Category: Hum log

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The man who loves to play

Devendra Desai is a 66-year-old, toy-crazy man! No child can be left without a game or toy if he’s around.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

Devendra Desai runs a decrepit paper firm, and you wouldn’t even notice the little place if you were to walk past it. But several people stop and read what he’s painted on the wall leading to his office at Fort – Children Toy Foundation – with a list of what the place does. Intrigued by the words, several people walk in and ask what it’s all about.

“That board has been really lucky for us,” chuckles Devendra (66), who has been running the Foundation since 1982. “So many people have come in and asked for details, so many more have donated toys. I even got my first overseas donor through this board.”

But what really goes on inside? What appears to be just a hole in the wall at first, houses some of the most astonishing games and puzzles. Every available surface is stacked high with board games, most of them with names most people haven’t even heard of, while he’s put up paper charts of mathematical puzzles on one of the overhead cabinets. During the course of our conversation, it becomes clear just how priceless some of the games in his collection are, especially ‘Chess 64’ (pictured), a customised game (that he created with a friend, Arun Mehta) which has an astounding 64 games rolled inside one pack of playing cards. “We tried to market this game, but it didn’t take off because you needed a lot of time to explain it. But I am thinking of bringing it out again,” he muses.

“Even as a child, I had decided that I wouldn’t do the usual ‘study-get a job-get married’ routine,” Devendra remembers. “I bet my older sister, when I was 16 years old, that I would never marry. I had been an avid chess player, and I loved puzzles and mathematical problems. I started solving chess problems regularly – in those days, there used to be a space titled ‘Ramji’s Crossword Corner’ in The Times of India, which featured chess problems, and I loved to crack those.”

But it was a chance meeting with Manilal Dund, who was running the Chacha Nehru Toy Library in Bandra in the 1970s that set the course for Devendra’s life. “I had been helping in the family paper business, but I was more interested in social work. I had put in time at Vinoba Bhave’s ashram, I had even been part of the Cow Slaughter Satyagraha in 1981. But this fellow came to see me about an order for paper. While talking, he told me about this toy library that he was running, and I told him that I was interested in working with him,” Devendra says. The obsession with games had already gripped him, however – he even used to play on the local train. “I used to play Naughty Packs (a variation on Brainvita) on the train. When others would peep into my game and suggest ways to crack it, I would ask them to participate. Sometimes, I even sold packs on the train.”

In 1982, Devendra had found others who shared his passion for games and his vision for a toy library for children, and he started the Children Toy Foundation (CTF) that year. Manilal Dund was also a part of this team. “The idea was to make toys accessible to children who did not have access to them. Every child has the right to play, and the CTF was founded on this belief,” he says. “I would go to schools, asking them for a room to spare for toys. But several schools did not have enough space for their own classrooms, so that idea fizzled out.”

Meanwhile, Devendra would find new games and test them, coming up with variations of one game to maximise its utility. “There was a boy, a street dweller, who used to peep in and watch me while I played games at my office. His presence disturbed me, so I told him to come to play any time between four and six pm. Later, he started bringing his friends as well. At one time, there would be about 30 children inside the office, and about 20 more on the pavement outside, all of them playing games!” he laughs.

Devendra started his first toy library at Prarthana Samaj, near his place of residence, in 1984. “It was featured on TV, and the next day, there was a line of parents wanting to take toys home for their children.” The model was simple – children could borrow toys for a certain time, then return it and play with something else. “But I wanted to reach more children, and for this, I needed a van to take the toys to areas where children could play with our toys. Luckily for me, a journalist from the Economic Times came to interview me, and I said to him, ‘You journalists are useless. I need a van, but you have no idea how to help me.’ He put in the details of the CTF and our requirement in the ‘Good Samaritan’ section of the paper, and very soon, a kind donor responded to the write up and helped us with a van in 1998.”

