Right from the first day of Qatar World Cup, the world is witnessing the use of technology and artificial intelligence on an unprecedented scale. Never before in the history of the football World Cup was technology used with such finesse and to such effect. This has simultaneously paved the way for very strict safety measures, accompanied by amazed public response about the manifold facets of new technology. From electronic match tickets that cannot be handed over to others to cutting edge CCTVs that individually capture each spectator it is cutting edge technology all the way.The gate opening feature in the match tickets only become active once the spectators are in a hundred meter radius of the stadium. Entry into the stadium is only granted once the Hayya smart card that is specially made for Qatar World Cup is verified and found to be in sync with the electronic match ticket. This new technology will certainly help in controlling the football hooligans who have created problems in previous world cups and in football matches that have taken place around the world. Even senior media professionals and journalists who have witnessed and reported on several past world cups have called this a welcome move.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/FTR_3_768x432_821fb584b7.jpg" alt="FTR-3-768x432.jpg">The English fans who are infamous for their boorish nature have often caused mayhem in the stands through their sledging, jostling and fisticuffs. There is little doubt that this unenviable track record was the reason for Qatar authorities taking extra precaution and strict security facilities wherever English fans could possibly gather. But in the first match where England utterly demolished Iran with a 6-2 win, the English fans also turned a new page in history by being on their best behavior. Normally fans of the rival teams are seated behind the goal posts at two ends of the gallery, segregated with clearly defined boundaries. But during the England-Iran match, the world witnessed a peaceful and pleasantly surprising sight of fans from both teams intermingling while seated all over the stadium.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/FTR_1_min_2_768x432_15badf8538.jpg" alt="FTR-1-min-2-768x432.jpg"><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Qatar also set the stage by displaying a culture of consideration and care for fans of different teams. There was a gift package from the Qatar government waiting for each and every spectator in the seat that was allotted to them. This special inaugural day gift was an extension of the culture of hospitality and gift-giving often implemented by Middle Eastern rulers, especially the rulers of Qatar in the past. Japanese fans who are famous for their cleanliness led a coordinated cleanup effort after the opening match that raised the reputation of their country even higher. They picked up all the flags, decorations and waste materials that remained in the gallery and field after the inaugural match, and proceeded to carefully dispose of them outside the stadium.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">2022 FIFA ലോകകപ്പുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട സ്‌റ്റോറികൾക്കായി,&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/category/sports/">ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക.</a><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">For FIFA World Cup 2022 related stories,&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/category/sports/">click here.</a><hr><h4 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a>&amp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a></h4>

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Right from the first day of Qatar World Cup, the world is witnessing the use of technology and artificial intelligence on an unprecedented scale. 

