● To be conducted across southern states and in 1300 villages in 13 districts of Karnataka, Isha Gramotsava aims to rejuvenate the spirit of rural India.
● Not open for professionals, Isha Gramotsava encourages rural people across communities, who otherwise don’t get a chance to play sports everyday, to come together, participate and enjoy the zest of rural life.
With an aim to rejuvenate the spirit of rural India and foster a sense of community, tradition, and healthy competition, Isha Outreach, the social development arm of Isha Foundation, will organise Isha Gramotsava, from August till September 23rd. Isha Gramtosava is India’s biggest sporting event and will be conducted across the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Pondicherry. The grand finale will be played in front of 112-feet Adiyogi at Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore.
In Karnataka, the cluster level matches begin from August 12th with teams advancing further to play Division level match on September 3rd. More than 3200 villages in 13 districts of Karnataka including Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru rural, Kolar, Tumkur, Shivamogga and others are gearing up to host the event. Registration to participate in the event is free.
Tournament Schedule:
Cluster level matches – On August 12 & 13th in Chikkaballapura, Vijayapura, Kolara, Vijayanagara, Shivamogga, Mysuru, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi
On August 19th & 20th in Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Kodagu, Chamarajanagara
On August 26th & 27th in Chikkamagaluru.
Division level matches – On September 3rd in Chikkaballapura and Mysuru
Grand Finale on September 23rd in Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore.
Launched in 2004 by Sadhguru, Founder- Isha Foundation, this year’s edition of Gramtosava will feature Volleyball for Men, Throwball for Women, and rural games with Tamil Nadu additionally featuring Kabaddi for Men & Women. More than 65,000 players are expected to participate in Gramotsava, with the total prize money crossing Rs 56 lakh this time. The winners in Volleyball will receive 5 lakh rupees while teams winning Kabbadi, and Throwball will receive Rs 2 lakh each.
Speaking about Gramotsava, Sadhguru says, “Of the many dimensions of activities that Isha has undertaken, Isha Gramotsava stands out as a major movement to revitalise rural India through sports. Discrimination of caste, creed, and gender has been broken through this movement. Many youth have overcome their addictions. Isha Gramotsava as an event has grown quite phenomenally in its size. We want to take this movement of revitalizing and transforming rural India through sport to greater heights. I would like to request all of you to participate in whatever way you can to make Gramotsava reach many more people.”
The unique aspect of Isha Gramotsava is that all players in the team are from the same village. This is not a tournament for professional players but is a platform which encourages everyone to play. From encouraging everyone to take up some form of a game to bringing back the fun of rural games and reviving dying traditional art forms, the whole initiative is carefully crafted so that the entire village comes together as a celebration and brings back the zest of rural life.
The past editions of Isha Gramotsava have witnessed 8,412 teams, comprising 1,00,167 players participating in Isha Gramotsava. Isha Outreach has been recognized as National Sports Promotion Organization ( NSPO ) by the Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs. In the year 2018, Isha Outreach received the “Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar” award from the Hon’ble President of India for Sports Development.
For more information dial: 83000 30999
To register for the event, please visit: https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/events/annual-events/gramotsavam
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