Odisha capital paints colourful picture
BHUBANESWAR: Take a trip around Bhubaneswar and you’ll see that the Odisha capital is being prepared for possibly its greatest sporting festival yet, the 14th edition of the Hockey World Cup that will take place at the Kalinga Stadium here from November 28 to December 16.
Hoardings and posters have been put up all over the city, creating a buzz among the residents here that their city will stage the World Cup in a fortnight.
The most striking aspect of the tournament’s promotion is in the form of beautiful murals that now adorn the city walls in several major squares. Artists have painted these murals depicting hockey players from various countries in action with many of them also giving the 3D feel.
TIRKEY THE STAR
The flyover nearest to the Kalinga Stadium has former India captain and local hero feels that if someone is wearing the (captain’s) band he will be different. We are not worried about who is wearing the band,” said the midfielder.
“From the goalkeeper to the striker, everyone is responsible on the pitch. Apni jagah par har koi captain hai (Everyone is a captain in their zone). So with us it is not that if some one is captain only he will decide everything because all decisions are taken as a team; whatever is good for the team we go for that.”
Though without the experience of forwards SV Sunil and Ramandeep Singh, and defender Rupinder Pal Singh, Manpreet is still confident of the 18-member Dilip Tirkey’s larger than life size mural looking at you.
As one gets closer to the tournament venue, one can see paintings of current Indian hockey stars such as skipper
Hockey is a team game; nobody in our team feels that if someone is wearing the (captain’s) band he will be different. We are not worried about who is wearing the band.
Manpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh and Akashdeep Singh.
BEAUTIFICATION DRIVE
The murals are part of the beautification project under the Street Art and Murals Project (STAMP) of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation.
Odisha is known for its artists, particularly sand art specialists like
Sudarshan
Pattnaik.
ISN’T IT SCANDALOUS THAT SOURAV GANGULY (CHAIRMAN, TECHNICAL COMMITTEE) IS BYPASSED BY BCCI ON TECHNICAL MATTERS?