National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, Ministry of Culture, Government of India and Avid Learning present Multipolis Mumbai: Sports and the City, a panel discussion that will examine the city's love affair with sports and its position as a preferred destination for showcasing and spectating some of the finest and most watched sports in India.

The description of the discussion is as below:

Track Athlete, Sports Trainer and Influencer Ayesha Billimoria, Co-Founder, Kathiwada Arts and Sports (KAS) and Founder, Sportsqvest Digvijay Kathiwada, Co-founder and Joint Managing Director, Procam International Pvt. Ltd. Vivek Singh, Sports/Features Writer-Editor Arun Janardhan and Chief Operations Officer, KheloMore Ujwal Deole will be in conversation with Radio Producer and Host Hrishikesh Kannan.

This panel will trace the city’s rich sporting history being a major sports hub which has given birth to generations of renowned sportspersons, traditionally being a hotbed of sporting talent, and which has also played host to many major sporting events. From hosting global and popular sporting events such as the Cricket World Cup or the annual Mumbai Marathon to being a centre for indigenous sports such as Kabbadi or Kho-Kho or Mallakhamb, Mumbai has always played an active role in the development of the sports ecosystem in India by providing necessary infrastructure such as stadiums and arenas, training facilities, required equipment, sports education and coaching programmes. Aspiring sportspeople from across the country have always traditionally considered Mumbai as their primary destination, where they can access and avail the city’s sporting infrastructure in order to develop their skills. How has the sporting culture evolved from the times of the British Era? Aside from Cricket, what are some of the most popular sports in Mumbai today in terms of participation and viewership? What are some lesser known and unique sports, such as Sailing, Powerboat Racing or Horse Racing, that are native to our city? Which sports in particular have played a defining role in shaping our city’s sporting culture? These speakers will also talk about the revaluation of Sports Memorabilia and collections as well as the burgeoning of SportsExpos and Pro-Leagues in the city in present times and their influences on Mumbai’s sporting culture.

The emergence of domestic tournaments such as the Pro-Kabaddi League and the Ultimate Kho-Kho League is a clear indication of a shift in focus regarding the development of sports in the city. While many or Mumbai’s youth are more involved and interested in global sports and international sporting tournaments, there is a sincere and consolidated effort to promote indigenous and local sports by providing them funding and infrastructure and widely distributing them through media and digital platforms, thereby increasing awareness and building audiences and viewership. How is Mumbai as a city leading this charge of encouraging and endorsing lesser-known Indian sports?

The panel will also touch upon the role of sports with respect to community development. Apart from its recreational value, sport has the potential to be a platform and catalyst for social change. How have sports helped uplift Mumbai’s impoverished and oppressed communities? How has it provided economic benefits and alternative career opportunities for many underprivileged individuals? How has it played a role in allowing marginalized communities to become a relevant and significant part of society and in a wider context, the social landscape of the city?

India has the youngest population in the world and it is the development of the youth which is critical for the overall well-being communities. Sport is a powerful tool in supporting the holistic development of youth, and providing them with well-structured and professionally-conducted programs fosters their growth as confident and competent learners. It is something that is close to young peoples’ hearts and through its inherent attributes of active participation, energy, empowerment and social inclusion it provides an ideal platform for working with youth and helping them recognize their power and potential.

Our speakers will also examine the role and importance of Sports Education and Sports Management, with respect to the development of talent and improvement of infrastructure within the context of Mumbai. In order to foster a vibrant and dynamic sports culture, it is critical to transform existing infrastructure in order to provide adequate spaces for sport, institutionalize and provide quality training facilities and competent coaches and faculty. How has our city fared within the fields of sports education and sports management?

Moving forward, these experts will also discuss the challenges faced and future trajectories with regards to Mumbai’s sports ecosystem and culture. How has the increasing role of technology and digital media affected the distribution and viewership of sport? How has the emergence of apps, games and sport fantasy leagues influenced the sporting culture of the city? Has the advent of newer technologies such as Virtual or Augmented Reality changed the definition of what we truly consider as sports?

