I was a strange kid. I liked to watch the BNW newsreel which used to be shown just before the movie began in the cinema-theatre. I also liked watching ads –vicco vajradanthi was one of my favorites. I told you, I was a bit off the rocker to begin with.
I was fascinated by BNW newsreel. Most of the time I didn’t understand it, I was too young. But for some reason I knew it my bones that I was watching heroes and heroines who were making history.
The hair on the nape of my neck would tingle when I saw tall, shabby, black-nosed men atop a bnw Himalayas or some strange mountain planting a flag; men and women who won medals; who swam across shark infested oceans; women who brought strong men to their knees; men who saved nations.
To me they all had one thing in common, they beat all odds to achieve a remarkable feat, something which the world might or might not understand. And they were all in BNW. Even today, I think I subconsciously associate heroism with BNW or vice versa –not sure .
That is the reason when I photographed this young boy I could only see him in BNW.
This boy is an inmate of Mathru Foundation, run by another brave woman, Malathi Holla. He is polio afflicted. He sometimes walks on all fours and at other times uses a wheelchair. But you need to see him play cricket to believe it. I did.
He loves the game. He bats with a strong hand. He bowls with a purpose. He does both squatting on the floor.
He might never become a famous cricketer in the regular sense, though he might dream of being one. YET to me he was like those mountaineers who climb the Himalayan peak.
He was one of those BNW heroes who beat all odds and find a way to achieve their dreams.
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