A True Champion Born to the Water

Although Mithoo was given a job by the NF Railways in 1991 right after her matriculation (owing to her credentials in national and international swimming) she took her academics seriously enough and completed her graduation and even post graduation in English literature from Cotton College and Gauhati University respectively. Her father RP Barooah, who is a former cricketer, was a teacher at Don Bosco High School Guwahati for many years. He was an anchor and guiding factor for Mithoo and her two siblings all along and had inspired her to balance her sporting career with academics.

Mithoo Barooah strikes you with her unapologetic candour at the outset. She is a no-nonsense woman who does not shy away from calling a spade a spade. "I do not fear anything or anyone except the Almighty," she states with childlike sincerity and adds, "There have been many hurdles in my life but I have faced them head on. After all life will never be fair or a perennial bed of roses for any of us. I have always believed in taking responsibility for my own actions and decisions and try to consciously steer clear of any blame games. Most importantly I have always been true to myself."

When asked about her awe-inspiring and incredible journey as a swimmer she simply states, " I loved water from the time I was conscious of things around me as a child. To coax me to eat, drink or even stop crying my folks used to give me a bucket of water." Mithoo started swimming when she was just two and half years old. "This was in Dighalipukhuri lake as in those days there were no other options to learn swimming. I was coached by Ramen Das and Anwar Rasul and learnt to swim in merely four days," she reveals very matter of factly. Before the sheer enormity of the feat (at her little age) could be processed she adds, "In 29 days I managed to swim the length and the breadth of the lake."

After that there was no looking back. Mithoo literally only swam forward to glorious milestones. In 1981 at the age of six I played my first nationals. "I must say that during this time I got acquainted with the sophistications and intricacies of swimming in swimming pools where one had to jump from blocks." Needless to say little Mithoo got her first brush with public recognition in 1981 and the Bimala Prasad Chaliha Swimming Pool was inaugurated by her in this very year.

In 1985 she secured a Gold in the Nationals in the 50 metres breast stroke. That year was a momentous one for Mithoo as she bagged a Silver too (this was an unprecedented milestone by any male or female swimmer from Assam) in the 50 metres breast stroke in the Asian Age group championship. In 1988, she was the Sub Junior National Champion.

With a crystal clear memory, Mithoo goes on to add, "In 1990 I clocked a National Junior record in the 100 metres breast stroke. And in 1993 I clocked the National record (in the 50 metres freestyle) in National Games, Pune." Mithoo held the title of India's fastest swimmer from 1991 to 1993.

This is definitely not all and there are a slew of laurels (by way of national and international medals) in her basket. In 1991 she had participated in the South Asian Federation Games (as it was called then) and bagged two golds and one silver and one bronze. She was an integral part of the Asian Championship in Beijing in 1992 and represented India at the Asia Pacific Meet regularly from 1991 to 1998.

Although Mithoo was given a job by the NF Railways in 1991 right after her matriculation (owing to her credentials in national and international swimming) she took her academics seriously enough and completed her graduation and even post graduation in English literature from Cotton College and Gauhati University respectively.

Her father RP Barooah, who is a former cricketer, was a teacher at Don Bosco High School Guwahati for many years. He was an anchor and guiding factor for Mithoo and her two siblings all along and had inspired her to balance her sporting career with academics.

Today so many years later, Mithoo is not actively connected with the world of swimming. But the sportsperson in her lives on. "Actually a lot has happened since," shares Mithoo. She took voluntary retirement from NF railways in 2019 after 26 years and 4 months of service. Today she is the proud mother of a junior India International cricketer, Riyan Parag who has done Assam proud at the IPL. Actually, ever since he was a toddler, me and my husband have been focusing on building Riyan's career as a cricketer," states Mithoo.

She tells Saturday Fare that like her, Riyan had expressed his inclination for cricket when he was a toddler. "My husband was a former Ranji Captain of Assam and when Riyan was only about 16 months old he started emulating his father. Infact he started shadow practicing when he was barely three years. Not just this, when he was in my womb he used to kick quite hard before the scheduled time and yes he chose the cricket bat during his Annaprasan ceremony when an array of objects were presented to him as part of a mandatory ritual ," Mithoo informs.

Mithoo concludes by saying that there is no substitute for dedication, discipline and hard work if one has to excel in sports and therefore she had very strictly ingrained these values in her son. "There are sacrifices too. For instance I have always told Riyan that he does not have the luxury of attending too many parties or spending too much time with friends. In my view all parents should identity the inherent strengths and inclinations of their children before they are five years of age and start inculcating the necessary values (right then) that will help to grow/develop these strengths.

With a message to aspiring swimmers, she sums, "Today the infrastructure is much better as there are well equipped pools like the one at Sarusajai. But to be a good swimmer the zeal, effort and persistence has to be unflinching and this has to come consistently from within."

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