A piece of paper cannot determine my life

, Said a student of mine, rather confidently, and without a trace of arrogance or defence. “Our lives are ours, our deeds are ours, our efforts are ours, and they should be continuous, fulfilling, and holistically rewarding”, he continued, “so why are we herded on the basis of our marks or academic performances?” His candour struck me instantly, and made me proud to be his teacher almost immediately.

Having studied in an alternate school – spaces which respect and inculcate the realness of education in all its glory – has made every difference to me. From ushering in this enigma of learning, to awakening the desire to explore, question, think, and voice one’s opinions, learning today has incorporated the concept of education in us wholly. The irony is that our school was, and still is a minority in the complex weave that is education in India.

Goaded by unnatural grades (that will never be enough), academic excellence, unreasonably high expectations, coupled with the overwhelming burden that is a mainstream institutional life, students have become exactly what they aren’t supposed to be. “Learn as if you were to live forever,” as a popular quote goes, is far from what we’ve become today. Neither are we studying for a tomorrow beyond exams, nor are we learning for ourselves,” say students unanimously. If this wasn’t enough, we have predisposed children who unfortunately find their solace or answers in extreme measures such as addictions, depressions, social withdrawals, and a general sense of bio-psycho-socio under-development. “If student suicide rates aren’t telling, we wonder what is,” they add.

Let’s learn to learn for tomorrow, be assured in ourselves, have a sense of faith, remember that an exam is just one tomorrow, that we’re greater than the marks we get, and that we are therefore much more talented than a number that labels us as good, average, or a plain failure. In the midst of all this pressure and tension, let’s learn to take a break and unwind, to do the things we like to do, and practice being non-judgmental. If there was ever a more apt statement, it would be this by the glorious Albert Einstein which says:

It’s never too late to wake up, make a difference, and witness the blossoming of actualized human beings making this world a better place. And somewhere in this discussion with my students, my purpose as an academic had taken shape.

Here are few things you, an adult, who has assumed the role of nurturing a child’s well being, can do to help:

• Talk to the kids about discovering their vocation from an early age - this enables a sense of belonging and fulfilment in the child.
• Engage your children in conversation about their studies every day.
• As a parent, go out of your way to maintain a regular dialogue with the teachers about your kid, and vice versa - this helps both you and the teacher to stay updated about your child’s progress and to recognise any tell tale signs of stress.
• During exam periods, let the child know that getting good grades is not as important as learning.
• Understand your child’s aptitude and weaknesses, and inspire confidence in your child to overcome them by mixing games and difficult subjects, with a reward system. This helps the child to associate a subject he or she is weak at with a positive, as opposed to negative sentiment.

Every child is unique, and their perception of success is varied draws cues from us - it is our duty to give the right lessons, so that that being better versions of themselves, will involve a lot more than academic excellence!

This article has been authored by Babushka Chauhan. She is a teacher and a trained counselling psychologist by profession. She has worked with numerous students, young adults, and adults in finding a path towards living a more meaningful, fruitful, and successful life via the use of her counselling and life skills.

Nagasimha G. Rao: Making a Safer City for Young Girls & Boys

Are harsher laws the only way to ensure a safer society? If that's the case, we're missing the larger picture. Meet Nagasimha G. Rao, a one-man-army who believes that the only way to make our society is safe, is to raise our children the right way.

Rao been on the ground creating awareness on child rights and child advocacy issues. Decades of working with the Child Rights Trust has put him in the thick of things. Here’s his story as a pre-activist:

Children's Helpline: Young girls to the rescue

We run a child's helpline where we get many calls about suicide attempts by children, mostly young girls. The reasons are plenty, ranging from conflicts in the family, depression, peer group issues, eve teasing or discrimination.

At that point we counsel them and direct them to the right individuals or organisations that can help them.

Counselling isn't easy for young girls who are going through turmoil.

In the course of counselling we developed therapeutic games with the support of NIMHANS. We play these games with children and their families, it's very effective.