Technology keeps Football Hooligans at Bay

On November 20,2022 , the Italian referee Daniele Orsato blew the first long whistle of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The first international match to have been played inside a tent came to an end, with Ecuador edging hosts Qatar by two goals in the inaugural World Cup match. Al Bayt, ‘the home’, stadium erupted in thunderous cheers, not just for the winners, but for the country of Qatar. Such was the experience of watching a football match in the 60000-seating capacity, weather-controlled stadium, built in the shape of an Arabian traditional tent.By the time the match ended, the people inside the stadium and those millions who watched the match in their homes, had some sense as to how this tournament will play out in the next 27 days in the small country of Qatar. Those who came in person to the venue were enthralled by the opening ceremony, the way the proceedings were conducted, particularly the convenience with which they could&nbsp; enter the stadium and watch a match without any hiccups in such a large stadium. Not surprisingly, the players and fans of different teams who had already arrived in Doha for the event had nothing but praise for the arrangements made by the host country.Football afficionados of all races, colours, genetic and ethnic streams have claimed for ages that this game is the only culture universally present in every nook and corner of the world. Not a misplaced claim one may say, looking at the popularity of the game around world. Whatever&nbsp; be the cultural and linguistic differences, this game has always been played with the same fervour, following the same rules in countries across the globe. Every kid with a ball these days may be thinking of himself as Messi or Ronaldo, but of course, these legendary icons of football&nbsp; change from time to time and from&nbsp; generation to generation. Any open space, however small it may be, will be considered as a stadium by these kids . And, indeed the number of&nbsp; players on the field may not always be the mandatory eleven, but may increase and decrease based on the situation.Due to several factors, including historical circumstances and track record, economy related constraints and anatomical differences between races, this magical game has been dominated by teams from certain parts of the world. But with the progress made by different countries in sports and science, more and more players from previously less represented areas of the world have come on to the world stage. For example, look at the number of African players in the European leagues these days. Equally interestingly, more and&nbsp; more Asian players are also appearing on the world scene than before. Along with all this,&nbsp; domestic leagues in many other countries have become more competitive in the course of time. It could well be that players from less privileged regions, in terms of football history , are expressing their pent-up historical discontent against the dominant countries in a uniquely creative manner.It is in this larger context that one needs to look at and analyse the trenchant criticism of FIFA and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by some sections of the&nbsp; agenda driven media across the globe, supported by their own football greats of the past. Since the day Sepp Blatter opened the envelope and announced Qatar’s name, in the year 2010, as the host city of FIFA WC 2022, these people have tried to find fault with everything Qatar did. The first accusation was that, Qatar does not have a football history. As of today, we know that Qatar has won AFC cup, GCC and Gulf cup. And their domestic club championship showcases fiercely competitive football skills, so much so that some of their clubs participate in international club championships and their players have been named Asian players of the year.Then they said the country is too small for such a big event and did not have the infrastructure to accommodate the huge influx of fans during the event. But Qatar proved them wrong, literally proving why small is beautiful, by constructing 8 beautiful world class stadia within one hour of travel distance between them. And yes, connected them all with top class road network and metro services. This, the Qatar authorities pointed out, helps the spectators who otherwise had to spent hours travelling between stadia, like how they were constrained to do in Russia. In Russia the stadia were thousands of kilometres apart and many who travelled to Russia ended up watching just one match.They also raised the issue of immigrant bonded labour used to construct these facilities. Qatar challenged them by putting in place strong labour rules in favour of the workers and brought in international labour organisations other than FIFA to inspect the labour facilities and their condition. All these institutions reported in favour of Qatar, but the nay-sayers were still not happy. One must remember, all these people were sitting in countries where organised human trafficking happens on a daily basis. While pointing one finger at Qatar, they forgot that the other fingers were pointing at themselves.Meanwhile, some of the more self-styled liberal groups ended up siding with the far-right in criticising Qatar on the issue of women’s rights. This too, completely overlooked many recent&nbsp; developments that have happened in Arab countries paving the way for the emergence of women as ministers and social leaders . These “new-age women”&nbsp; were practically guiding their people to the world stage.&nbsp;People who look at biassed and&nbsp; half-cooked reports by the western media, find fault with the way the Arabs conduct their day-to-day affairs. Arab world has progressed and moved forward from the days of Lawrence of Arabia, but these arm chair critics refuse to accept that. Just to add an interesting fact, many leading beauty brands sell more in the Arab countries than in many European countries put together. Women in this part of the world are competing in world sports and fly fighter jets and these uninitiated people ask whether they can drive cars! In Qatar, we will see in the coming days, that many of the World Cup departments are run by proud young Qatari women.Just before the World Cup kicked off, controversy also broke over the manner in which Qatar society looked at LGBTQ affairs. In pure practical terms, Qatar holds&nbsp; the very same views as a majority of the countries in the world. Even a country like India acknowledged LGBTQ rights only a few years ago , but complaints still exist amongst the community that the authorities are merely paying lipservice to this concept.Does this mean that these critics would oppose all having views similar to Qatar on this issue ? What would be their stance when such countries hold the World Cup in future, we doubt. Many of these countries have strict anti-abortion laws based on their religion, will those countries be stopped from holding sports events in future? We can name countries where marrying a widow is a crime, will that be held against such countries from participating in world events? There are definitely many cultural differences in countries around the world, and people are changing but will take time. If you look at Qatar or any other country, they are not the same as in 2010.Another accusation has been about the availability of alcohol inside the stadium. Some in Indian media too took this up, forgetting the fact that there are whole States in India where they don’t sell liquor! But there are scores of countries where alcohol will not be allowed inside a stadium. Many such countries exist in Europe too and were these people&nbsp; bothered about that? The fact that alcohol will be provided in designated areas around the country should be the end of the discussion, but the rancour, clearly, was never about the drinks.In the last one week we heard new accusations that Indians are celebrating as Argentinan, Brazilian, Portugal fans. What kind of an argument is that? Everyone knows Qatar population has a large number of Indian citizens working in that country. And majority of them are from Kerala, who are passionate about football. Recently FIFA tweeted highlighting the football frenzy in Kerala as reflected in the popular cut-outs of football heroes raised in the middle of a river in the State. That alone should have shut up these people. But no, they have a different agenda dictated by a different slant and pattern of arguments. As FIFA President Infantino said two days back in Doha, this was nothing but racism and have no place in this beautiful game and elsewhere.Another lie that the western media , including some celebrated ones, sought to propagate was that many foreign teams were not happy with the rules and regulations prevalent in everyday life of Qatar and hence were staying outside the country during the tournament. Some economic pundits say, the media became a part of European cartel trying to get natural gas from Qatar, with the current Ukraine- Russia situation threatening the future of cheap gas from Russia.What stood out the most in all these cases, was the response from Qatar. They kept quiet all these years focusing on their job on hand. Once they were ready, they went all out blazing with forceful words and hype . They minced no words when they asked why this sudden opposition to Qatar. When Arab money was used by European clubs to stand on their legs, when the same currency was used to support the troubled banks in the west, when Qatar’s infrastructure projects were awarded to Western companies, no one complained about the culture, then why now? It all shows signs of lack of respect and unjust judgements . Certainly, Qatar and the Arab world have said these will be vehemently opposed in unison.It was as if these people wanted a free for all kind of event, which would have helped them substantiate their stories about the “boorish, bullying, racist antics in Qatar stadia.” But, sorry that was not to be. Qatar has clearly said their policy was one of tolerance and respect. And if one goes by the early responses of the real football fans from the world around after the first game, they all have clearly said, Well done Qatar, we are with you!<hr>ഈ ലേഖനം മലയാളത്തിൽ വായിക്കാം, <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/fifa-world-cup-qatar-battle-of-the-nations-before-kickoff/">ഗോളിന് വെളിയിലേക്കുള്ള പന്തുകൾ</a><hr><h4 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Subscribe to our channels on<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a>&amp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a></h4><div class="mdp-liker-box after-content two-buttons style-border-fill row-right" style="--mdp-liker-bg-color-active:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color-hover:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-border:1px;--mdp-liker-radius:50px;--mdp-liker-text-color-active:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color-hover:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);box-sizing:border-box;font-size:initial;font-weight:initial;margin:0px;padding:0px;" id="mdp-liker-19551" data-memory="on"><div style="align-items:center;box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><div class="mdp-liker-description" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:medium;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;max-width:60%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div></div></div> &nbsp;

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On November 20,2022 , the Italian referee Daniele Orsato blew the first long whistle of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 

