<p>From being lauded on the podium to living in penury!! It is one of the bitter ironies as India has witnessed numerous non-cricketing sportspersons living wretched lives. Nonetheless, here comes a phenomenal surge in the number of aspiring martial artistes in Jharkhand, who have broken records. They have undertaken daredevil performances for reasons that skeptic scoff at but continue to practice doggedly. No kidding! Located in the periphery of the Coal City of Dhanbad, the Ambedkar School of Martial Arts and other training academies, where many enthusiasts have taken to martial arts by storm only to demand their right to live a dignified manner rather than other considerations. <br /><br />There are instances galore in which their feats have also proved to be a useful in earning them national and international acclaim. ‘‘It is heavenly to see feats by these brave-hearts acknowledged. From 2001 till date, 100-odd records have been set and registered in the Limca Book of Records (LBR) from Jharkhand with a majority of them from Dhanbad alone,’’ Tiger SNT Lee, President of World Martial Arts Federation (India) told Deccan Herald. <br /><br />Ashish Jaiswal is the light of his family, a role model for his siblings and an icon of sorts for the community in Dhanbad. Jaiswal's name figures in the latest edition of the LBR for his unique ability to be able to counter and stop a 0.22 mm cartridge with stomach, palm, chest and tongue fired from point blank range of one foot. His dedication levels are such that he hardly has time for the family although he has enough love for them. Only because a break from training, says Ashish Jaiswal, could mean ruining his prospects to feature in the next edition of the LBR. Jaiswal's name was first mentioned in the LBR in 2008 for wrist crackling — a whopping 112 in a minute. <br /><br />If the phenomenal performances of Subhas Das, Sanjay Prasad, Pramod Pathak who are all 2009 record holders is at all hair-raising, then 32-year-old Anirudha Paswan, a record holder of latest LBR edition, is simply in a class apart in modern archery. This has earned him the epithet Aaj Ka Arjun. Anirudha can easily hit an object and sound target with am arrow completely blindfolded. . <br /><br />The LBR notes, ‘‘Anirudha shot an arrow and cut through thread - at the end of which hung a garland - from a distance of 15 meter in such a manner that the garland landed over the head of the person sitting beneath. Anirudha bent backwards, facing away from the thread hanging from a stick and shot an arrow from a distance of 15 meters to cut through it in one go. Anirudha was blindfolded and shot a sound target from a distance of 15 meters. He then asked the target to be shifted a little. The target was shifted by two feet towards the left without telling him the direction in which it was moved. He concentrated hard and shot the target in one go.’’ <br /><br />Whatever it be, the dedication is also noticeable among other record holders Anil Bansfore, Sunil Bansfore, Bijay Kumar, Vinod Valmiki, Sunita Kumari Bansfore, Vijay Bansfore who all belong to the Dalit community. They all have one thing in common and are undergoing training at the Ambedkar School of Martial Arts. There are more names in the long and proud list of record holders from Dhanbad who wowed the viewers with their breathtaking performances on different national television channels. Worse, while a majority of these martial artistes have no permanent job, except for archer Anirudha Pasawan who got a job as a security guard in a school at Jharia (Dhanbad), there is very little assistance from any quarter. Still, a majority of these martial artistes have some reason to be happy with life. Ask Anil Bansfore, who has featured in the LBR continuously since 2003 to 2009. He says, ‘‘Finding a job for us is merely a secondary option. What matters the most is the respect, love and sense of belonging from society. Our efforts and personal achievements have helped us earn some popularity and thereby respect that changes people's perception about us. Otherwise, there were the days when the people looked at us with contempt as our forefathers happened to be scavengers,’’ said Anil Bansfore, a resident of Dalit dominated colony Dompara in Dhanbad with a note of confidence in his voice. <br /><br />Sports officers say a martial artiste is not able to avail any scholarship or government assistance because these are their personal achievements. ‘‘Several government benefits are provided only if records are established in national or international events affiliated to the International Olympic Association,’’ said a Sports officer.<br /></p>
