The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Memorable day for Laxman

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 02, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

Memorable day for Laxman

HYDERABAD, JULY 1. "My day is made," said V.V.S. Laxman, thanking his coach Anil Mittal for involving him in Thursday morning's function at the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped at Manovikasnagar, Secunderabad. Congratulating the State Bank of India for presenting mentally challenged children with sports kits and chocolates, Laxman said injuries paled in comparison, after seeing these children cheerful, despite their disabilities.

The notice boards were filled with pictures of the stylish batsman and the setting in the meticulously maintained campus was informal. The child who brought him a gift had to be chaperoned by her mother.

Of all God's children, the mentally retarded were the most innocent, observed the institute's Deputy Director, Dr. Jayanthi Narayan.

State Bank of India's Assistant General Manager (AGM), Gitanjali Mishra, lauded the institute's efforts in disseminating training for care of the mentally retarded. Cricket, she said, would enable coordination of heart, body and mind. Each child being special and results being slow to show up, the AGM commended the patience of the staff in the face of frustration.

Of SBI's association with the event, she said with profit not the sole motive, the bank served the nation at the grassroot level, extending loans for bullock carts and jets. Sai Kumar, an onlooker, wrote out a cheque, donating towards costs the institute would incur over a year for 10 children.

Kids craned their necks to hang on to every word he spoke, one little fellow plonking himself in Laxman's lap, later. An audience of this kind should have been unusual, for, most of what he said, may not have been understood. His ready compliance with Director Govinda Rao's request to be an ambassador for the cause saw the classy batsman emerge a more compassionate person, enriched by the experience. — Our Special Correspondent

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