The Games Outside the Stadiums in Qatar

Football has always been an arena of superstitions and black magic rituals. Some teams do crystal ball gazing before kicking the football! Most teams, coaches and players believe that superstitions bring success to their teams. Some team officials bury skulls in the ground while some others keep wizards with the team.During the Santhosh Trophy Tournament (Indian domestic football tournament among State teams) in Manjeri in the Northern Kerala district of Malappuram, West Bengal’s coach Ranjan Bhattacharya was seen bringing ‘Kali’s blood’ to the ground on match days. Players and coaches smearing their bodies with the blood of sacrificial animals is common in Africa. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/como_768x458_5c30442104.png" alt="como-768x458.png">Ranjan Bhattacharya applying Kali’s blood onto the ground.In the 1974 World Cup, Zaire (now the Congo) lost to Yugoslavia by nine goals, and the whole country believed that it was because of the failure to bring a female horse with magical powers from Zaire to Berlin, the host city. Coaches and players alike asserted that Kuwait’s defeat in 1982 was due to the lack of opportunity to keep a camel tied in the stadium.When Nigeria plays, magicians bring to the stadium a wild fowl’s feather in a white tampal (a big, round tray with a high rim) and a snake’s sheath anointed with honey. Once the game starts, they start chanting mantras. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/uroiin_768x458_74dc9cbc90.png" alt="uroiin-768x458.png"> An ‘Argentinian Ritual’ of urinating beside the goal post before penalties.Once the current edition of World Cup starts, astrologers will work overtime in Thailand. Once they say who is favored by Jupiter, the betting houses don’t think about any other team.Argentina’s famous goalie Sergio Goycochea used to urinate on the ground before every penalty kick he faced. In the 1990 World Cup semi-final shootout against Italy, the hosts, Goikosia was urinating after every kick.Europe is not far behind Africa, Asia and South America in holding such beliefs. English footballer Gary Lineker would not hit the post during warm-up matches because he believed that that would have been a missed opportunity in the real game. John Terry used to sit in the same seat, listen to the same song, and use the same bathroom during tournaments. &nbsp;<div style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;" dir="auto"><hr><h4 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Subscribe to our channels on<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a>&amp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a></h4></div><div class="mdp-liker-box after-content two-buttons style-border-fill row-right" style="--mdp-liker-bg-color-active:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color-hover:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-border:1px;--mdp-liker-radius:50px;--mdp-liker-text-color-active:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color-hover:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);box-sizing:border-box;font-size:initial;font-weight:initial;margin:0px;padding:0px;" id="mdp-liker-19448" data-memory="on"><div style="align-items:center;box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><div class="mdp-liker-description" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:medium;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;max-width:60%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div></div></div> &nbsp;

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Football has always been an arena of superstitions and black magic rituals. Some teams do crystal ball gazing before kicking the football! Most teams, coaches and players believe that superstitions bring success to their teams. Some team officials bury skulls in the ground while some others keep wizards with the team.



Crystal Ball Before Football 

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/fifa_1_1728x2048_09eca8b469.jpg" alt="fifa-1-1728x2048.jpg">The AIDEM presents you the complete 2022 World Cup Fixture. This unique fixture contains not only detailed information regarding every match to be played in the 2022 FIFA World Cup but also match timings in 6+ timezones, so that you don’t miss your favourite matches wherever you are in the world.Save it, Share it, Bookmark it so that you don’t have to go on searching for it over and over again. May the best team win.For high quality Image Download, <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SAK498LTjiGffjVtzd9ij70O_vJmmhmM/view?usp=drivesdk">click here.&nbsp;</a>For high quality printable PDF, <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S8vItrXNhvZsMLK1yHK3RS4n-a6JUdGG/view?usp=drivesdk">click here.</a><hr>&nbsp;<h4 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Subscribe to our channels on<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a>&amp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a></h4><div class="mdp-liker-box after-content two-buttons style-border-fill row-right" style="--mdp-liker-bg-color-active:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color-hover:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-border:1px;--mdp-liker-radius:50px;--mdp-liker-text-color-active:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color-hover:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);box-sizing:border-box;font-size:initial;font-weight:initial;margin:0px;padding:0px;" id="mdp-liker-19507" data-memory="on"><div style="align-items:center;box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><div class="mdp-liker-description" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:medium;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;max-width:60%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div></div></div> &nbsp;

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The AIDEM presents you the complete 2022 World Cup Fixture. This unique fixture contains not only detailed information regarding every match to be played in the 2022 FIFA World Cup but also match timings in 6+ timezones, so that you don’t miss your favourite matches wherever you are in the world.

