"Learning English helped me play better Hockey"

Like many others around her, Sushma Kumari does not recall when she started playing hockey. "Bahut chhote the, tab se khel rahe hain" (I started playing when I was very young), she says. She belongs to the Simdega district of Jharkhand, a place where - despite the popularity of cricket in the country - every child has always chosen to be loyal to hockey! However, not many families can afford to buy a professional hockey stick, and hence they start with a wooden stick to continue playing the game. Sushma was no exception.

She hails from Karwajor village in the Kendu Toli of the district. Her father is a farmer, and her mother is a housewife. While she enjoyed playing the game as a child, her sporting talent was spotted only when she entered school. Her principal encouraged her, and the first thing he asked her to buy was a professional hockey stick! She agreed and thus began her tryst with hockey, which continues to this day.

She represented her school hockey team, and a consistently good performance resulted in her selection at the Hockey Academy in 2012. She is a part of the Jharkhand state team, and her routine involves rigorous touring across the country for hockey tournaments. However, like her teammates, she also came across a problem which turned out to be a roadblock for her growth and progress in the game.

"Sir, angreji nahi bol paate the hum (we could not speak in English)", she recalls with a smile. The girls also could not understand what others spoke in English. As a consequence, they faced a lot of problems while playing in non-Hindi speaking states, that is the states in the south and the north-east.

"The referees spoke in English, and it was difficult to communicate with them. Sometimes, players from the opposite team deliberately spoke in English so that we could not understand the game plan. We also could not talk to the referee if a decision was unfair to us", she continues listing the problems. The Hockey academy approached Pratham for assistance, and in 2016, the English program was started which continues to this day.

Sushma now feels the positive change in her as she can now understand and communicate in English. "I can now present myself better, and my confidence levels have increased", she confesses. "I also help my teammates if they do not know anything about the language. But more important is that I speak to others by maintaining proper eye contact", she beams.

We then ask Sushma if she finds any difference in the way of learning compared to what she learned in school. "In school, we were asked to read English, but hardly understood the meaning. We also could not participate in class, as the teacher interacted only with students who sat on the front benches", she says. "However, here we learn in groups and hence, learn from each other."

"We travel by train, and the English language has helped us read the names of the railway stations in places where they are not written in Hindi", she continues to list the benefits of knowing the language.

As we leave, we ask her with whom she would like to speak in English. "Vandana Kataria is my idol, and I want to speak with her in English. I want to discuss the game and get some tips on how to play and improve my game. I am confident that I will do it", she says with a smile and bids us goodbye.