Some earn crores by playing football in India. But, conversely, also in this country, someone who has donned the national football jersey has had to work as a food delivery girl.
Poulomi Adhikari dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. She wanted to play regularly for the Indian team to provide comfort for her family. Footballer hoped to give her father some rest. But a knee injury crushed her dream of playing in different countries of the world seven years ago.
Poulomi was preparing to return to the field after recovering, but the family crisis stood in the mid-way. Poulomi of Sriguru Sangha Ashram in Shivrampur, Behala, who lost her mother in childhood, was raised by her aunt as her own child. And persuasively, she took off football boots and shouldered the load of food.
The promising defender who played for India U-16 and U-19 started a new life struggle. She runs from morning to night to satisfy the hunger of others. Sometimes the income is 400 rupees while sometimes it is less than 200 rupees. However, the leaders of Bengal’s football governing body do not know how this promising man of Bengal spends her days.
The struggle is not new in Poulomi’s life. The girl who lost her mother was attracted only by football. Companions were neighbourhood boys. She was ridiculed for it. Defeated all odds and played four years in club football in Delhi. Matter-of-fact, she didn’t think that her beloved football would be lost from his feet.
A video of Poulomi went viral recently. Poulomi says that she played football for the national team. However, the dearth of family income forced her to quit football and take a food delivery job. She played in Germany, England, the USA, Sri Lanka, Scotland etc. She is one of those lucky ones who qualified to play in an Indian team jersey. But all that is past now.
Poulomi said regretfully, “Why did I go to become a footballer with so much difficulty? Sometimes I sit and think about it. I don’t like being away from the field. But I have to run the family. So this work has to be done under compulsion. But there are many like me. I want their situation not to be like mine. If someone is a footballer in this country, she should get the respect she deserves!” With moist eyes, Poulomi again lifted the bag of food, a bag of responsibility and walked towards an uncertain future where her dreams haunt her every moment.
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