Young juveniles: A cause for concern

If we want to bring about a change in society, education is the solution. We can help our young boys through education.

Look at Nirbhaya's case: the country felt it was unfair when the juvenile rapist wasn't punished. Our outlook towards juvenile delinquents needs to change. He was a child, in need of care and protection. He was a school dropout, nobody looked after him. Society neglected him, and then he came into conflict with the law.

It was then that he went through theft, rape and committed so many crimes. He was a result of our failure as a society.

Is ensuring that society is safe, our responsibility?

Not just observing the situations in our society but acting on it are our responsibilities. If a young boy is walking alone at 10 pm, ask him where his parents are, where his school is. But no one will bother asking him. If all citizens are sensitised, girls and boys will feel like there are people watching over them.

The education system has to empower them. Gender sensitisation and awareness is a must. We have trained several groups of children - they are informed to call 1098, the child’s helpline, in case of any trouble.

We teach them that they should not wait for something to happen. Call, or the worst will happen.

If he can, why can’t we?

We often overlook signs that clearly pose a threat to our society. They are infact percieved as 'normal'. We do not want to get involved, but we care enough to protest once something happens. The fact is, when we wait, we are often too late.

Nagasimha Rao alone has worked towards making the lives of young girls and boys safe and secure. If we want a safer future for our children, and eventually the entire society, we have to act, and act now. Ensuring a safe and secure society is up to us.

Alarm Bajne Se Pehle Jaago Re!

Support from the society can make or break an athlete: Boxing & powerlifting champ Dushyant Dubey

“I didn’t choose the sport. The sport chose me.”

Growing up, I was this lazy, unathletic kid, I had won no sporting accolades in my life, besides a first place finish in a sack race many years ago and my somewhat juvenile interest in Cricket (like almost every other Indian kid).

Following a friend's suggestion, I enlisted in my school's boxing classes, and within weeks of attending my first session, I was hooked line and sinker. While I got equal support from my school and my family, many of my peers weren't so fortunate.

“I went on to win accolades, while most of my talented boxing peers dropped out.”

Several people who joined the sport voluntarily, started dropping out of the boxing classes. It surprised me because some of them were certainly very talented for their age and looked set to have a bright future in the sport.

I didn't quite discover the actual reasons as to why my peers stopped coming to practice, but I went on regardless. With support from my family, I ended up winning a string of accolades in boxing, and went on to successfully transition to a different sport in my later teens - powerlifting. Here too, competitive athletes of my age were quitting the sport after an initial burst of dedication or even just out of the blue.

My close friend and lifting partner at the gym was also one among them. He had been one of my most formidable opponents when it came to competitive powerlifting. However, after participating in a lifting competition, he quit the sport altogether. As it turns out, his family didn't approve of his expenses and the time that he was investing in the sport. Among the disparaging comments that he received, he was told that the sport had "no future" and that he was wasting his time being involved in it.

I was completely taken aback by what my friend was telling me because it was something that I had never given any serious thought to in the 3-4 years that I had been a competitive sportsperson. My family was always supportive of my sporting endeavours, with my own father being a sportsperson in his youth. The collective support that I received from my immediate and extended family was something that I always, for the lack of a better term, took for granted.

“My family supported all my endeavours in sport…”

Several years have since passed and even though I'm not a competitive sportsperson anymore, I look back with a lot of gratitude at all the times my family encouraged and supported me to pursue my dreams. Right from my mother making me milk shakes, to my father extending financial help, to my little brother fetching my dietary ingredients from neighbourhood shops, they were all there to help out and played just as big a role in my sporting success as I did myself.

A child's family and the society are probably the most important determining factors in his/her development as a person and this goes beyond sports as well. It is not uncommon for me to still see gifted young athletes lose out on opportunities due to a lack of support from those surrounding them, and it's an incredibly unfortunate and painful sight to endure.

