Importance and Relevance of Sports

The world is made up of different kinds of people. While some pursue indoor and sedentary jobs, others prefer outdoors. Packed with energy and strength there are a number of youngsters who are passionate about sports and are willing to take it up as a career.

 Playing sports teaches many life lessons. It makes a person mentally and physically strong. It needs dedication and discipline. Getting up early in the morning, attending practice sessions, maintaining physical fitness through gym and yoga, skill improvement and proper diet is necessary. This kind of a routine crafts the sportsman into a chiseled personality and a strong human being who can handle both success and failure.

Sportsmen develop knowledge of gyming, right diet, physiotherapy and breathing techniques. They become a storehouse of knowledge about health and well-being.

It is a difficult career, as failure rate is higher that success. Very few know that Sachin Tendulkar was successful only one third of the time he played, two thirds’ of the time he played, he failed! It teaches you self-belief. Usually, everyone in the world tends to put you down, it’s only you who have to believe in yourself.

My message to all young sport aspirants is - Be strong and trust your skill. You will be successful sooner or later. Believe in yourself.

The dynamics of a match situation often leads to injuries which might take months to recover. It is a part of a sportsman’s life. It can break your spirit and the recovery period can be extremely depressing. Many great players had serious injuries but they rose from ashes to get back and performed better. It’s never easy to make a comeback. Injuries teaches patience, how to be hopeful in times of adversities and discipline.

It teaches Team-Spirit. Players learn to put their team above themselves. A team man is not selfish, he does not have an ego and works for the larger interest of the team.

Let’s examine two scenarios: 1) You perform well, yet your team loses 2) you perform moderately but your team does well. Which is better?

The second scenario of course! You will be selected to play at higher levels

The career graph of a sportsman starts with going for coaching, skill development, playing tournaments at higher levels-state, premier teams and finally playing for the country. This is the ultimate dream! Once he retires he continues his journey as a coach, administrator, fitness therapist, sports psychologist, commentator or/and a team manager. Major Banks and Corporations have sports Quota and employ them.

It is a very good field for women also. Earlier the scope was less because of societal norms, but now the scene has exploded for them. While Sania Mirza inspired thousands of young girls to play tennis, P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal motivated thousand others to start playing badminton. Mithali Raj, Harman Preet Kaur, Joolan Goswami are famous and respected cricket players. PT Usha shined on the tracks of Olympics, Anju Bobby Gorge excelled in long jump, Karnam Malleshwari stood 4^th in weight lifting in Olympics while Mary Kom boxed her way to glory. Today there are equal opportunities for women to make a mark in the world of sports.

Finally, sports is very important for every one, to develop into a well-rounded and wholesome personality. It has often been noticed that children who are fulltime into academics, from corporate schools and colleges, may get good ranks in competitive exams but usually lack creativity, leadership qualities and team spirit. Those who have had a fair balance between studies and sports and other extra-curricular activities are usually very successful in their careers.

In the last 20 years IPL in Cricket, Football, and Kabaddi has tremendously improved the visibility and popularity of these sports along with increasing the number of professional sportsmen in the country. However, Sports as a career in India is not financially viable yet, except perhaps cricket and that is a major factor pulling back families from encouraging their children to take sports as a career option. Governments and Corporations should come forward to sponsor and finance promising young sports talents in all fields.

- By Mr.C. V. Milind, First class Cricketer- Hyderabad Team

(The author of this article is a Left arms fast Bowler who played for India U-19, 2013-14, four times IPL player –Sunrisers and Delhi Daredevils, India A 2017)

Dating

 A fifteen year old boy asked his classmate to spend time with him. She sought permission from her parents if she could date her classmate. Being traditional Indians, parents were in for a shock. “She is far too young for this”, was their first thought.

Indian families have always been over protective about their daughters. In the past they would totally disallow boys and girls from meeting. They would protect girls from the prying eyes of the world and when she came of age, they would search for a groom from a good family and marry her off. Thus dusting off their responsibilities. With globalization, western influence and cell phones things have totally changed.

In another incident one girl was caught sexting by her mother. She was fifteen. Mother was shocked and furious. She was largely nonplussed and did not know how to tackle the situation. A huge fight ensued between mother and daughter. The respect and decorum in their relationship went to dogs. Both refused to see each other’s point of view and gloom descended in their home. Both shed silent tears finding fault with each other.

