India to sing the anthem for champions

September 2, 2012
sing_india_sing

Dikha de jalwa' , 'Toofan utha' , 'Dum laga India' , 'Macha de halla' , 'Jam ke laga India' — these cries from the heart are often heard at sporting events as fans spur on Indian sport stars for that extra point, run or goal.

It's only befitting that these and other desi cheers lie at the heart of a new sporting anthem that seeks to unite the nation and fans behind their sporting heroes.


The anthem 'Cheer for Champions ' is, aptly, the brainwave of five of India's best — Dilip Vengsarkar (cricket), Ashwini Ponappa ( badminton), Dhanraj Pillay ( hockey), I M Vijayan ( football) and Anjum Chopra (cricket).

Vengsarkar says that the time is right to have a common sporting anthem that can be sung for all sports across the country in one voice. "I have seen fans singing motivational songs in countries like England and Australia in whatever sport their country may be playing.


The concept has come to India too with IPL and the individual team anthems. It's time we have a common sporting anthem now as it's a completely different high to have an entire stadium roaring to your every good move."

He recalls hearing the crowd's full-throated rendition of the 'Chak De' song during the first T-20 World Cup final in 2008, when India played against Pakistan . "It was like the anthem in that game, which we won handsomely .

It was a different feeling and really charged us all up to be amongst thousands of voices singing together," he says.

It's these intense emotions that music composer Ranjit Barot is tapping into as he sets the tune for the anthem. The lyrics are being crowd-sourced , using the net and radio. "We asked people to submit the cheers that they use in sporting events.

We are working them into the anthem along with a lyricist," says Barot, who was the music composer for the Delhi Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies. But, he clarifies, it will be different from chants like 'Chak De' or 'Jai Ho' .

"We are trying to speak from the heart, something that galvanizes everyone to reach higher." Ashwini Ponappa agrees and says, "I love both these songs, they are so Indian. But a sports anthem is not like a movie song — it will reach out to the spectator and the player as one."

Dramatic, uplifting, arrogant, triumphant and sometimes hypermasculine — most great sporting anthems such as the Spanish 'Ole Ole Ole' are all this and much more. A majority of stadium chants in the west are drawn from rock and roll, pop or dance hits like 'We Are The Champions' and 'Survival' by Muse, which was the London Olympics' official song.

Post-Olympics , British PM David Cameron has pitched for England to have its own anthem for sports teams, with his personal preference being 'Jerusalem' , based on a William Blake poem.

However, Barot's inspiration is not any of the globally known anthems but the broad and diverse cultural palette that India offers. It's a massive task — reportedly two million cheers have been collected already in various languages from across the country .

"One plan is to combine all the cheers!" says Varun Sharma, brand manager of Vicks, which is supporting the creation and development of the anthem.

The real challenge, though, lies in composing a melody that would be on the lips of every chestthumping fan, whether it be victory or defeat. However, the problem here would be the lack of sportsmanship of Indian fans.

In a survey of 50 Indian sporting icons done by sports training and consulting firm Tenvic in late July, while there was unanimous agreement that Indians are supportive when Indian sportspeople were on top, 52% felt fans were unsupportive in defeat.


A majority agreed that England and Australia were the best in terms of crowd support, even when they're on the losing side.


For Pillay, playing in Holland was the best experience. "They treat you like you are part of them...I have never seen them abusing or shouting against any team, even if they are winning against the home country," he says.


That's the spirit sports persons yearn for in India. As Mithali Raj, captain of the women's cricket team, commented during the survey : "I'd give anything to have crowds yelling, let alone yelling anything specific, in women's matches."

It's a hope that the new anthem, to be launched at the T20 World Cup next month, will assure our sports persons that they are not playing alone.




Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 13,2020

Mumbai, Jun 13: Vasant Raiji, who was India's oldest first-class cricketer at 100, died in Mumbai in the wee hours of Saturday.