“Schools need to be a pillar of support for sports in India…”

Making sports compulsory in schools is probably one of the best ways of ensuring that budding athletes have all the support they require to reach the fullest of their sporting potential. Institutionalised support, much like the support of one's family and society, can play a pivotal role in actualizing an athlete's dreams and helping them reach the pinnacle of success that they desire. One great way of making this happen is to make sports an integral part of our school education.

Only if schools step in and include sports in the educational curriculum, will it have a lasting impact on a child’s growth.

Tata Tea has recently launched a petition to make sports a compulsory subject in schools across India. This will not only help children gain exposure to sports at a young age, it will enable a slow yet steady move towards a culture of sports in India. A generation of students with good sports education will thrive in physical and mental health, and also hopefully produce more world class sportspersons to represent India.

To make this change possible, I urge the everyone to join the movement and sign the petition to make sports a compulsory subject in schools. Sign the petition here

Alarm Bajne Se Pehle Jaago Re!

5 reasons parents & schools should encourage physical education & sports

It is believed that a healthy body has a healthy mind. Anyone who has seen kids on a playground knows they are the happiest moving about, active and playing. Whether it is playing informally, competitive play or even playing just for fun.

However, present day education is largely academic. Persuasively, this positioning needs to be changed for a balanced development through inculcating a health consciousness among students. This includes development at physical, social and mental levels. With increasing emphasis on academics everywhere and rapid advances in science and technology, parental pressure has been driving academic training; albeit at the cost of health and physical fitness of the youth.

As per a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, levels of physical activity may start tailing off as early as the age of seven. As children get older, it can be a challenge for them to get adequate daily physical activity. Hence, parents along with schools must take initiatives to inculcate a culture of ‘playing’ from early childhood of a student so that it follows them throughout their lives. Parents and schools should team up to encourage sports among children. As higher percentage of children go to schools, in this context there is now an urgency to lay a strong foundation and strengthen physical education and sports in education institutions or schools. With constant support from parents, this calls for the integration of physical education, sports and other recreation activities in schools for creating a healthier generation.

But why should we take steps to encourage physical education and sports?

As stated earlier, it is a well-known fact that children are the happiest when they play. Playing has physical, social, psychological and academic benefits for children. Regular physical activity also provides numerous health benefits for children. Let’s chalk out all the reasons:

Better academic performance

The relationship between mind and body has been acknowledged scientifically. Research has proven repeatedly that physical activity can have an impact on cognitive skills and attitudes and academic behaviour, all of which are important components of improved academic performance. These include enhanced concentration and attention as well as improved classroom behaviour.

Helps to forge character

When children play with others or play team sports, it creates a sense of belonging in them and encourages them to work with others. It teaches them how to accept a win or lose graciously - building a strong team spirit within. A win – win situation indeed!

Promotes a healthy lifestyle

Today’s children may fantasise about growing up to be svelte celebrities, athletes, etc. The irony however, is that children are largely inactive and unhealthy due to the sedentary lifestyles they are leading. Sports and physical education is the best cure for children to lead a healthy lifestyle. Regular physical activity helps control or reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and osteoporosis and improves their metabolism. Children who are physically active are more likely to grow into physically active and emotionally balanced adults.

Teaches life skills

By making physical education and sports more engaging and inclusive, one can make children learn respect for themselves and for others. It also teaches them team building skills, critical and creative thinking thereby making them more participative and responsible beings.

Holistic Education

Physical education and sports is an important part of holistic schooling. Physical education as an education tool can contribute significantly to the development and learning progress of children. It acts as a balance between a student’s body and mind and hence schools and parents must give their children sufficient time to play for their all-round development.

Across the globe, implementing sports education programmes is a huge challenge, considering the various constraints we are faced with. Parents and schools together can contribute to the monitoring and support required to keep up momentum of play and sports culture. It is known that children spend a significant amount of their time in schools. The school therefore is proven to be the best place to introduce changes in the way sports or physical education is handled. Schools come with a package of a play area, infrastructure, friends, teachers, etc. and hence provide the best environment to get children to play.

