City mountaineer and trekker Samrat Moulik recently cycled 3,000km from Gangotri in Uttarakhand to Kuakata in Bangladesh
Kolkata :
A mountaineer and trekker from Kolkata, who quit a corporate job to pursue his passion, is preparing for a mega cycling expedition of 5,500km – from Nubra Valley near Ladakh to Kanyakumari and onward to Sri Lanka.
Three months ago, he completed a 3,000km solo cycling journey from Gangotri in Uttarakhand to Kuakata in Bangladesh, traversing the entire length of the Ganga as it meandered through five states before entering Bangladesh.
“The condition of the Ganga – that we consider sacred and yet pollute – prompted me to undertake the ‘Save Ganga’ campaign in February-March. I wanted to know what was polluting the river and its impact on the population living along its length,” said Samrat Moulik. He began the journey on February 8 this year and finished on March 21.
While the condition of the river is good in Uttarakhand, its deterioration was visible after Haridwar. “Pollution actually began at Nagina – a town in Uttar Pradesh. In Moradabad, there is cremation ground at the ghat, a picture that one sees all along the river thereafter. From there on, the river water gets murkier as it flows. The effects of Ganga Action Plan, about which I had heard for years, were not visible. The pollution load of the Ganga increases as polluted tributaries flow into it,” said Moulik.
As the river flows downstream, industrial waste becomes the major pollutant. The situation improved in Jharkhand. But when the river bifurcates into the Hooghly and the Padma near Rajmahal, its condition again deteriorates. “The situation is better in Bangladesh because of people’s dependence on the river,” he said.
Moulik plans to start his journey in September. He will cover several rivers in central, west and south India before travelling to Sri Lanka and cycle along the rivers there.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kolkata News / TNN / June 14th, 2018
Shib Shankar Patra is one among thousands of die-hard Argentina fans in Kolkata and there’s nothing unusual about it.
But then die-hard fans at times can be weird too and the 53-year-old Patra has that weird streak in him.
Trying to garner enough savings from his modest earnings through a tea stall, Patra harboured a dream — to watch ‘The Albiceleste’ live from the stands in Russia.
But when a Kolkata-based travel agent informed him that his savings — a princely amount of Rs 60,000 (USD 900) is not enough to fund his World Cup trip (travel agent gave him a budget of Rs 1.5 lakh), he decided the next best thing –paint his entire three-storied building in Argentina colours.
“I don’t smoke or drink. I have only one addiction and that is Lionel Messi and Argentina. I don’t earn much but ensure that bulk of my earnings is kept aside for these indulgences when World Cup comes calling,” Patra, owner of a tea and snack stall in North 24 Parganas’ Nawabganj township, told PTI.
You don’t need a GPS to track Patra’s house once you get down to Ichhapore Railway Station. Ask any cocky teenager or elderly uncle about “Argentina Chaayer Dokan” (Argentina Tea Stall), they will be more than happy to oblige.
The street leading up to his tea stall cum house is dotted with Argentina flags while a giant one flutters high making its presence felt.
Every four years coinciding with the World Cup, Patra, who runs his tea stall from the ground floor of his three-storied building, gives his building a fresh coat of light blue and white shade.
Enter his three-room apartment and the craziness hits you instantly. All the walls are painted in Argentina colour, even the small ‘puja sthal’ (where the idols of Gods and Goddesses are placed). The walls of each room adorns a life-size vinyl flex print poster of Messi.
Addiction can be contagious but if its ‘Messi mania’, Patra doesn’t mind that his wife Swapna along with his children — 20 year-old daughter Neha and 10-year -old son Shubham are equally mad about the fleet footed genius.
“My kids know everything about Messi. The food he likes, the car he drives, everything,” Patra says with a glint of pride in his eyes.
“They don’t miss a single match of Messi. If there’s a late night match during the exams, they will pretend to sleep early but will watch live streaming on their cell phones,” wife Sapna said.
There is one common thread of all Argentina fans in Bengal. The 1986 World Cup, which was aired live on Doordarshan turned Kolkatans into ‘Maradona devotees’. Messi is an extension of Maradona.
“I have watched the Argnetina friendly at the Salt Lake Stadium. I lived a dream that day,” Patra recollected.
It was the first time, he painted his house in Argentina colours, something he repeated in the 2014 edition of the World Cup as well.
Since 2012, the Patra family celebrates every Messi birthday with fanfare like cutting cake to organsing blood donation camp.
And it goes without saying that tea and samosas (staple diet for Bongs during their football adda sessions) is complimentary on all Argentina match days.