This talk will be part of AVID’s Multipolis Mumbai Series that decodes the past while looking to the future and finding novel ways of engaging, interacting with and reenergizing the city that we love! The original nine-part series, which began in 2012, examined how Architecture, Music, Food, Theatre, Fashion, Environment, Literature, Innovation, and Film influenced and were influenced by the city. Our second iteration of this series, which began in 2017 attempts to renegotiate larger perspectives on the city, dig deeper and capture its essence and changing rhythms and nuances. In this second round we seek to plumb new depths and unearth more fascinating nuggets about our ever-surprising Mumbai! On our journey, we have explored how entities like businesses and brands, architects and historians, designers and illustrators, artists and poets, women writers and female theatre stalwarts have influenced our city. We have also explored how the Freedom Struggle, art technology and gaming, wildlife activism, philanthropy and maritime culture, alternative museums and urban subcultures have all played a role in enriching Mumbai’s cultural fabric. We've also held workshops that looked more closely at iconic Mumbai architecture (namely Art Deco, Indo-Saracenic and Victorian Gothic).

Join us for a captivating panel discussion that will analyse and celebrate Mumbai’s colourful sporting culture and history!

WHERE: The National Gallery of Modern Art, Sir Cowasji Jahangir Public Hall, M. G. Road, Fort, Mumbai, 400032

WHEN: Wednesday, 25th September 2019 | 6:00 PM – 6:30 PM – Registrations | 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM – Discussion

About the Speakers

Ayesha Billimoria is a 3-time national champion in the 200mtrs from the year 2001 to 2003. She has represented the state of Maharashtra for 17 consecutive years and has held several national and state titles along with being the Fastest Girl in India in her teens. She currently works as an athletics coach and movement specialist in Mumbai and believes that all training is a process of education, awareness and experience. With a 4-year training stint in Sydney, Australia from the year 2010 to 2014, her former coach Gavin Fernandes who is a Olympic Gold medallist in Boxing (physiotherapist) taught Ayesha that Sports and Life always go hand in hand. Her own experience of emerging as a leader and not a follower makes her the Fitgirl India, that she is known as today, across the nation. In 2016 she started her own social enterprise by the name of Project Fitgirl, which aims at educating young children at Government school level and rural India. This project works in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh where the highest number of adolescent girls are uneducated (UP). A TEDx speaker, a key note speaker at the World Zoroastrian Congress and holding a strong voice for gender equality & Environment has turned her into a motivational speaker reminding society that co existence is the way to lead a peaceful and happy life , Ayesha now carries the flag of leading young boys and girls of India to be independent, confident and leaders in their respective fields. After training and gaining knowledge under world class coaches in London, Africa, Germany and Australia. The book "Run' is a part of Ayesha's lifestyle and passion which she pursued for 22 long years. A battle to the Olympic berth at the age of 32 and a quest to make people across the country more aware about the gift of running and how it can be life changing.

Digvijay Singh Kathiwada is co-founder of Sportsqvest.com, an innovative sportswear brand that strives for net zero-waste manufacturing to create a positive environmental impact in business and sport. In 2015 he founded Kathiwada Arts & Sports, a charitable sports memorabilia auction house to promote, preserve and highlight the rich sporting legacy of our country.

Vivek Singh is Jt. MD at Procam International Pvt Limited In existence since 1988, Procam International is a pioneer in the field of sports management. Procam has carved out a niche for itself as a company that does the impossible and does it well. The Tata Mumbai Marathon (in the top 10 Marathons of the world), the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, the Tata Consultancy Services World 10K Bangalore and the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K Run are some of the largest running events in the world today. In addition to motivating thousands in India, to take on a healthier and fitter lifestyle, the Marathons have raised millions of Dollars for different charitable causes. They have underscored the fact that private commercial initiative and social interests are complementary. In March 2017, Procam broke new ground with an unparalleled initiative – The NEXA P1 Powerboat Grand Prix of the Seas. Conducted in Mumbai at the Marine Drive bay – the event had the world’s best drivers and navigators racing P1 Panther boats inside a specially constructed racecourse on water. This heralded a new sporting paradigm in India and provided the world with a new racing format. Procam is also involved in sports consultancy, Live Television production and player endorsement.A graduate in economics from Bombay University, his business sense, eye for detail and hands on approach make him a respected leader of the sports industry.