32 Teams, 64 Matches, 1 Schedule

A game of World Cup Football is never a no-nonsense ordeal. From biting an old Italian to breaking a Brazillian’s back, unnatural incidents ranging from the weirdest and the wildest occur every 4 years, when people put down their guns and go to War.
Perhaps, calling it a Bloodless War would be an overstatement. The emotional mindset of each player resembles that of the vanguard, ready to lay down his life on the front lines. No lives are claimed here and the only gunshots heard are that of the ball hitting the back of the net. It is truly incredible to sit back and watch this spectacle unfold. Reminds me of the opening scene from the Malayalam movie Amen. No one knows what’s happening. But they all know its amazing.
<img alt="Al_Rihla_1648652626315_1648652648472.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Al_Rihla_1648652626315_1648652648472_228e558fe5.jpg" />
The Worthy
Let me go over the usual drama that happens in the world cup. There are some countries that are just unable to hit top gear when it matters. Their only visible goal is to take a few points off the bigger favourites. There are two reasons why anyone would really watch these games. It’s either because the spectator is from one of those countries, or it’s because their favourite team is playing against one of these so-called Worthy sides. No one in their right mind would watch a boring affair between two small timers. But this is not a plain declaration that these teams are crap. They’ve worked their heads off and gained the honour of representing themselves along with the 32 best footballing nations of the world. I have nothing but respect for them. Perhaps, even if these teams had more capitalist funding or they represent a colonial superpower, they too would have been favourites. Do I expect something special from them? No. Nonetheless, they are and will be titled ‘The Worthy’.
The Confused
Hmm…. should I win it? Or just call it a day because I’ve already made it this far?
Teams of great calibre and talent. Yet, they lack the certain spark that will help them achieve something special. People expect good things from these teams, but they usually end up disappointing the fans. What do they lack that the those in the top tier have? Probably a lack of conviction that they’re here to win it. These are also the teams that pull off the greatest ‘Cupsets’. An occasional win against Belgium, things like that. It’s is also really interesting to see how these teams shape up when they go against a major side knowing that they’re the weaker side. Then it’s a game of wits and tactics, a push till we see who gives in first. Such games often end up as the most exciting ones to watch.
As a bonus to the players, good performers get big scouts on them and can get recruited into top clubs, especially by the likes of the Premier league. Playing for international teams is much more than a show of a player’s talent. It depicts his hunger and drive. It also shows how adaptive the player is, getting along with others who play around the globe. It lets clubs understand whether he can fit well into their side. It reminds us that a person’s true intentions come out when they’re high on passion. Else, Marco Matterazi wouldn’t have had a gaping hole in his chest.
The Real Deal
Sit back and relax. These teams will break into Round-16 no matter what. Very passionate and straightforward, they’re here to win it. But what they will achieve is a question that we can answer only after watching them and their form. They usually shape well and settle into good score lines. One of my favourite examples would be Croatia. They were a ‘Confused’ team before they ascended to the Real Deal with their exciting football in 2018. The games are always exciting to watch, with great team performances rather than individual proficiencies. Most of the individuals are already well established and their next goal is to keep their eyes on the prize.
<img alt="merlin_141311586_1b923af8-25b7-43bb-94e2-13689016ae80-superJumbo-768x512.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/merlin_141311586_1b923af8_25b7_43bb_94e2_13689016ae80_super_Jumbo_768x512_133a1195fe.jpg" />
2018 world cup final match- France vs Croatia
A massive question mark that arises in this segment would be the peculiar England team. They’ve got the most valuable squad in the world. They’ve got the biggest names on their sheets. The funniest thing about this team is that the players are in form at the club level, but can’t link up at the national level. I recently watched them play Italy in the nations league qualifiers where they were knocked out of the competition by ‘The Weakest Italian squad in History’. England hasn’t scored from open play in 5 games and I can see why. Defensively, even Harry Maguire seemed settled. But in terms of attack, they looked confused. England is incapable of utilising their otherworldly attacking power. Being unable unleash Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham, the manager Gareth Southgate is definitely doing something wrong with his 3-4-3. Perhaps I should make another segment called The Disappointment. At this rate, nothing’s ‘Coming Home’.
The Loser
Yes. Its plain.
The fun fact about the World Cup is that there is only one loser. The other 30 teams lose, yes. But there’s only one clear team that will carry home the biggest regret. The other team goes home with all the glory and silverware. You’re stuck with medals smaller than an Oreo with LOSER written on it. Its not just the team that loses; it’s an entire nation that mourns the defeat. All the build-up and effort go to nought. People will say “Well played” but it truly isn’t. To lose in a final is the worst feeling in the world. And to do this in front of more than half the world is even more depressing. No matter which of the discussed segments you fall into, if you’re in the Finals, then you’re equal to whoever you face. There’s no excuse for the loss. I speak about this with great emotion as I too have suffered in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Finals. The emptiness that followed and the effects it had on the club was crippled the fans too. It ends up as a true test of courage and dedication to still keep standing. Alas, all that valour is pointless. By the end of the day, the fact remains the same. You Lost.
The Ruthless
Now, Why would I call the winners Ruthless? I would like to quote Jose Mourinho: “Nice guys never win.” The team which shows no mercy and punishes its opponents for each mistake will undoubtedly be the winner. Towards the finals, its more along the lines of an emotional battle. The team which does not care about the tears of its opponents and are willing to step on them can push on to win. And what have they won? Perhaps that’s something that the reader should ponder on. Is it just some silverware? It’s a moment when history counts for nothing. It’s all about now and what happens then. The winners of this emotional and taxing battle truly deserves the title of World Champions.
Undoubtedly, the FIFA World Cup 2022 is going to be the most exciting thing to come since the breakout of a virus named after a beer. An anxious and nerve wrecking November awaits. Under the desert sun and Arabian skies will a war break out, with the most advanced weapons and smartest commanders. One clear winner will emerge. In four years, this winner will have to do it all again.
This Bloodless War isn’t the first, and neither will it be the last ever. And to be a part of this…. it gives me the chills.

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A game of World Cup Football is never a no-nonsense ordeal. From biting an old Italian to breaking a Brazillian’s back, unnatural incidents ranging from the weirdest and the wildest occur every 4 years, when people put down their guns and go to War.