The media and donors alike have been very kind to the FoundationCTF, Devendra says, helping him in direct and indirect ways to get funding and whatever else he needed to keep the Foundation growing. “Till date, we have helped set up over 292 toy libraries all over India. So many more have started using our model. We started the Khelvigyan centre (that combines entertainment and education via games) in City of Los Angeles municipal school in 2001 where we have a permanent room of over 700 toys and games that pre-primary and primary children can play with twice a week free of cost, during school hours.”

It is to the CTF’s eternal credit that they have a permanent centre inside Arthur Road Jail, for the children of female inmates. Yerawada Jail wanted the same model, so CTF helped set up a centre there as well. Besides municipal schools all over the country, the CTF has also reached 12 remote villages in Allahabad, there about 7,000 children avail of the toys and games.

“It has been scientifically proved that play is integral to children’s overall development. We only hope that more schools will include a play hour with puzzles, toys and games in their curriculum, all over the country,” Devendra says. “Why only children, even adults should play. We have forgotten to play and hence, we have forgotten how well we can socialise with others over a game. There are so many games freely available in the market, but we must make the effort to go out and look for them. Slowly, people are realising the importance of toys in children’s development.”

As if on cue, Samita Shah, who lives in the area, stops by to drop off a brand new scooter. “It just needs to be assembled. My son had two scooters, so I decided to drop one off. All my friends also regularly donate toys to Mr Desai. I think his work is brilliant,” she smiles.

Devendra simply looks back at me and grins.

The Children Toy Foundation is at 76, Ali Building, Shahid Bhagat Singh road, Fort, Mumbai. 

 

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Dance that reconnects

Komal Lalpuria teaches folk dance to girls rescued from human trafficking. Dance helps them reconnect to the society they’ve forgotten.
by Beena Parmar | beena@themetrognome.in

Dance, when performed for oneself, is the most sublime of performing arts. But when wilfully used to create happiness for those less fortunate than one, it acquires a profounder dimension because it enriches the lives of both the learner and the teacher. This is brought home while watching students of Komal Lalpuria perform on stage.

“My entire body was shivering before I came on the stage. Then I saw Komal didi sitting in the front row, and my fear vanished. While I was dancing, I felt the stage and the world is mine”, said Rakhi (name changed), a beaming 13-year-old.

Rakhi’s smile is broader, her sense of achievement higher, because her back story is one of violence and severe trauma. One among several young girls, whose unfavourable social environment compels them to leave their homes in search of a better life for themselves and their families, Rakhi found herself, like so many before her and so many since, in the clutches of traffickers. If not for her subsequent rescue and time spent in rebuilding her life with Save The Children India’s Sahas Kendra, Rakhi’s story may well have been just a meaningless statistic.

But several young girls have been fortunate to not just get livelihood training by the Kendra, they are lucky to be given the chance to regain a semblance of faith and trust in relationships and society. And Komal has had a big role to play in this process. As a trained kathak dancer who went on to hone her skills by training under Shiamak Davar, Komal would have continued choreographing dances for private groups until the opportunity to do an even bigger good came knocking.

Dance with me!   

Komal was 14 when she completed her visharad from Kalangana University at Allahabad. Five years later, in 2007, having learned the basic level of dance from Shamak Davar’s Academy, she began to  choreograph dances for private groups comprising women and children.

A commerce student from NMIMS, Komal was “totally unaware” of the potentiality of her talent to transform her into a different level of consciousness, that of social commitment. “It all began when I attended a seminar for social responsibility at my college,” she remembers. “Archana Rao, coordinator of Save The Children India, presented various activities of the NGO where students could contribute to society. But despite  eagerness to participate in these activities, there was nothing connected to dance. I was dismayed.”

A few days later, Archana called Komal to enquire if she would train the girls at their shelter home. “They needed to perform for the annual day function. I agreed at once,” Komal says. However, training the girls was one thing, and getting them stage-ready in just three sessions, was another matter.  “It was a big challenge, and I was sceptical. But once I met the girls, the bonding was instant.  We decided to do a Rajasthani folk dance.”

