The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Unleashing the rural spirit

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Sunday, Aug 05, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Unleashing the rural spirit

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: They did not wear expensive sports gear or arrive in Volvo buses to catch the attention of passers-by when they played “Kuntumutsi Aata” or “Lagori” at the Government Arts College Grounds here on Saturday.

Students from Hombe Gowda College, Vasavi Vidya Niketan College, V.V. Puram, Ken School of Arts, Seshadripuram and other government and private colleges came together and unleashed the rural spirit in the day-long “Games for Change” organised by Samvada, an NGO, for the third consecutive year.

Inspired by “Cricket for Peace,” which was held in Halol, Gujarat, after the riots in that State, to bring together Hindus and Muslims, this event, says Samvada activist, Benson Issac, “Is meant to revive rural games among young people irrespective of their caste, creed, gender or class background.”

Divitha, a Bangalore University level athlete of Maharani’s Arts and Science College, was cheered and labelled by onlookers as “P.T. Usha” when she played “Nayi-Moole.” A group of girl students of Yadava College, who have never played a sport seriously, also played “Nayi-Moole” and “Lagori.”

Youth Motivation Director, Lucy Kumar, said, “We had to gain permission for these girls from their parents to make participate in this event.”

Shashidhar A.N., a student of Hombe Gowda College, Mariyappanapalya, who participated in kabaddi said, “We do not get enough encouragement in mainstream sports the way we do in rural sports.”

The former cricketer, V. Ramnarayan, said, “It’s a step in the right direction, because we only see India as we know it in the cities. Both rural and urban sports should be encouraged. But yes, there is class consciousness amongst urban sportspersons, not so much as caste discrimination.” “Games for Change”, says Programme Coordinator, Samvada, Murali, “is an attempt to break barriers amongst high-end and corporation colleges using the sports field as a platform for change.”

As August 5 is celebrated as friendship day, a group of girls from Hombe Gowda College said that it was great to make friends by participating in the event.

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