India has won 2 Gold Medals in Olympics 2008!
She might not have boxed off someone in a ring or hit the bulls’ eye, but she sure has brought laurels to our country. I’m talking about Sunita Lamba, who remains ambiguous and waits for recognition. Sunita Lamba, sister of former cricketer Raman Lamba, is a fine art artist from West Delhi who won a gold medal for her sculpture at the Beijing Olympics. Her 24-inch bronze sculpture titled ‘Unity’ won the gold and is now displayed in the exhibition which will last for 40 days. After that the artwork will be shown in different cities of China and then showcased in various countries across the globe.
“The chairman of the International Olympic Committee inaugurated the exhibition on August 11 and on the very same day announced the gold medal for me. The medal will be given to me after 40-day exhibition gets over,” Lamba said. “I was also given an Olympic torch besides the certificate of winning the gold medal,” Lamba added. “Is ‘art’ a discipline which doesn’t hold any importance for the country? More than 20 days have passed since I won the medal but no one has contacted me yet,” Lamba, who is 40 plus, laments.
“I am not against any reward for any sportspersons but it pinches when the authorities completely ignore you. I belong to a sports family and I believe in sports. My aim is to move ahead in life,” said Lamba. “I have been making sculptures for the last 25 years and my work was selected from among 10,000 entries for the final 110. Before leaving for Beijing I tried to contact Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi and union Culture minister Ambika Soni to tell them about my participation, but didn’t get any response from them,” Lamba said. She had to make all arrangements to go to Beijing herself.
Even after winning a gold medal at the Olympics, she was not given any recognition. After waiting for a long time, she finally decided to contact the government herself and called Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit last week. Sheila Dikshit asked her to come to the felicitation function of Olympic bronze medal winner in wrestling Sushil Kumar at her residence Monday.
“But even here, the CM just introduced me to the media and that was it. I was not even given a bouquet of flowers. Everyone decorate their houses with costly art prices, but they are not ready to recognize it as a discipline. Boxer, Vijender singh’s father congratulated me and expressed his regret over people’s ignorance. He said that art is also a sport and I really felt nice talking to him ” Lamba said.
Her elder brother, Rajan Lamba, said, “The authorities only remember a few people and forget everyone else”. Just imagine how hurt Sunita and her family would be to have been ignored completely even after making it to the top. At one end the country is bloating up with pride for its three gold medalists, Abhinav Bindra, Vijender Kumar and Sushil Kumar and at the other end has totally shut its eyes to the glory which Sunita has brought. It’s high time we stop biasing our praises or else we might lose some great artists in making in the future.
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