Parents can contribute by encouraging their children to increase their physical activity to improve their health and displace unhealthy behaviours. Parents can assess the physical activity patterns of their children to help refer them to the appropriate physical activity programmes the school is offering. But their role shouldn’t just be limited to supporting and encouraging their children to be physically active but by being physically active role models themselves. It’s a fact, children who lead active lifestyles are likely to remain active as adults and pass on their healthy lifestyle habits to their own children. Thus, parents who endorse and persuade to be physically fit in their own lives are more likely to pass on these good habits to their children.

Adopting a sports culture in early levels of childhood clearly is a significant step. However, to attain this paradigm shift towards physical education and sports, it is of vital important to encourage the acceptance of this sports – oriented culture by parents, schools and community at large, which requires a collaborative effort. Like it’s said in sports, talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships. Together everyone achieves more.

Alarm Bajne Se Pehle #JaagoRe!

10 ways we discourage our children from playing sports

Come Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and other World Championships, India is suddenly gripped in a mad frenzy and what follows is an eager wait for the medals. More often than not, we struggle on the world stage and celebrate single digit wins - although, we have the talent with immense potential. While we all want India to win more laurels at such international sporting events, this won’t be possible unless we change our mindset about sports. Sports is an integral part of education and till it is treated at par with 'academics', we cannot expect to improve the dismal scenario. If a child is goaded into concentrating only on studies instead of 'wasting time' on sports, then how can we expect to emerge as a great sporting nation?

The onus to nurture India's next great sports person lies on each and everyone of us. If we wish to elevate India's ranking, we have to actively build a culture of sports. And for that to happen, we have to fight the existing prejudice against sports. The latter is often manifested in a few statements which children are used to hearing from their elders.

Here are some of the most common ones here:

• Sport is such a waste of time.
• Sport has no future. Concentrate on your studies if want a successful career!
• Sport aren't meant for girls. You'll get tanned and look masculine.
• What if you get a scar while playing sports? Who will marry you then?
• Thoda khel kya liya, khud ko khiladi samajhne lage!
• Sport is just a hobby - a distraction from studies.
• You need to focus on your exams - sports won’t help you score marks.
• What will you do after you get married? Sports won’t feed your family.
• Aise hi koi bhi Sachin thode hi bann jaata hain!
• Our hard earned money is to ensure that you have good education - not to play sports.

It is this thought process which deprives our children of the opportunity to discover their passion and hone their talent for a particular sport. At some level, we, the adults, believe that sports as a field is not as rewarding or as respectful as that of a doctor, an engineer or a MBA graduate. Who knows, we may have lost out on numerous would-have-been champions, owing to this flawed thinking!

It’s time to bring about a radical shift in our attitudes. Join our movement to change this mindset and petition the HRD Ministry to make sports a part of educational curriculum.

Sign the petition launched by Tata Tea to make sports a compulsory subject in schools across India. Sign the petition here

Alarm Bajne Se Pehle Jaago Re!

Why I started the World 10K Run: Piyush Sachdeva

Former national level cricketer, sports advisor and sports enthusiast, Piyush Sachdeva talks about his visions of a platform bringing people together from all races, castes, age groups all on one ground. Keeping this in mind, he started World 10K Run in Haryana, one of India’s most recognised city runs. He goes on to emphasise how World 10K Run is also building and promoting a sports culture in his home state, Haryana. He talks about the challenges he’s faced and met with while working on grassroots to make sports consequential in India.

‘Sports for all’: The beginnings of World 10 K Run

I am a former cricketer from Haryana. Being a sports person, I always learnt that sports is one avenue accessible and available for all kinds of people, never mind the background. When I founded World Sports Forum & India Road Runners in 2012, I thought of creating a platform that will truly justify ‘sports is for all’ with no preference to gender, age, background or hearsay. Where everyone can participate together and enjoy the benefits of being fit and healthy.

Eventually I realised running is the rare sport that needs no special training, no equipment, or no infrastructure. What’s more, you can run together with your friends, family, your acquaintances or even with those you do not know of.