But the task was not easy. “These girls were to perform on stage for the first time. From building their confidence, to taking care of their costumes and make-up was my job,” she says. The days flew by, and on March 20, 2008, the day of the function, the auditorium at NCPA was packed to capacity. It was a testing time for both Komal and the girls – for the girls, it would help them reconnect with the world. It had to go well.

“But once the girls began to perform, it was magic. They may have missed a step or two, but they kept the sprit of the dance intact. My tension gave way to tears of joy. Their performance got a standing ovation,” Komal smiles.

Buoyed by their success, Komal and Archana decided to continue the dance lessons. Till recently, Komal has been visiting the Kendra once a week and has trained at least 30 girls. “I teach them folk dances only, not Bollywood,” she emphasises. “I’ve designed the dance sessions to expand the girls’ cultural knowledge, and to help them develop self-confidence along with self-acceptance.” Archana adds to this: “Learning dance has brought a distinct change in their lives. I have noticed this change in their day-to-day activities. Dance helps them tap into emotions that are required to feel free of all restrictions and emote seamlessly.”

From 2009 to 2010, Komal also trained about 90 special needs students with the same NGO. The highlight of the project was that the students and their teachers performed a dance drama at The American School to a standing ovation.

A different bond

“I began with Gujarati folk dance and showed them where Gujarat is on the map ofIndia. I also informed them about the dress, food, lifestyles of its people and the festival of Navratri,” Komal explains, adding that the girls are often enthusiastic about learning different Indian customs. “Since the girls come from different states, it also becomes an interactive session for them to discuss and understand each other’s rituals.  This leads to further bonding,” she says.

But the girls are a little shy, and it takes a while for them to shed their inhibitions. “Each session begins with a little discussion and inputs from the students, and ends with one of the students summarising the on- hour lesson,” Komal says. But the girls enjoy the grooving sessions the most. “I begin by standing in the centre with about 20 students surrounding me. Then I do two or three steps, and call one of them to the centre to lead. This lets the girl understand how many steps she has picked up and builds each girl’s confidence since each of them has to come to the centre and perform.”

One of her students was so reluctant to dance, she would not even move her hands. “One day, after a month of learning, she surprised everyone – she came to the centre, started dancing and refused to stop. She had discovered the joys of dancing, and the joy of just being. It was a breakthrough.”

Once this connection happens, it is easy for the girls to realise their self-worth, take pride in being a woman, and also respect other women. “I am blessed with the talent with which I am helping them, though in a small way, to break the mental and physical bondages and step into a real life. Honestly, it is a stress busting session for me too,” Komal says.

She says that the experience has made her grateful for what life has given her. “If one wishes to contribute to a social cause, one does not need to possess a particular talent. Just give your time. Even a little talk is important to help someone restore their faith in life,” she says.

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‘I love working for the CM’

Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan’s chief PRO Satish Lalit talks about his job, his boss and dealing with the media daily.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

It must be wonderful being the public relations man for the most powerful man in Maharashtra. But Satish Lalit (52), chief PRO for Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, says he has his good and bad days. He was born 12 years after his boss, but they have a lot in common, apart from their long working hours and a love for reading and research; they even share a birthday, March 17. “I go to his house in the morning to wish him, and he wishes me in return!” laughs Satish. “Our job is a 24/7 one, and the CM works really long hours. He lets me go by 10.30 pm, while he works till 2 am every day.”

It is Satish’s job to monitor what the media is writing and speaking about his boss, how to bring about (or decline requests for) media interactions with the CM, write press notes after Cabinet meetings, write speeches for the CM’s public appearances and rallies, and be ready to brief him on any subject at a moment’s notice.

