Barefoot! A thoughtful, even if antiquated title for a venture that stands out for the choice of its subject -- football. The title suggests a behind-the-times treatment of the universally acknowledged “most beautiful game.” That is how Pele, the god of football, described the sport.
For Aniket Mishra, a 22-year-old sports enthusiast, Barefoot, a monthly e-magazine, is a way of reaching out to the masses and present football as a medium of joy.
Barefoot is as modern as it can get; an online venture that unfolds Indian football for the benefit of millions of lovers. It is a brave effort for the simple reason that Aniket is trying to sell football in a cricket-crazy nation.
A Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) from Hansraj College, Aniket makes his “living” as a sports manager at Team Tennis India, which has a chain of 60 coaching clinics across the country. For someone who mostly played cricket, was it not bizarre to plunge into football, notwithstanding the proliferation of Rooney and Messi fans. It is still considered an unglamorous sport in India. The idea to float an online magazine came last year. It had never been done. “I have been a footballer too and I wanted to create a platform where one could write about our own heroes,” says Aniket on his online enterprise.
Most football-dedicated sites highlight the best of the business. You click and find a Messi there but not a Baichung Bhutia. “I didn't want that to happen. I wanted a niche for Indian football,” explains Aniket. “Barefoot shall be about Indian football. I don't mind if I get very few hits a month but it shall only be about Indian football.”
Last month, barefootmag.in recorded 10,000 hits. Along with Aniket, two of his friends are involved in Barefoot --- Neelesh Saran, the creative head, and Shubham Garg, the marketing man. Contributions flow from “friends” and commissioned “requests” to seasoned football writers. Novy Kapadia, an authority on football, is a regular. “It is a wonderful first of its kind effort by these youngsters and needs to be encouraged in a big way,” says Novy.
Content
Aniket handles the “content” and is mighty pleased at the “progress” the magazine has made in the last two issues. Launched in October 2011, the last three issues of Barefoot have shown “marked improvement” in terms of quality writing and response. There is more creativity now even though the major issues continue to be getting on-field pictures and reports from the venue. “We have people in Goa
and Kolkata, friends of mine, but we would need more professional inputs. It will be nice if we can have more senior writers contributing and guiding us better,” observed Aniket.
The recent Bayern Munich-India match at Nehru Stadium set a benchmark for Barefoot. “To meet players we only saw on television was a thrilling experience,” gushes Aniket. Recognition has been pouring in and the young team is looking at reaching out to a greater number of football fans. Here is a stage for supporters of Indian football to read about their heroes and the young hopefuls.
Barefoot, Aniket notes, can do with some “sponsorship” since it continues to be an “own pocket” love for the game. A dream would fructify when Barefoot hits the market with its first issue in print. “We hope to achieve that in a year's time.” Few parents push their kids to play football. Aniket is an exception. He plays and writes on the game.
