Making room for squash in a sleepy village

In Kalote Mokashi, a squash academy founded by Ritwik Bhattacharya empowers local kids, transforming lives through sport and bridging urban-rural divides.

The blaze from the unforgiving afternoon sun bounces off the slick glass squash court, where a bunch of children are walking barefoot, their shoes in their hands. A low, thin wall sits between the modern court — the kind erected in a posh Mumbai club for an international tournament — and a row of concrete houses only recently upgraded from their kutcha status. A group of girls stands under the shade for a mid-day catch up.

Forty-six alumni from the academy are ranked nationally and eight flaunt a PSA ranking. START Academy (START Academy)

Bijali Darwada joins them.