With Messi’s birthday coinciding with the World Cup, they have cancelled the blood donation camp, which is held every year.
Instead a 30-pound cake will be cut and 100 Argentina jerseys will be distributed amonmg local kids with Messi’s photograph embossed.
In attendance would be the local MLA and India U-17 World Cupper Rahim Ali.
By his own admission, he has never taken any loans for his personal indulgences.
“I’ve never sought money from anyone but we never fell short, and somehow everything falls in place in time,” Patra said.
“People here also happily come forward. Someone sponsors the food, someone gets the cake and we make it a mini-Argentina here,” Patra says.
Even there will be prayers for Messi with the priest of the local Hanuman temple — his regular client — offering special prayers for the Argentine wizard.
“He gets me the ‘sindoor’ from Hanuman’s left leg (the connection is Messi being a left-footed player) and the vermilion is applied on Messi’s poster during every match. We hope he lift the Cup this time,” Patra signed off.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kolkata News / PTI / June 13th, 2018
For India’s first woman Land Rover trainer Samantha Dong (28), it’s all about keeping the family legacy alive. Samantha had assured her grandfather Lakpa Tshering Dong that she would one day drive his lightweight Land Rover on the treacherous Sandakphu route. She has done that umpteen times since 2008.
She will head to Noida next month for the challenging Land Rover Experience Above and Beyond Tour. “The LRE tour event is held every month in different states. In Chandigarh, I instructed 10-12 Land rover enthusiasts. It is a nice feeling to share my experience with others,” she said.
Lakpa Tshering had purchased the lightweight series II-A war model Land Rover in the 1970s from Nepal. He used to ferry passengers and rations from Ghoom to Sandakphu to make a living.
But it was her father Kiran who trained her to drive the vehicle. Of the nine siblings, Samantha is the only one who drives the Land Rover, a passion that she now has developed into a career. “I was around 11-12 years when I first held the wheel of a car. It was our family’s Maruti Omni. I used to sit on my father’s lap who taught me to operate it,” she said.
Samantha has a master’s degree in public administration in 2016.
Life changed for Samantha when she participated in the Teesta Rangeet Tourism Festival in Darjeeling in December, 2017. She was the only female participant. Samantha was spotted by Asish Gupta, director of Cougar Motor Sport, during the event. Impressed by her capabilities, he had her inducted as a Land Rover instructor.
Samantha was, again, the only female driver in the seventieth anniversary celebration organized by Land Rover from Maneybhajyang to Sandakphu on April 30. She has been featured in leading auto magazines such as Top Gear, Overdrive and Autocar. As instructor Samantha is required to provide information about and knowledge about how the land rover runs and its features as she sits next to the learners.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kolkata News / by Deep Gazmer / TNN / June 11th, 2018
Proud moment: Indian rallyist team comprising Ashwin Naik from Mangaluru and Amitrrajit Ghosh from Kolkata won the European Rally Championship, ERC 3 category, at Athens, organised by the Federation of Internationale de lautomobile; (right) the team during the race.
This is the first time the duo has won the coveted championship
The Indian rallyist team, comprising Amitrrajit Ghosh of Kolkata and Ashwin Naik from Mangaluru, on Sunday won the European Rally Championship, ERC 3 category, at Athens in Greece organised by the Federation of Internationale de l’automobile (FIA).
A release here said it was the first time that the Indian rally duo has won the coveted European Rally Championship. The debutantes Ghosh-Naik drove a Ford Fiesta R2.
The event for the Indian duo was sponsored by Ramakrishna Race Performance Management of Kolkata and Pana, a Mangaluru-based Educational conglomerate.
Quoting Mr. Ghosh and Mr. Naik, the release said it was the first time that any Indian team has made it to the top slot. The European rallyists and the FIA were awed by the victory. The international rally scenario for Indian drivers would not be the same any more as Amit-Ashwin duo have just raised the benchmark, the release said.
Congratulating the duo, Chairman of Pana educational group Prasad Hegde said the Amit-Ashwin team have brought laurels to the country and Pana group is extremely happy with the results.
This was also the first international event that any Mangaluru-based organisation has sponsored.
The Indian duo, who scripted début victory, were leading in their class right from the day one of the three-day rally that passed through some torturous terrain.
Mr. Ghosh, an ace driver was ably co-driven by Mr. Naik and his immense experience left no ambiguity about this victory when they started for the last leg on Sunday.
The release quoted them as saying, “We both drove with safety on top of our mind which gave us confidence right from the word go. We just had to bring the car to the ramp in one piece which we did with great aplomb.”