Arun Janardhan has spent over two decades working as a writer-editor for newspapers, the television and the digital media, mostly in Mumbai. During this time, he has worked in The Asian Age (Delhi), The Indian Express, Mid Day Multimedia, New Delhi Television (NDTV), Mint (Hindustan Times) and starsports.com/hotstar (Star India). He started his career as a sports reporter before moving on to covering the business of sport, features and lifestyle and jointly editing Mint’s online weekend magazine Mint on Sunday. He is currently an independent content consultant and freelance contributor to Mint, GQ India, Forbes, Firstpost and Nation of Sport among others. As a sports writer, he actively reported on tennis, badminton besides occasionally writing about football, hockey and cricket and remains eternally optimistic about India’s growing power as a sporting nation.

Ujwal Deole, COO, KheloMore Sports Pvt. Ltd., is a mixed bag of tricks. He has a Bachelors and a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. His corporate stint includes half a decade in the US where he designed and sold seed research machinery for Monsanto followed by 6 yrs of Corporate Strategy and Management Consulting with L&T Defense and KPMG Infrastructure Advisory. However, as a weekend tennis player, his real calling was the sports industry and he followed his heart to be the founding member of KheloMore Sports, to setup marketplace for sports participation in India. Khelomore.com today houses more than 3000 entities ranging across coaches, academies, turfs, sports venues, clubs, gymkhanas, tournaments and running events, all bookable through a seamless booking process. Ujwal, very proudly, manages the entire operations and business strategy of KheloMore Sports.

Hrishikesh Kannan popularly known as Hrishi K is producer & presenter on the nations biggest breakfast radio show on 94.3 RadioOne & Podcast creator & anchor on the online platforms ‘moneycontrol.com’ & ‘Book My Show Jukebox’. A Multiple RAPA & PROMAX award winning radio host & voice artiste, Hrishikay has just been felicitated with the “Afternoon Newsmakers Achievers Award” in the category ‘Best Radio Personality’ & an “EEMAX Global Award 2019” for ‘Best Awards Ceremony Emcee / Compere’.

About Partners

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) Mumbai, Ministry of Culture, Government of India is a repository of the cultural ethos of the country and showcases the changing art forms through the passage of the last 160 years starting from about 1857 in the field of Visual and Plastic arts. The first NGMA was opened in New Delhi at the historic Jaipur House, in the presence of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and artists and art lovers on March 29, 1954. The National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai was opened to the public in 1996. It hosts various exhibitions and also has its own art collections comprising paintings, sculptures and graphics with a focus on Indian and International artists. It is located in the precinct of the former auditorium the Sir Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall and the Institute of Science. This architecturally marvellous building was designed and built by the famous British architect George Wittet which has been completely redesigned keeping only the facade edifice that was Public Hall. It has hosted eminent artists like, K.H. Ara, F. N. Souza, Gaitonde, S.H. Raza and M.F. Hussain and contemporary artists like, K.G. Subramanyam, Sudhir Patwardhan, Nalini Malini, Atul Dodiya and Sudarshan Shetty. The NGMA in Mumbai is run and administered as a subordinate office to the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, which has two branches one at Mumbai and the other at Bengaluru.

Avid Learning, a public programming platform and cultural arm of the Essar Group, has conducted over 1000 programs and connected with more than 125,000 individuals since its inception in 2009. Driven by the belief that Learning Never Stops, AVID’s multiple formats like Workshops, Panel Discussions, Gallery Walkthroughs, and Festival Platforms create a dynamic and interactive atmosphere that stimulates intellectual and creative growth across the fields of Culture & Heritage, Literature, Art and Innovation.