Isha Gramotsavam is a large-scale effort to bring sports into rural lives, to improve the overall health and quality of life among villagers, and promote community revitalization. Part of Isha Foundation’s rural revitalization program, the festival culminates in the final rounds of a state-wide inter-village sports tournament.

Games are an integral part of Isha’s rural rejuvenation efforts. They give villagers a new level of wellbeing while breaking caste barriers, helping in addiction recovery and renewing a sense of community. The games bring together villagers – old and young, men and women – from all backgrounds and economic levels. Adult women and especially older women, playing games was unthinkable just a few years ago. But sports has brought them confidence, inspiring them to tranform their lives. The new sense of bonding has led to the growth of community-based village libraries, microloans and exuberant sporting festivals, changing people’s lives in many ways.