(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.