The dream ‘World 10k run’ was born with the idea of creating a culture of being fit. When people from different castes, creed, colours, cultures, ages, cities, countries run together it definitely brings about national integration too.

World 10 k Run: Bringing the Joy of Running Together & Reviving a Sporting Culture

I primarily started this event so we can educate people about sports and revive a sports culture across our region, and the country at large.

Through this run, we also organise free physical training camps, sports seminars and sports meetings and workshops in schools and colleges to educate them about sport.

Our simple mission is to create and promote a s ports culture, fitness and health among the people and drive home the idea that 'Every Step Counts'.

Often we have renowned players like cricketer Mohit Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Yogita Bali(Hockey) etc. from different sports participating in the World 10k run; discussing sports openly with the lay audience while running, which bridges the divide between the players and the general public and builds the general enthusiasm among the crowd about sports.

Piyush Sachdeva, Founder of World 10 K Run

“If we wish for a sporting culture in India, we need education on sports…”

We need to focus on sports as a part of our education system very strongly. Physical education is an integral part of education, so we should follow and implement it. The biggest challenge is to work in the grassroots of our country, and to make sports an essential part of a child’s routine.

We should strictly follow the phrase, ‘Catch them young and train them young’. India is not only a transforming nation, but indeed ours is a nation where majority of the population are adolescents. If we wish for a strong sporting culture, we have to educate everyone in India on what sports really is.

Petition to make sports compulsory across schools in India

Only when sports is made compulsory in schools, will every child have access to sport. Our future generation can grow up on the concept of inclusiveness for all, we can reduce discrimination and prejudice through sports. What’s more we are only securing the health and fitness of the next generation by integrating sports into our education.

Tata Tea has recently launched a petition to make sports a compulsory subject in schools across India.

To make this change possible, I urge everyone to join the movement and sign the petition to make sports a compulsory subject in schools. Sign the petition here

Alarm Bajne Se Pehle Jaago Re!

A powerhouse of talent for the future of Sports in India: Stairs

STAIRS is an NGO working towards sports, education and health of underprivileged children across various urban and rural areas of India. Since the year 2000, they have worked tirelessly to make sports accessible to children from all backgrounds across India. Thanks to their efforts, several children trained by them are now playing professionally at some of the biggest sporting events worldwide, even though many of these kids are from impoverished backgrounds. Not only has their sports programme helped develop and nourish the sporting talent among them, but also has greatly contributed to their cognitive and overall development.

Why sports education & prowess in sports is as good as, if not better than academic education

Shikha Gaur, Manager of Corporate Communications for Stairs, speaks to Jaago Re: “Once you look at the stories of several children under our wing, you can easily see the positive impact sports has had on many aspects of their lives. There are many such cases but the crux is that there is a positive association between physical activity and mental fitness and all those components also affect academic achievements. Young children involved in sports from an early age tend to show better academic performance; besides that, there’s lesser involvement in juvenile crimes and they tend to be less influenced towards substance abuse. Grassroot sports teaches the youth how to lead a healthy lifestyle early in their lives. Once it becomes a habit in their routines, they tend to continue participating in recreational sports activities throughout their lives. It is a way to incorporate physical activity and a healthy lifestyle right at the starting phase of life.

From the son of a rickshaw driver to representing India at the Asian Games worldwide: Sandeep Kumar

Sandeep Kumar, the son of an auto rickshaw driver was spotted by STAIRS during a talent hunt in Majnu Ka Tilla, Delhi in 2012, an area inhabited by families belonging to the disadvantaged section of the society. He has a family of three, where the monthly income is between Rs.8000-10000. He has been representing the Delhi state Sepak Takraw team in senior National Championship since 2002 and has won medals each year. He represented India in the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in 2010 and has been selected for the national coaching camp for 17th Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea, 2014.