This is a real challenge for parents. Life is no longer simple. Nothing is right or wrong. There are no standards or prototypes. Understanding the situation and negotiation skills will go a long way in resolving these issues.

Answers lie in an ancient shloka

लालयेत्पञ्च्वर्षाणि दशवर्षाणि ताडयेत् 
प्राप्ते तु षोडशे वर्षे पुत्रं मित्रवदाचरेत्  

(LaalayetPanchvarshaNi Dash VarshaNiTaDyet

PraptetuShoDsheVarshe, PutrMitraVadacharet)

(Meaning of shloka:Zero to five years of age be loving, kind and gentle to your child, for the next ten years instill discipline. When your child turns sixteen then parent and kid must turn friends)

Let’s understand that hormonal activity is at its peak from 13 years to 21 years. These hormones are responsible for physical growth and changes in the body. It’s natural for teenagers to have mood swings. They will be over excited one moment and feel down the next moment. They are an explosive bundle of energy. Attraction with the opposite sex is a natural process. Many of the dating, courtship and marriage rules are manmade to suit the times.

With a cell phone in their hands, teens are over exposed. They are growing up very fast. 30 years back the average age of getting a first period was twelve, today it is ten.

It is very important to discuss family values with your teen. In a casual talk with them discuss sex and its responsibilities, relationships, how to choose a right partner etc. Without making it awkward, you can tell them your stories. Confide in them about your first crush, secret admirations of youth, how you met your spouse, how grand-parents met each other, funny love stories of the pastetc. etc. This will loosen the mood. Create an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.

Encourage them to be open about their activities. Allow them to interact with the opposite sex, while you teach them how to draw a line. You have to discuss how much physicality is advisable. (Of course this generation are on an over kill, hugging is a casual way to greet friends, including friend’s girlfriends). Instead of losing sleep over early dating trends in the society, focus on having a healthy relationship with your teen at home. Respect and trust him/her. Negotiate on what is allowed and what is not allowed. Having made this effort just keep a watchful eye and be gentle.

You can talk them into not putting everything on social media. Advise them to be discrete about their lives and strictly protect their privacy. They must be briefed about cyber security.

I conclude by quoting the legendary Khalil Gibran

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,

But seek not to make them like you

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children

As living arrows are set forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might

that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

So He loves also the bow that is stable.

- Dr.Lalita Anand

A beautiful Life, A beautiful Mind, A Handsome Man!!!

 Master story Teller!

For many years in my childhood my Papa told me a story each night before I went to sleep. He told me all the Panchatantra stories, Akbar-Birbal stories, Mythological stories, movie stories and in the end he made up his own stories. Both of us loved murder mysteries. We saw action thriller English movies together and had loads of fun. He was an absolute movie buff and watched a movie almost every weekend.

He had a great skill of making up stories and a unique style of writing. When he wrote the biography of his own father “IT HAPPENED,” there was lot of opposition because it was his take on my grandfather’s life and also he had mentioned a lot of people who were relatives and friends who might have not liked it. But he did not care. He told me it felt cathartic.

His second book was a collection of short stories and poems titled “HYDERABAD JERSEY TALES.” The stories were humorous, free flowing and fantastic. Anything could happen in his stories, the twists and turns were unbelievable, but that was Papa.

Long back he had written a murder mystery titled “A CHAIN OF COINCIDENCE,” it was a fascinating tale where three different lives get intertwined due to a murder and then confusion and chaos ensues. Beautifully written. Alas! This manuscript got lost at some point in time. I have a good mind to recreate this story with whatever I remember. He has already penned three short stories titled, E-CAR, CHANDRA and U-T-30.

Humor hangs on the tip of his nose!

Papa had this habit of pulling people’s legs. He was very naughty. Once he came to know what the other person was sensitive about, he would joke precisely on that issue, thus angering them. Then he would have a good laugh. I would be so furious. “Why do you hurt people?” I would demand. He would go on laughing infuriating me further.

Many years back, my brother Sai who was 6 years old, was crying, he wanted to go to the movie Sholay. Papa lifted him and took him to the main road and showed him a big poster of the film. The poster had flames in it (Sholay means flames). He said, “The movie got burnt, see for yourself”. Sai got convinced and stopped crying.

