Edited By Oishiki Ganguly
Do you ever see someone do something good for someone else and think, “That’s so great, I wish I could do that.” Do you then take a minute to realise that you could, in fact, do that if you wanted to? How many times has that translated into measurable action instead of remaining a mere short-lived thought?
I’m not trying to call you out, I promise. I’m only speaking from experience with the hope that some of you might feel the same way. The inability, or rather unwillingness, to act on my thoughts was something that brought me down for a long time. Now I know there are a million different reasons for a billion different people to feel this way, but I’m going to focus on my own feelings for a minute here. The reason that I felt devoid of motivation and enthusiasm a lot of the time is honestly quite generic. It’s a common fear of failure, except not quite the one you’re thinking of. I’m not as scared of failing as I am of being mediocre. Yeah sure I tried and it wasn’t a complete disaster, but if the best I can do is average, why should I bother? I never expected to come across an answer to this question, at least not until very recently.
Before I can get to what exactly changed, I need to introduce you to one particular group that very quickly and effortlessly made its way into my heart, and probably yours too if you’re an Ashokan. This “wholesome family” (as they deservedly call themselves) is a team of about 20 extraordinarily witty people. It’s easy to mistake them to be a comedy club from afar, but a slightly closer look will show you nothing more and nothing less than a group of fierce, dedicated and impressive women. If you haven’t guessed already, I’m talking about the Ashoka Women’s Football team. While they do have a composition of star players and a showcase of trophies, that’s not all that makes them stand out. Now I’m not the biggest sports enthusiast, nor do I know much about football, so my appreciation towards them stems from a more off-field location. What I absolutely adore about them, even more so than their talent, is their ability to entirely transform one’s understanding of a sports team by relentlessly widening their own scope. My idea of a sports team never went beyond a group that follows the same regime of practice to do well at tournaments. It never occurred to me that a team can do as many wonders off the field as they can do on it.
I know you probably think I’m making baseless claims right now, but let me explain why everything I’ve said is absolutely justified. On the 6th of June this year, in the midst of the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, Radha Gupta (midfielder, AUWFC) came across a post on Instagram that gave tribute to George Floyd in a rather atypical, yet remarkable manner. Athletes4CHNGES, a student-led organisation focused on bringing about change through sports, arranged a fundraiser in the form of an 8.46-mile run, in honour of the excruciating 8 minutes and 46 seconds that George Floyd was forcibly held down with brutal force by the Minnesota Police. Here, where you or I would have stopped to think, “That’s so great, I wish I could do that,” Radha was so inspired by the possibility of contributing through sports that not trying wasn’t an option for her. She sent this to the rest of her team without a moment of hesitation, suggesting that they start a similar initiative for the pressing issues in India; and thus, on the 7th of June, Kilometres for a Cause commenced. To briefly explain – the players of AUWFC were covering a certain amount of kilometres every day (through cycling or by foot), in the hopes that sponsors would donate an amount of their choice for each kilometre the team covered. The funds collected would be donated to different relief organisations every week.
Recognising the innumerable concerns in their own country that required their attention, there was a moment of uncertainty about where to start. In the course of the pandemic where lives were being destroyed overnight, their priority from the get-go was to bring about immediate change. With a lot of experience in community work and a wide network, Tara Rai (left winger, AUWFC) brought to light that larger charities are backed by many corporations, an advantage that unfortunately the smaller charities don’t have. She made sure to find causes worth supporting while trying to contribute to the most marginalised organisations and went even further to ensure that the donations they made would be used appropriately. In the first week of their initiative, they decided to support the transgender community of Hyderabad.
All through the first few days, the 5-6 athletes that had volunteered were perpetually anxious about the end result. The moment in which you realise the potential you hold to better someone else’s life is both overwhelmingly terrifying and rewarding beyond words. By the end of the fourth day, on completing close to 200 kilometres, they had received donations of roughly Rs. 3,000. With their captains giving them constant reality checks (while reassuring the team of the pride they felt), their goal for this week was to raise, hopefully, Rs 10,000. As the last day came around, they were in very close proximity to their goal. Then they reached their goal, passed it and within a time frame of 6 hours, collected it five times over. “I couldn’t believe it. As a college student, I’m used to my bank account having minimal money. Then suddenly, in a matter of hours, I had over 50,000 rupees,” said Srishti Jain (midfielder, AUWFC).
The following weeks were all about growth, with every sports team in Ashoka wanting to pitch in. Since some athletes were facing problems stepping outside their house due to the health hazard, the Ashoka Ultimate team came up with an acutely constructive solution. They extended Kilometres for a Cause to Minutes for a Cause, where sponsors pledged a certain amount for every minute of an at-home workout each volunteer completed. More athletes, more donations, more lives bettered. In the third week alone they raised over 2.7 lakhs. The sponsors were just as excited by these feats as the athletes, and the buzz that was generated spread far and wide. Help was coming from all around and in every way possible. Radha, who was out of town when this initiative began, shared an absolutely heartwarming story to explain the extent of the help they received. Quarantining in Panchkula, Radha was away from her home when she had to begin covering kilometres. Since she didn’t have her cycle with her, she found a public bike rental company called Yaana, which had a cycle stand just one kilometre from her house. “I’d walk to the stand every day and pay five rupees for every half an hour I used the bike. After 2-3 weeks, my parents jokingly said I was becoming an ambassador for Yaana, since I was posting about them almost everyday,” she said. Without any expectations, she emailed the founder to explain what her team was doing, hoping that the company might want to sponsor the cause. “I didn’t hear back for days, but one day I got this random phone call that turned out to be from the founder himself. He said that while COVID had hit them hard and they didn’t have much CSR funding, they wanted to sponsor my app for six months, which meant that I didn’t have to pay for my bike rent. The money I saved from this, I donated.”
