Isha Gramotsavam Begins! – Glimpses from the Grounds

Celebrate the sports and spirit of Isha Gramotsavam with these photo glimpses of the last month’s preparations and divisional events. Feel the beat and live the enthusiasm of India’s rural spirit!

When 25 districts of Tamil Nadu come together to play a rural Olympics, the environment is sure to be charged with excitement, with a sportsman’s spirit being displayed by one and all! Amazingly, Isha Gramotsavam not only includes more than 10,000 players, but also dissolves the boundaries of gender, age and caste, bringing all together on a common ground – or sports field, to be exact!

Here are a few glimpses into the months leading up to Gramotsavam, shared for you to experience the zeal with which preparations are happening at the ground level.

Fun games are a vital part of Gramotsavam, as you need not necessarily be a seasoned sportsman to play them! The lemon race, which tests your balance and speed together, proves to be quite a task; the tire race transports many of us back to our childhood, when minimal sports equipment led us to get creative with what we had! The sack race allows humans a taste of the kangaroo life, as they hop their way to the finish line, breaking no great speed records, but certainly bringing smiles to all faces.

Gramotsavam is just not about sports, but also celebrates the spirit of rural India through traditional foods and rural folk performances. Celebrating these dance and art forms, many of which are dying in modern times, offers a way for these rural populations to not only keep their culture alive, but take pride in it.

Editor’s Note: You’re Invited to Celebrate the Sporting Spirit of Rural India! Isha Gramotsavam is coming up on Sept 4^th in Coimbatore, CODISSIA Grounds. Learn more about how this sporting extravaganza is empowering individuals, transforming communities and inspiring populations for positive change.