<p>From being lauded on the podium to living in penury!! It is one of the bitter ironies as India has witnessed numerous non-cricketing sportspersons living wretched lives. Nonetheless, here comes a phenomenal surge in the number of aspiring martial artistes in Jharkhand, who have broken records. They have undertaken daredevil performances for reasons that skeptic scoff at but continue to practice doggedly. No kidding! Located in the periphery of the Coal City of Dhanbad, the Ambedkar School of Martial Arts and other training academies, where many enthusiasts have taken to martial arts by storm only to demand their right to live a dignified manner rather than other considerations. <br /><br />There are instances galore in which their feats have also proved to be a useful in earning them national and international acclaim. ‘‘It is heavenly to see feats by these brave-hearts acknowledged. From 2001 till date, 100-odd records have been set and registered in the Limca Book of Records (LBR) from Jharkhand with a majority of them from Dhanbad alone,’’ Tiger SNT Lee, President of World Martial Arts Federation (India) told Deccan Herald. <br /><br />Ashish Jaiswal is the light of his family, a role model for his siblings and an icon of sorts for the community in Dhanbad. Jaiswal's name figures in the latest edition of the LBR for his unique ability to be able to counter and stop a 0.22 mm cartridge with stomach, palm, chest and tongue fired from point blank range of one foot. His dedication levels are such that he hardly has time for the family although he has enough love for them. Only because a break from training, says Ashish Jaiswal, could mean ruining his prospects to feature in the next edition of the LBR. Jaiswal's name was first mentioned in the LBR in 2008 for wrist crackling — a whopping 112 in a minute. <br /><br />If the phenomenal performances of Subhas Das, Sanjay Prasad, Pramod Pathak who are all 2009 record holders is at all hair-raising, then 32-year-old Anirudha Paswan, a record holder of latest LBR edition, is simply in a class apart in modern archery. This has earned him the epithet Aaj Ka Arjun. Anirudha can easily hit an object and sound target with am arrow completely blindfolded. . <br /><br />The LBR notes, ‘‘Anirudha shot an arrow and cut through thread - at the end of which hung a garland - from a distance of 15 meter in such a manner that the garland landed over the head of the person sitting beneath. Anirudha bent backwards, facing away from the thread hanging from a stick and shot an arrow from a distance of 15 meters to cut through it in one go. Anirudha was blindfolded and shot a sound target from a distance of 15 meters. He then asked the target to be shifted a little. The target was shifted by two feet towards the left without telling him the direction in which it was moved. He concentrated hard and shot the target in one go.’’ <br /><br />Whatever it be, the dedication is also noticeable among other record holders Anil Bansfore, Sunil Bansfore, Bijay Kumar, Vinod Valmiki, Sunita Kumari Bansfore, Vijay Bansfore who all belong to the Dalit community. They all have one thing in common and are undergoing training at the Ambedkar School of Martial Arts. There are more names in the long and proud list of record holders from Dhanbad who wowed the viewers with their breathtaking performances on different national television channels. Worse, while a majority of these martial artistes have no permanent job, except for archer Anirudha Pasawan who got a job as a security guard in a school at Jharia (Dhanbad), there is very little assistance from any quarter. Still, a majority of these martial artistes have some reason to be happy with life. Ask Anil Bansfore, who has featured in the LBR continuously since 2003 to 2009. He says, ‘‘Finding a job for us is merely a secondary option. What matters the most is the respect, love and sense of belonging from society. Our efforts and personal achievements have helped us earn some popularity and thereby respect that changes people's perception about us. Otherwise, there were the days when the people looked at us with contempt as our forefathers happened to be scavengers,’’ said Anil Bansfore, a resident of Dalit dominated colony Dompara in Dhanbad with a note of confidence in his voice. <br /><br />Sports officers say a martial artiste is not able to avail any scholarship or government assistance because these are their personal achievements. ‘‘Several government benefits are provided only if records are established in national or international events affiliated to the International Olympic Association,’’ said a Sports officer.<br /></p>