A Bloodless War Under the Desert Sun

<h3 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:20px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">World Cup 2022, Qatar: The event that changed FIFA and the face of football all over the world.</h3><hr>The 2022 Football World Cup came to an end with a brilliant display of fireworks in and outside the Lusail stadium in Qatar. Nearly 89000 fans in that magnificent stadium and millions across the globe watched the nail-biting finals between Les blues and Argentina. In the end, the Messiah won!As Qatar celebrated its National Day, the world celebrated the culmination of the greatest unscripted show on the earth. And as experts started sharing their first-ever world cup experience in the Arab territory, it was clear nobody was left complaining. The stadia, the hotels, the facilities and the experience received high praise equally from players, fans, and officials. Veteran world cup aficionados went a step ahead and said this was not just the best world cup but the one hard to beat in terms of organisation in the future too. Just like the whole tournament, the final match too was a special one for the fans. Two goals each in the regulation time, one each in the extra time, including a first world cup finals hat-trick from Mbappe and then the penalty shootout – all of which added up to make it a top-class football match. Truly, Qatar has delivered a player friendly, fan-centric and the best FIFA World Cup.The weird theories about the societal restrictions on people, especially women, turned out to be false. The Arabs were found to be friendly and helpful, the expatriate workers were happy and proud to be a part of the greatest sporting spectacle in the world. Visitors, especially from the West, were surprised to see a Qatar, totally different from what was painted by naysayers during the last one decade since the country was chosen as the host. This turned out to be the safest FIFA World Cup tournament for the fans who arrived from almost every nook and corner of the world. In fact, a British official in charge of visiting English fans said that this was the first World Cup event where not even a single Briton was arrested!When we start taking stock of the first World Cup in West Asia, the point most have missed, perhaps the most important one, is the positive impact of the event on the affairs of world football body, the FIFA. The organization which knowingly or unknowingly was pulled into too many scandals and legal fights actually did a great deal of good to itself by sticking steadfastly to its choice of Qatar, the richest, but one of the smallest countries in the world.Since 2010, when Qatar was announced as the host, FIFA had to bring in too many checks and balances into its proceedings. The processes that had been usually taken for granted as the tradition for decades were given a moral check and new procedures put in place. After the selection of Qatar, when the charge of lack of transparency of the selection process called into question the basic foundation of FIFA, they moved mountains to ensure that the legality of all future events will be 100% foolproof. No such change in process has happened on such a large scale in FIFA since its inception. This definitely increased the respectability of the organization and the transparency of its appointments and the future selection process of hosts.&nbsp;<h3 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:20px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">The Weather Factor</h3>Despite the fact that Qatar was chosen as per the rules of FIFA, when it came to the actual organisation of its most important event, the Qataris were slowly able to put their environmental and socio-cultural views across the board to FIFA. Looking at the weather conditions in the region, FIFA understood early that just temperature-controlled stadia alone wouldn’t guarantee the smooth conduct of the tournament. They realised that In a country where temperatures touch 45-50 degrees C in summer, half the fans from outside Asia wouldn’t even reach the stadia in good shape. FIFA fought it out with the club football syndicate and regional football associations and shifted the event dates to the winter. Though this disrupted the entire schedule of European club football, FIFA put its foot down and got it done. Next to awarding the event to Qatar, this was the best thing to have happened to the first World Cup in the region. But by doing so FIFA sent the message out that it is willing to accommodate regions, which are traditionally outside the football atlas.The accusations about mistreatment of expatriate workforce building the World Cup infrastructure in Qatar had FIFA acting fast along with organisations like the International Labour Organisation. With all of them getting into the act, regular checks on the workers’ conditions were made mandatory like never before, which FIFA said will be a regular procedure henceforth. Once it was included as a mandatory procedure with processes included, no country in future could say no and the workers, the most important team in making every World Cup happen, stood to win. Qatar, generally accused of providing bad working conditions for the people working for the success of the World Cup, thus became a major player in reshaping one more policy of FIFA.The football bosses at the Zurich headquarters of FIFA always considered themselves as equal in stature to Presidents and Prime Ministers of countries and had the power to sanction the regional football organisations irrespective of what the respective governments or the even judiciaries think. We saw that recently in the case of All India Football Federation which was suspended, and even the Supreme Court couldn’t do much about it. But in the case of Qatar, by selecting it as the host for 2022 earlier than the usual period, FIFA gave a lot of time to organise the affairs. Being smart operators, Arabs utilized this time to not just to prepare for the event, but also win over these hard nosed FIFA executives with their constant interactions at the highest level. The FIFA team, worried about such a small country meeting all the standard requirements of organising such a large event, made Qatar their home early. The Qataris taught them to enjoy the Arab culture and participate in their celebrations. FIFA bosses, over a period of time, started to enjoy the West Asian hospitality and welcomed the idea of incorporating the Arab values and traditions in the conduct of the tournament. And with that went out the availability of alcohol inside the stadia. This in turn made the participation of family and children in the event more comfortable. Thus this World Cup made FIFA relax its stubborn rules so as to make it inclusive.&nbsp;Unlike many who worried, FIFA also found the World Cup can be taken to an uncharted location successfully and promote the game. This has brought in new thoughts within FIFA about allotting the future events to less travelled locations. So, in the coming decades, we can expect the World Cup to move more often to Asia and Africa and a sure beneficiary of this new line of thinking will be India. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the other day that the World Cup would soon come to India, it was not without any reason. FIFA has changed, changed for good. And Qatar is the reason behind it!<hr>2022 FIFA ലോകകപ്പുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട സ്‌റ്റോറികൾക്കായി,&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/category/sports/">ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക.</a>For FIFA World Cup 2022 related stories,&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/category/sports/">click here.</a><div class="mdp-liker-box after-content two-buttons style-border-fill row-right" style="--mdp-liker-bg-color-active:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color-hover:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-border:1px;--mdp-liker-radius:50px;--mdp-liker-text-color-active:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color-hover:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);box-sizing:border-box;font-size:initial;font-weight:initial;margin:0px;padding:0px;" id="mdp-liker-20116" data-memory="on"><div style="align-items:center;box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><div class="mdp-liker-description" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:medium;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;max-width:60%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div></div></div> &nbsp;

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The 2022 Football World Cup came to an end with a brilliant display of fireworks in and outside the Lusail stadium in Qatar. Nearly 89000 fans in that magnificent stadium and millions across the globe watched the nail-biting finals between Les blues and Argentina. In the end, the Messiah won!

Qatar’s Cup Runneth Over

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December 18 is observed as the International Migrants Day. This is to mark the anniversary of the 1990 adoption by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) of the International Convention on the Protection of the rights of all migrant workers and their families. 

Migrant Labourers – The Unsung 33rd Team at World Cup 2022

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Football fans, music lovers and people everywhere can join the beat and get closer to the greatest football show on Earth with the launch of the first-ever FIFA World Cup™ Official Soundtrack. FIFA Sound, which combines the universal languages of music and football, has spearheaded the launch of the soundtrack. Official Soundtrack is packed full of uplifting anthems, showcasing the brightest international artists and diverse musical genres, setting the tone for a truly global celebration. From the electric collaboration of Nicki Minaj, Maluma and Myriam Fares for Tukoh Taka, the first-ever Official FIFA Fan Festival™ Anthem, to Dreamers, BTS star Jung Kook’s inspirational song that lit up the Opening Ceremony, the tracks mirror the worldwide excitement surrounding the spirit of the World Cup.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Listen to the Official FIFA World Cup 2022 soundtracks using links below:<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:20px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:20px;orphans:2;padding:0px 0px 0px 20px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;"><a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0BNVF7MV8?marketplaceId=A3K6Y4MI8GDYMT&amp;musicTerritory=IN&amp;ref=dm_sh_WCOeidb3RtZC8sP69eMvMRnNk">Amazon Music</a></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;"><a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-official-soundtrack/1657557311?at=11laLe&amp;ct=LFV_852822db3a385c1debf6bfe56c570400&amp;itsct=catchall_p1&amp;itscg=30440&amp;ls=1">Apple Music</a></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;"><a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5qgUwE4mhus7MiHbOIiNps?si=LOGx_1viSeyiFTs7vf1LLw">Spotify</a></li></ul><hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a> &amp; <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a>

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Football fans, music lovers and people everywhere can join the beat and get closer to the greatest football show on Earth with the launch of the first-ever FIFA World Cup™ Official Soundtrack. 

