India's Tiwari brothers living their ice skating dreams despite numerous hurdles

NEW DELHI: "Mujhe Rajkumar bhaia ki tarah renowned Ice skater banna hai (I want to become a renowned figure skater like my elder brother Rajkumar)” Manjesh, Rajkumar’s younger brother told Timesofindia.com while packing his bags for Australia. He is going to Australia to practice for 2 tournaments – the Oceania International (in May in New Zealand) and Sofia Cup (in Bulgaria).Both brothers are bound by a common passion - figure skating, despite coming from a humble background.
After packing his bags, Manjesh starts putting beaded necklaces in a bag for his father who is in the newspaper delivery business and runs a shop in Delhi's Sadar Bazaar market. This is Manjesh’s day job – untangling the tangled beads at home and putting them in a box for his father and brother to sell at their street side stall in Sadar Bazaar.
The 12-year-old has been instructed by Rajkumar to not to go to the shop and concentrate on his practice.
"I have been asked by bhaia to not sit at the shop. He has asked me to concentrate on my practice. I just arrange bags (in which all the imitation jewellery is put) for my father and help him in taking a rickshaw with the goods. That’s all," Manjesh said.
"I have been practicing hard and now will be participating in two tournaments in New Zealand and Bulgaria. I want to give my best there," Manjesh said.

One of Manjesh's uncle's knows someone who lives in Australia. Manjesh's accommodation was arranged through him. The money for his travel expenses and training was raised by the family, through fundraising campaigns.
"I wanted to ice skate because of my elder brother, Rajkumar" Manjesh tells TimesofIndia.com
If you go to Paharganj's Multani Dhanda locality and ask for Rajkumar, the ice skater, people will help you reach his house. Despite is rather tough life, Rajkumar stayed in school and passed his class X exams in 2016.
Now, Manjesh is also a popular name in the locality, thanks to his first international medal in May earlier this year, when he bagged a bronze medal at the Oceania Novice competition in Melbourne.
"I was so elated. I made the first call to bhaia. He was very happy. He said ‘tu chinta bilkul mat karna, apne game pe dhyan de (you don’t worry about anything, just concentrate on your game)," Manjesh said.
Rajkumar won an individual gold and a silver medal in the pairs event at the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Pyeongchang in South Korea. Rajkumar has a neurodevelopmental disorder with general learning disability.

"When he won the gold medal, the entire country was so happy. We all welcomed him. Our street was illuminated and we arranged dhols to welcome him. But when you don't get acknowledged, it hurts. We are still not getting support from the Government. We don't want much. We want them to just fund us. So that we can travel without spending from our own pockets," the 12-year-old Manjesh said.
From 2014 onwards Rajkumar has competed in the general category after undergoing treatment, but he has had to miss multiple international competitions due to lack of funds.
Whenever a young Manjesh watches his elder brother Rajkumar work day and night for funds, he offers a helping hand. But the youngster always gets a polite refusal from his older brother.
"He has sold newspapers in the morning and then walked in the streets to sell beaded necklaces and other artificial jewellery. I have seen him convincing foreigners and other customers. That’s how he arranges funds. We have also been involved in many fundraising campaigns. The campaigns also helped us," Manjesh said.
"When bhaia (Rajkumar) was in the United States for his certification course in the USA, he worked in a restaurant and he didn’t tell us about it. We got to know about this through the media. I was not sad. In fact, I was proud. I get pumped up when I see him working so hard for the sport," Manjesh said.
"Our family pays 8000 rupees as rent (in Multani Dhanda) and sometimes it is difficult to arrange that as well," Manjesh said.
Son of a newspaper vendor and beaded jewellery seller, Manjesh, practices for an hour or two at a mall in Gurgaon regularly.

"The mall charges 600 rupees for an hour. If I practice for two hours, I convince them to take 800 rupees from me. There is an ice skating rink in Shimla as well but it is operational in winters only. As an athlete, we have to practice throughout the year. Even for basic practice, we have to go outside the country. I want to request the government to construct an ice skating rink in India so that we can practice over the year and we don’t have to go outside the country," Manjesh said.
Financial hurdles though haven't managed to stop either Rajkumar or Manjesh. The 12-year-old continues to live his brother's and his own ice skating dreams.
"He (Rajkumar) is an inspiration. I have seen his struggle. He has sacrificed a lot. Due to lack of funds, he has skipped many tournaments. I am sure I will never disappoint him. I want to be a big name in the ice skating circuit," Manjesh signed off.