Satish became chief PRO under the other Chavan – Ashok – who was the CM of the state till November 2010. So how did Prithviraj Chavan, who became CM right after Ashok Chavan and who had come from Delhi reportedly with no idea about the state’s style of working,  get around to learning the ropes in Maharashtra? Satish says, “For the first two weeks, we would be with him all through the day, helping him meet people he had never seen in his life, rapidly briefing him about every meeting and the subjects that would come up in them. But he is a really fast learner – he picked up names and issues really quickly,” Satish says.

But Chavan was in for several culture shocks; he was particularly peeved at how people simply waltzed in and out of his office without prior appointments. “He said to me, ‘In Delhi, if anybody had to meet me, they had to have an appointment. And even then, they would pass through three rings of security.’ But he soon understood that with a state of this size, and with all its issues, he would have to meet people at a moment’s notice.”

Satish says that for a job like his, trust between his boss and him is of the essence. “I also have to write well and quickly, because I issue daily press releases and compose the CM’s speeches. Plus, I have to be on excellent terms with the media, especially when asking them to rectify mistakes made, or while suggesting a news angle.”

Writing and research come easily to Satish – a former journalist with the Marathi newspapers Sakal, Kesari and Maharashtra Times, he joined the Maharashtra government in 1991 as a Class I gazetted officer. “I’ve worked in the state’s District Information offices and even in Goa, before I came back to head the news department in Mumbai in 2000,” he says. A fruitful stint with the Mantralaya DGIPR (Director General of Information and Public Relations) in two phases and intermediate postings to Kolhapur later, Ashok Chavan appointed him chief PRO in 2010.

“Luckily for me, Prithviraj Chavan retained our team when he joined office, so I’ve been with him since his first day as CM,” Satish says. His days revolve around briefings, meetings, writing articles for the CM, and reading and keeping tabs on TV news. “I go to Varsha (the CM’s residence at Malabar Hill) at 9 am for his morning media briefing. We discuss the press coverage for the day, any incorrect reportage and what to do about it. My day is structured around the CM’s schedule. The busiest days are Wednesdays, when Cabinet meetings happen. It is a big event for us,” he explains.

When writing press notes, he is careful to state only facts and figures. “Journalists keep hounding me for ‘who said what’ details, but I only state the decisions made, the financial burdens of those decisions and how they will be implemented. If I feel that the CM needs to hold a press conference, I advise him so and release the press notes later,” he explains.

In recent times, with so much media proliferation and every political reporter clamouring for a bit of news, Satish is subject to various harrowing and comical moments. “The worst is when an incorrect news is published. I have to ensure that the mistake is set right; one slip-up can have bad repercussions for the CM’s office. And mistakes are happening all the time, every day, because everybody is in such a hurry to put news out there.”

He recounts the time when the CM, glancing at the TV screen in his office, was stunned by a news flash claiming that he had left for Delhi on an urgent summons. “I immediately called the reporter and told him that the CM was sitting in his chair in front of me and that he was not going to Delhi soon. They took the item off air, but I had to field calls from other irate reporters demanding to know why I didn’t inform them of the CM’s trip,” Satish laughs. “But the CM never loses his temper, a rare quality for a person in his position.”

What many outside the Mantralaya and journalistic circles don’t know, is that Satish and his team were the heroic few to escape the recent Mantralaya fire via window ledges and drain pipes. Satish’s trekking hobby – he has seen more than 80 forts in Maharashtra – could have saved him that day. He laughs at the suggestion. “I was lucky to get out in time. Another minute, and I would have collapsed.” He is also an avid photographer, is the first government PRO to maintain a daily blog on the state’s workings, has published a book and is working on another, and has made five documentaries on Sindhudurg, where he comes from. “I have six more years of government service left. The media is expanding, and so is our work. Sometimes, I feel that this is a thankless job. But if you have a good person to work under, it becomes easier,” he smiles.

