After the Bhiwani boys brought their sport into focus, our correspondent finds a small hut with big dreams bang in the middle of Mumbai, where dozens of young boxers trading punches is a way of life
With clockwork precision at 5 every evening, street-fights break out outside this chawl in Tardeo. As young boys connect punches, housewives oblivious of the violence around them go about stretching towards the clothesline to check the dampness of their morning washing or dry-clean cups and saucers used for their afternoon tea. Some even take a break from their daily chores and indulgently watch the gloved fighters dodge open drains, avoid parked vehicles and surprise passers-by as they sway away from quick one-twos.

Nestled right in the middle of a locality inhabited by Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s Class IV employees, there is this 10x10 feet room with a misleadingly grand name: The Labour Department Club. Since 1957, this happens to be one of south Mumbai’s boxing hubs, and even today, several boxers converge here everyday. With a leaky roof adding to the space crunch inside, boxing isn’t quite an indoor sport here.
Looking at the queue of eager boxers waiting to reduce the lone punching bag, hanging precariously from the ceiling, to pulp, one is reminded of Chhatrasal’s ‘20 per room, 2 to a bed’ suffocation. The labyrinth of narrow dirty lanes leading to the BMMC club also sees one drawing parallels with the suddenly-famous Bhiwani Boxing Club’s mucky approach. Coach Rajendra Sakpal says that facilities here are non-existent. “Our struggle will get national attention only if one of our boys hits the big time. Till then we are off the radar,” he says.

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