Different chords
BUT the Dola of today is a far cry from the nine-year-old reluctant archer, whose vocal chords had shown more promise than the hand-eye coordination. “I cannot say whether I really had interest in the sport then. I was pretty young when I went to the Baranagar Archery Club for the first time. I was sent with all other children of my locality. It was nothing more than an evening outing,” recalls Dola.
“It was, to tell you the truth, monotonous just watching the other archers at the BAC, as we were not allowed to use arrows and the bow then. Instead, I preferred practicing music, which I found more fascinating,” she said.
Dola used to seriously pursue Indian classical music since that was the cue she got from mother Kalpana. During those early days, there was every possibility of her leaning towards a career in singing. But despite hailing from a family of singers, she finally made the decision of taking up the bow and arrow. One of her cousins pursued music and today the world knows him as Shaan — the famous Bollywood playback singer. “Shaan was born in Mumbai and stayed there. Despite being such a big name in the popular music industry, he is still quite unassuming,” says Dola of the other famous member of this family of diverse talents.

Long way round
SUCCESS came quite early for Dola. She first proved her mettle in the sub-junior national championships in 1995 and was selected for the senior Indian squad. Such has been her consistency that she has never missed making the national squad since then.
For Dola, like many other archers of her generation, Limba Ram happens to be the role model. “He is the icon in Indian archery. He was the man who steered the sport to a new height for India against the world’s leading countries. I had the privilege of seeing him up-close at a few preparatory camps and tournaments. He had a unique stance, and all the juniors used to learn a lot from him at the camps.”
An employee of Eastern Railway, Dola had begun training at Kolkata’s SAI complex under Korean coach Lee Wang Woo. She says that the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur had a big role to play in her journey from Baranagar to Beijing. “I was at the academy for eight years. I can never forget the help I got from there. Even these days, whenever I wish to train there, the TAA welcomes me,” she says.

... contd.