Doing her best

77-year-old Snehlata Gulia Hooda won four gold medals at the 40th National Masters Athletics Championships held in Kozhikode recently. The Delhi-based athlete talks about her earlier visits to Kerala as a student athlete as well as the classes that she conducts for poor children

Photo by Manu Mavelil

By Shevlin Sebastian 

At the Calicut Medical College Stadium recently, there is a sparse crowd even though the 40th National Masters Athletics Championships is taking place. Inside a white circle stands 77-year-old Snehlata Gulia Hooda. She is wearing a blue T-shirt with the number 7507 in striking red against a white background, along with white slacks and shoes. On her head, there is a white cap. To shield herself from the heat, Snehlata is wearing sunglasses. 

She juggles the shot put in her hand. Then when she gets the go-ahead, she steps forward and throws the put in a smooth action. Unlike most shot putters, she does not place the put under her chin or do a half-turn, to gain more momentum. But she wins the gold easily. 

In the end, Snehlata also wins golds in the javelin, discus and the 400m. Six months ago, she underwent an angioplasty. “The cardiologist did not tell me whether it was alright to restart my athletic career,” she says. “But I decided to go ahead.” 

So, she came to Kozhikode. And this is not the first time she is coming to Kerala. She remembers coming to Thiruvananthapuram as a student of Class 8 to take part in a state kho-kho competition as the captain of the Punjab team. “I still remember the roof of the small stadium was made of thatched coconut leaves,” she says. 

Of course, she likes Kerala a lot. “I like the cleanliness,” she says. “The people are  well-mannered. Nature is all around. But nowadays it has become so hot that I am unable to bear it. Unlike Delhi, where I stay, Kerala has no winter.” 

But there is a perpetual summer in Snehlata’s athletics career. Wherever she participates in India, she wins medals. She has also taken part in international competitions in Auckland and Jakarta. “In Jakarta, I won three golds and a silver,” says Snehlatha.  

Snehalatha worked for 40 years as a Trained Graduate Teacher of the Delhi state government. When she retired in August 2003, she decided to help the downtrodden. So, she started a school called Gaurav Niketan for the children of domestic workers and daily-wage earners on a footpath in Gurugram.

“I have 150 students,” she says. “Earlier, there were 300 students, but because of demonetisation all these children and their parents have gone back to the villages because there is no work available.” Incidentally, the children call her Gaurav Ki Maa. 

The students range in age from four to 15 years. In winter, the classes are from 9.30 to 2.30 pm, while in summer, the time is from 8 am to 1 p.m. “The parents realised I am sincere because even when it rained I carried on teaching,” she says. 

This feisty woman is a mother of seven children: five daughters and two sons. Tragically, one son died in a car accident, when he was only 28 years old. Her husband also passed away a few years ago because of a brain haemorrhage. 

“There is sadness in life but I get fulfilment in helping the poor,” she says. “And I am spending my retirement years in the best possible way.” 

(The New Indian Express, Kochi and Thiruvanthapuram)