Go Girl!

Neha Ghare is a fiesty little 8 year old girl who loves to play tennis. I first heard about Neha when my 9 year old daughter Sachi was playing a local tennis tournament in Pune. In the second or third round, she was drawn to play against Neha.

Neha is short for her age, a little plump, and walks with a nice, confident swagger. Off the tennis court she is a regular, sweet, 8-year old. However on the tennis court, she becomes a fist-pumping, fiesty competitor! I was not present at my daughter's match with Neha, but I got a report from my wife Suniti. Though she is a year younger than Sachi, Neha thumped Sachi with her powerful ground-strokes and fist-pumping aggression.

I had forgotten about Neha, until, many months later I met her father Ramesh Ghare at the Deccan Gymkhana Tennis Academy. I had just moved Sachi to the Deccan Academy and Neha was already playing there. Ramesh Ghare is a dark, heavy-set man, with a head full of jet black hair, and a thick moustache. He is a very pleasant, confident, and friendly person, and quickly struck up a conversation with me about our plans for our daughters' tennis. The rest of my conversation with the humble, hard-working Ramesh Ghare made my day, and gave me some hope about the future of our country.

Ramesh Ghare comes from a very humble background and is entirely a self-made man. For a living, he used to distribute newspapers door-to-door for almost 10 years. Then he started a small business to fabricate metal-grills for various residential applications. Now he has also started a small men's clothing store in his neighbourhood.

Ramesh really believes in his daughter. He has not played tennis himself, but he saw a spark in his daughter early, and has made a decision to invest in her tennis. Neha plays 6 days a week, two hours every day. She plays one hour in a group lesson, and one hour one-on-one with a coach every weekday. She also spends 45 minutes every other day on physical fitness. The results are showing. Neha has been finishing first or second in most local tournaments she participates in. She has also started making a move in the next higher age-group competition.

Although our society has made some progress in valuing the female child, it is very common for many Indian families to still hold back on encouraging the girl child the same way they encourage their boys. I am impressed with Ramesh Ghare for what he said about his commitment to Neha's tennis. He said "What I spend on Neha's tennis is an investment. Neha is my treasure, and eveything I do to help her get better is the best investment I can make.". I am following Neha's tennis quite keenly and rooting for her almost as much as I do for Sachi!