Dreams of a Billion, by Boria Majumdar and Nalin Mehta, gets its timing right as it hits the stands in the Tokyo Olympic year with stories of triumph and lessons from the lives of India’s Olympic heroes.
In the lead up to Tokyo Olympics 2020, celebrated sports historian Boria Majumdar and journalist Nalin Mehta’s new book Dreams of a Billion is hitting the stores, shedding light on several untold aspects of the Olympic sports in the country.
Dreams of a Billion is an important piece of work in a country where there is very little literature about Olympic sports.
From bringing to the fore tales of heroic triumphs at the Olympic and Paralympic Games to throwing light on what it takes to compete with the best in the world, the 1st part of Dreams of Billion traces the journey of how these athletes became sporting icons of the country. In the latter half of the book, tales from India’s early Olympic history and the road ahead find a place.
I have been part of this book from inception in the sense Boria has been talking to me every week on it. He interviewed me for close to 100 hours I think and yes I much admire the hard work he has put in. He is a master storyteller and books like these are much required in India. If people feel inspired reading our stories it is only good to work well for Indian sport going forward, India’s chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand said at the sidelines of the launch of Dreams of a Billion.
Double Paralympic gold medalist, Devendra Jhajharia expressed delight at the way the book has dealt with the success stories of Paralympians.
It is great that the story of Paralympians and Olympians are placed side by side. It means that we are treated with the same brush and with the same respect. It has been great talking to Boria and I hope the readers like my story, Jhajharia said.
Here’s an excerpt from ‘Dreams of a Billion’, bringing to light the story of how Devendra Jhajharia battled against the odds to win his Paralympic gold in javelin in 2004.
‘When I went to the Athens Paralympics in 2004, all I had was a pair of spikes that cost me Rs 400 and a javelin priced at Rs 300,’ said Devendra Jhajharia. That’s all I had. I paid for the trip myself, was one of the twenty-five athletes who represented India in Greece.’ We had asked him to recount the journey to his first Olympic gold medal and his response was heart-rending.
‘Every other athlete participating in Athens would come to the stadium with his personal coach, trainer, physio and support team,’ he said with a smile. They had better javelins, which were very similar to the ones we use now. But for me, it was never about facilities. It was never about the quality of my javelin or spikes or coaching. It was always about hard work and more hard work. Working the hardest was my weapon against adversity and I am glad it worked for me’.
Devendra Jhajharia lost an arm at the age of eight when he accidentally touched an electric cable while climbing a tree. ‘The shock was more mental than anything else. When I came back home from the hospital I was depressed. For the first month, I refused to leave my house’.
It was a sense of inferiority and peer pressure that started to weigh on the mind of young Devendra. It was only when his mother motivated him to go out and play with his neighbourhood kids that he finally started stepping out to socialise. His mother was clear: Devendra was a victim of certain circumstances and was in no way inferior to anyone else.
