If there’s one thing we Hyderabadis know how to do, it’s jugaad! The latest example? The statues at Gachibowli Stadium, where a ‘golfer’ is seen swinging a hockey stick instead of a golf club. Only in Hyderabad, I say! At first glance, you might think it’s some new hybrid sport. Gockey (Golfer hockey)? But no, it seems our statue-makers had a slight ‘technical glitch’.
Before we go pointing fingers, let’s consider the possibilities. Maybe this wasn’t a mistake at all. What if our officials actually wanted to celebrate both sports? Imagine the meeting: “Sir, golf club ki zaroorat hai for the statue.” “Arey, golf club aur kya? Do you know how much that costs? Just give him a hockey stick, yaar. Same to same!”
And so, we have our “golfer” proudly holding a hockey stick. Jaisa desh, waisa sports fusion, no? This is the same Hyderabad where we still “adjust” everything—from road repairs to our food orders. So why not statues?
Then there’s the usual suspect: budget issues. Maybe they did plan to get a proper golf club, but by the time they reached that part of the project, poora paisa khatam! After all, a golf club is a luxury item, baba. Who’s going to pay extra for such minor “details”? In our country, making do with what we have is a national talent. If our netas and babus can manage on half the budget, why not our statues too?
Of course, some are saying this might not be a “mistake” at all but maybe a case of recent “idol vandalism” in the city. With religious idols being damaged in Hyderabad and across Telangana, why should sports statues be left behind? Maybe someone decided this golfer didn’t need his golf club and, bam, he’s stuck with a hockey stick. Vandals bhi soch rahe honge, “Yeh bhi chalega.”
Meanwhile, the reader’s complaint also raised a solid point: where’s the statue of an actual hockey player? After all, hockey is our national game. We’ve got this whole stadium with statues, but the actual hockey player? MIA! Imagine if they did make one and then gave him a cricket bat by mistake! Or, as our babus might say, “Arrey bhai, ek kaam karo na… give him whatever stick you have lying around.”
Picture this scene in a government office: “Sir, we need to commission a hockey player statue with a proper stick.” “Arey baba, not an issue! Ek kaam karte hain, we’ll make the hockey stick detachable. If we need it for another statue later, bas nikaal denge.” It’s this jugaadu thinking that makes us proud Hyderabadis!
So, maybe this golfer with a hockey stick isn’t a mistake. Maybe it’s Hyderabad’s style of saying, “Let’s keep everyone guessing.” When foreigners visit and see this, we can proudly tell them, “Yeh hai hamara desi sports fusion!”
And to our dear reader, don’t worry. Your letter has already started the discussion. Maybe we’ll get our hockey player statue soon. Just fingers crossed they don’t hand him a shuttlecock next time!
And so, we stand at the edge of a great mystery—or perhaps a comedy of errors that encapsulates the quirks of our urban planning. If our golfer is destined to keep his hockey stick, we might as well embrace it. Let’s call it “Athletic Expressionism” and invite foreign visitors to admire our multi-sport statues as symbols of diversity, frugality, and flexibility.
Who knows? Maybe in time, this oddity will become a talking point, a piece of “interactive art” that encourages viewers to “imagine the club.” After all, why should statues be exempt from a little creative interpretation? And to our reader, take heart—if nothing else, this statue has already drawn attention to the need for a real hockey player among the statues. Let’s just hope they get his equipment right next time.