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Coming soon: Bedardi Baalam

Harish Iyer’s ‘fun’ project for women, Khuli Tijori, will have him visit colleges and start a debate on local trains.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

He shot to fame when TV show Satyameva Jayate featured him on its child sex abuse episode. Viewers cried as Harish Iyer told his heartbreaking story, how the experience shaped his reality and how he took solace in Sridevi’s films. But if Harish gave you the impression that his early life must have made him a serious, constantly brooding individual who measures his words when he speaks, that impression will shoot itself in the face when you speak with him in person.

Because the man is funny and quite fun to speak with. And that forms the core of his ambitious project, Khuli Tijori, where young people of both sexes can speak about sexuality, their bodies, their ‘dangerous’ bent of mind and so on, in a light vein on a quirky blog. “Activism should be fun, then it becomes effective,” Harish says. “I am a big fan of Geet from Jab We Met, and I love the line where she says, ‘Akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai. That inspired the name of the project. We are not looking at naari shakti activism. Rather than a boring (read: intellectual), Bengali activism method, I want to make it intellectually sl***y in a Tam Brahm way, like me,” he laughs.

Harish started the project in February this year, and the idea for it was probably germinating even as he started the Sita Sena in 2009 as a counter point to fundamentalist group Ram Sene’s Valentine’s Day exploits in Bangalore. “We were a group of men wearing the most obscene pair of shorts we could find, and each of us carried a whistle. Then we approached women on the street, and told them they could blow the whistle at any man in the group,” he says, adding that the blog and the project is a chance for him to present his views, which may not be the world view. “People have lost their rational thinking. Either they speak loudly in front of 10 people who share their opinion, or they act cool by not listening to other voices. There has to be a middle path.”

That middle path is what he chose for the project as well. “Women can be sexy, bi***y, sl***y and as horrible as men. We either make women goddesses or whores, so where are the normal, common women? The project will celebrate these women, the in-betweens.” He plans to do this by not intellectualising issues plaguing women, but by promoting serious activism in a logical, fun manner – and he started by adopting the name ‘Bedardi Baalam’ for the project. “So I might go to a college, hand a camera to two girls and tell them to stare at a boy’s pe*** and record his reaction. Do you know that a woman staring at a man’s pe*** is likely to embarrass him at least 10 times more than when he would stare at her body? Of course, the girls will not be shooting his pe*** on camera, but it will be a good experiment,” he explains.

Similarly, he and partner-in-crime Deborah Grey (whose moniker is ‘Maal’ for purposes of the project) will stage ‘train plays’, where they will travel by local trains in non-peak hours. “We’ll stand in the compartment and start reading out passages like, ‘Isne mujhe chheda, mujhe chutiya kaha’ and ‘Main akeli rehti hoon’. People will start listening in and a dialogue will be initiated right there,” he beams.

Harish’s plans include taking the project to college students in a major way. “By the end of this year, I will have two or three projects planned around these activities. The projects will be for women’s rights, for single women and for the right of women to have sex. We may also do basic conversations in flash mob style. And we plan to take the train plays to bus stops as well.”

Right now, he admits that he hasn’t been feeding in any posts on the project blog. “But I want it to be a place which is not just mine, though I will edit its contents to keep it non-sleazy. We will also build a team to take the project up in a big way. My end goal is to start an NGO called The Hiyer Foundation. All of this is very ambitious and it sounds great when you say it, but I know the actual implementation will be tough.” For now, though, Harish has already started visiting colleges in Mumbai “on the pretext of giving lectures” to develop “this sense of making activism fun. So the dialogue has already started.”

 

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Her quest for Olympic gold

Twenty-six-year-old Ayesha Billimoria, one of Maharashtra’s star athletes, battles a disinterested system that she says does not respect its sportspersons.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

Blood. Sweat. Tears. And a world of pain. As an athlete, you pound the track and practice alone, come inclement weather or clear skies. You clear one milestone and set another. You work every day and you live by the rules. You listen to your body and respect its protests. And with every tumble, you pick yourself up, ignore your bloody knees, and you run again.