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Soundtrack is Out

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi who represented her country at an international event in South Korea without wearing a hijab headed home Tuesday (18/10/2022) morning amid fears that she would get prosecuted upon her arrival in Tehran. Ms Rekabi, 33, in open defiance of the Iranian regime, took part in the Asian Sport Climbing Championships in Seoul on Sunday without a headscarf and was soon reported to be missing. According to The Telegraph (UK), Rekabi’s friends were unable to contact her since Sunday.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The BBC, quoting “well-informed sources”, claimed that her passport and mobile phone were confiscated. Rekabi finished fourth in the climbing championships but her decision to not wear a hijab, seen as a sign of protest against the Iranian regime, was broadcast across the world. Meanwhile, the Iranian Embassy in South Korea strongly condemned the “misinformation” surrounding her. It said in a tweet: “Ms. Elnaz Rekabi departed from Seoul to Iran, early morning of October 18, 2022, along with the other members of the team. The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in South Korea strongly denies all the fake, false news and disinformation regarding Ms. Elnaz Rekabi.”<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">According to reports, a large crowd greeted the sports climber at the Tehran airport. Many consider her a “heroine” for having competed with her hair uncovered. Although she is said to have defied Iran’s strict dress code, Rekabi said in an Instagram post that her hijab had fallen off “inadvertently”. However, many are sceptical about her explanation as they believe it must have been written under duress. Her family members met her at the airport, hugging her and presenting bunches of flowers. Rekabi has been hailed as a new symbol of the protests led by women in Iran. Following the release of a video showing her competing without a hair covering, Rekabi’s friends said they could not contact her, and they raised concerns over her safety. On Tuesday, in an Instagram post she apologised for “getting everybody worried”.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">“Due to bad timing, and the unanticipated call for me to climb the wall, my head covering inadvertently came off,” she said. She repeated this in a brief interview with state media on her arrival in Tehran, adding that she was feeling “tense” about returning home. It is not known Where she was taken after her arrival at the airport.<div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" data-component="text-block"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"> <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_1_4206935129.png" alt="image-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_1_4206935129.png 90w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_1_4206935129.png 288w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_1_4206935129.png 432w" sizes="100vw" width="432"></div><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:center;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Instagram Story posted on Elnaz Rekabi’s account</div><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</div><figure class="image"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/7a568a58_fb3e_46d8_a3e8_eb248094adaf_e1666157620132_583x1024_4361dd929e.png" alt="7a568a58-fb3e-46d8-a3e8-eb248094adaf-e1666157620132-583x1024.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_7a568a58_fb3e_46d8_a3e8_eb248094adaf_e1666157620132_583x1024_4361dd929e.png 89w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_7a568a58_fb3e_46d8_a3e8_eb248094adaf_e1666157620132_583x1024_4361dd929e.png 285w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_7a568a58_fb3e_46d8_a3e8_eb248094adaf_e1666157620132_583x1024_4361dd929e.png 427w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_7a568a58_fb3e_46d8_a3e8_eb248094adaf_e1666157620132_583x1024_4361dd929e.png 569w" sizes="100vw" width="569"></figure><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" data-component="text-block"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:318px;" id="attachment_18971" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18971"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-18971">Translated via Google Lens</figcaption></figure></div></div><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Watch the video of the sports event on The AIDEM YouTube Channel <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtube.com/shorts/mWlwzEWfuIM">here</a>.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">This is a developing story: We’ll give updates on the situation as we learn more. Last updated on 19/10/2022 03:25 PM<hr><h4 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a>&amp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a></h4></div>

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Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi who represented her country at an international event in South Korea without wearing a hijab headed home Tuesday (18/10/2022) morning amid fears that she would get prosecuted upon her arrival in Tehran. 

Elnaz Rekabi, Iranian Rock Climber, Fears Prosecution in Iran

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_06_T184611_319_613027cefc.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-06T184611.319.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_06_T184611_319_613027cefc.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_07_06_T184611_319_613027cefc.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">As Euro 2024 gets into high gear with quarter final matches attracting global viewership and attention, the conduct of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the main organisers of the tournament, has come into question generating intense debate among football lovers across continents. Central to the debate is the double standards shown by UEFA while taking disciplinary action against two erring players. The players who were “punished” in extremely different ways were Turkey’s Merih Demiral and England’s Jude Bellingham.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:680px;" id="attachment_28807" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28807"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_06_T184639_937_e06b4e8f75.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-06T184639.937.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_06_T184639_937_e06b4e8f75.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_07_06_T184639_937_e06b4e8f75.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-28807">Crotch grabbing gesture by Jude Bellingham of England</figcaption></figure>Both had come up with what the UEFA termed as objectionable gestures during their matches in the pre-quarter stage of the tournament. But the disciplinary action taken against the two players was starkly different. While Demiral was slapped with a two match suspension for making a ‘Wolf’ gesture during Turkey’s successful match against Austria, England’s Bellingham was let off with just a €20,000 fine for making a crotch-grabbing gesture at the Slovakian benches, the losing team in the match.Significantly, 26 year old Demiral is a key player in the Turkish team and had scored both the goals in Turkey’s 2-1 win over Austria. Demiral’s “Wolf” gesture is apparently associated with Turkey’s far-right and ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves organisation, which is banned in Austria and deemed a terror organisation by the EU. However, The ‘grey wolf’ sign is not a banned symbol in Germany, where the match took place.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:639px;" id="attachment_28810" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28810"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_06_T184526_496_a57af5c117.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-06T184526.496.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_06_T184526_496_a57af5c117.jpeg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_07_06_T184526_496_a57af5c117.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-28810">Grey wolf sign by Merih Demiral of Turkey</figcaption></figure>According to Demiral, the controversial gesture, in which one or both hands mimic the shape of a wolf’s head, is related to his “Turkish identity,” and is not linked to any terrorist organisation. The ban imposed on this talented player will see him miss Turkey’s quarter-final against the Netherlands and, if they advance, the semi-final also. Demiral’s superb football skills would be greatly missed by Turkey in the crucial quarter final against Netherlands.The visuals of England’s Bellingham after the match with Slovakia included a kiss to his own right hand followed by a crotch-grabbing gesture, aimed at the Slovakian bench. Bellingham’s explanation was that the gesture was in connection to “an inside‑joke towards some close friends who were at the game” and in no way aimed at the Slovakia bench. He later tweeted the same explanation.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:634px;" id="attachment_28811" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28811"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/86761667_13585829_image_a_19_1719779810036_96a383a083.jpg" alt="86761667-13585829-image-a-19_1719779810036.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_86761667_13585829_image_a_19_1719779810036_96a383a083.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_86761667_13585829_image_a_19_1719779810036_96a383a083.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-28811">Jude Bellingham’s tweet</figcaption></figure>As Euro 2024 quarter final matches progress, the debate among football fans is about the double standards shown by UEFA in dealing with the gestures of the two players. Turkey is forced to face the Netherlands without Demiral, while England can continue to rely on Bellingham’s presence on the field in their next encounter. Several football fans have commented in social media platforms against the UEFA action with some of them reminding the football body that true sportsmanship should originate from the tournament governing bodies who should set an example and create such traditions that players and fans would like to emulate.Many of these social media comments have also highlighted how the Romanian fans displayed exemplary sportsman spirit after Romania’s 0-3 loss against the Netherlands. The Romanian fans remained calm, positive, and composed throughout the match, though their team was at the receiving end of superior football by the Dutch. Asked by some journalists as to how they remained composed in spite of the defeat, some of the fans responded by saying&nbsp;they did not want their emotions to disturb the team. Several Romanian players reciprocated their love towards the fans too after their defeat. Players were evidently elated to see the fans cheering them despite their team’s elimination from the tournament.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:720px;" id="attachment_28812" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28812"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Screenshot_20240706_190100_Chrome2_fb4c2e2b9e.jpg" alt="Screenshot_20240706_190100_Chrome2.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Screenshot_20240706_190100_Chrome2_fb4c2e2b9e.jpg 226w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Screenshot_20240706_190100_Chrome2_fb4c2e2b9e.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-28812">Romanian player’s celebration along with fans in the stands</figcaption></figure>The behaviour, attitude and discipline of the Romanian fans also came up for comments on social media. Some of the comments compared the Romanian composure with the attitude of the fans from many other nations. Some of them pointed out, citing past instances, that if England had lost in a similar fashion, fan behaviour on and off the stadium would have been terrible. When England lost to Italy on penalties in finals of the last edition of Euro championship, English fans were brick batting, destroying the vehicles outside the stadium and abusing their own players with nasty racial remarks, especially targeted towards Rashford, Saka and Sancho who missed the penalties in the tiebreaker.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1024px;" id="attachment_28806" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28806"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Getty_Images_1328353313_1024x668_1_267d33a1c1.jpg" alt="GettyImages-1328353313-1024x668-1.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Getty_Images_1328353313_1024x668_1_267d33a1c1.jpg 239w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Getty_Images_1328353313_1024x668_1_267d33a1c1.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Getty_Images_1328353313_1024x668_1_267d33a1c1.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_Getty_Images_1328353313_1024x668_1_267d33a1c1.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-28806">England fans vandalising security property outside the Stadium after last Euro Cup Finals</figcaption></figure>These debates on the conduct of teams, fans and the UEFA disciplinary department has brought a new dimension to the spectator experience of Euro 2024. It remains to be seen how the UEFA top brass reacts to the criticism against them. Whatever their response the fact remains that Turkey has been divested of the services of one of its star players.</div></div>

