Bangalore, India - He has been the face of Indian sports commentary over the last quarter of a century and has enjoyed a ringside view of the world of Indian sport. On July 10, Charu Sharma came calling to the International Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) Bangalore to interact with the students of the post graduate programme and share his experiences about the 'sporting' life. The event was a part of a series of seminars called 'SHINE A LIGHT Knowledge Series' that IIPM Bangalore is organizing to mark its 5th anniversary. Charu began on a cheerful note asking the students to outline what were the qualities needed to 'succeed' in life. They responded with 'positivity', 'integrity', dedication', 'fame', 'money' and then came his first insight into 'being successful'.

Charu said that by simply being positive and honest you can be successful and it is not measured by fame or money, which at best are by products. He then talked about the nascent sports management scenario in India explaining that in India the equation goes Sports = Cricket (unfortunately) and in other events its hard to leave a mark (case in point: the Chennai Open, an ATP event organized by the International Management Group survives today not because of sponsors but more because of political generosity). Sports is yet to boom in India was his conclusion after the audience failed to name an Indian medal winning boxer, Indian footballers or the 10m rifle champion! He the fielded questions, as he expertly has for his entire broadcasting career, with equanimity and patiently explained why the phenomenon of 'match fixing' is a little exaggarated considering that no match can exactly be 'fixed' and it was a few people acting wrongly that created the media term 'match fixing' used as an umbrella term for anything related. Generally, though,Charu was more enthusiastic about telling how life can tell us about sport and more importantly, vice versa. He asked about sporting spirit and found the perfect answer when someone said that 'taking winning and losing in the same spirit'.

He said that the philosophy of remaining positive and shutting down unwarranted negative influence was the key to satisfaction. So the life lesson from Charu Sharma on a lovely Thursday morning at IIPM Bangalore was - be positive and don't be afraid to fail. The only one who gets it right first time has a three letter name, and it begins with G.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT :

Ms. RONTY GHOSH
M/s. I C P A R
Bangalore, India
E-Mail : icpar.ronty@gmail.com