Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): An international game called Ultimate Frisbee or Ultimate has changed the lives of over 150 Pardhi and Gond children. It drew them to education and took them away from addiction and beggary. These children living in and around Bhopal were once ragpickers and addicts. Ultimate, which was invented by an American in 1960s, is different from other organised games and sports in more ways than one.
It is played by boys and girls together with no referee or umpire. Players call their own fouls. It promotes gender equality and inculcates a sense of fair play. All that is needed to play is a metallic disc and an open ground. Points are scored by passing the disc to a teammate in opposing team’s zone. Their team is named Flying Teetars.
The team’s captain Abhishek learned the game with help of YouTube videos after he was introduced to it by an activist associated with an NGO called Muskan. Then, he went to Delhi where he learned the nuances of the game for four months. On his return, he persuaded boys and girls of his basti to get together and form a team.
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The team played a Sectional Tournament in 2019 where it was in competition with teams from all over the country. And it won appreciation for excelling without the help of a coach and no access to a proper ground. In last five years, the team played tournaments in different places even as its members continued to study and persuade others to learn the game and play it.
Abhishek was approached by a team from Madras to play at an international tournament in Malaysia. But there was no money. Ultimately, crowd-funding helped him to fly to Malaysia in July this year. Of the 150 children who had quit beggary and rag picking after they began playing the games, 20 have cleared Class 12 and are studying at Azim Premji University. “I am happy that the children of our community who could not get out of the slums are playing and studying across the country,” Abhishek said.
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