Hi Guys,

It has been a long time since I have posted anything here. I had to counter a very grueling month of June and I am glad that it is over. Right now, there is nothing more interesting than FIFA world cup. It is the ultimate celebration of one of the most popular games on earth. Oh...what a game. Indeed it is the king of sport. Nobody even noticed the usually vibrantly followed Wimbledon. As a avid soccer fan, I am indeed sad that today is the last day for a great tournament. A tournament that for a month gelled the human race into one family from the vicious hoods of color, caste and boundary. Alas...all good things come to an end and so is FIFA world cup. We have to wait further 4 years for this global tournament to kick off once again.

FIFA world cup was played across ten different venues hosting 32 countries. The exuberant and excited vuvuzela blaring spectators represented only a small fraction of people watching the game. Far more have been following it through web, television and mobile phones worldwide. For 90 minutes, the human divisions like race, color and status got dissolved. This past month, there have been endless debates on the game, the referees, players and coaches which is much better than discussions on corruption, politics and religion. The tune of the official anthem of the world cup "waving flag" could as well be our global anthem which idealists have been dreaming for decades. For this reason there was no better place to host this global tournament other than SA, the Rainbow Nation.

Fifteen years ago, the country hosted the Rugby World Cup. The then President, Dr. Nelson Mandela realized the racial divisions in the country and hatched a small plan with the Rugby Team captain and the nation with 11 languages and myriad dialects forgot all their divisions and spoke the language of sport. To unite the country, Mandela reached out to the unpopular rugby team. This is beautifully depicted in Clint Eastwood's Invictus. I strongly recommend you guys to watch the movie.

Let us all ponder for a minute, how we shed off our usual differences for a month and became united for one cause. At the end of the day, it is just a simple game. It is not going to change our lives. But the inherent message of the game is unity. Let us all cling to the message and come together. Unity is indeed strength. The scriptures state "vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" meaning world as a global family. This world cup really did bring the world together. Let us all take this as an inspiration and put this ideal into practice.

Signing off for now,
Krishna