The excitement is evident as 20 visually impaired cricketers – in the totally blind, partially blind and partially blind categories – played a 10-over cricket match at Hyderabad Public School in Begumpet, Hyderabad. The cricket match, organized by the city’s NGO Sparthi Vision Care Society, had two teams of 10 players each. This match was played between Deonar Senior and Deonar Junior of Deonar School for the Blind. Amidst cheers from 100 guests including volunteers, Deonar Junior team won the match by scoring 130 runs against Deonar Senior who scored 111 runs.
Pushpa Venugopa | photo credit: special arrangement
Sparthi founder Pushpa Venugopal aka Nani was seen in the midst of the audience with a delicate yet cheerful look. Overwhelmed with emotions, the 85-year-old said, “This could be the last fair play cricket match that I am hosting. My age does not allow me to plan such matches in future.” Sampath Shankar and his team of volunteers elicited a loud applause from the audience, who played an active role in planning this cricket match – from designing and printing banners, certificates to sharing the write-ups… has been leading since.
how it started
Pushpa’s journey with the voluntary organization began in 2007. Arutprakash TR, an IT professional and volunteer, shares the story. “About two decades ago, the idea of serving the less fortunate popped up in Pushpa’s mind. She was going through a test phase on the personal front. To keep her mind off her troubles, Pushpa decides to channel her energy into making a difference in the lives of children with disabilities. This was the beginning of Sparthi Vision Care Society, “The organization consists of a group of like-minded individuals from all walks of life, who support the differently-abled children of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
in action | photo credit: special arrangement
With the main focus of supporting education, Sparthi’s ‘Healthy Competition’ in sports and literary activities was established as a platform for differently abled people to meet and showcase their diverse talents and skills.
The first three years saw chess and cricket matches for the visually impaired, organized professionally with eight teams from Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati (in erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh). Later, the competitions expanded to 3K mini-marathons and quizzes for youth with hearing impairment and motor disabilities.
Recalling blind cricketer Ajay Kumar Reddy’s century in the 20-over match organized by Spurthi, Arut says, “It was a proud moment for us when he became the captain of the Indian cricket team for the blind.”
A team of volunteers – Sampath Shankar (3rd from the right) and his friends. photo credit: special arrangement
“Except for the years of lockdown, we organized events every year. Even during those two years, we tried our best to provide essential supplies to around 500 families, which included migrant workers, skilled workers, private school teachers, artisans and PWD beneficiaries.”
Source of inspiration
The cheerful attitude and indomitable spirit of the old lady has been a role model for many young volunteers of Spurthi. “She organizes everything – from coordinating with the caterers and deciding the location to getting approvals. Being her right hand for the past five years, I must be the one who is running around, but she plans everything carefully; Then finally she thanks the team members. His humility, grace and discipline is a lesson for us.”
Will this be Sparthi’s last cricket match? “That’s what Dadi says. But what kind of support she got, only time can tell.”