letters
Month of the Carnival
MARUTHANCODE , TAMIL
NADU G . David Milton : There ’ s no spectacle to match the football world cup . Till July 15 , it ’ s going to be a carnival in Moscow , and by extension , the world over . I savoured every moment of the opening ceremony at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow . The tournament ’ s appeal is so overwhelming that Russia ’ s strained relations with the West temporarily seem like a thing of the past . Pardon the eugenic tone of a football lover , but the 736 players participating in the world cup are few of the best of our species — in fitness , skill and determination . History is in the making here , with every deft touch that finds the net . Every world cup , we viewers hope for the epic — the challenge throwing up a Pele or a Maradona among the current soccer stars . As in life , moments of ecstasy and despair are inevitable in the tournament . Sport and life are so intertwined to each other .
MUMBAI K . P . Rajan : When will India play the football world cup ? The Sports Authority of India should leave no stone unturned in getting us to feature in the next cup in Qatar in 2022 .
Coming to the current tournament , it ’ s shocking that Lionel Messi ’ s Argentine team could not break debutants Iceland ’ s iceberg on June 16 . Messi had half-a-dozen opportunities to score goals but failed miserably . He missed a penalty ! Iceland ’ s team , wonderful to see all their names ending with ‘ son ’, deserves kudos for its stunning display . It ’ s all the more heartening that Iceland , the least populated nation among the 32 countries vying for the world cup , could prove its mettle in the very first encounter .
GOA M . N . Bhartiya : This refers to The Keeper There Wasn ’ t ’ ( June 25 ) a vivid narrative of cricket shadowing football .
June 25 , 2018
Football was played by the lower classes in dusty fields , cricket emerged as a more expensive sport played by the sophisticated class that felt proud of identifying with anything ‘ foreign ’. Jawaharlal Nehru ’ s patriotism had a western shade to it — he was , after all , going for ‘ modernity ’. The Indian princely classes were always eager to get British patronage and no wonder , they patronised Cricket . Aamir Khan ’ s Lagaan comes to mind — a classic film portraying the political dynamics of the sport under the British Raj .
FARIDABAD Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee : As a lover of the beautiful game , I was overjoyed on receiving your 2018 football World Cup special . The article on the Indian audiences of the world cup , Gali Gali Football Shootball , and the book extract titled The Keeper There Wasn ’ t , were especially interesting reads . Indian football legend P . K . Banerjee ’ s ‘ Football Diary ’ reminded me of the time I happened to meet him . I met Mr Banerjee in Calcutta on a July evening in 1961 . He was riding cycle at the Red Road ( now Gostha Pal road ) when I saw him . Later , he talked to me and even gave me an autograph .
I can completely empathise with Mr Banerjee on the sad state of affairs in Indian football . In 1950 , as there was just one slot from Asia , the Indian Football team automatically earned a spot at the world cup as Philippines , Indonesia and Burma withdrew before the qualification round . The popular belief is that India did not play in the 1950 football World Cup as they did not want to wear boots . But the late Sailen Manna ( one of India ’ s best defenders who was in the squad at that time ) says that it was because the All India Football Federation was not taking the world cup as seriously as the Olympics .
Shangri-Lalala
AMRITSAR Lal Singh : With reference to Nimble of Feet ( June 18 ), if there really is a mystical harmonious place called Shangri-La , it is not likely to be found in India . PM Modi attracted widespread attention with his speech at the dialogue in Singapore , and notably said that the summit showed that when nations stand on the side of principles , not behind one power or the other , they earn the respect of the world community and a voice in international affairs . In a strong message against protectionism , Modi rightly said that countries would find solutions not behind walls of protection but by embracing change , and that India stands for an open and stable international trade regime . In the closing passages of his speech , he said , “ We are inheritors of Vedanta philosophy that believes in essential oneness of all , and celebrates unity in diversity . This is the foundation for our civilisational ethos of pluralism , one-liner NEW DELHI Praful Brar
The world cup has been my excuse to suspend existential boredom for a month since 1998 .
4 OUTLOOK 9 July 2018