There's more to iconic sports personalities than their on-field expertise. rugby player and actor rahul bose, who is organising a charity auction, tells MiD DAY of his 'Give and no take' experience

Rahul Bose touched by sports personalities' generosity

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Rahul Bose touched by sports personalities' generosity

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There's more to iconic sports personalities than their on-field expertise. Rugby player and actor Rahul Bose, who is organising a charity auction, tells MiD DAY of his 'Give and no take' experience

Actor Rahul Bose knows what it's like to stand on the podium with the national anthem playing in the background. He is aware of the emotion that a sportsperson goes through while representing his country. He is familiar with the ups and downs that an athlete goes through - the blood, sweat and tears, the euphoria of winning, and heartbreak of losing.

Hence, he can appreciate it better when a Sachin Tendulkar or V Anand is willing to contribute a prized possession.

Versatile
Bose is a versatile actor, social activist, screenwriter, director and former India rugby player. His NGO, The Foundation is organising a sports auction called Equation on October 29. It will feature invaluable pieces of sports memorabilia from 25 eminent sports personalities. These items were an integral part of the great moments in their career.

Proceeds of the auction will go towards the corpus of the Foundation, an NGO dedicated to creating a world without discrimination.

"I am so blessed because none of the sportspersons refused to donate when I approached them. The ball was set rolling by Anand and Tendulkar ufffd they were the first two who I approached.

"Anand set the bar by willing to donate the world championship gold medal that he won in Germany in 2008," Bose told MiD DAY yesterday. "The bat that Tendulkar is handing out is unique because there's no other bat up for auction anywhere in the world with such significance. It is the bat he used to score his fourth highest one-day score ufffd the 163 he made against New Zealand last year.

"Once these two icons stepped up with amazing stuff, everybody else understood the importance of the auction. Immediately, Abhinav Bindra, India's only Olympic gold medallist was ready to give us the rifle he used to win the World Championship in 2006.

Great field
Bose acknowledged that there's more to a sportsperson than what happens on the field. "They are sportspersons with big hearts. It would have been difficult to gather stuff from my industry (cinema) but these guys were so generous.

"In this age of sensation-seeking people and events, an evening enshrining the finest moments of Indian sport and the highest values its champions display brings back a little bit of quality and sanity into our lives.

"I met Diego Forlan for a Mahuaa TV event, which is where we struck a conversation and he gifted Mahuaa TV his match-winning ball from the 2010 World Cup. I was thrilled to bits," he stressed.

About making this an annual affair, Bose said, "we will do it again next year. I want to try and involve more soccer memorabilia. My connectivity to the soccer world is limited. I am getting Didier Drogba's shirt, trying to get some Formula One merchandise, and also will contact India's new world champions ufffd the likes of Sushil Kumar and the boxers. I'm hoping this year's event will encourage more sportspersons to come forward and make donations," Bose hoped.

'Just one rupee'
When asked how much money he was hoping to raise, Bose said: "I will be happy if I can make just one rupee. My favourite piece is Ajitpal Singh's hockey stick ufffd which he exchanged with Islahuddin (Pakistan's captain) in the 1975 World Cup final. However, Singh's stick may not fetch as much as some of the other pieces," he said.u00a0
Bose said representing India in rugby for 10 years 'had everything to do' with the initiative. "My heart is that of half an actor and half a sportsperson. The history of Indian sports is extremely beautiful - and this is an opportunity for us to revel in its glory."