Stairs: A widespread reach for children to cross the socio-economic barriers in sports

Like Sandeep Kumar, Stairs has worked with thousands of children across the country. Here’s a quick look at the approximate numbers for their reach:

Over 300,000 children are playing on a daily basis at 400 sports centres across 4000 villages of rural and semi urban areas of India.

Over 45 different forms of sports are being played with equal focus on health and education of the children.

They provide training, scholarships, sports gear and platforms like cricket championships, volleyball championships, STAIRS School Football League (SSFL) for the youth to excel and choose sports as a career.

Today, SSFL is the world’s largest talent scouting and training program in football engaging 100,000 footballers across the country.

STAIRS Khelo programme, running in 7 states of India, has produced 8 international and 12 national level Sepak Takraw players and 5 national level volleyball players.

UFLEX STAIRS School Football League is an initiative by Society for Transformation, Inclusion and Recognition through Sports (STAIRS), a not for profit organisation. UFLEX SSFL is supposedly the world’s largest football talent scouting and training programme at the school level and being held in three states - Delhi, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh this year. The mega sports event has reached out to 100,000 aspiring footballers so far.

Giving Sports its due importance will lead to exemplary results for India in the global sports arena

Shikha Gaur, further continues to stress on their belief on the importance of sports : “STAIRS is a recipient of the prestigious National Sports Award/ Rashtriya Khel Prothsahan Puraskar 2016. Many children trained by us are now representing India across the world. We are a talenthouse for the future of sports in India.

We attempt to channelize the energy of the youth for personal and economic growth through the medium of sports; by creating a holistic development of the youth of India. Since we believe in development of children through sports, we think it’s of utmost importance that sports should be made compulsory in schools. Only when it becomes a part of our educational curriculum, will the overall scenario of sports in India transform.

Adopting sports by schools can make a significant change in the Indian sporting field and like the countless academic legends that have emerged from India, sports legends can also be nurtured to help make India a sporting giant in the global sporting arena.”

Tata Tea has recently launched a petition to make sports a compulsory subject in schools across India.

To make this change possible, I urge everyone to join the movement and sign the petition to make sports a compulsory subject in schools. Sign the petition here

Alarm Bajne Se Pehle Jaago Re!

Nurturing Future Olympians of India: GoSports Foundation

Sporting champions are not born overnight. They have to be discovered, nurtured, trained and groomed. That can only happen when the right talent gets the right support at the right time.

In 2012, two GoSports athletes participated at the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, but the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympics Games saw participation from 15 of their athletes (4 in Olympic and 11 in Paralympic). In fact, half of the members of the Paralympic contingent were GoSports Foundation athletes and out of the 4 medals won by India at the Rio Paralympics, 3 of them belonged to athletes trained by the foundation.

Sportspersons like Kidambi Srikanth and Dipa Karmakar received support from GoSports which helped them do well in their respective disciplines

GoSports Foundation is a decade old non-profit organisation focused on supporting the country's most talented young athletes for the Olympics and the Paralympics. They provide scholarships and support to junior Indian athletes, in an attempt to professionalize sports in India. They believe that if India has to win at the international level, our society needs to first build a culture of sports that supports athletes, and encourages young talent to take sports more seriously.

Deepthi Bopaiah, Executive Director of GoSports spoke to Jaago Re on the need to build a culture of sports in India.

“Parents, schools & the larger society can be the pillar of support for rising sports stars.”

Sports, as we all know are quite beneficial for children. By playing sports, children develop physical skills, make new friends, have fun, learn about being a good team player, learn about fair play and the essence of winning and losing.

In my opinion, parents should let their kids participate in sports not for instant success, but rather from the perspective of keeping fit. As we are aware, children today are so engrossed with technology based gadgets, that sports and playing takes a backseat. Let the child first get used to sports and get to like it so it can become part of their daily lives.

Later if the child is found to be really talented, they should be allowed to consider sports as a career option. There might be a Devendra Jhajharia or a Dipa Karmakar in every household but are not able to come out of the closet due to the lack of support by parents.

