After I moved to Bengaluru at the age of eight, my mother used to take my sister and me to the Kanteerava Stadium, which was a few minutes away from home.
I took to the stadium like fish to water. Mohinder Singh, a tall, well-built coach noticed my sister and me running and encouraged us by giving us Nutrine candies. One candy for every round we ran. Thus started our careers in athletics. We made our mark at school sports days and interschool championships. These meets were no less exciting than any world championship! Such was the fierce rivalry among schools. Which team would take the “Best School” honour? Who would be the “Athlete of the Meet”? There was pride in all that. Teams from schools close to the stadium would walk a couple of kilometres in their uniforms to draw the attention of the public. Heads of institutions, teachers, and hundreds of cheerleaders would occupy their place in the stadium. Everybody knew where to sit without anyone telling them. Future champions were born here.
This story is from the May 14, 2017 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the May 14, 2017 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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