Even inside the team, help was always within reach. A few weeks in, Anuja Shah’s immune system decided that these crucial weeks would be the perfect time to surprise her with a case of chickenpox. Anuja (right back, AUWFC) had been a critical athlete thus far, bringing in sizeable donations since Week 1. To keep her sponsors included, the rest of the team generously offered to cover her kilometres for her. They stressed on the fact that even if one player had stopped doing their role halfway, the event wouldn’t have reached the magnitude that it did. “I’m sure there were moments where it felt like a burden for all of us, but there were too many good things outweighing that and we didn’t want to stop,” said Ridhi Saksena (right back, AUWFC). Continuing from this statement, she also explained that the team never stopped having fun. It’s so rare to find something that does as much (if not more) good for others as it does for you, and this team had found that perfect sweet spot.
Coming back to where we started, let me explain what changed for me. All of this was just one thing. One idea developed overnight that ended up raising over 9.6 lakhs in the course of 6 weeks and aiding 6 different communities. It would have been so easy for anyone of them to say, “We probably won’t raise much, so I’m not sure if it’s worth doing.” That one thought could have had a domino effect on the entire team, leading to the project being scrapped before it even started. So how come it didn’t?
Here’s the conclusion I came to – the why, for them, was more important than the how. When Kilometres for a Cause first began, the team wasn’t sure about the logistics of it all or how it was going to pan out, but they went ahead anyway because none of those things mattered as much as the overpowering importance of the cause. I used to think that an action had to be rooted in your passion to help people or an overgenerous heart, but it’s not always about that. Sometimes it goes beyond us, with the action arising simply from solidarity and the responsibility we owe to those who need our help. In such a situation, even if your best is mediocre, that’s absolutely irrelevant. It’s not about the onlookers who’ll say “Anyone could have done that,” or frankly even about your own thoughts telling you it wasn’t enough. Above everything else, it’s about who you’re doing it for. It’s about their thoughts and their gratitude for the fact that you tried for them. It’s not like this was a new concept for me, I’m sure you’ve heard it at some point in your life as well. What struck me was actually seeing it in action, outside their minds and in their lives.
The Ashoka Women’s Football team consistently exceed their own standards in an effort to be better in every sense of the word. All of these endeavours to outdo themselves originate from the same ambition – to tear down the stigmas attached with women’s sports. An unfortunate incident recently occurred with Samyuktha Hegde, an Indian actress, where she was abused by Congress leader Kavitha Reddy for exercising in “indecent” clothing. As sportswomen who have had to go through similar experiences, the team dedicated an Instagram post to fight against the double standards set for men and women when it comes to activewear. They created a poster of everyone on the team in workout clothes of their own choice and comfort, emphasising the importance of feeling confident in your own skin. Following this, they shared a video titled “Put a Finger Down: Sexism in Sports,” where the team brought to light the different ways in which their talent and hardwork has been belittled. This haunting reality resonated with thousands across the world, revealing that the deep rooted bias against female athletes begins from a very early age. The most powerful part was their claim that despite the overwhelming desire to give up, some things are worth fighting for. For all those who have gone through the same struggle and for all those who can be saved from it.
The main take-away for me after seeing everything that this team had done was the realisation that support is the precondition for taking a step forward. “We have this platform to support women because we have been supported, and it’s important for women to support women so that the world can move forward.” This is something that the team said to me a few days ago, reassuring my faith in everything they stand for. They also told me, “Don’t let anyone dictate your power. It’s easy to fall into traps that others set out for you, but you’re the only one who should be able to determine your self-worth.” In a nutshell – to find the strength to support your community and bring about constructive change to the best of your abilities, your first and foremost task is to find the strength to support yourself.
Statistics for Kilometres for a Cause / Organisations to Support:
Week one – Women and Transgender Organizations Joint Action Committee
Amount raised – Rs. 52,776 (262.3kms covered)
Week two – Amphan Relief Network
Amount raised – Rs. 94,657 (665.8kms covered)
Week three – The Worker’s Dhaba
Amount raised – Rs. 2,73,622 (1,164kms covered)
Week four – Holistic Lockdown Relief
Amount raised – Rs. 2,34,050 (1462.6kms and 1478 mins covered)
Week five – Transgender Community in Tamil Nadu
Amount raised – Rs. 1,51,945 (764.6kms and 752mins covered)
Week six – Project Safar
Amount raised – Rs. 1,51,030 (686.7kms and 464 mins covered)