Society also needs to evolve in their mindset regarding letting their children choose alternative career choices. They deem someone as 'lucky' or born with an 'extraordinary' talent when anyone excels in an alternative career choice. This can be very demotivating for children if they decide to pick up a sport as a career.

Why do we need to begin with our schools?

A lot of untapped sports talent in India is found in our schools.

For any sports to be developed, due importance should be given to a strong Grassroot Structure so that the sporting talents can be scouted and nurtured from an early age. Making sports a compulsory subject in schools can be one of the stepping stone towards that. Schools should also take responsibility in giving sports equal weightage as education. They can scrutinize the development of a child and hence if sports is made a compulsory subject in school with marks, children have to then take sports seriously. Furthermore, schools should also consider developing the sports environment so kids get the platform to pursue their passion in sports from school level.

Schools possess a unique combination of infrastructure with a structured group of children going through it. Although most schools have an open field; there are schools that do not have the infrastructure and would now be required to develop the same if sports is made a compulsory subject in schools.

There is a pool of untapped talent in schools; we just need to tap into it. To to this, we need quality coaches and teachers at the school level to empower the children who have the zest and zeal to excel in sports.

We can put India back on the world map, if the change begins from schools

I wholeheartedly feel that communities, schools and individuals should play their part in supporting sports for providing new avenues for young kids to explore other than basic education. Schools provide a platform where junior talent can be nurtured so that their transition becomes smoother to national and international levels wherein organizations like GoSports come into contention for providing the support and thus, improve the chances of bettering India’s world rankings in the field of sports.

In a field as vast as sports, it is impossible for a single entity to bring positive change unless there are collective efforts directed towards achievement of the common goals.

India undoubtedly has immense Sports talent at its disposal but these talents are still in need of professional support and resources to reach their potential. If the right platform is given to right talent at the right time, there is no doubt that we will improve our performances at the International events and be at par with our counterparts.

To make this possible, Tata Tea is petitioning the HRD Ministry to make sports a compulsory subject in schools across India. This will not only help children gain exposure to sports at a young age, it will enable a slow yet steady move towards a culture of sports in India.

I urge everyone to join this movement and help build a culture of sports for a better sporting future for India. Sign the petition here

Alarm Bajne Se Pehle Jaago Re!

Thanking Sports Teachers in India: Standing their Ground in a Society that Lacks a Sporting Culture

Even the best of sporting talent may fail if they do not have the right coach to guide them and help them in honing and perfecting their skills. However, sports teachers or coaches are seldom given as much importance as academic teachers.

This is ironical, as in our tradition, the gurukuls were centres of physical and mental growth, with equal importance to both. Despite this, we have sports teachers and coaches today, who keep at their thankless job to aid the overall development of the next generation.

On account of Teacher’s Day, we spoke to a few coaches to understand what motivates and drives them, their dreams and expectations and the ethics which they abide by in their profession.

Rohit D'Souza, Rugby Coach, Co-founder at Mumbai Strikers Sports Club, Former Mentor at Magic Bus

Picture Credit: Prajakt Patil

"I enjoy teaching because I enjoy playing it. It's not always about the money, it's about the joy of effort that goes into training for a sport."

Tanaz Mohammed

National Level Hockey Player, Hockey Coach for MMK College Girls Team, Grassroots Development Coordinator at Mumbai City Football Club

"I learnt some of my biggest life's lessons from sports, and now I'm sharing it through coaching others."

Raj Shekhar, Football Coach, Worked with Mumbai Football Club, and with the likes of former players from Premier league clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

"I play and coach football purely out of passion. Chase your passion and dreams, success will follow."

Raju Bhasvar, former Asian Games gold medallist, Arjuna Award winner, Kabbadi Coach

"I teach Kabbadi because this is the sport that has given me an identity. Coaching Kabbadi gives me immense satisfaction because I’m building a new healthy generation of India."

While we still struggle to understand the importance of sports, our coaches are struggling hard to nurture the best talent in the country. Their relentlessness and perseverance is inspiring, and Jaago Re salutes them for pre-acting towards building a sports culture in India.

