Principal Sarwan Singh
Kabaddi striker Balwinder Singh is called fidda, fiddu. No truck from Punjab, no tank. He is the first player who made the native game of Punjabis ‘Kaudi’ a game of pounds and dollars. That is, found a way to become a professional game. He earned crores from Kabaddi, the mother sport of Punjabis. He was recruited as a constable at the head of Kabaddi and SP. Retired as Now he is a permanent resident of Canada. The sons and daughters had already settled in Canada. He spends summer in Canada, winter in Punjab.
Kabaddi commentators echoed his name thousands of times in the airwaves and sports writers wrote hundreds of times. There is no account of his publicity. Good and bad.
When I returned to Punjab, I met Fiddu at the Purewal sports fair. I found it sad and uplifting. In six months he had changed a lot. With a long and full beard on a pale face, at first glance, Masin looked wise. Dabka and Gadka were missing from his words. He was speaking very softly in a low voice. A look of anger could be clearly seen on the face. He was deeply hurt that he was being discriminated against by not giving the Arjan Award. No one was shouting slogans, but the partners were doing reverse chahedas. Later he got Arjan Award. Fiddha has been honored in hundreds of sports fairs of the country and abroad. Finally, he got the sports award Arjan Award of the Government of India and his mental restlessness was also cured.
Balwinder Singh Fidde was born on 23 March 1956 in village Tandi district Kapurthala in the house of Lubane farmer Banta Singh to Mata Charan Kaur. He was born fourth among four sisters and four brothers. Kirsani studied in his village school and college in Nadale while working as a laborer. Then married to Bibi Raj Kaur from whose womb two sons Satinderjit Singh and Balrajveer Singh and two daughters Ravinder Kaur and Upinder Kaur were born. The kabaddi-playing fiddler took his family on a tour of Western countries and settled in Canada. He continued to receive awards in foreign countries.
He had stopped playing kabaddi, but he had not stopped playing kabaddi. He continued to coach Kabaddi and became the glory of Kabaddi tournaments. He continued to attend sports fairs, both in the country and abroad. In 2006, he was awarded an expensive car in the Kabaddi tournament of Kapurthale. Kabaddi and Fidda are names associated like Heer Ranjhe. His relationship with Kabaddi is so close that it can never be broken. Fidde made Kabaddi a game of sports halls from a club’s game and Kabaddi also made him rich. He played high level Kabaddi for twenty five years. He himself became a professional player and made Kabaddi a professional sport as well. He made thousands of fans of his game and hundreds of detractors. While writing these lines, I am remembering many scenes of his game and his behavior, some of which will be worth mentioning.
Fiddu says that his team got the first big prize of five thousand rupees in the Kabaddi match of Gurdwara Mahdeyana Sahib. Mahdeyana is between our village Chakar, Lakha, Manukke and Malhe. I am an eyewitness of that match because the mic was in my hand. On one side was the team from Kapurthale and on the other from Ludhiana. Around 1980, we invited Fiddu to play a match with a prize of five thousand by giving him five hundred. Fiddu and his friends did not realize that playing Kabaddi would really earn five thousand. It is a historical fact that Kabaddi became a professional sport from Mahdeyana’s match. Then the price of fiddu increased from five thousand to one lakh rupees at one point in Vancouver.
Also listen to the talk of lakhs of rupees. The Kabaddi World Cup was to be played on 6 August 1995 at BC Place in Vancouver. Thousands of spectators were waiting for the match between the teams of India and Pakistan. When the rising and falling young men of Punjab were sleeping in the field, I took the role from the mic, “Bring on the Babbar lions of Punjab.” Sacrifice Sons of Mothers Tigers hunted and killed. Beautiful shapely passions, mehlade and machalde. The eyes are slippery. See their rise and see their grips. One kabaddi lakhs of people who will increase the blood of all. Take a look at the mother earth.
When the match started, a Pakistani gentleman told me to announce that the player from Pakistan who beat Fiddu or Harjit from India would be given a reward of one lakh rupees in Pakistani currency, but neither Fiddu nor Harjit Brar could be beaten. There was a three thousand dollar reward on a fidoo raid in Toronto. Fiddu was not playing Kabaddi in a match due to body strain. A Sardar handed five hundred dollars to me and said that if I get Kabaddi from Fiddu, then this reward is his. Fiddu was standing with his hands in his armpits. When the dollars were announced from the mike, Fiddu jumped up and started playing kabaddi.
In 1990, there was an international Kabaddi match in Yuba City, the stronghold of Punjabis. Didar Singh Bains and others gave me the whistle instead of the mic. Seeing my hand holding a whistle, Fiddu started saying, “My dear, I am very much out of my mind.” Take care of me.” I said, “I will take care of everything. If you hit someone on the face, I will fight against you too. All are the same to me.” Udan Fiddu played a neat game. When he went to play kabaddi, the audience would shout, “Catch it, Pai-jo Lattin.” Don’t go too soon, keep ‘Keran…’ But he was not being beaten by anyone. At the end of the match, he stopped once and the audience cheered wildly. They threw beer cans in the air and water drinkers threw jugs. The Punjabi boys of California who were shaking their hands started screaming in ‘Panjerezi’ like two calves were crying!
Yuba City was followed by the Vancouver Sports Fair. Fiddu did not duck there even once. After the final match, the spectators started leaving the park. I saw a drunken Baba slapping the maple tree again and again and saying, “I am coming to feed the boy with ghee and next year I am going to slap Fiddu!”
People also saw Fiddu playing in small village tournaments and participated in big sports fairs in foreign countries. He was loaded with necklaces and carried on his shoulders. Kabaddi lovers consider it a blessing to shake hands and take photos with him. Dollars and pounds rained down on his game. Some call him ‘Truck of Punjab’ and some call him ‘Hero of Five Rivers’. He was also called ‘Rustme Hind of Kabaddi’. Apart from the scope of Kabaddi, he also achieved success in Kabaddi National Style and won the National Championship of Kabaddi many times for Punjab. He always proved to be the best Kabaddi player in police games.
He was the shortest boy when he studied in the village primary school. A master called him a midda. His classmates started calling him Fidda from Midde and his name became Fidda. Now he has given up all drugs and has become a Singh after drinking nectar. His long flowing beard can be seen from afar. Bangya Wale ‘Suhele’ had published an illustrated book about him which can be called Kabaddi Granth.
Even though I have reduced my attendance at Kabaddi fairs, I still get glimpses of people like Fiddha. On 3rd November 2024, which became the day of bad news for Canada and India, we went to make life certificates for pension and met at Gore Mandir. We were so engrossed in talking inside the temple that we didn’t realize that there was a protest going on outside on the road. Fiddu is still alive and he exercises to stay alive. May nature let him live long and add more colors to the game of Kabaddi.
Email: principalsarwansingh@gmail.com
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