It quoted Mr. Ghosh as saying, “I and Ashwin knew that we were racing with an older generation of Ford Fiesta R2. Our goal was always to finish the rally with honourable points but we did it by winning the ERC 3 on the top slot which is so fulfilling.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – June 07th, 2018
The Tollygunge Club hosted a golf tournament recently that saw around 90 members and guests, including a few industrialists and corporate honchos, swinging it in style on the club’s lush green course.
Capt Ravi de, Anil Mukerji, Govind Atwal
Dinesh Agarwal, one of the participants, said, “It’s always lovely to play on the beautiful course of the club. We braved this hot weather and put up a healthy competition. It was great fun teaming up and golfing with so many corporate executives.”
Viren Sinha, Rahil Ansari, Brandon Dsouza
Some of the winners of the tournament were Siddharth Bansal, Karan Singh, Sharad Jhawar, Sanjay Goenka and Pratik Lakhotia.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kolkata News / by Srishti Dasgupta / TNN / June 01st, 2018
Visits to Wimbledon every year and foundation to sponsor local talent
Sunita Sigtia (in top picture by Gautam Bose) started her not-for-profit organisation SiiRF last August, inspired by her idol Roger Federer. The foundation sponsors talents to help them continue in their chosen sport. Sigtia, who travels to Wimbledon every year to watch Federer play, gets an autograph from the tennis legend (above) at Wimbledon in 2013
Chowringhee:
Roger Federer’s philanthropy spurs Calcuttan Sunita Sigtia as much as the magic of his tennis that takes her to Wimbledon every year to watch him play. Her not-for-profit organisation SiiRF, established 10 months ago, stands for “Some Immensely Inspired Roger (Federer) Fans”.
SiiRF was born on August 8, the champion’s birthday, and has since sponsored two young talents who had been struggling to continue in their chosen sport because of financial reasons.
For Sunita, who has met Federer on many occasions, SiiRF is now a mission only matched by her admiration for the legend. “My charity is inspired by Roger….The lesson I have learnt from him is that you have to give something back to society in whatever way possible. My dream is to associate him, even if in a small way, with my foundation,” she told Metro.
Sunita, who is in her 40s, runs a fabrics business. Tennis, Federer and charity – not necessarily in that order – help maintain the work-life balance that she seeks.
One of the two sportspersons Sunita has set out to help is Amit Rawat, the son of a cobbler and a domestic help. Amit, who grew up in a slum in Beniapukur, learnt to play tennis while working as a ball boy at Calcutta International Club and got so good at it that he caught the eye of a coach.
Sunita’s foundation has arranged a brand new kit for him. She also recently sent him to a tennis academy in Pune for six weeks of training. “Amit has done well on the Calcutta circuit, but the next two years are crucial,” she said.
Bristy Mukherjee, the 14-year-old girl who won a silver medal at the Asian Youth Chess Championship in Thailand last month, has also benefited from Sunita’s sponsorship. The teenager’s mother had mortgaged her jewellery to send her to the event. SiiRF has now pledged financial and other support to Bristy for future tournaments.
Sunita, who has “RF” tattooed on her neck and his signature on her forearm, is the Indian face of Fans4Roger, the official fan club of the legend. She had first seen her idol up close in June 2008, when she was visiting London for a house-warming at New Malden, around 5km from Wimbledon. “The house-warming was the official reason for the trip, but I knew I had to visit the All England Club,” she said.
Wimbledon queues are long. For one of the show-court tickets, thousands of fans camp overnight. People in these queues bring tents, folding chairs and rainwear, among other things. Sunita only had an umbrella and it started raining heavily that night. “I was freezing. Another man offered me shelter in his camp,” she recalled.
Visiting Wimbledon has since been an annual ritual. Before each Grand Slam, Federer is presented with the Red Envelope, a collection of good-luck messages from fans across the world. Delivering the envelope to the legend is considered the highest possible honour for a Federer fan. Sunita did so at Wimbledon 2011, wrapping the envelope in silk fabric with RF inscribed in zardosi. “He simply loved it,” she said, beaming at the thought.
Federer’s charity, the Roger Federer Foundation, is involved in more than a dozen educational projects benefiting lakhs of African children in countries like Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
As one of the privileged fans who get to travel each year to London, Paris, Melbourne and New York to get a glimpse of their idol, Sunita believes the best tribute to “the best tennis player ever” would be to emulate his spirit of giving.
Federer might say: “Roger that.”