When I was in 9^th grade, I had lost three months of classes as I had gone to New Delhi to perform at the inaugural ceremony of ASIAD 82. When I returned, Half yearly exams were staring at me in a weeks’ time. There was no time to copy notes, understand and then prepare for the exams. I discussed my problem with Papa. He gave me an idea. He said, “Why don’t you read out your notes and record it in a cassette. Keep listening to it through the night. It will get into your subconscious, next day you will be able to recollect and do your exam well. I believed him and did exactly what he suggested, but did miserably in the exams. This experiment failed. I was so annoyed with his idea and guess what, he was laughing at me.

Loved to engage with children!

He loved children. Apart from telling stories he would play games with them which included caroms, table tennis, shuttle badminton, cards, monopoly, Chinese checker and what not. I remember the long afternoons during summer vacation when we would all play caroms or cards or any board game for hours and hours. Children adored him. All my cousins fondly remember the many hours he spent playing fun games with them.

Experimenting in the! Kitchen!

He loved good food and insisted that every meal be properly made. He wanted the table laid well, the food displayed and served properly. Whenever my mother was out on some work and he and I got an opportunity, he would try experimenting a new dish in the kitchen. I would sincerely help him and we would come up with some concoction of his wild ideas and in the process the kitchen would become a messy disaster. Then when Amma came back and saw the kitchen’s condition in horror, she would be angry with us, we would retreat to our room and once again he would smile naughtily.

A beautiful Life!

He studied in New-Delhi and Hyderabad, worked in Jamshedpur in the TATAS, when the entrepreneurial bug bit him he returned to Hyderabad and started a company, when that failed he went to the middle east to earn his buck. He ended his innings as a scientist in Birla Planetorium and a member of the Pollution Control Board. He married his love, loved his children. Was through and through a family man. So loved by his siblings, cousins, relatives and friends. Travelled many times to the USA where his beloved son lives. Loved electronic gadgets, loved to drive his car. In the last decade of his life he turned a writer and published two books, celebrated his 50^th marriage anniversary and his 80^thbirthday.

A Beautiful Mind!

Papa was broad minded and a progressive thinker. He strongly believed that women must be empowered and given the freedom to choose their life partner and their career. He thought a lot about vibrations and made the VIBRATION THEORY. According to that our thoughts create powerful vibrations which spread around us. These vibrations can be felt and experienced. He was very curious about what happens after death. Where does the atma go? Way back in the 80’s he got together with Prof Srinivasan and his good friend Ramana and they did a procedure where in you contact ghosts and ask them questions.

Well now Papa solved the mystery of death!

A Handsome Man!

He had a golden, shiny, bright complexion, big paw like soft hands, beautiful feet. He had a medium height and was in the mold of Guru Dutt- a hero of the yester years. He had large bulging eyes, broad forehead, straight nose and a charming smile. I salute him. Will miss him.

-Dr.Lalita Anand

From Rush Hour to Soltitude

 As I looked out of the window of my study, my gaze got fixed on the plants outside. The proud Christmas tree stood like a sentinel with its spiky arms, hibiscus flowers of all hues had bloomed and speckled the green cover. An assortment of crotons and roses adorned the steps leading to my door. On the far end, a bunch of humming birds had gathered and were chatting incessantly. Good monsoon had blessed my gardening efforts! 

A large brown cat with green eyes walked up to my window and stared at me. She did not seem frightened. I got up from my chair and went out. Meee..ow.. she cried. I ignored her and went about picking flowers. She was insistent and followed me around. I realized she was hungry and went inside to get her some milk. She wagged her tail in happiness and drank it. Never before had I had time to notice my nature friends before!

Thud! heard a dull sound from my balcony. I rushed to see what had happened. A nest had fallen from above the wall mounted fan. Two baby pigeons were on the floor alongside scattered twigs, sticks and dead leaves, my heart stopped for a moment. I bent down and checked the damage, thankfully there was none. The newborns were cozily curled up next to each other with their eyes shut. I brought out a small wooden basket and lined it with a soft folded cloth, then transferred the remains of the nest and the babies into it and hung it onto the same fan. Is it telepathy or a mother’s six sense? I noticed the mother pigeon circling my balcony. A warm feeling welled in my heart as I smiled with satisfaction that the babies were safe. 