Raiji was 100 years old and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

"He (Raiji) passed away at 2.20 am in his sleep at his residence in Walkeshwar in South Mumbai due to old-age," his son-in-law Sudarshan Nanavati told PTI.

Raiji, a right-handed batsman, played nine first-class matches in the 1940s, scoring 277 runs with 68 being his highest score.

He made his debut for a Cricket Club of India team that played Central Provinces and Berar in Nagpur in 1939.

His Mumbai debut happened in 1941 when the team played Western India under the leadership of Vijay Merchant.

Raiji, also a cricket historian and chartered accountant, was 13 when India played its first Test match at the Bombay Gymkhana in South Mumbai.

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and former Australian skipper Steve Waugh had paid a courtesy visit to Raiji at his residence in January when he had turned 100.

It has been learnt that the cremation will take place at the Chandanwadi crematorium in South Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 13,2020

Melbourne, Jun 13: Former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and current opener David Warner have expressed gratitude to two Indian students for helping people in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gilchrist thanked Sharon Varghese, an Indian student who did her Bachelors in Nursing from the University of Wollongong.

Varghese has been was working on the frontline along with other health care workers to look after the residents of aged-care during the global health crisis.

"She gave up her time to work as an aged-care worker throughout that time. Sharon, I want to say congratulations on the selfless act and for wanting to thank people in Australia because you have enjoyed three and a half years living here. And that’s wonderful to hear," Gilchrist said in a video message.

"Just want to let you know, all of Australia, all of India and more importantly, your family will be so very proud of your efforts."

In another short video, Warner thanked Queensland-based Indian student, Shreyas Sheth.

"Namaste. I am here to say thank you to Shreyas Sheth who is doing selfless work to help others during the COVID crisis. Shreyas is doing his Masters in Computer Science at the University of Queensland and he has been part of University’s outreach program, preparing and delivering food packets to students in need right now," Warner said in the video.

"So I just want to say ‘good on ya’. I am sure your mum and dad and India are proud of you. Keep up the great work."

The videos were shared by Austrade India official twitter account, which have hit almost 10 thousand views in last one week.

Apart from the two cricketers, another Social Media Influencer Amy Aela also sent her thank you note to Liya, an Indian student from Griffith university for her work in providing mental health support to communities in Australia during the pandemic.

"Liya I just want to thank you...we definately need more people like you...just remember that Australia is so so proud of you, India is proud of you..please keep up the good work," Aela said.

Former Australian footballer Craig Foster also sent his thank you message to another Indian origin nurse Arushi from Deakin University. More than 100,000 Indian students are studying in Australia, currently making them one of the biggest cohorts of international students in the country.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 21,2020

Melbourne, Jul 21: Cricket Australia's chief executive Nick Hockley has said that the Indian players and staff will most likely be asked to face two weeks of quarantine before the four-match Test series.

This scenario will bring the Adelaide Oval and its newly constructed hotel firmly into view as the sort of biosecure bubble, ESPNCricinfo reported.

India and Australia are slated to face each other in a four-match Test series, which is to begin from December 4 at Brisbane.

"The two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hockey as saying.

"Certainly the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue," he added.

Hockley also said that an exacting standard of biosecurity and testing would be applied before the series against India as the coronavirus cases are spiking in the subcontinent.

"It's widely known and it's unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before that they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements in line with government and health authority protocols," Hockley said.

"The key thing for the players is that there's regular testing and that we appropriately quarantine them when they come in and all of those plans are currently in development," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 slated to be held in Australia from October 18-November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the announcement, the BCCI is likely to go ahead with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October-November window. However, it is known where the T20 tournament will be played as cases continue to rise in India.
"I think the BCCI has made no secrets that they are considering what that means for the IPL. For us, it's about getting a bit of an understanding and certainty around what that means. Clearly, in a normal course, some of our best players are obviously top picks for those IPL teams," Hockley said.

"It's a bit premature to speculate on that. We need to understand what the plans are if any and once we understand that we will make decisions accordingly," he added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.