Nivedita Basu: Sports should be made compulsory in every curriculum… even office can plan some sporting activities from time to time

We are moving so fast in our day-to-day lives that we hardly get time to take care of our body. This is the reason why our fitness goes for a toss. Nivedita Basu, VP Content and Business Alliance, Atrangii TV and OTT, stresses on the importance of exercise for self-care, both physical and mental.

 “I’m totally a sports person. So when we started the Box Cricket League, the fact that we have to do competitive cricket, I was most excited. If you have seen videos of me or me on the field, I have that spirit that I probably go fighting with my team members if they have not performed well. Probably I come from the North West, where sports is given a lot of importance apart from studies. It has been inherently a part of our culture. I have been a sports captain in school and have continued the whole culture of playing sports. I used to play racket games. My mother is a national level table tennis and a handball player. My father used to play tennis and squash. So my sister and I have always been into sports. Of course I took it more and have continued till now. I will go for my squash no matter what because the whole competitive thing keeps me going. The fact that I have crossed forty and can still participate and play sports makes me happy,” she says.

In an average person's life there are no sports except for watching it on television. Schools do encourage sports for children, but still a lot of them end up playing more on mobile phones, computers or laptops.

 “Yes I agree that in India or anywhere today, sports is taking a back seat and it has become more about watching on the screen. But it's not like it's not there. I know people who are totally into sports and follow it like a religion but the fact that it's not encouraged properly. What I see in Mumbai and places where the infrastructure is not there, schools don't have a playground, there are not enough activities to do in school so they probably take to just watching sports. But where we come from, there were 10 playgrounds, you had space to play football, hockey, basketball, tennis. So I feel my kids are deprived of that which is why apart from schooling I made sure they indulge in some sporting activity,” she adds.

 About what can be done to revive playing sports in our lives, Nivedita feels that it’s easy to do it in schools.

 “There should be a module where you don’t get X amount of marks or you don't get promoted if you don't play a sport. It can be indoor or outdoor games, but it should be a part of your curriculum and even for grown-ups, I feel corporates or non-corporates should also do a lot of activities apart from seminars and going for holidays. You sit in front of the computers all the time inside AC rooms. Why not go out and try some sports? I'm not saying do it every weekend or every month but every quarter you should have some activity where girls, boys and everyone top to bottom should be participating,” she says.

At the moment, Nivedita’s favourite sport is squash. “That’s because my coach is great and I enjoy playing with him. Second, it gives you that whole burst of energy because there's a lot of force when you play against a wall. And thirdly, I like individual competitive sports where I don't have to shout at the team for not performing and I can be myself,” she adds.