Ayesha Billimoria did all this and more. She raced in scorching heat. She swallowed her pride and trained under a bully of a coach. She broke records. She bruised and pushed her body beyond its limits. And when nobody was with her, and even after those she had begun training professionally with had quit the sport, she still ran. And ran some more.

“In June this year, I took silver at the state-meet (at Balewadi, Pune). If conditions had been right, I would have won gold. They’re going to find a very different Ayesha at the meet next year,” the petite, pretty 25-year-old warns, a hint of murder in her eyes. “I hate losing, and for the first time in my life, I actually said that the girl who won the gold had won it for the last time. Normally, I let my running talk for me.” So what happened this time? “Everything. They kept the first race at 12.30 in the afternoon, followed by a two-hour break and the 400 metre race at 2.30 p.m. Who runs at that time in the day? And then the races were delayed. I ran on an empty stomach and I blacked out in the heat, though I completed both races. I’m going to be better prepared next year,” she says.

The life and times of Ayesha Billimoria

Ayesha took to serious running at age 14,  when she ran her first school race and won gold. Savio D’Souza, who later coached her, spotted the talent in her and told her to give running a serious thought. She did, with the result that the very next year, in 2001, she won her first gold medal at the ICSE National Meet in Bangalore. “I was running in earnest, and my only objective was to run for the Olympics. That dream sustains me even today,” she smiles.

We’ve sitting in her home in Khetwadi, a typically large Parsi house that Ayesha has only moments ago welcomed me in with a big smile. She’s spent the morning giving a massage to a client – she is a sports masseuse in her spare time, apart from being an occasional model – and is very open about her life has shaped up. “I’ve always wanted to be an Olympic medallist,” she says. “I’ve put everything on the line to be an athlete, and would you believe, till I was 21, I was so removed from things that were not track-related, I did not even know how to operate a computer or email! I’ve faced so much rejection, so many people have said they won’t sponsor me, and so many more have pulled me down. Others who used to train with me left the sport years ago. But I am determined to run at the Commonwealth Games in 2014. After that, I will represent India at the Olympics in 2016,” she says, as nonchalantly as one would say that their next big goal was to order a Chinese takeout.

What must one do to qualify for CWG, I ask. “Nothing, apart from perform. And I will,” she states.

Since her first race in 2000, she has added a bevy of medals (most of them gold) and award trophies to her prize cabinet at home, the last being her silver medal win at the Pune state meet this year. By now, she is firmly sitting pretty as Maharashtra’s number one athlete in the 100 metre, 200 metre and 400 metre categories. But she is bitter and quite often during the interview, seriously annoyed. She confesses that a couple of early false starts on her part, and almost no professional guidance from those in the know, resulted in her being plagued by running injuries and a loss of form after her initial good run. “From being number one, I was suddenly the girl who always stood fourth,” she frowns. “I was made to train at a level I was not ready for, and by 2005, my form had dropped very badly. So much so, that even my father, who had been very supportive from the start, began to lose interest in my dream.”

In 2006 – “the lowest point of my life” –a car accident gave her several new injuries, the worst being a tail bone fracture. “People thought I wouldn’t run the way I used to. ‘She is finished’, they said. The worst of it was, I was back on my feet without any guidance on how to retrain,” she says.

She rolls her eyes as she explains how she has had to make do with the “really pathetic” running track at Priyadarshini Park, the city’s only synthetic track for athletic training, and how she has run everywhere in all climatic conditions, just to train. “The problem in India is that nobody guides you about running to your natural rhythm, training after injuries, working out enough to supplement your ability on the track. I was constantly told to pump my arms, run a certain way. That makes me lose focus,” she explains, adding that athletes in India not only train in bad conditions, but that they are “put down all the time, there is no motivation to pick yourself up, you are often mocked when not performing well, and though people are friendly to your face, they’re bitching you out behind your back.”