Join them in elevating India’s world ranking in sports and ensure that every child gets the opportunity to identify their passion and talent in sports.

Sign the petition to make sports a compulsory subject in school curriculum by clicking on this link here

Alarm Bajne Se Pehle Jaago Re!

What happened to my father shouldn't happen to any other sportsperson in India: Suromitro Basu, sports journalist

Suromitro Basu, the youngest Indian journalist to cover the Olympics, has come a long way. His childhood experience with the difficulties sportspersons face (through his father’s story) led him to choose a career as a sports journalist, and also use his reach to pre-act towards building a better future for sports in India. He launched the "Chak de Barf Pe" campaign that helped India’s Ice Hockey team participate in the Asian championship.

Suromitro Das shares his journey as a pre-activist with Jaago Re:

“Even if I become India’s top table tennis star, I won’t earn a penny”: Suromitro’s father, who was forced to quit the sport at the peak of his career

Can you imagine a budding 18-year-old international level table tennis player being asked to quit the sport? My father was a promising table tennis player as a teenager, but he was discouraged by the society and the authorities from taking up the sport professionally. Because of the lack of encouragement for sports in our society, my father could not fulfil his dreams, and India lost a talented young sportsperson. It’s the same story for thousands of young sports talent in India.

The glaring lack of a sports culture in India

Suromitro Basu with gymnast Dipa Karmakar and badminton player Jwala Gutta at Rio Olympics 2016

Anyone who wants to be a cricketer in India has several avenues to do so, but what about other disciplines? What if I wanted to become a professional squash player or a professional ice hockey player, how do I progress? Where do I start?

The deeper I dug, the quicker I realized that not much has changed since my father's era, except for a handful of sports. When I first got in touch with the Indian Ice Hockey team, they didn't have a single rink to practice on, the only one that is located in Dehradun has been shut for the past five years because the Government didn’t have funds. The national team had qualified for the Asian Championship, but the Federation didn't have the money to send their players abroad. Many other sports face a similar, or worse situations in India.

Doing our bit - all of us have a role to play in building a sports culture in India

My meeting with the Ice Hockey team made me realise that if I didn’t help them, no one would. Hence, along with the Federation officials I launched a crowdfunding campaign titled, "Chak de Barf Pe". What ensued over the next 48 hours, is something that none of us were prepared for. Notable personalities such as Anand Mahindra and Gautam Gambhir, all came forward to support the cause, and the team eventually did book their flights for Kuwait. However, the most important aspect that emerged from this entire campaign was that India genuinely cared. It was us, the people of India that wanted to award the bravehearts who were giving it their all to represent their country abroad.

Since then, we (Sportskeeda) have sent junior sprinter Beant Singh to the World Championship and funded Shot Putter Inderjeet Singh's training - all this through crowdfunding.

However, it was important for the people of India to understand that it’s not just the established athletes that need money for infrastructure. For instance, till 2014, the Bengal junior Women's hockey team didn't have a ground to play on. They shared their ground with the cricket team, who used to essentially occupy the ground for the entire day. Hence, they practiced on the concrete often injuring themselves in the process.

Sportskeeda's reach helped me get such problems out onto the mainstream, which were then directly addressed by the local governing bodies. However, we as a society need to first understand that India's athletes are human beings with extremely realistic problems. The only solution is to have a culture of sports that is supportive of sports and sportspersons.

Can introducing sports from an early age to children make a difference to sports in India?

All our efforts are just small steps in the right direction. For uplifting the status of sports in India, change has to start right from the grassroots. I believe that if sports is made compulsory in schools, it is going to change the outlook and the direction of sports in the country.

Tata Tea has recently launched a petition to make sports a compulsory subject in schools across India. This will not only help children gain exposure to sports at a young age, it will enable a slow yet steady move towards a culture of sports in India.

To make this change possible, I urge the everyone to join the movement and sign the petition to make sports a compulsory subject in schools. Sign the petition here

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