Live India, Love Football

This past weekend, I visited my home away from home away from home. It’s the place which I’ve been visiting for the past 6 years to recharge my batteries and remind me of everything which is right in the world. I’m talking about SGVP International School located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the state where my parents were born and where my Uncle established this world class spiritual and academic center. To me, SGVP is a direct reflection of what I love in life: spirituality, sports, culture and positive living. From the first day I entered the campus in 2006 I fell in love and knew that I would spend my life exploring ways I can contribute to this wonderful place. The only problem was that during my last dozen or so visits, it always seemed as though the school was providing me with a lot more than I was providing to it….until now. After 2 days of sunrise yoga, tasty Gujarati food, long spiritual conversations with the Swamis, prayers, speaking with students about life and football mat

A few nights ago I attended a press conference at the ITC Maurya in Delhi where FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced his support of the 2015 FIFA World Club Championships and the 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup being hosted in India. I had mixed emotions upon hearing these announcements. On one hand, it is fantastic news and exactly what Indian football needs in order to create some positive traction in the areas of infrastructure, youth development, marketing and national excitement around the sport. On the other hand, it was a challenge to ignore the general sense of skepticism in the room about whether or not AIFF and the state associations would actually be able to work together to successfully execute these events and properly leverage them in the best interest of the growth of the game. In the end, I brushed my skepticism aside and left the press conference in high spirits. The jovial mood wasn’t created by the ridiculous questions the Indian reporters asked Sepp Blatter or the FI

Holi is a fascinating holiday which is celebrated in India and wherever in the world Indians currently live. I’m still not 100% sure of the cultural significance of the holiday, however I’m now an expert with how to celebrate it properly. It goes something like this: wake up early, put on old clothes, get together with friends & family, pelt each other with colored dust, water balloons and other objects which cause mass colorization to body parts, dance to music, eat copious amounts of food and eventually go home, shower and sleep or watch movies the rest of the day. Now this may not be culturally accurate, however this has been my Holi experience over the years and I’m not looking to mess with what’s working. As my 3rd Holi in India was approaching, I started thinking about all of the fun ways I could spend the holiday. I racked my mind with ideas like going back to my yoga teacher’s Haryana village where I spent Holi last year, playing with the kids who live in my neighborhood,