After three torturous years of making it back on her feet without a coach or proper therapy, she took up a job as a trainer at south Mumbai’s QI gym in 2009, where she met physiotherapist John Gloster (who trained the Indian cricket team). “John worked at the gym, and he started training me for rehab. I hadn’t realised that I had been running with major injuries for three years. One day I told him about my Olympics ambition. He told me to go to Australia and train if I was serious about running.”

Help me!

Gloster put her in touch with his friend, Gavin Fernandes, a 200o Olympics gold medallist and a trainer in Australia. “I wrote to him in 2010, and he and I had a chain of emails where I would increasingly beg and plead with him to train me and he would refuse because he was busy. After two months of constant pestering, he finally gave in, saying I could come to Australia in May,” Ayesha laughs.

Her Australian coach proved to be a god-send . “He put me down several times, but he did that so I could realise how shallow my thinking was, how many excuses I was constantly making, how much negativity was in my head when I ran,” she admits. “Soon I was running well, peacefully and without stress, in an environment that respects sport and treats it like a fun activity. I was in my first race there within a month of reaching Australia, and I clocked my personal best of 58.08 seconds. I felt like a new person – the run was enjoyable and I was able to give my best.” She decided at that moment that she would train under Gavin’s guidance and only in Australia. “After my silver medal win in June, several Indian coaches have wanted to train me, but I’ve refused them all,” she says, adding that she pays for her Australia sojourns from the money she makes from her massage and modelling work.

Funds needed

Surprisingly, though she doesn’t have the monetary means to do it, she reiterates that she’s going to the CWG in 2014 and also to the Olympics in 2016. “You know why international sportspeople do well? They have a unique bond with their coaches, and they trust them completely. Besides, being an Olympian requires a certain attitude that I find lacking among Indian athletes, barring a few. Gavin told me at the start that an Olympic athlete knows that the 400 metre race is not about physical ability, it’s a mental game that’s won even before the race begins.” She adds that she met a few Indian Olympic hockey team players at Balewadi this year. “You should have heard them talk. ‘Haan, Olympics ja rahe hain. Dekhte hain kya hota hai,’ they said. That attitude will never win you anything,” she shrugs.

For now, she is focussed on getting together enough funds to leave for a longer training session in Australia in January next year. “I need a sponsor for my training, and I’ve gone to so many companies so far, but everybody’s refused,” she says. “They all ask: ‘Have you won nationally? If not, we can’t sponsor you.”

She says she needs a sponsorship of at least Rs 6,00,000, but she wonders where to get it from. And though she will find a sponsor once she wins on the National platform, the funds are needed to aid a professional training process before her big success. “And once I win, all those who put me down will be the first to come out and say that they always knew I could do well,” she smirks. “Only I know what it has taken me, still takes me, to get up every morning and run. All I can do is train and be mentally ready for the Olympics, and in the meantime, be around people who truly believe in me.”

(pictures by www.martinriebeek.nl, Abner Fernandes) 

 

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Two men for the great outdoors

Starting today, two Mumbaikars will travel across India to plant trees, speak to students and create awareness about environment conservation.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Hari Chakyar is 26, and a Borivli resident who on September 28 took a sabbatical from his content writing responsibilities at Jack in the Box Worldwide to fulfil a long-held dream with Worli resident and friend Anthony Karbhari (24) – starting today, the duo is set to travel all over the country to plant trees, a project they’ve titled ‘Project 35 Trees’. The Metrognome chatted with Hari to find out more about the project and what it entails.

What is Project 35 Trees about?

Project 35 Trees is about planting trees in all 35 states and union territories of India. It is also about educating students about the need to plant trees and other environmental problems that the world faces.

What is the genesis of the idea?