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Euro Cup 2024 And the Double Standards of the Disciplinary Committee 

Malayalam (ml)

Tamil (ta)

English (en)

Hindi (hi)

Telugu (te)

Kannada (kn)

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Dancing To Her Tune

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An Unwritten National Autobiography

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_6258d15665.jpeg" alt="images-1.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">People who read literature in India knew him, MT Vasudevan Nair. Language was no hurdle for his works to reach out beyond the state borders of Kerala. While Malayali diaspora took a handful of nostalgia along to the places they went, a little bit of MT was also in that.Today, the big business of literature finds translators to translate anything that moves. All tetrapods of literature are given awards that stink of corporate imperialistic nexus. But MT belonged to a different era when blood recognised blood, genius recognised genius. He got translated not once but several times.Basheer, Takazhi and MT were the triumvirate that could transcend the borders and stand tall among the Indian modernist literature. Yes, MT’s literature also had a fair amount of auto-fiction but he hoodwinked it with the magic of text. He was a persuasive minimalist both in writing and in person.An unsmiling MT could generate generations of readers who could smile through tears. MT wrote about a collapsing social structure that divested the old feudal class with their ill-gotten properties. But their social capital remained intact and could exert a lot of influence among the readers by becoming the surrogate emotional ethos of a transition time of Kerala’s socio-political history.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1196px;" id="attachment_31084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31084"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg" alt="mt-1024x575.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31084">MT during his Interview with Sabha TV (Watch <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NttnjeaVqn0">Here</a>)</figcaption></figure>When society evolved into a different being altogether, MT turned to the treasure trove of myths and itihasas to eke out allegories that explained the pain of loss, of class, roots and love. His literature spat on the face of bigotry, whether it was religious or familial. He was so stoically poised in his literature that none could have challenged him and expelled him from the world of literature.MT’s literature spoke of love and separation as vehemently as he wrote about the changing social complexions. But he was not sentimental. There was something in his writing that touched some chord in every reader. Before initiating themselves into Ambedkarite politics, the Dalit ideologues also, in their torturous nights of youth, pined for MT’s characters.Those who call the modernists, Dad Vibes, have really lost the sight of the forest while focusing on shrubs and thicket. MT was a forest that moved, as in the great tragedies. He remained a serious writer while the post modernists fell in the trap of publishers and wrote lightning stories and became laughing stokes.MT remains, so is the MT critique. That’s the beauty of a great writer’s life and of course, death.</div></div>

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MT: A Forest that Moved

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An ‘Overture’ Stringing The Pope, Yesudas and the ‘Songster Chaplain’

