A lesser known Story of Mirabai Chanu our SUPERBleader

Such stories should be in the NCERT (School) syllabus.

When President ate a poor Indian girl's LEFTOVER RICE.

A lesser known story of Mirabai Chanu our SUPERBleader

She was ten years old, born in a low-income family in Nongpok Kakching, 200 km from Imphal. Mirabai Chanu, the youngest of six siblings, used to go with her four-year-elder brother, Saikhom Santomba Meitei, to collect firewood on a nearby hill.

Her brother could not lift the bundle one day, but Meera quickly picked it up and brought it home about 2 km away.

The same evening, Mirabai Chanu went to the neighboring house to watch TV, and there was talk of her bringing large and heavy bundles from the forest - Everyone appreciated her, and Mirabai was ecstatic
She loved the appreciation, recognition, and enjoyed attention

Her mother said, "Daughter if we had a bullock cart today, you would not have to carry the bundle."
"How much does a bullock cart cost, mother?" Mirabai asked.
"So much money that we will never see in life." her dejected mother replied.
Mirabai questioned, "But can't this money be earned? Will there be any way to make money to buy bullock carts?."
One of the villagers stood up and said, "Mirabai - You are capable of lifting heavy weights when compared with boys. If you start lifting heavy weights and win gold medals in the game, you can sell that medal and buy a bullock cart for the family."

"It's a good idea. I will win gold and sell it to buy a bullock cart." She was confident.

She started learning about the sport of weight lifting, but there was no weightlifting center in her village, so she decided to travel 60 km daily by train.

Her training began at Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal.

One day her train was late. It was now nighttime. She had no place in the city; no one knew her. She thought she would take shelter in a temple and practice tomorrow and then return to her village the next day in the evening.

She saw an unfinished building, "Arya Samaj Mandir" (a temple). She went in and met the priest (Baba) and sought refuge in the night.

"Daughter, I can't shelter you; this is a temple. We have only one room with a roof/ ceiling in which I sleep. In the other room, the top has fallen - it is not fit for you to rest.
The bricks, rods, ingots, and other building materials for the repair have arrived, but the work is still pending.

"Where shall I go at night, Baba?" said Mirabai, "Allow me to stay in the room without a terrace - please HELP me"

"It's good, as you wish," said Baba.

She slept on the soil in that room; the floor in the room was not even. During the night, it started drizzling and soon it was pouring.

Mirabai had no option - She got to work.
There were iron angles on the walls, but the ingots were below. Carpenters also made a Half-finished frame. She picked up the stone ingots from below and placed them at the top angle, and then in a short time, keeping dozens of bars at the hooks on the walls of the room, she constructed the room.

It rained heavily that night, now with an intact ceiling, she slept like a baby.

The next day, when Baba came to know in the morning that Mirabai had put the room's ceiling, he was surprised and gave her permanent shelter in the temple so that she could prepare for the game by staying there because from there Khuman Lampak Sports Complex was near.
(This was now a home away from home)

Baba prepared and fed rice for her, and Mirabai had made the rooms decorative by covering them with cow dung and yellow soil.

When she got time, Baba would hand her a book, which she would read and recite, and that book instilled in her faith in religion and patriotism.

After this, Mirabai Chanu became the under-15 champion at 11 and won the junior champion title at 17.

Buying iron bars (for weight lifting) for practice was hard for her family. Meerabai, who was mentally disturbed, told this problem to Baba, then Baba said, "Don't worry, daughter, if you come by evening, you will get the bar ready." When she came till evening, Baba made a bamboo bar and got it ready to help her practice.

Baba introduced her role model Kunjurani (Ex-Olympian). In those days, the female weightlifter of Manipur Kunjurani Devi was the star and performed well in the Athens Olympics. After this, Mirabai accepted Kunjurani as her role model, and Kunjurani took the initiative to help her in every way possible at Baba's request.

Inspired by Kunjurani, Meera had a dreamt of becoming a world champion. Meera broke her 12-year-old national record of the same idol in 2016 by lifting 192 kg.

Now back to the main story - Mirabai had the opportunity to participate in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championship, Anaheim, California, USA.
She had to attend a state dinner before the match. The Olympics Association President was the chief guest at the dinner.

