Rajasthan cagers ruled on the national basketball scene in the 70’s, as the likes of Hanumant Singh Ajmer Singh, Khushiram, Radheshyam, and Surendra Katariya rose to prominence. At one time, the state boasted of four out of the five donning India colors. But the irony of these lofty giants occupying just a small corner of popular mindspace with their annual mention on the Arjuna Awards scroll was not lost in basketball circles.

But neither the lack of limelight, nor the fading employment opportunities – teams such as Kota’s Shiram Rayons, Oil India (Jodhpur), and Customs (Jaipur) have wrapped up operations – has deterred successive generations from Sikar, Alwar, Bhilawar, Ajmer and Jaipur, from aiming at the rim and pounding on dusty outdoor courts. Cynicism sets in eventually, but long before that, these men are hooked to a dribbling-dunking habit they find exceedingly tough to let go.

Mahipal Singh, Jairam Jat, Dilip Singh, and Mohit Bhandari are current big names from the desert state, but as they wander the realms of obscurity, Rajasthan struggles to come to terms with a fall in its basketball fortunes. Almost two decades after the state’s twin premier basketball tournaments – the Dasgupta Cup in Jaipur and the Gold Cup in Bhilwara – disappeared from a hoopster’s already slim calendar, Rajasthan again exited quietly in the quarterfinals this year from the senior nationals.

Kamran Khan, a nimble-footed forward, who followed three older brothers onto the court – first as score-keeper and later grudgingly allowed entry onto the playing zone – feels the weight of expectation coming down with each passing year. “The interest will be over if things don’t change. Basketball is inherited by blood in Rajasthan. A show-team had come to Jaipur when I was young, and there was this very dark player called David. I fell in love with the game as soon as I watched the tricks he did with the ball. Later I realized that my brothers too could do the cross dribble,” he says.

By Shivani Naik