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/1_cc9df0fe47.png" alt="വലതുപക്ഷവുമായുള്ള-സംവാദത്തിൻ്റെ-വ്യർത്ഥത-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_1_cc9df0fe47.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_1_cc9df0fe47.png 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">When old age shall this generation waste,Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woeThan ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is allYe know on earth, and all ye need to know.” (John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn)<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/6_904b2e9f2a.jpg" alt="6.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 147w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 470w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Siddharth Tagore, Founder Director of Delhi’s <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/artkonsultindia/photos">Art Konsult</a> Gallery is no more. He cannot be contained in such a cold statement, so matter of fact like death itself. Besides the gallery, he founded magazines such as Art and Deal, Travel and Deal and many other publications. Even when he knew that he wouldn’t make any profit out of the publications, he invested money in them because he knew art wouldn’t survive without the literature surrounding it.&nbsp;Yet another venture of Tagore’s was an auction house, namely Art Bull. The name was perfect for a bullish art market of the 2000s. But the glitch was this: Siddharth Tagore was not bullish. Nor was he bearish. He was cherubic, complete with a benign smile on his face and a burning cigarette between his fingers. Whenever I came out after having a meeting with him, I would ask myself, was he cut for this business?&nbsp;Tagore could have been a poet and dreamer like his internationally renowned namesake of yesteryears.. After the pandemic period I met Tagore after a gap of four years at the Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre where Art Konsult had organized a group exhibition. After the inaugural function, I shook hands with him and I realized that his hands had lost the firm grip though the warmth remained. “I have not been keeping well,” he told me.&nbsp;<div class="gallery galleryid-31051 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-full" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:30px -8.96875px 0px;padding:0px;" id="gallery-1"><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg" alt="c-768x993.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 387w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 580w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg" alt="b-768x985.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 122w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 390w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 585w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/a_7888f94e4b.jpg" alt="a.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 385w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 577w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure></div>Then on another occasion, at the same gallery, I met him again, this time without the crowd. He preferred to wear a pair of fading blue jeans and white shirt, a reminder of those romantic 1970s when every youth in West Bengal dreamt of poetry, love and revolution. Jeans and Shirt were the uniform of love and revolution. I think, when Tagore came to Delhi as a young man, he carried those qualities along, plus his sense of dressing. Lovers in those days smoked rather constantly and drank Old Monk Rum.&nbsp;On that day when I met him, Tagore told me that he had quit smoking, which was news to me. I couldn’t have imagined the man without a cigarette between his fingers or at least a packet of cigarettes to fuss with. I understood the gravity of the situation.&nbsp;Then again, we met when Praveen Upadhyay of the Progressive Gallery at Laddo Sarai organized a talk session with art professionals that included Tagore, Prayag Shukla, Vinod Bharadwaj and myself. Tagore was supposed to talk about the art market. When the mike was handed over to him, he fussed with it for a while and said that he always wanted to make it big by promoting young artists, but somehow, he never made huge business.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:689px;" id="attachment_31054" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31054"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg" alt="7-768x511.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 235w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31054">Siddharth speaking to the media at Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>Then I remembered Tagore telling the same during the market boom years that lasted in India for around ten years starting from 2005 to 2015. In 2008, the world market had collapsed, but the Indian art market using its cunning and reserve withstood the pressures and dragged the impending failure for a few more years only to revive itself by the beginning of the third decade of the new millennium.&nbsp;Had Tagore acquired a penchant for failure despite his resilience in running a gallery, publications and an auction house for over three and a half decades ? Did he enjoy calling himself a failure in the art market? Was he romantically involved with the idea of failure even when he kept others who were with him in the business, floating? I don’t know for sure. But Tagore remained grounded and rooted; he tried his best to keep himself away from the nefarious market practices.&nbsp;There were a few people who stood with Tagore in his highs and lows (lows that lasted for not some months but for years together), never deserting him, following his orders. Prashant Seal and Rajula Bisht are two people I remember. These two people have been so close to his heart and even after his twin daughters joining him in the business, both Seal and Bisht never lost their position as the confidantes of Tagore. He loved them like family.&nbsp;I met Siddharth Tagore in 1995. He had started Art Konsult in Hauz Khas Village. Meena Tagore (now Meena Varma) was with him then. Late Vijayan Kannanpally was the editor of Art and Deal. With the growth of art scene, Tagore’s gallery also grew in stature. Art Konsult was one of the few A listed galleries in the city. Tagore took it to South Delhi’s art district, Laddo Sarai during the boom years and later relocated it to Hauz Khas again.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:562px;" id="attachment_31055" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31055"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg" alt="0-768x512.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31055">Siddharth Tagore with art critic and curator Jyoti A Kathpalia at the Art Konsult, New Delhi</figcaption></figure>It was in his Laddo Sarai phase that I joined him as the Editor of Art and Deal. It was the same when he decided to start Art Bull and Travel and Deal. I brought out around ten issues of Art and Deal between 2010 and 2013, with a gap in 2012 when I joined the United Art Logistics to establish the United Art Fair. Tagore literally lent me to the other organization with a promise that I could walk into the editor’s office at any time that I wanted. And I did go back.&nbsp;As a part of Tagore’s team, he gave me full freedom to edit the magazine and curate exhibitions. I curated a few shows and introduced a few new artists of which some are very reckonable names in today’s art scene. The exhibition ‘Merging/Submerging’ was a showcasing of contemporary photography art and ‘R.A.P.E’ (Rare Acts of Political Engagement), an all-woman show responding to the brutal murder of Nirbhaya in Delhi. This exhibition was a super hit and was discussed in all the print and television media. Art Bull did do a couple of exhibitions and auctions. I did not take much interest in it though Tagore hoped that his auction house could change the scenario and also break certain monopolies. Tagore also initiated an Art History Lecture series which I conducted on his behalf.&nbsp;Siddharth Tagore remained true to his calling. With a kind of detachment, he sponsored exhibitions that he knew well, would not bring any business. He was an avid collector of folk and tribal art and together with Meena Varma, he initiated an organization called ‘Art of the Earth’ for promoting the folk and tribal art of India, much before the ‘folkploitation’ of today’s art market became rampant. Tagore helped whoever came to him with a request for an exhibition or an immediate financial relief. &nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_31053" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31053"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg" alt="3-e1734762508660-669x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 102w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 327w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 490w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 653w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31053">Siddharth Tagore signing the <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://amzn.in/d/4TijcgO">book</a> “Ganika- In the visual culture of the 19th-20th Century India” at the Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg" alt="4-560x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 85w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 273w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 410w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 547w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">When artists in Calcutta packed their wares and set out for Delhi, they knew Siddharth Tagore was there if nothing else worked (perhaps he was their primary destination), along with cigarettes and Old Monk Rum. He never discouraged the people who came to him with a clear intention to exploit. He was not cautious about relationships that brought him a fair amount of heartburn. As I said elsewhere, Tagore was a poet in his heart, with a heart ready to bleed for love and art.</div></div>

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