The year was 1894. The place was Sorbonne, Paris. The day was July 23. A landmark occasion indeed it was as Pierre de Coubertin attempted to revive the ancient Olympic games there at Paris on that day. The objective was to make the world a better place through sport.
Despite the two world wars and the rampant racism, the spirit of sports revived, and remained a constant. In fact, it became competitive, combative as the George Orwell essay on sports has proved amply. Yet the Olympic Movement was too strong to die. 1942 onwards, the Olympic Day is hence celebrated every July cerca 23 or 26. The goal is to celebrate sports.
The title of our blog defines the theme of the day this year. Yes, indeed we need to move. Given the advent of machines and technology, our comfort zone has widened hugely. Most people are couch potatoes. The unique invite, hence, to move is indeed necessary.
We need to move, to groove, to prove that we are nubile, both physically, and ideationally, thus proving that we are alive intellectually! If we do not move, our very life and especially our thought processes start stagnating, thus destroying the sprouting of any new, creative venture!
Long live the theme this year because when people move about, and thus get to know the big wide world out there in all its complexity, people stop being frogs in a shallow well, fish in a small pond. We then find out the deep similarities despite the apparent differences. Thus do we realise the motto of the whole earth as one's family, 'vasudhaiv kutumbkam'.
Such a wide vision can sort out the tragic tales of the migrants, of their children sacrificed to foolhardy adventures. Thus would the whole mankind have a tolerant spirit and an efficient existence effectively explored!
Pratima@Long live 'movements' of all sorts!
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