When Devendra Walmiki mentions that he stays off Marine Drive, it gives the impression that the youngster, part of the Indian junior hockey team for the Asia Cup, has had a cushy life living in south Mumbai. But at the door of his 10x10 home with no electricity or water supply, a completely different picture awaits.

In the 60s, Walmiki’s grandfather, who worked as a gardener in one of many old sea-facing buildings, made a small space near the parking lot of his home. But over the years, several attempts were made by the building owners to evacuate the Walmikis. These days, even going through daily chores is a struggle for the family of the rising hockey star, whose elder brother Yuvraj plays for Air India. “They have stopped us from using the building’s common toilet. We have been carrying water to our home from a distance and using candles at night for the last decade,” says Meena, Walmiki’s mother.

Looking forward

But since the news of Walmiki’s selection in the Indian team, which is set to play in the Junior Asia Cup to be held in Myanmar from November 14 to 22, Meena has found new hope. “I have heard one gets flats when he plays for the country. I hope we get one,” she says. Meena works as a domestic help, and once used to hide hockey sticks from her sons Yuvraj and Devendra a few years ago so that the boys could concentrate on studies. “I used to think they shouldn’t waste time playing. Our future will be secure only if my sons study properly,” says Meena, whose husband Sunil is a car driver. Of the two non-sporting brothers, one works as at a grocery shop while the other is physically handicapped.

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