This is the story of S Mani—a story of love, betrayal and pain. A story of a jhuggi boy who rode on to become a coveted jockey. A rags-to-riches story of a man who fell in love with a girl with whom he had grown in the same locality. The fairy tale of a famous rider who married his lady love against the wishes of his parents and hoped of living happily thereafter. Samikshan Dutta Choudhury of Indian Sports News tracks the rider.
At first instance it seems to be a perfect masala mix for a Bollywood potboiler, but after spending a couple of hours with this man, one can't help but ponder on the extent of degeneration of human values where your beloved ones leave you in lurch to fend for yourself in this unknown world when you need them the most.
That's the story of S Mani—a story of love, betrayal and pain. A story of a jhuggi boy who rode on to become a coveted jockey. A rags-to-riches story of a man who fell in love with a girl with whom he had grown in the same locality. The fairy tale of a famous rider who married his lady love against the wishes of his parents and hoped of living happily thereafter.
But alas! Certain dreams are short-lived. Destiny had something else in store for this Delhi rider. The very art which he had mastered since years became a villain. The very horse who sped on his command threw him off his back and inflicting head injuries on him. It resulted in a partial memory loss, aggravated his intolerance to accept things and with time distanced the jockey from his dear ones.
And hence a new story unfolded. The woman whom he had married to spend his whole life with, became untraceable with their two sons (Deepak and Suraj) and the cash (Rs 20 lakh approx) which she had got after selling Mani's Vasant Kunj flat that the rider had bought with his hard earned money.
"Gairo se kya shikayat kare jab apno ne hi hame loot liya," said Mani. "Till the time you have fame and money, people run around you. The day it's lost, nobody recognizes you. Why to talk about the people around you, I have been betrayed by my own wife whom I loved so much. All my relatives have distanced themselves from me. Had it not been for the goodwill I had earned earlier in my career, I would have been left stranded on the streets.”
“He gets a pension of Rs 1000 from Bombay Race Club. And he gets Rs 100 for working in the tracks per week,” said Deepak Mishra, a commentator at the Delhi Race Club. “He had been associated with Delhi Race Club for so long, but still he doesn’t get any sort of help from them,” he added.
Reminiscing the former jockey's glorious days, K Ali Khan, one of the trainers at the course said that everything about the rider was true. "I have seen him grow into a jockey. He was a fantastic rider and won many races. But that accident changed his life. The head injury resulted in memory loss and thereafter every thing—professional and personal—changed for him."
Corroborates Saleem, a syces (a caretaker at the course since the last 35 years). "He was an excellent rider. Mani earned a lot of fame and money. But destiny had something else in store for him," he said.
And Mani himself abbreviates his name--S. Mani "Earlier it was so much of money and now it's short of money."
While telling his story, Mani's face brims with joy and pride. "My father was a small time trainer and I along with my two brothers lived in the jhuggis here. I started jockeying in 1975 and by 1980 was a champion rider. I won a number of races in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Delhi. With name came money and I bought a flat in Mayur Vihar and later shifted to Vasant Kunj. I married Nirmala, the girl I loved. My parents were against it but relented later," narrates Mani.
Remembering his days, the 53-year-old gets lost in the thin air. "Those were the days. I was a star. I used to earn a lot of money. I used to keep an Amitabh Bachchan haircut and people used to call me Danny (Denzongpa). I used to take my wife to different places, always on flight. But see what she did to me. Just because I lost fame and money, I was treated like this," said the rider, who lost control of his horse and fell from it in 1994.
For the next seven years he somehow managed to live with his family, but always in distress and irritation. "The head injury made me intolerant towards certain things. We used to live in a high-up locality and the way my wife (who had also been brought up like me) used to conduct herself was quite insulting. That used to agitate me at times. And one day one of my brother-in-laws along with his two sons, who had come to my house, tied me up and broke my teeth. I got scared thinking that next time it could be my hands or feet. I left home in fear," said lamentable jockey.
Stating further, Mani said that he went straight to his brother M Mani at Palam. "I stayed there for a year or so and then shifted to my cousin sister's house. But again I had to leave that place due to certain reasons. I even worked in Meerut for sometime. In between I went to my Vasant Kunj flat and got to know that my wife had sold it for Rs 20 lakh and was untraceable with my kids. I enquired from my brother-in-laws but always got a negative reply about her whereabouts. Finally I am living here at the Delhi Race Club since few years," informed Mani.
The former champion might have lost it all professionally and personally, but hasn't lost the zest to live life. "So what if I am not riding anymore. I am still involved with the races in some way or the other. I still take care of the horse in the club and give tips to the jockeys about the race. I was born and raised here and would carry on serving the game and place till the time I can. But yes, one day I would like to meet my wife and my children. I want to know why this happened to me. Did I really deserve this?" was his question.
