Women Boxers In India: With This Ring
<cite>With This Ring</cite> is an independent documentary film by Ameesha Joshi and Anna Sarkissian. Since 2006, they’ve been tracking the Indian Women’s National Boxing Team, who are some of the best boxers in the world.
Archive of December, 2008
Written by
anna
December 28, 2008
One of our last days in China with the boxing team.
In the wee hours of Dec. 21, 2008, we wrapped up our shoot. Probably. It’s hard to say since we haven’t viewed our footage or started editing. We have over 100 hours of video to plow through. Gulp. That will be a nice way to start off 2009.
After three days in Mumbai shooting a promo for MTV India, Mary Kom returned to Manipur on Dec. 20, our last full day there. We hurried over to her home but we lost the light too quickly and were unable to shoot much of anything. We were stressed. We had come all this way to film her and we had run out of time. Our flight was departing at 9 a.m. the next day.
Mary and her husband Onler understood our predicament, so they invited us over at 5 a.m. the following morning to film what we could. In the end, we captured some beautiful moments of their little family eating breakfast and just hanging out. We did a rushed interview with Mary in Manipuri, with Onler translating for us. They were really accommodating. They even fed us a hearty breakfast in record time and whisked us off to the airport with minutes to spare. Then, our plane was delayed three hours. Bad luck. We had to distract ourselves in the waiting hall with a TV special featuring actor Jeremy Piven sipping chai and waxing philosophical as he traveled around India. (After spending time here, Ameesha and I have developed a somewhat cynical attitude towards backpackers who come to India and who sign their emails with “Namaste” and the like. Sorry, no offense backpackers.)
I must say the trip wasn’t the same without our dear Emily Gan who braved hell and high water in India with us over the summer. Together we made it through a lot of sticky situations. There aren’t many people in the world who could take the bugs, rain, and extreme conditions like she did. Emily was not just our sound recordist, she’s a good friend. Recently she has become a frequent and enthusiastic contributor to the comments section of this very blog. Emily, your incredible dedication and hard work did not go unnoticed. You’ll definitely get a free (signed) copy of the DVD when it’s finished. Maybe two. !
Now that all is said and done, we’re not entirely sure that we got what we came for, but we are nonetheless satisfied. We got up close and personal with our main characters and were able to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short amount of time. We should definitely count our blessings. We didn’t really get sick (other than Emily’s untimely brush with Dengue Fever). Our camera still functions (more or less). Our loyal Bloomingdales tote bag (aka Bloomies) which has carried all of our equipment since 2006 is still alive and kicking (what a workhorse!). In short, I feel very lucky to have had this experience and to have worked with Ameesha, Emily, and lots of helpers and friends along the way. But as much as I love India, I’m also happy to go home and recharge my batteries (Ameesha, that’s a pun for you).
What’s next? Well, logging begins. In the new year, we going to start reviewing our material and planning our next move. Oh and before I forget, the editors of the Limca Book of Records are expressing interest in our project again. We’re still a little confused… But stay tuned.
Comments(3)
Category : Blogroll
Written by
anna
December 27, 2008
Remember that little Bollywood movie we were “in” as extras when we arrived in Mumbai last June? Well Karzzz made it to the big screen in October 2008. And though we did a careful frame by frame analysis, neither one of us is featured in the actual film (but the girl standing on Emily’s left in the photo above is shown several times). We didn’t feel too badly. As one irate reviewer on IMDB put it: “Bad acting, some terrible dialogue, and it drags for close to THREE HOURS…this film should be an embarrassment to anyone and everyone involved with it.”
Oops.
Here’s the music video on YouTube. It’s pretty catchy. It’s now an anthem in the Sarkissian household.
Leave a comment
Category : Blogroll
Written by
anna
December 19, 2008
Click to enlarge
Comment (1)
Category : Uncategorized
Written by
anna
December 18, 2008
We’re back from a relaxing day in the countryside with boxer Sarita Devi. She lives with her family in Thoubal District, which is 30 minutes outside of Imphal, the capital of Manipur. Sarita seems faster than the speed of light; her movements are quick and graceful. It’s hard not to be drawn to her during training sessions. As we mentioned before, she lets out a shrill scream with every punch and every jab. She’s fierce and outspoken. We were really happy to have the chance to get to know her one-on-one today, after observing her since 2006.
In the past, it was tough for us to communicate with Sarita because of the language barrier. We don’t have the budget to hire a translator and her native tongue is Manipuri (and she speaks Hindi with the rest of the team). So for the longest time, we weren’t able to find common ground with her.
Things changed this time thanks to Esther Shimray, a very sweet Manipuri woman. Esther graciously helped us by volunteering as a translator. To say that Manipuri people are big-hearted is an understatement. They have gone out of their way to help us innumerable times. Their kindness and generosity is astounding. We feel deeply indebted to the people of this region. And it’s so hard to believe that such gentle people live in a state which is so rife with corruption and bloodshed.
