Alwar (Rajasthan): The famous dialogue ' Mhari Chori, Choro se kam hain kya' might be filmy but it has been converted into reality by the women in Alwar district of Rajasthan.
Situated at 10 kilometeres away from Alwar city is the Khudanpuri village where almost every girl plays hockey and is playing at national or state level. The arhitecht behind this devlopment is Vijender Singh Naruka, who came as a Physical Training (PT) teacher in government higher secondary school in the village. For his work, Naruka has been also awared by the Rajasthan Governor.
Naruka told ETV Bharat that his first posting in the village was in 2010 and the conditions very different back then. Girls were not allowed go outside home and they were married at an tender age.
Most of the people in this village work as laborers. Men were addicted to alcohol in many homes. He started a campaign to provide employment to the girls of this village through sports. Today his campaign has borne fruit and more than 70 girls of have played at the state and national level.
Struggles to start
Naruka revealed that when he started this initiative, he had to face a lot of problems because getting the girls out of their homes was a challenging task. The villagers did not want to send their daughters with a male coach, but gradually the situation became normal and the girls started developing a passion for sports. After this, they started playing.
Hesitation converted into passion for sport
Thanks to the sheer determination and passion shown by the coach towards his work, the fortunes of the girls of Khudanpuri village have changed. While they were not allowed to go out of their homes, now their parents are bringing the girls to the playground by holding their hands. Parents are now backing them to excel in the sport. Earlier, girls used to get married at a young age, that too has stopped now. Today in every house of Khudanpuri village, a girl is a state level player or a national player.
A Journey Full of Obstacles
Naruka said when he started coaching girls, after some time he had to leave that ground because of the construction of a complex there. After this, he prepared a playground along with the players. For this, everyone worked hard and prepared the ground for playing hockey by removing the wild trees, bushes, thorny trees planted there.
He said his entire family is associated with the sports field. He has five brothers, who are working as physical teachers. Along with this, other members of his family are also making their career in this field.
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