Gavaskar's timely gesture towards a needy sportsman

Gopal Dengra has nothing to do with cricket. He was a former hockey player who played for Bengal and India. Dengra however, feels that today, he is alive because of a monthly donation of Rs 1,000 from former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar.

Dengra represented the Indian hockey team in 1978 on their tour to Pakistan. He also played for the country in the World Cup. However, even then, he did not have a proper job. As a result he had to lead a life of tremendous hardship. The former Indian hockey player had to earn his living as a stone mason in different parts of Ranchi. The income was not permanent.

When the story of his hardship was published in India Today magazine one and a half years ago, it moved Gavaskar. Since then, the cricketer has been sending him a monthly donation of Rs 1,000. This was disclosed by Dengra himself in Calcutta on Wednesday.

"I managed to sustain myself on the money, that Mr. Gavaskar has been sending me regularly," he said. Then he added, "Only a couple of months back, I have started working in a school in Uiurgoraiya in Ranchi as a temporary hockey teacher. However, they have informed me that since I have reached the age of 54, they will not be able to continue with me for a very long time. But even, then, I would say that it has been Mr. Gavaskar's donation that has helped me to at least carry on. As a stone mason, I used to earn anything between thirty to forty rupees per day. So his was a hand of God that helped me pull through the most difficult of times."

As is his nature, Gavaskar has never talked about the good deed that he has been continuing for the last 18 months. And following in Gavaskar's footsteps, India's tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi has also been sending Dengra Rs 500 per month.

In recent times, cricketers have been pulled up for various controversial acts. As he has frequently done, Gavaskar has once more lifted the image of the game by his timely gesture towards a fellow sportsman in need.