The President noticed Mirabai being served rice in old utensils while everyone was enjoying the royal meal in the luxurious cutlery of the hotel.

The President asked the hotel staff, "Why is this player served rice in old utensils? Is our country so poor that there are fewer utensils for a girl, or is she discriminated against? Is she an untouchable?"

"No, Your Excellency, it's not like that," he got the reply from the people serving the food, "Her name is Mirabai. Wherever she goes, she brings rice from her country India. Whenever abroad, she eats by boiling the rice of India herself.
Here too, she has brought this rice & her cutlery - she prepared by herself in her room.

"Why so?" the President enquired, looking at Mirabai.

"Your Majesty, even the gods, yearn to eat the food of my country, so I eat the food of my own country," Mirabai said confidently.

"Wow, you are very patriotic. I should visit India once and visit the village where you were born," the President said.

"Your Majesty, what is the need to go to my village for this?"

"Why?"

"My village is with me along with its blessings."

The President laughed at the words of that crazy girl, saying, "Go on, you have my attention."

Mirabai was carrying a handbag with her; she untied a bundle from it, then first applied it to her forehead, then turned to the President and said, "This is my holy village and great country."

"What is this?" The President said, looking at the bag, "Is that soil in it?"

"Yes, this is the holy soil of my village, in it, the blood of the patriots of my country is mixed, the blood of Sardar Bhagat Singh, Ramprasad Bismil, Chandrashekhar Azad, so it is not soil, it is my whole India.''

"From which university did you get such education, Chanu?"

"Your Majesty, such education is not given in any university; such blessings are received at the feet of the Guru. I have received this education from my Baba, who performs Havana in AryaSamaj Temple, I read with him Satyarth Prakash.
Baba and Satyarth Prakash inspired me to such patriotism.

"Satyarth Prakash?"
"Yes, the book Satyarth Prakash," Chanu took out Satyarth Prakash's copy from her handbag and handed it to the President, "You please keep it; I will take more from my Guru Baba."

"Tomorrow, you will win the gold medal," the President blessed Mirabai.
"I have read that your Lord Hanumanji lifted the mountain on his hands, but tomorrow even if Hanumanji comes against you, you will still win... your God too will be defeated tomorrow in front of you., Bless you dear Mirabai

The President gave that book to his assistant officer and then ordered, "Send this book for research to see what is in it; after reading this book a girl is sparked by patriotism that she brought her own rice and soil to our biggest hotel."

Chanu had eaten all her rice; there was a single grain left in it, (when no one was looking). The President picked up that grain of rice from her plate and put it in his mouth, and walked on.

President said to his vice, "Surely, this simple girl will win tomorrow's gold medal; she eats the food of her Devbhoomi."

And the next day, Mirabai won the gold medal, but no one was surprised at this, except the people of India.

After this, Chanu lifted the weight of 196 kg, of which 86 kg was in snatch and 110 kg in clean and jerk, giving India its first gold medal of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Along with this, she won the Commonwealth Games in the 48 kg category.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced a cash amount of ?15 lakh for winning gold with a world record in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

In 2018, she was honored with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India.
On receiving this award, Mirabai first bought a bullock cart for her house and gave one lakh rupees to her as Baba as Guru Dakshina (offerings to the Guru)

The first instance teaches us the value of hard work and child personality development; If Chanu were just held indoors and not sent out for work but stay in and do domestic chores, we would have surely missed her exceptional talent.

The second instance is when the small Chanu understood the value of money and its power, which made her personality develop in the right direction from an early age.

The third instance where she stayed with the Guruji despite her own home and her dedication towards her dream, which made her stay in the temple near her center, shows the essential life skill for adulting children to remain dedicated and goal-oriented.

The fourth instance teaches us the value of a role model in one's life and how one can overcome the mistakes one made by watching them. A role model also helps one to learn many life management skills.

The fifth instance shows the power of patriotism and self-absorption. The way Chanu carried and ate her country's rice demonstrated how much proud she is of her country.

The last and extraordinary instance is when Chanu won and decided to distribute the money to the Guru and buy a bullock cart for her family while staying humble and rooted in her values, showing the most vital life and survival skill.

WE ARE PROUD OF YOU, CHANU SAIKHOM MIRABAI You are a SUPERBleader

Anjali for SUPERBHUMANS Leadership Academy