Gambhir bats for education of girls

Visakhapatnam: Though he may be aggressive on the cricket field, when you sit down with him for a chat on social issues, Gautam Gambhir is calm and collected. The dashing southpaw is all ears as he patiently hears about ideas capable of bringing about social change and improving people’s quality of life.

Mr Gambhir has started a foundation to champion social causes, and the foundation has been working to educate children from economically backward sections of society in Delhi. He believes that society and the country have done a lot for him, and this is his chance to give back to them. 

Deccan Chronicle caught up with Gautam Gambhir on Friday, when he was in the city to participate in a charitable programme organised by RBL Bank at Sri Sathya Sai School in MVP Colony as part of their corporate social responsibility.

Mr Gambhir’s foundation is already serving people through its community kitchen. When asked about other issues that he would like to target, he said that he was passionate about the environment and the education of girls. “Educating a girl child is like educating the nation. I think we, as a society, should reach out to underprivileged girls and provide them with education and a good social sphere to grow up in,” he said, lauding the initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this direction.

“The thing I am most concerned about is environmental pollution and climate change. You can see what is happening in Delhi – the air quality is becoming worse, so much so that breathing has become difficult. This is an alarm for us to wake up and protect the environment, and through it, our existence,” he said.

When asked how he managed to take out time from his busy schedule to serve people he said, “The country has given me so much, that devoting time to these social issues, for the development of our nation, is my foremost priority in life.”