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Debraj Mitra / May 30th, 2018
The Future Hope rowers celebrate their wins with CEO Sujata Sen (second from left) and guide (standing in last row, red Tshirt) Will Allen
Lake:
Sujoy Sen was drenched in sweat but couldn’t stop jumping in joy. His parents have little idea about rowing and think their son pulls boats. The gold-winning rower thinks his real prize will be when they see him in action.
Sujoy was part of one of the three teams from Future Hope that bagged medals at the 17th BRC Students’ Rowing Championship, partnered by TTIS, on Sunday,
The Uluberia boy has been rowing for the past three years.
The junior girls’ team from Future Hope that won bronze
“A race is exciting only when the opponent is equally good. We were neck and neck with La Martiniere for Boys in today’s race and that is what made it so challenging, I enjoyed every second of it,” said Sujoy, who wants to take up rowing professionally.
The junior boys who struck gold
Future Hope won gold in the boys’ junior and senior races and bronze in the junior girls’ race.
For the girls, this was their first time at the regatta. “Juman da (rower Juman Ali) has inspired me a lot. I would love to be a professional sculler,” said Samira Khatoon of Class VIII. Her team beat National High School (CBSE).
Teammate Debasrita Das, found the competition tough but inspiring. “While rowing, we felt a certain anger and power which ultimately helped us perform,” said the Class X student. Her takeaway from her debut regatta: “It’s a team sport and each member should support the other while rowing.”
The senior boys from Future Hope finished first. Pictures by B. Halder
For Future Hope CEO, Sujata Sen, it was the sheer determination of the young rowers that fetched them success. “We don’t have money but we do have a lot of passion. The kids practise every day, be it rain, hail or storm.”
Setaur Rehman, Class XII, a part of the senior boys’ team of Future Hope, admitted there is no alternative to hard work and regular training.
“I have been rowing since six years. I have played many sports like rugby, football, cricket but rowing remains the most challenging of them all. We have to practise every day, there is no break,” said the Malda boy who wants to crack the civil services examinations while continuing rowing for life.
Guiding the Future Hope rowers this time was Will Allen, a student of Westminster School, London, who is volunteering with the school in his gap year.
“They were already going through training and practice, I just helped them do what they were already doing. When it comes to mental strength and focus, these guys are the best,” said Will, who cheered the teams throughout the races.
The rowing championship at BRC is aimed at encouraging more children to take up the sport.
“Initiatives like the BRC Students’ Rowing Championship have changed the future of the sports in Calcutta. This path-breaking effort will not only help rowing grow as a sport in the city but also help stimulate the sport’s development at the national level. This championship plays a key role in changing mindsets,” said Ujjal Dugar, the chairman of the rowing committee at Bengal Rowing Club (BRC).
Additional reporting by Rupsha Chatterjee
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Samabrita Sen / May 21st, 2018
A Salt Lake resident has been appointed coach of the Indian cricket team. No, he is not replacing Ravi Shastri. Aparup Chakraborty of BL Block is now the coach of the physically challenged national squad.
“I have taken over from the second week of April,” says the former captain of the national indoor cricket team.
The team played the first tournament under his guidance in the Tata Steelium Cup, a T-20 tri-series held in the Eastern Railway Sports Complex, Behala.
“The cricket rules are the same as what you are used to seeing. The only exception is runners are allowed for up to three players per team,” explains Aparup.
Even then, he received a jolt when he first walked into the players dressing room. “We are used to seeing bats and pads strewn about on the floor. Here there were artificial legs too. Before taking the field, the leg amputees take that one step extra — putting the leg on before padding up. That sight was testimony to the challenges they overcme just to reach the cricket field.”
Aparup Chakraborty walks into the filed with a differently-abled player
The 35-year-old coach is full of admiration for the level of competitiveness he witnessed on the field in his maiden assignment. “We have a 6ft tall bowler called Mandeep Singh who has a hand missing from the left wrist. But he bowls right-handed at 130 kmph. The Bangladesh skipper fields with a crutch. Yet when a ball was speeding past him he threw his crutch aside and dived to save the boundary. As it would have taken him time to get up, another fielder who was able of feet came running to pick up the ball.”
India lost the final to Bangladesh but Aparup is counting the positives from the tournament.
“Unlike in India, disabled cricket in Bangladesh gets infrastructural support from their cricket board and financial aid from their government. Their openers are among the top five players internationally. Here we function under Disabled Sporting Society but there is talk of the Board of Cricket Control in India taking over as the Lodha Commission report recommends that. But there is good talent in the team which we can harvest.”
