THE Nambiar family of Woodlands Street 41 swears by the SAS-styled motto of Tottenham Hotspur: Audere Est Facere (To Dare Is To Do).
To the average person who doesn’t speak Latin, these words mean nothing. But to a Tottenham fan they represent the philosophy embedded in the foundation and history of their globally-famous London-based club, based on SAS (Special Air Service, the elite special commandos of British Army).
Daringly, I say, this is a rare true-life tale that must be put in print and recounted umpteen times in memory of the patriarch of the family, Balachandran Nambiar, who died over the weekend, a prolonged cancer victim.
The 69-year-old, almost religiously, if not fanatically, united his family of wife, Balamani, and sons, Navin and Nitin, even brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, nephews and nieces, right down to the grandchildren, too, to the love for football and, in particular, the fanaticism towards Spurs (the abbreviation for Tottenham Hotspur).
And symbolically, on the evening of his tragic Saturday demise, Spurs probably gave the biggest salute to this exemplary Singapore fan in the 3-2 away-from-home win against West Ham, which would have brought Nambiar roars-galore, if not for his untimely death at the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
The sporting highpoint of the Spurs-adoring Nambiar family was the Christmas holidays in 2010 when the foursome visited White Hart Lane (the London home ground of Spurs) after Nitin won an all-expenses-paid family holiday in a national quiz competition by Singtel MioSports.
That week-long London trip personified their ultimate dream as the Nambiars were treated to extraordinary VIP privileges, including an iconic pre-match guard-of-honour line-up of millionaire first-team players like Gareth Bale, Luca Modric, Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon.
TRUE LOVE FOR SPURS
Balachandranâs fanaticsm for Spurs started in the 1960s in cranky and crazy ways when the London-based club was among the English football kingpins, the legendary glory days, when it was a time of âfirstsâ for Spurs and for England.
In 1961, Tottenham became the first English team to win the League and Cup âdoubleâ. Just two years later in 1963, Spurs became the first English team to win a European trophy by beating Atletico Madrid in the Cup Winners’ Cup Final.
He idolised Jimmy Greaves, Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, and Cliff Jones, all footballing legends who perfectly fit the philosophy of play at Tottenham. “Daring To Do” is simply all about playing attacking and entertaining football, and with players like Greaves, Glenn Hoddle, Osvaldo Ardiles, Ricardo Villa and Paul Gascoigne, playing at White Hart Lane throughout the years, it has not just been a motto but a reality.
When Balachandran married schoolteacher Balamani, she, too, got passionately hooked to the Spurs-fever, which further filtered down to the two children. Navin, the eldest, even ventured into semi-professional football in 1999, with Jurong Football Club, under famous coach V. Sundramoorthy.
âMy father encouraged us to use sports, especially football, as a vehicle for personal and professional improvement. It motivated us tremendously as the passionate-way we supported Spurs, week in and week out, drew the family closer,â says Navin, who now runs X-League (one of Singaporeâs leading social football leagues) and also lectures at the Nanyang Polytechnic.
Football mania is patriotically pinned on Navinâs back, too, with the etched bold words, Audere Est Facere (To Dare Is To Do). And it even went down right to his lovable heart, too, as he married Ellya Abdullah, the only daughter of legendary Malaysia Cup footballer of âKallang Roarâ fame, (the late) Dollah Kassim. The couple has two football-fanatic Spurs-supporting babes, Arhaan, two, and eight-month-old Zaara.
Nitin, whoâs described as a âwalking football encyclopediaâ after he won the nationally-televised SingTel MioSports quiz, seven years ago, is hooked the football-way, too, and works as a producer with Eleven Sports Network.
âCHILD PRODIGYâ
Tributes galore flowed at Sundayâs pre-cremation at Mandai Crematorium as family and friends hailed Balachandran, the eldest of five girls and three boys from a humble rubber-plantation estate in Johor, as a âchild prodigyâ.
Sister Radha, now in Auckland, New Zealand, praised him as the âmost intelligent in the familyâŚhe was promoted two levels while in primary schoolâŚhe didnât have to study or slog for tests or examinations as it came naturally to him as he was always excellentâ.
Schoolteacher sister Lata recalled his absolute love for music and movies and Balachandranâs nickname was âShammi Balaâ as his favourite Bollywood actor was the late Shammi Kapoor, the heart-throb of the 1950s to 70s. She adds: âHe would walk miles to the theatre as a teenager, with family members, to save on the bus-fares to pay for the movie tickets. His movie-fanaticism, just like his love for sports, clearly rubbed on to his family.â
Navin summed him as a âvery hardworking father, passionate about his work, movies and footballâ and even when he was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, he seldom moaned or groaned.
âHe accepted his medical fate. He never complained about his illness and like a true sportsman, endured the prolonged pains as part of ordinary lifestyle. He just wanted us to continue to be the best we can be, career and family-wise, and encouraged us to pursue our dreams, without fear or favour.â
Balachandranâs wife, retired educationist Balamani, 64, who is wheelchair-bound after a tragic road accident three years ago, singled out how Balachandran used the powerful principles of football to unite the family. She adds: âThe family bonding through the fanatical support of Spurs gave a tremendous boost and belief as Navin and Nitin grew up. Football was truly in our family-blood, apart from the love for movies.â
HOME FILLED WITH SPURS
The familyâs five-room Woodlands Street 41 apartment is also nicely decorated in white-blue colours of Spurs, with autographed jerseys, pennants, mini-flags, scraves, bed-spreads, pillow-cases and priceless photos with Spurs legends Ledley King, Oswaldo Ardiles and Ledley King.
It simply symbolised the Nambiarsâ belief in their iconic club and how their divine-like love for football continues to remain like a icon family institution.
âIâm very grateful and feel blessed that my father lived a fulfilling football life. The 2010 trip to White Hart Lane was the ultimate dream-come-true vacation for the family. He witnessed my wedding to Ellya and he got to play with his two grandchildren, who are starting to appreciate football,â says Navin, with tears welling in his eyes.
âBy Godâs grace and his absolute fanaticism for Spurs, he lay in his coffin on the Saturday evening Spurs won 3-2 in London. We dressed him in his favourite Spurs jersey. I wished he couldâve watched the big match! That, to me, was the perfect send-off for an ultimate football fan and father, who diligently used his Spursâ dedication and devotion to unite the family.â
The final revered salutes came from the white-Spurs-coloured coffin, where Balachandran laid peacefully, wearing the white-blue Spurs jersey, which was the impeccable tribute for a gentleman, who preached the best values of football.
In my opinion, the footballing Gods have been kind to Balachandran and his passionate family-ideology may well be a perfect script for a Singapore-styled football movie, going on the lines of the motto of Tottenham Hotspur: Audere Est Facere (To Dare Is To Do).
The Spurs team of 2017, with Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier, is shaping up with genuine substance for the future. Perhaps the best smiles from heaven will come when Balachandranâs club wins the Premiership title this season and heâll surely be saying big cheers to his Nambiar family and friends.
Emotive nonsense, you may say? Definitely not to the daringly-faithful Balachandran, who has supported the club for over 50 years, and he can finally say: I truly love to see Spurs as English Premiership champions. â SURESH NAIR
- Suresh Nair is a Singapore-based journalist who has known the Nambiar family for over half-century. His elder sister, Balamani, married the late Balachandran. And yes, he, too, fanatically supports Tottenham Hotspur.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed on this web site are solely those of the writers or contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of www.sports247.my
