The Winner Takes It All...(Especially, when everyone is a winner)
Apr 2009
Isha Home School Sports Day 2009
Isha Home School Sports Day was celebrated with pomp and finesse from 17th to 19th of March. Yes, a 3 day affair for the 1st time! When Sakthi, our sports director and my room-mate, first told me that Isha Home School Sports 'Day' was going to be for three days this year, my first reaction was that of excitement...then the teacher in me took over for a moment: "What? No classes for three days?" But my second reaction disappeared once I saw the buzz and enthusiasm amongst the children. Suddenly it felt like The Olympics were back!
Then I found out that Isha Home School Sports Day will be extra special this year, as Sadhguru had divided us (students and staff members) into four houses viz. Chola, Kakathiya, Hoysala and Maratha. Yes, the four dynasties. Each house had a captain. In the process of selection, everyone's names were called out one by one and their houses were disclosed after which they joined their respective dynasties amidst loud cheers and applause. The final few days (and nights) of preparation before the sports day felt nothing less than volunteering on the Initiation Day (no exaggeration) of an Isha Yoga program. Most of the staff members got into the scheme of things in a big way once it came to creating the 'look' of their tents and in some cases (read The Marathas), their forts.
On the morning of the big day, if you stood in the middle of the sports field and closed your eyes, you would be forgiven for thinking that you had entered Wankhede Cricket Stadium of Mumbai and a one-day match between India and Australia was about to commence. Such were the deafening cheers.
Sadhguru graced us with his presence in the opening ceremony. Once he walked in, it felt like the entire place was charged in a different way. In his opening speech, one thing that Sadhguru said - which I'm sure entered the hearts of all the participants, was: "You play to win, but you also learn to make way for someone who's performed better than you." He also reminded all of us how 'Sports' is about breaking limitations and how this spirit of games needed to enter our day-to-day lives as well.
After a well-coordinated march-past and a breathtaking performance of Kalarippayattu, four of our top athletes ran around the race track, passing the torch to each other and finally enflaming our very own version of The Olympic cauldron.
And then the games began… and how! In almost every event, new records were set. It was like the children were showing the adults how one can throw oneself into the process completely and joyfully. All the houses had their own slogans and were doing their best to keep their gladiators going in the scorching heat. Yet if you were there, you wouldn't remember the heat, you'd remember the pink cheeks of the smiling toddlers as they finished the 100 meters sprint. You wouldn't remember the sweat, you'd remember the tears of joy the girls had after winning their Kho-Kho match. You wouldn't remember the panting or the breathlessness; you'd remember the breathtaking moments of the penalty shoot-out of the boy's football match. Personally, it was during these three days, I truly understood the meaning of the cliché - "In a real game, there are only Winners."
Yet, the personal glory is not what this sports day will be remembered for… Sadhguru had told the children how in this culture, after the sunset, the wars would stop and the warriors would go to each other's camps to tend to the wounds of the opposition soldiers. Something similar had happened in the school as well. In the sports field, they were true competitors… but off the field, they were best friends once again.
Eventually, the Kakathiya House won the Rolling Trophy (designed by Sadhguru himself). They were followed by The Hoysalas, The Marathas and The Cholas. However, as Sadhguru said, "One of the houses can win only because the other three are there." The winners had indeed taken it all… and all of us were Winners!
Utkarsh, Isha Home School teacher