He is looking forward to scouting for more talent across the country through tournaments. “India and England have bid for the right to host the disabled cricket World Cup in 2019. I hope to have a strong contingent by then.”
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / by Sudehsna Banerjee / May 04th, 2018
Residents of Raiganj have pinned hopes on Sonia Baishya, a local girl, to achieve medals at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
On Saturday, Sonia will participate at the finals of the 4 X 400 relay race at the international sports event. She is the sole member in the Indian squad from north Bengal.
“I have spoken with her over phone and have mentioned about the high hopes of Raiganj residents. We will organise a puja at home ahead of her event. But I will not join others to watch the live telecast. All of us are eagerly waiting for her success,” Baren, her father, a resident of Netajipally in the town, said.
In 2017, Sonia had bagged gold at the same event in the Open National Athletics Championship that was held in Chennai. Then she participated at 18th Asian Games Invitation Tournament held on February this year at Jakarta in Indonesia. There, she had also won the gold medal.
“Sonia’s consistent performance has helped her to secure a berth in the Indian squad that was sent for Commonwealth Games. India has already won a number of gold medals in the event but Saturday’s event is most important to us. We want to see her succeed,” said a sports enthusiast of the town.
Ahead of the event, residents, social organisations and even the North Dinajpur district administration have drawn up plans to pray for us as well as put giant screens to show the live telecast of Sonia’s event.
“A giant screen would be put at the stadium here where people can watch the event. Sonia Baishya has made North Dinajpur district proud and to encourage more children and youths to join the sports arena, we have made the arrangement,” said Ayesha Rani A, DM, North Dinajpur.
Sonia’s friends have planned a prayer meeting for her success. Also, organisers of Quiz Premiere League, a which will be held in the town from Saturday, have said that they would pray for her ahead of their programme.
“All eyes would be on Sonia on Saturday. People are planning celebrations if she succeeds,” said a representative of the District Sports Association.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> West Bengal / by Kousik Sen / April 14th, 2018
Thailand silver teaches chess teen how to finish first
Bristy Mukherjee outside the Maidan club. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya
Calcutta:
If Bristy Mukherjee misses her 8.45pm train from Howrah after training at a Minto Park academy, she has to wait another 90 minutes to catch the next one and reach home past midnight.
The 14-year-old from Memari in East Burdwan has become used to the consequence of missing trains, but is having a hard time consoling herself about the gold medal she narrowly missed in Thailand this month.
Half a point was all that forced Bristy to settle for silver in the under-14 girls’ category of the Asian Youth Chess Championship at Chiang Mai between April 1 and 10.
Bristy had outplayed higher-ranked players in four consecutive rounds, but drew her last match against China’s Wan Quian to score 6.5 points in nine rounds. This was just half a point less than what Kazakhstan’s Kamalidenova Meruert had totalled to win the gold.
The visit to Thailand was the first time Bristy had travelled abroad. She has had to skip a couple of other international tournaments because her parents could not afford the expenditure.
Bristy’s mother had mortgaged her jewellery to arrange just over Rs 70,000 so that she could compete in the Asian Youth Chess Championship. Her father used to run a grocery shop that shut down two years ago because accompanying his daughter to tournaments left him with little time for business.
“I have to travel with Bristy within and outside the state. There is nobody else to sit at the shop,” Debasish Mukherjee told Metro at a Maidan club where Bristy and other players from Bengal were felicitated by the state chess association.
Mukherjee rents out a portion of his ancestral two-storey house for private ceremonies. The prize money that Bristy wins is kept aside to cover travel costs, although that is hardly enough.
Bristy trains at the Alekhine Chess Club at Gorky Sadan, near Minto Park, and spends six hours a day travelling. “The journey is especially taxing during the summer months,” she said.
Chess became Bristy’s life in 2010 when she was visiting a nursing home near Minto Park with her parents. “I noticed an advertisement for admission to Alekhine Chess Club. Nobody in our family was associated with chess but I liked the game,” she recalled.
That was July. In October the same year, Bristy won the first tournament she participated in – at the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in the under-6 category. At the Asian School Championship in 2011, she won a bronze medal in the under-7 event.
Bristy, who studies at Memari Rasiklal Smriti Balika Vidyalaya, idolises Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and aspires to win laurels for the country. “She is from a place where there is hardly any chess infrastructure. She is promising but the pressure to perform sometimes hampers her game. Her performance in Thailand is encouraging. This is the break she needed,” said Atanu Lahiri, the general secretary of the Bengal Chess Association.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Debraj Mitra / April 15th, 2018
