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In kabaddi, the classic Ram-Shyam tale unfolds

The identical twins from Kolkata would often cause mayhem when either was tagged.

Shyam (left) and Ram turned out for the Bengal Warriors and the Patna Pirates respectively in the Pro Kabaddi League. Shyam (left) and Ram turned out for the Bengal Warriors and the Patna Pirates respectively in the Pro Kabaddi League.

Chaos and high-intensity jostling: It’s almost always on display when a raider gets a touch on a defender in kabaddi. As such it becomes hard for referees to ascertain who is the tagged player in the melee once the attacker gets back to the mid-line. Over the years, Indian officials had steadily gotten sharper in judging the genuine touch. Very rarely could a defender, or even a raider fake his way to save or earn an extra point. That is until Ram and Shyam entered the kabaddi court.

The identical twins from Kolkata would often cause mayhem when either was tagged. The touch, the ensuing hustle, and both raider and referees would be confused as the attacker would end up tagging the same twin twice. “Sometimes they’d just tag Shyam or me more than once thinking they touched us both. Sometimes the raider did tag us both but we’d claim he only touched one. We cause so many fights that way,” chuckles Ram Kumar Saha.

That was at the district level. 

In the Pro Kabaddi League, the pair is distinguished by their teams. The Bengal Warriors acquired Shyam’s services while Patna Pirates hired his five-minute-elder brother Ram. Yet this isn’t the only time the pair has been pitted in different teams. Ram plies his trade for Kolkata Police and Shyam has been playing for South Eastern Railways. Minor physical differences too have shown up as the players aged. Shyam sports a birth-mark on his right wrist — which gives him away after every handshake, and now a tattoo on the left arm. The youngest member of the Saha household is also slightly better built than his brother.

Jealousy, the trigger 

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Ironically, Shyam, the heftier of the two, was the one who shied away from the sport after witnessing the level of physicality involved. As children, the 28-year-old pair used to sneak to a nearby mud ground to watch practice sessions. When they turned 16, the club’s secretary invited them to train. Ram accepted immediately while Shyam slunk away. The decision saw the former travel to various districts around the state. “He used to get praised a lot for that. I got a bit jealous so I joined a year later,” recalls Shyam, laughing at the thought.

The same face was also a source for childhood mischief, more often than not through pranks on each other. One would pick up a fight and hide, only for the innocent twin to get the resulting beating. And then the roles would reverse. In school, one would ask to be excused when he sensed the other needed to use the restroom. The latter would then ask for permission only for the teacher to reject the plea, sensing a trick. “Most of the times it was Shyam who was up to no good,” accuses Ram.

Festive offer

Now too pranks are in offering, albeit, of a more docile character. “People would mistake me for Shyam when I’m in the market. So I’d say something to embarrass my brother. But then I’d clarify I’m not Shyam,” says Ram.

“I hope he clarifies it too!” he adds as an afterthought. There was once a time when the twins would exchange their clothes at halftime to fool opponents. But now, as the PKL reaches the semifinals, only Ram will feature. Shyam, meanwhile, will watch from Kolkata, to avoid any inter-twin switch.

First uploaded on: 29-08-2014 at 02:46 IST
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