strict follower of the game, he has never missed a Kandy game since 2005 he boasts proudly. A well versed person in the game which is rare to find, he elaborated on his roots of the game which was quite intresting; “my father was a die- hard Kandy Sports Club fan. I remember being taken to Kandy games when in my teens with my father who used to not miss a single game in the season. Those days in the late 1980’s the only entertainment were the rugby matches. I used to sit on the ledge of the bars and watch a game of rugby which I didn’t understand at that time. Those days the Kandy Sports Club games were the entertainment the working class people had and they enjoyed it whole heartedly”
Nimal now though his father is not alive continues his tradition to witness the rugby matches without fail. He describes “Sanjeewa Jayasinghe” to be his all time favorite player and apprehends Fazil Marija to be his newest favorite.
Nima is just one in hundreds of such people who visit the Kandy Sports Club every week to witness a game of rugby. Acclaimed to be one of the strongest fan bases consisting of the poor to the top elite in the community, these fans would go all out to do almost anything for these hometown heroes.
In the mystical hills, the sport Rugby has touched the lives of many through generations while the cycle continues, tradition has taken its place with the Kandy Sports Club’s framework. Today anyone bearing a Kandy jersey is respected and promoted to the highest possible echelon regardless of their origin, wealth or social status.
The best example in this instance would be the overseas players who were included in this year’s team. Alien to this rugby culture, they would have found themselves amidst an array of questions in fitting in to the surrounding but from the very first game of the season which was with CH & FC they were elevated to be the hill-capital’s heroes.
Amidst such a enthralling crowd rallying under a single team, it is key to live up to the expectations of such fan- fare. In contrast to the past few years, the team has been struggling to make ground over the past season with the competitiveness developing in the format but yet, even at desperate situations these people have shown no deviation. A situation such as the first defeat at home after a decade which was the Navy game a fortnight back is disappointment but the support never stopped trundling to Nittawela. Even till the final whistle was called the echo’s of the shouts never faded away. That is the passion possessed by the Kandyan people for the oval ball game. The heroes behind the Kandy jersey will always be appreciated and venerated.
Just as cricket worships the greats such as Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya etc Kandy acclaims their heroes and in a similar manner it is a customary to see post match celebrations where are players such as Fazil Marija and Sean Wijesinghe being lifted by the fans who gather around the team in a celebration and sense of euphoria.
Kandy Sports Club throughout decades have acclaimed the status of being the people’s club where all its players are respected to the highest degree in a rugby maddened city. The over passionate fans of Kandy will always remain forever in support of the Red, Blue and White jersey standing firmly behind the lads who storm out from the dressing rooms of Nittawela.
