Atongla Rothrong
Watching people of all shapes and sizes fight, all for a change of color in their belt may be worth it for the person concerned. But for the lesser few like me and the rest of the fraternity it’s a pain in the neck (leg?). I happened to attend the recently held NEOMA Championship on an assignment, and this is what happened on the four day witnessing of the art.
• Day one had me with my sweet fallen angel and two other guys namely Kevi and Moa in all excitement, as though we too were about to participate in the energy consuming game. As for me, I was so enthralled with all the CHAAA!!! AYEEE!!! That I actually forgot for what I was there for ie: Sport’s reporting. But thank God for small mercy’s, I had sources that availed me all the required moolah news.
• Day two saw me rushing to the venue on a speeding two wheeler. The fighters were getting tougher and we were getting higher. All in all the nights’ war was a little boorish, what with the crowd commenting obscene comments and my office digi-cam going down on me making it impossible for me to get good shots of the action. It was more of a night out with friends and gossip. I admit that I didn’t return to the office but hit homeward because my mobike partner in crime Peter was to do the write-up. Me? Nah!! Not tonight.
• Day three I thought I’d give it a miss but later changed my fickle topsy-turvy mind and flew over while the games were already halfway. So you know, me as in body was there but not the mind. Returned early and contributed a brief write-up, that’s all I did.
• Day four brought in the final bouts. It was helluva cool man! The crowd was not like in the past days. I never knew people with grey hair and toothless one’s too were interested in the martial art but this night proved me otherwise. In the middle of a tough fight a certain hungamaa occurred just behind where the spectators were awed and watching and curious me and Peter made a rush towards the rostrum to satiate our curiosity thinking it would make, mayhap a scoop!! But ha-ha! It was only a bike that had fallen due to its rider’s carelessness in parking it properly. So kaput! Went our breaking news (sob! sob! no bonus from the administration this time too). There was tension in the air too, with some outside team’s feeling alienated and assuming themselves to being partially treated.
This brings me on the walking part. Since it was pretty late in the night I decided to leave for the office and wait for the final results to arrive later via Peter. And guess what? Not a single auto, as in empty ones could be found in the vicinity. So my peanut/groundnut + salt/raw chanaa + hot chili pepper muncher friend Kevi and me decided to walk, being rendered helpless. While on the way we fought (over a small pack of chewy that he had looted from me at the DDSC Stadium), laughed, argued and talked.
Then along came a person acquainted to us and offered to give us a lift, Hallelujah!! Yea! Make that a double, we were saved from aching of limbs and wastage of energy required to work at odd hours. But, it so happened that our limb saver had two other guys to drop off at Dhobinala and in that time, my friends mobile started ringing and my pager started peeping, HOLY SMOKE!!! Anyways, whatever, whoever, he and me were on the safe path so……. Three Cheers for the life saver and not to the winner of the championship.