It was time to take ‘Don and Hazel,’ our pet German shepherds’ for a walk. My son helped me in this difficult task, both of us held them by the leash and walked them to the ground. I couldn’t help admiring them for their courage, loyalty and their guarding instincts. Both of them wagged their tail in excitement and licked my hand every now and then to show gratitude. Felt so rich with their love!

I would seldom pause to admire nature or spend lazy afternoons with birds, cats and dogs. I never had time for yoga, meditation or leisure nature walks. Life seemed such a rush earlier. 

Thanks to this pandemic, today, after four months of staying at home, cooking, washing dishes, moping, sweeping, making beds, dusting, I have changed from a restless traveler, socialite, teacher and researcher to a home maker, gardener, nature lover and much more. It’s been a time of spiritual reckoning. 

I am at peace with myself and love this solitude. 

-Dr. Lalita Anand

Survival Of the Fittest

The need of the hour, is survival. Only the fittest survive. A young Engineer, with two years of experience in a software firm, lost her job during the pandemic. She started selling vegetables in the market and became self-employed, thus supporting her family.

Another young graduate who was laid off, happened to be a talented dancer, he started teaching dance online. Within three months his students from across continents grew and he started taking 5-6 batches a day.

Yet another young lady who was out of work teamed up with her brother and started catering services. While she took orders and cooked, her brother delivered home cooked meals to clients.

Each one of us have the capability to meet our needs.In our growing years it is important to learn skills. These can be cashed in any time. Investing time in learning yoga, music, instruments, dance, art and crafts or any sport for that matter is bound to pay rich dividends. Today all these skills are being taught online for a fee.

When one door closes, another opens! When many doors close, many more open!

-Dr.Lalita Anand

Teach your teen about your Religion

In the last decade or two, speed of life went out of spin, there was no time to teach our children our customs, values and family traditions. We never found time to tell them mythological stories or for that matter family stories, we did not teach them about our faith and religion.

This unusual situation created due to lockdown presents a unique opportunity to spend time with our children and teach them about our faith and religion. Every religion teaches about love, peace, forgiveness, truth, honesty, self-discipline, service and many other good values.

Our customs are so unique, our traditions so beautiful, our ancient texts and holy books so full of wisdom. Seize this opportunity, teach them how to pray, read out from holy texts and talk to them about teachings of great prophets, saints and gurus.

Encourage them to connect to nature, reflect on how wonderful this Universe is. Sow these seeds and let them be! Stop pushing them to activity. Leave them alone, and watch these seeds germinating.

 - Dr.Lalita Anand

Discovering Self

It is not our abilities that make us, but our choices! That’s a deep thought. Life is all about the choices we make. We can make the right choice only when we know, who we are.

Knowledge of self, empowers us to take the right decisions in life.

So how does one go about the task of discovering oneself?

Well, my first suggestion is, start writing a diary. What does this do?

A Diary becomes your best friend, you can unburden yourself completely. You feel light in your mind after that. You start discovering your likes, dislikes, tastes, preferences, style, and other trivia about yourself. Self-discovery starts….your writing skills also improvesJ

Suggestion two is to expose yourself to various situations, responsibilities and challenges. Travelling, trekking, hiking, swimming, boating, kayaking and such other activities brings out the best in you and helps uncovering layers off your self. Taking up small responsibilities at home and college builds confidence and hones leadership skills. When you face situations of loss, conflict and confrontations, most times the real you is unleashed.

Three is self-observation. Consciously start observing yourself.

Watch how you feel in a class room, do you get annoyed by other classmates who disrupt classes or do you feel tempted to disrupt class, are you a patient listener? Are you the kind who can't pay attention to any lecture and prefer studying on your own?

Observe yourself in a crisis situation, let’s say your cycle hit a pedestrian and a fight ensues, watch if you are aggressive and fighting the guy or are you nervous and want to avoid conflict?

Find out whether you love outdoors or are happy being indoors with your laptop?

Are you a people’s person and thrive in company and in human interactions or are you a loner who likes to be left alone. (You can make your observation in your diary)

Understanding Self is an important step in life!

If you make efforts and find out who you really are, that will give you immense happiness and clarity. Without worrying about what others think if you follow your heart, you will find out what you are passionate about. Do that which gives you happiness.

If you are able to turn your passion into a profession then life is a success!

       - Dr.Lalita Anand.