29/01/2009

Bangalore, 26 January 2009: Standing in attention and singing the National Anthem in chorus with hundreds of school children evoked a feeling of immense joy and a sense of patriotism as the specially summoned assembly of Swami Vivekananda Higher Secondary School in Thirubhuvanai pledged to take up the National Game the thrill and happiness on the vibrant faces of young boys and girls when they held the hockey stick for the first time was unmistakable and made my long journey to Puducherry State ...

22/01/2009

Shashank is in Puducherry

Shashank Gupta, active volunteer of the Hockey Citizen Group, is in Puducherry. He will be there for four days to operationalize ‘One Thousand Hockey Legs’ program in more schools.

Bangalore based Shashank will introduce the scheme in two schools, Government High School, Kuruvinatham, and Vivekananda Higher Secondary School in Lawspet, besides taking related activities. The ceremonial events are scheduled to take place on 23rd and 27th. <...

15/01/2009

Everyday everyone has to make choices between familiar dose and the new one.

The easiest thing on a particular day is to tell how some others in the seat power, with their decisions, spoil the things.

Hockey, unfortunately, is stuck with this disease.

Thankfully, I am not.

With the type of love and passion for hockey, it was but natural for me to get associated with One Thousand Hockey Leg (OTHL). My OTHL journey till now has been...

14/01/2009

Puducherry, Jan 8: It was a pleasant evening and the ride from Chennai to Puducherry went on smoothly. We reached Pondy (as this city is commonly known) by 10 pm and quickly settled down to catch up some sleep with great expectations of a morning where three out of the five schools were lined up for their tryst with hockey.
The morning was busy, with our host and local Project Coordinator of the One Thousand Hockey Legs, Mr Manickam, hurriedly transporting the sticks and other equipment t...

14/01/2009

Puducherry, Jan 8: It was a pleasant evening and the ride from Chennai to Puducherry went on smoothly. We reached Pondy (as this city is commonly known) by 10 pm and quickly settled down to catch up some sleep with great expectations of a morning where three out of the five schools were lined up for their tryst with hockey.
The morning was busy, with our host and local Project Coordinator of the One Thousand Hockey Legs, Mr Manickam, hurriedly transporting the sticks and other equipment t...

13/01/2009

Arjuna award winner Riaz: ‘Hockey Gives You Recognition’

“Everyone in the society desires their children to become a doctor or engineer. Nothing wrong in this. But, in the society sports gives recognition more than one asks for”

Thus said Md.Riaz, former India captain, to the students of Swami Vivekananda Higher Secondary School in Thirubhuvanai in Puducherry, recently in a function.

Former star midfielder Riaz was the chief guest. The school invi...

11/01/2009

It almost threatened but not, thankfully. The rain gods relented a bit. The authorities in the Puducherry's famous educational Institution, Petit Seminaire, was in a fix over the impending function. 'Why can' we shift it to auditorium', was in their mind to avoid about 2500 of their students getting wet in the morning assembly. Then, as the rain gods relent momentarily, the momentous occasion for the Hockey Citizen Group took shape. The school authorities decided to go ahead for open assembly. ...

04/01/2009

David will be in Pondicherry to oversee the start of schools hockey
Player turned writer Bodapatty David will visit Puducherry next week to oversee the inauguration of schools hockey there.
Bangalore based David has been involved in training school kids for over a decade, with notable stints in Chennai and Tiruvannamalai. He is also a journalist, now working with an NGO dealing with AIDS.
It is a matter of deep satisfaction that person like David, who has supported many b...

04/01/2009

Roman Roland, a French Journalist, friend of Mahatma Gandhi, lived and breathed in Puducherry.
The celebrated writer lived in Puducherry for many years, the city boasts of major library named after him.
Puducherry is not just a home of scholars like Roman Roland alone. It is also spiritual abode for many. Sri Aurobindo International Society is one such. The former French colony is metropolitan in culture, while its distinct identities are well prevalent even now.
For ...