Khushboo Khan, a hockey player from Bhopal, returns to her home, a cramped-up tin roof shanty, after her tours.
(Photo: Vishnukant Tiwari/The Quint)
A famous dialogue from Mirzapur, the popular Amazon Prime web series – “Shuru majboori mein kiye thhe, ab mazza aa raha hai" (I began as a compulsion, but then I started enjoying it)” – resonates with India women hockey goalkeeper Khushboo Khan.
"I am from a poor family, and I have seen a financial crunch as long as I can remember," Khushboo says.
But things changed in 2015.
Khushboo's house is as dilapidated as the textbook version of poverty.
But, despite the recognition, little changed in the life of the 19-year-old. Around a month ago, she was in the midst of Ireland's idyllic views. Now, back home in Bhopal, she is at her home, a crudely built shanty situated less than 2 km from Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the governor in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal.
Returning with a knee injury from the tournament in Ireland, Khushboo has struggled to step out of her house with a narrow entrance to the heightened road inside the campus of Rajya Pashu Chikitsalaya (State Animal Hospital) in Bhopal.
Khushboo and her family spends most of the time outside their house shifting their seats between the cot and chair except for when it rains.
Khushboo had interest in cricket but it wasn’t viable for her. So, when she got to a summer camp in 2015 and was introduced to hockey, her interest was piqued.
Over the years, Khushboo says, she learnt that hockey is indeed the "game of India," a game which allows even the poorest of the poor to perform and shine.
Khushboo posing with another young hockey player from Bhopal. Khushboo has become a role model for so many budding players across state.
“Anyone can play hockey. What I felt is that most of the poor people choose hockey as a career because it has a legacy of bringing out the best from the most unattended class of the society – for example, a family like ours,” she says.
Khushboo's father Shabbir Khan says that Khushboo is now not just their daughter but the daughter of the nation.
Her father, Shabbir Khan, says ever since she played her first match for India, they have devoted their child to the nation.
Mumtaz Bano, Khushboo's mother, used to work as house help to ensure that her daughter could play hockey.
Her mother, Mumtaz Bano, who used to work as house help, up until a few years ago, looked towards the sky to thank the almighty. With tears rolling down her cheek, she says:
Khushboo, while looking at her parents – mother engaged in household chores – says that she enjoys an elevated life when she plays for India. Accommodations equipped with all the facilities, everything top-notch – from food to clothes – and she wishes to provide the same for her family.
A senior member of Bhopal's hockey academy, on condition of anonymity, tells The Quint that there are no provisions for allotting junior players a house or giving monetary benefits. But the government could always help out considering the cases of children with unsustainable economic conditions.
"Who doesn't want their family to live in a well-built house with all the facilities. A place where we don't have to sleep on top of one another in a cramped up space. The way I live in camps, I want my family to live like that," Khushboo says, looking at her father shifting the iron cot as the drizzling began.
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