Earlier this week I received a call from my friend and ex-colleague Rasika Kulkarni. She sounded excited, as did Nilesh Kulkarni - they are both the Directors of the International Institute of Sports Management, Mumbai, India. Without exchanging the usual pleasantries they asked me to block my diary for the 24th of January 2016 for a very special milestone in their lives ... they were launching the #sportsheroes national anthem enacted and supported by 8 of India's sports heroes @sachin_rt @dhanraj_pillay @ibaichungbhutia @Maheshbhupathi @WrestlerSushil @MirzaSania @gaGunNarang and the great Sunil Gavaskar @excricketr ... the anthem has been conceptualised by Nilesh and Rasika and is written and directed by Abhijit Phanse, music direction by Ram Sampath, Photography by Sudeep Chatterjee ... tremendous team effort with an outcome of a 3.10min video that strung the right chords giving the traditionally dressed audience goose bumps and moist eyes.Dhanraj and Sachin were the only two of the eight sports heroes that were present at the event held at the #TajLandsEnd. Both of them spoke with humility and emotion about their sport and the flag and the joy they have felt each time the #indianflag was unfurled in a foreign land because of their win.
As a child I remember playing all kinds of games in the open spaces with my friends. Games like kity-kity, lagori, robs&cops, dabba-i-spy (it was pronounced as dabba-ice-spice), goooooooldspot, hopscotch, fire-in-the-mountain, climbing trees and eating guavas and shehtoot and badams, swimming, cycling, racing, badminton, gymnastics, throwball, basketball, high jump, langdi, phugddi, kho-kho, hututu (kabaddi), four corners. We would leave home at about 4pm and not return until 8pm in time for a wash and dinner with the family. Getting dirty in the mud was a given. Falling and scraping our hands and knees was common place as was getting back to the madness after a tear or two -- that thrill and joy I felt in those growing years is unmatched.Playing a sport builds our strength, teaching us about team spirit, about the victories and losses that one faces in life and how to toughen up and accept defeat and then get back and try again the next day. Sport doesn't care for your color, caste, wealth, religion ... all it cares for is your talent. And if you can convert that talent into a passion and maintain your focus and instill a culture of self discipline and hard work it is most certain that the world will salute you in return ... and you too will have the opportunity to watch the #indianflag unfurl as you stand atop the victory stand with a lump in your throat, a tear in your eye and a billion+ cheers to back you up! Go India go ... #winforindia
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