DAY 312 (Embracing the Healthy Progression)

 

This year women’s day was special. Not just for me, but globally. I saw so many changes around the globe for women. Changes we all have been waiting for since a long time.

Let us take sports. Our Indian girls won the U19 cricket world cup championship and what a moment it was! Shafali Varma’s (Captain) emotional turmoil was so touching and relatable to all the Indian girls. Imagine the girls who had to disguise themselves as boys all their young age to be able to develop the skill set for the sport and attempt an entry on professional level if they could surpass the conventional norms of their families. No matter how blessed we are, we all go through similar challenges somewhere in our lives.

I recently learned and realized how important men are as our allies to change the world. You want the world to be progressive, you can’t do it just by women even if your progression is for women. And second most important thing is resourcing. Having the right resources at the right time. This is so crucial.

Any kid (boy or girl) in India grew up playing sports like cricket and football in neighborhood gullies and being beaten up or fined for destroying the property of a grumpy uncle. But did it stop the spirit? No! Imagine tournaments being conducted in 5 foot wide gullies with strange gully rules that everyone follows so seriously. Those times were golden.

And then we modernized. Now we live in bigger and sophisticated societies with civic rules and we expect everyone to upgrade themselves. However, imagine being blessed enough to have the right resources in this modern society to re-live your childhood with your children in a lush green playground and sweat it out every evening with your favorite sports like football, cricket, kabaddi and what not. I know you are smiling right now just imaging it.

I live in a wonderful green society which is surrounded by lush greenery all around and also has blessed us with a playground to give us the right resources for all that is needed for a healthier lifestyle. On top of it, my society is filled with athletes and sports lovers. If you see the seriousness of the tournaments we have conducted: be it football, cricket, badminton and what not, you will not believe the crazy talent we have ranging for all age groups.

We recently had a cricket tournament where we had different categories of league matches: kids, men and women. The sportsmanship that we all learnt from such experiences cannot come from any other coaching. The spectatorship was celebratory. What else can you ask for? Imagine not having such facilities in campus, we would lose so much talent just because of inconvenience. And it would be a sad affair!

We did not stop there. We already had a society level Men’s team representing us in inter-apartment tournaments. This platform gave us so much confidence that we proudly announced our women’s cricket team and won the first cup in the first match we played in an inter-apartment fixture. The pride, the fame, the inspiration such experiences bring to our lives is just phenomenal. And this all started because we had the right allies (men and women), we had the right resources (playground, sports equipment and the talent) and we had the right passion.

We all think that as one small community in such big city, what big can we achieve? We can achieve everything only if we have all that is needed with the right will. And this made me realize how important a small playground is for a community especially with current lifestyle. Imagine every residential community blessed with such playgrounds and allies and the impact it has in the long run on the overall progression of the world.

While the world is sinking in new viruses and climate scare, health is the right wealth and it is a blessing if it comes with talent upliftment and exemplary entertainment.

So, keep playing and keep cheering. Cheers to a healthy life!