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| ROHINI DAS |
Rohini Das
Of any form is this young gun’s forte. But before getting into the details of Rohini’s achievements, it’s time to wish her a very happy birthday, for she turns 17 on Tuesday.
For our little lady is lawn tennis, though her multidisciplinary merit list runs long. She started playing at age 10 at Shyambazar Tennis Club under Sanjay Podder, before being taken up by Bengal Tennis Association last year, and also when she made it to the Bengal team. The girl who has played in four National Championships has been consistent through last year, coming in runner-up at the Inter School Tennis Tournament, the Saturday Club Floodlit Tennis Tournament and the AITA Talent Series Calcutta in 2003, and at the 2004 AITA Championship Series Doubles.
Saw ‘Ru’ take the leap into athletics when she was just five, with gymnastics at the Sports Authority of India. At seven, she started taking badminton lessons, and participated in an interstate competition. The humanities student in Class XI at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan represents her school in tennis, badminton and athletics at state-level meets. The school’s reigning table tennis champion was chosen ‘best sports girl’ for the year 2002-2003, and is the current games captain.
Aplenty, has Rohini. She graduated from Kalamandalam in 2000 after a seven-year course in Bharatanatyam. The gal who has also taken lessons in kathak has been on stage for both solo and group shows since she was five years old. That was when she started learning Rabindrasangeet, too. Now, she is a sixth-year student of Shrutinandan, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty’s school, and has solo performances to her credit.
In her arms. That’s how the animal lover likes to spend the little free time that she has. Except mink is not a fur, it’s what she calls her pet dog. The avid swimmer has also, on occasion, volunteered with numerous NGOs. She is hoping to pursue a degree in economics and the UPSC exams, following in Kiran Bedi’s footsteps.