Today Sarita told us about her job as a police inspector, her childhood, and the difficulties of being a boxer in India. We met her huge extended family, who live together under one roof. At 27 years old, Sarita is one of the oldest boxers on the team. She has been on the scene since 2001 when she won her first medal at the Asian Championships. In 2006, she won gold at the world championships. She encountered some problems and didn’t perform as well as she would have hoped in China last month; she won a bronze. I’m not going to reveal all the juicy tidbits here. You’ll have to stay tuned for the documentary, which we hope to start editing in the new year.
In the next few days, we’ll be wrapping things up in Manipur. When Mary Kom comes back from Mumbai, we’ll be spending the day with her family. On Dec. 21 we are flying back to Delhi and closing up shop on the filming of this documentary. Then hopefully we will be able to say, “That’s a wrap!”
<
Comment (1)
Category : Uncategorized
Written by
anna
December 16, 2008
(It’s Ameesha again, writing through Anna’s account)
We returned to Delhi prepared to face the same horrible bureacratic nightmare to get our Protected Area Permit for Imphal, Manipur as we did in December 2006. We were hoping to spend a week there visiting Mary Kom and Sarita Devi to finish up our film. We checked with them to make sure that she would be in Manipur when we wanted to visit from Dec. 16 to 21. Mary assured us it was no problem and was happy to receive us. All systems go.
Manipur is a restricted area because of intense conflict between dozens of insurgent groups fighting for autonomy and land. Foreigners are often kidnapped and held for ransom. So tourists need to apply for a special permit to visit. With the contacts we made at the Manipuri Embassy during our previous trip, the visa process this time around was a piece of cake. We could not believe we were able to go directly to the man in charge of issuing these permits at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi. He granted us permission the next day. The head honcho also assured me that absolutely no payment will be required to enter. It all seemed too good to be true, and unfortunately it was.
As we waited at the airport to board the plane for Imphal, we got an SMS message on our cell that Mary was required to be in Mumbai from the afternoon of the 17th to the evening of the 19th because she was shortlisted as the next possible Pepsi Youth Icon in India. This is a huge opportunity to gain media attention and we clearly understood this is something she could not miss, but the timing could not be worse.
This was the second time this happened, during our trip in 2006 we found out Mary had to be called away for another media event during most of the time we were visiting. Again we understood because it was again out of her control, but we could not believe that we got unlucky again.
Mary felt terrible about this turn of events and assured us that we can film her from dawn to dusk on Dec. 20, our last day in Manipur.
Well, things got worse. Upon arrival at the Imphal airport, the authorities seized our passports and we were told our special visa was no good. They also explained we need to pay a fee of 3000 rupees. So we learned the hard way the “man in charge” at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi was just a little bit wrong about everything.
Lucky for us Mary’s husband Onler came to our rescue. He picked us up at the airport and accompanied us to the Government of Manipur’s office, where we waited for the rest of the day. Finally we were granted our special permission thanks to Onler’s perseverance. Muchas gracias Onler.
Even though we only have one day with Mary, we believe we can get what we need to finish this film and are all geared up to get as much footage as we can. Hopefully we can spend some extra time with Sarita, we haven’t really had a chance to talk to her much but we have a good feeling that she could be an interesting character in our documentary. We’ll let you know how it goes in the next few days…
Leave a comment
Category : Uncategorized
Written by
anna
December 9, 2008
(Ameesha here, hijacking Anna’s account because mine is having technical difficulties…)
When she’s not training hard at the boxing camp, bronze medallist Chhoto Loura (pronounced Chottu) works in Ambala, Haryana for the government. The Indian Railway allots a certain percentage of jobs to successful athletes and Chhoto, being the three time national champion, was awarded a job as a clerk since 2006.
We called Chhoto up on a Friday and informed her there was a train leaving for Ambala in a couple hours and asked if we could we come and visit her. “No problem, most welcome,” was her response, so off we went.
Chhoto lives alone in a cement bungalow with two rooms and a small kitchen. She was recently robbed of everything she owns and had to borrow two beds from a neighbour for us to stay with her. She also went to the local Indian version of Walmart called Big Bazaar and stocked up her cupboard (since the thieves took her fridge) with Indian sweets and lychee juice for us. She went out of her way to make us feel welcome.
We accompanied Chhoto to work and met her coworkers. They had nothing but praise for Chhoto. People kept referring as a “very sweet girl.” She does little actual work, and laughed about it as she sat at her desk, clicking her pen. She took out a folder at one point and started writing as Anna filmed her. We asked if she was just working for the camera, she smiled. A full workday is just two or three hours long, and she leaves by noon. When she retires from boxing in a few years, it is expected that she will continue working like a regular employee.
