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‘THIS MEDAL PROVES NO DISABILITY CAN STOP ME FROM EXCELLING’
Avani Lekhara’s feat comes after numerous sacrifices, and she hopes that this will inspire generations to come
People weren’t getting western music in 1980s, so I had to simplify it.
I have missed my friends’ reunions, birthdays and other parties because I was practising all the time.
All eyes were glued to the television, as 19-yearold para shooter Avani Lekhara scripted history on Monday by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics. A delighted Lekhara says, “I want people to look at me and feel that if Avani can do it, then why can’t we? No one should feel sad about their disability. This medal proves that no disability can stop me from excelling in what I want to do.”
A student of BA LLB, Lekhara juggled sports and academics to reach where she’s today. “I’ve been training for the past six years. Amid the pandemic, I built a target set-up at home. I’ve not
Singer Leslee Lewis grew up with Bollywood around him, as he likes to put it, but he admits he always wanted to dabble in western music, too. Recently, he came out with an English song, Entourage, in collaboration with rapper-singer Omar Gooding.
Leslee feels that a large section of people in India didn’t embrace western music back in the day. “Nobody got it in the ’80s, when I did it here. People said, ‘English mein samajh nahi aata, do lines ke aage kya gaa rahe ho, kya bol rahe ho’,” he recounts, adding, “I would listen to English and Hindi, both. My dad (late PL Raj) was attended my college because of my training. To put aside my studies and focus completely on the sport has been the hardest sacrifice. I’ve missed my friends’ reunions, birthdays and other parties. But it was my parents and brother who were my biggest support system throughout all this,” she adds.
She’s received a lot of congratulatory calls and messages on her win. But the “most special congratulatory call came from our Prime Minister”. She adds, “(Narendra) Modi ji congratulated me and wished me luck for the future. It felt like a moment of a lifetime,” shares the 19-year-old rifle shooter from Jaipur, adding that her inspiration on the field has been Olympian Abhinav Bindra. “He is my inspiration. I’ve always
LESLEE LEWIS,
a popular choreographer; he had worked in films such as Sholay (1975) and Don (1978). I grew up with Helen aunty and Laxmikant-Pyarelal. I wanted to do other things. People weren’t getting western music in 80s, so I had to simplify it.”
The 61-year-old, known for wanted to win a gold medal just like him,” she adds.
Lekhara says when she took the winning shot, she “wasn’t thinking about the medal”. “I was just focusing on my shot. But to win gold on my debut in the Games feels special,” she says.
The gold medallist feels glad to be put on an equal pedestal as other athletes. She says, “The treatment to Paralympians has been on a par with other athletes. We are treated equally in terms of getting endorsements, ads sponsorships and financial aids.”
Ask her about the first thing she wants to do upon reaching India, and she replies, “I’ll take rest, meet my friends and family and give my college exams. I want to have my favourite kadhi chawal when I reach home.” the hit number Yaaron and his debut album, Colonial Cousins, with Hariharan, believes that people in India prefer sweetness in music. “Indians need mithaas. Rock, for them, is distortion, something abrasive. By the time I got down to Aapki Dua in my album Pal, it was a sweet rock kind of thing,” says Lewis.
Talking about Entourage , he says that he is “probably the only Indian” singing in Hollywood, in English. Lewis is happy that his music is being embraced across the world. “I have started my own label, which is all about global music in Hindi. I released a song in June called Chhoda Tune, which did well. It made to three playlists in India, Brazil and Argentina,” he says.
AVANI LEKHARA,