This project is a succession of my previous initiatives. I am immensely influenced by Proffesor Sudhakar Solomonraj of Wilson College who would take his students from the Wilson College Nature Club for treks to nearby forests. In 2009, I did a campaign in Ambarnath (where I used to live then). In the campaign, along with friends there, I put up a street play called Nature Baba Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai? and planted trees all over Ambarnath.

How long have you been working on Project 35 Trees?

Project 35 Trees began in October last year. The idea took a lot of time to form. I started thinking about this some time in early 2011. I found a name and created the Facebook pagefor it in October 2011. This is a community project that belongs to everybody…where Anthony and I play initiators.

Take us through the preparations you’ve made before you start on the trip.

We are finding schools or colleges in each of these 35 places we are going to visit. We have already found hosts to stay with in almost all these places. We are and will be collecting funds for the trip. People can contribute via the Wishberry.in page. Currently, we are ticking things off our list of things to take for the trip.

What equipment are you carrying?

A projector, a laptop, cameras and so on, apart from a few digging implements. On our person, we’ll carry enough cash to last us in a particular state. The rest will be safe in our accounts. If you ask about our budget, we need Rs 5 lakhs.

What other preparations does one need for a trip of this kind?

Both of us have never travelled continuously for such a long time. The most we have done is travel for a month. Anthony (who is a freelance filmmaker) travels more frequently than me. For now, we are preparing ourselves mentally for this epic four-month trip. We also continually tell each other that we have to wash clothes for four months. Anthony is fitter than I am. I am also watching my diet for now and cycling regularly.

How did you decide on the places you plan to target?

We decided the route we wanted to take and then started finding hosts who are mostly friends, friends of friends or relatives of friends. We have hosts who are related to friends. We don’t know most of them personally. It helped if they also had a school nearby. A few people even offered to put us up after they read about us in a magazine. I have only travelled to Kerala, Ahmedabad, Daman and Hyderabad, apart from a whirlwind tour of the northeast. Seeing a lot of new places and meeting a lot of interesting people is also what we are thrilled about.

In the past, you have been known to cycle to work and be involved with unusual green initiatives. How did the awareness for these come about?

I cycle for fun. I rode the bicycle to work on World Environment Day because I thought that would be a nice way to promote Project 35 Trees.

Have you ever faced ridicule about the ideas you’ve had?

Never. People have always been supportive. Personally, and even from strangers on social media. We get a lot of free advice, though.

What has been your family’s reaction to Project 35 Trees?

They too have been very supportive of all my initiatives. Every parent must encourage their children to support environmental causes. Even though my parents are concerned that I’ll be away for four months, they haven’t stopped supporting me.

What is your expectation of the Project?

I would love it if even a few students I speak to decide to take up initiatives to know more and act for the conservation of the environment. We will be ready to help these schools set up a nature club in their schools or colleges, like for a class assignment. It’ll also be awesome if people could plant trees on their own.

For us, Project 35 Trees is also about understanding what environmental problems the country faces. Meeting people who are doing good work in conservation will also help.

Your opinion on general awareness (from society, NGOs, government, media) about green initiatives.

Awareness programmes must be included in the scholastic syllabus. Students must be encouraged to participate in awareness and conservation programmes. This will help them make informed, sensitive choices as adults.

A lot of simple human actions affect the environment adversely. When you purchase shells and conches from Kanyakumari, you don’t realise that those creatures are caught live in the waters and boiled in the hundreds to ‘clean’ and beautify them for your showcase. Some women want ivory jewellery made from the tusks of painfully-slaughtered elephants. Did you know that sharks will soon join the ranks of endangered creatures because some of us want shark fin soup for dinner?

It’s time to stop taking the world around for granted and finding out which of our actions are causing great distress elsewhere.

The project:

The duo will visit educational institutions across the country and plant trees with students to create awareness about

fighting global warming and climate change together. The session will last about 60 minutes, and will include a documentary film screening, a talk about the Project and a Q&A session. The session will ideally be followed by a tree-planting session, and is aimed at students of class 8 and above.

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