On our last evening we met a family in her neighbourhood that insisted that we accompany them to a Punjabi wedding. It didn’t matter that we were dressed like lumberjacks. Anna and I certainly stuck out in amonst the women there who were wearing the latest Indian fashions. Nevertheless we were warmly received by everyone, bopped to bangra and ate an insane amount of seriously tasty food. We also had to pose for photos with the bride and groom looking like we had just emerged from the bush. They didn’t seem fazed by it at all.
Our three-night stay with Chhoto gave us more insight into this boxer we have always found somewhat of a mystery. She prefers to live alone and even at camp is often seen by herself sitting away from the others. Both of her parents have passed away and doesn’t like to speak about it any further. The coaches describe her as incredibly strong mentally and it’s her ability to strategize in the ring that give her the advantage. Our time with Chhoto was by far one of the best memories we will have of our production.
Here are some images from our time in Ambala. We zipped down to Hisar, where the main training centre is, for a day afterwards. We stayed in the home of Head Coach Anoop Kumar, who is always a great host.
Chotto pushing papers instead of throwing punches for a change. She admitted she doesn’t really enjoy the job, but its gives her independence and the ability to support herself, which she loves.
Anna filming Chhoto at her job with the Ambala Railways Office.
Anna, Chhoto and I piled into a cycle rickshaw during our day trip to Chandigarh to visit Mr. Bhatt, another coach. Chandigarh is union territory, the capitol city of both Punjab and Haryana. It’s a 45-minute bus ride from Ambala.
“There’s always room for one more” is a common motto in this highly populated country. We asked Chhoto if we could ride up top, but that’s only for men.
Mr. Bhatt one of the coaches for the women’s team has a super sunny personality and is always bursting with energy. We visited him for the day in Chandigarh and enjoyed a great lunch with his family.
Later in the week, we spent the better part of the day with boxer Preeti Beniwal in Hisar, talking about her aspirations. She is quite an anomaly on the team because of her incredibly supportive family. Her dad is a boxing coach and her siblings are also pursuing careers in sports. Preeti is in the process of completing her Masters in English Literature. She took us around town on her motorcycle. Preeti somehow had room for all three of us plus our camera and sound equipment. We got pulled over for being three on a bike, but she told the police she was a boxer on the national team and managed to talk her way out of it. (None of us had a helmet, by the way, but that’s besides the point.) We were surprised that the police gave her a problem, it’s not uncommon to see a family of five hanging off of a scooter in India.
Comment (1)
Category : Uncategorized
Written by
anna
December 5, 2008
Most people don’t know much about women’s boxing–yet. All throughout the 5th World Women’s Boxing Competition, the crowds were thin. There were certainly more athletes and coaches present than there were spectators. It also doesn’t attract a lot of media attention, which is surprising given that this is a world championship with over 40 countries represented and more than 200 athletes. At any given time, there were only three video crews in the hall, including us. One or two photographers were milling about. The press box was usually empty.
So it’s an interesting time to be making a film about the Indian women’s boxing team. There’s no denying that they are world class athletes competing in China. Mary Kom is a machine. Two-time world champion Katie Taylor from Ireland is a stunning athlete. The Chinese team, who won 11 medals, are collectively strong and disciplined.
Still, the media has not yet caught on. At the competition, we can more or less film wherever we want. We can sneak into their locker rooms, sit in the bleachers with the boxers, and stand ringside to film the fight. We’re part of the team. When we’re in Haryana, we stay in the head coach’s home with his family. Mary Kom has welcomed us to visit her for a week in Manipur. Preeti Beniwal’s family invited us over for lunch. (Although it was a long and bumpy road to get here; it took us over two years to develop these relationships).
There’s no denying that we want to promote these boxers. They deserve to be recognized for their accomplished and be celebrated nationally. But we can appreciate the fact that we have more access to them because there isn’t much competition on that front.
The following action shots from the competition are courtesy of the Amateur International Boxing Association, better known as AIBA.
Sarita Devi, from Manipur, was a contender for gold. She was one of four Indian boxers to be crowned world champion at the world championship in 2006. This time, she took home a bronze medal.
Usha, from Visakhapatnam, where we spent the summer with the team, repeated her 2006 performance and won silver again. She was disappointed about missing the top spot. Usha said she knew she had it in her to win.
Like in 2006, Chhoto Loura, from Haryana, was awarded a bronze medal. She narrowly missed her chance to fight in the finals, losing to a Russian boxer by one point.
Mary Kom falls to her knees after winning gold.
Mary talks to a Chinese radio journalist after her bout. Hopefully she’ll get some praise this time around.
A very unhappy silver medalist, Steluta Duta from Romania, stands with Mary and the other winners in the 46 kg category. Mary also beat her in the finals in 2006. Poor Steluta, she should just change weight categories. Mary isn’t going anywhere.
The stadium from above.
Bon voyage China, we’re heading back to India with the team…
Comment (1)
Category : Uncategorized
