Via our News tab (thanks WGiiA) we get a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been if only India had fielded a World Cup Team…of Hindu ascetics. From the Associated Press:
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June 21, 2006
First we play...then we'll meditate
53 comments
on June 21, 2006 5:08 PM · Direct link
BEST. PHOTOGRAPHS. EVER.
on June 21, 2006 5:19 PM · Direct link
Awesome photos!
on June 21, 2006 5:19 PM · Direct link
Wow, thanks! What great pics.
on June 21, 2006 5:20 PM · Direct link
ha! good thing they're not shaivic tantrics...
on June 21, 2006 5:23 PM · Direct link
How amazing is this!!!
on June 21, 2006 5:25 PM · Direct link
maybe they're practicing for hindu version of "the cup."
so far, they're luckier than their cambodian buddhist counterparts, who've received this stern advice:
Cambodian monks warned away from World Cup
The chief monk in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh has warned his charges away from the World Cup, but said that if they must watch matches, they should do so quietly.
"Nobody should allow monks to watch the World Cup or bet on the games," Non Ngeth said Monday.
"But because of the world's new technology, it is hard to ban the monks from watching the games because World Cup is too famous," he told AFP.
"If the monks cannot avoid watching the games, they should not scream and cheer as they watch," he said, adding that those who did enjoy the football spectacle would suffer bad karma.
"Buddha's rule does not allow monks to watch or to play games. Those monks who are found watching World Cup must be punished and kicked out from their pagodas," the capital's supreme religious patriarch said.
There are more 40,000 Buddhist monks in Cambodia. The World Cup matches, which kicked off in Germany last Friday, have been widely broadcast across the Southeast Asian kingdom.
on June 21, 2006 5:27 PM · Direct link
Excellent pictures. These dudes could have been the clumsiest players, but the beauty of football pictorials could make even the worst look half decent. Big clue -- look where the players' eyes are, comfortable players usually have them within a foot of the ball's vicinity.
on June 21, 2006 5:29 PM · Direct link
Legendary ones however, like Ronaldinho, have an instinctive feel for the ball and always keep it in their peripheral vision while scoping out possible throughball situations, so the ascetics could be pretty awesome as well. *Shrugs*
on June 21, 2006 5:34 PM · Direct link
These photos look doctored..
on June 21, 2006 5:42 PM · Direct link
The dude in the picture on the left looks like he's doing a Brazilian style step over to dummy for a back-heel pass....
Sadhudinho!
on June 21, 2006 5:50 PM · Direct link
they obviously haven't touched the ball at all. they've managed to levitate it purely through their ritual dancing and intense mental focus.
i also love how the white-haired sadhu actually played with and held onto his shawl for as long as possible before realizing it was hampering his style. or maybe he put it on for extra inspiration.
on June 21, 2006 6:16 PM · Direct link
I'm just impressed they are playing in chappal. It's hard enough to walk in heels...
on June 21, 2006 6:24 PM · Direct link
So, when they hit a goal, do they shout "OOOOOmmmmm"?
:-)
on June 21, 2006 7:17 PM · Direct link
Where is SpoorLam?
on June 21, 2006 7:30 PM · Direct link
He 3rd from the left in the 1st pic
on June 21, 2006 7:36 PM · Direct link
I wondered if they were doctored too. What do others think? Any expert on this sort of thing?
Hey, even if doctored they're fun anyway! Then they're 'art'!
on June 21, 2006 7:41 PM · Direct link
It's all fun
and games until
the onlookers realize
that the goal
they have sought
for so long
can only be
found within
themselves...
on June 21, 2006 7:46 PM · Direct link
Good show Mr. K.
on June 21, 2006 7:57 PM · Direct link
There's some serious marketing GOLD in these here pictures. I'd get a marketing whiz on this right away to pitch it to Nike, Adidas, Reebok etc to boost their Indian subcontinent market penetration strategy. This is like a Thomas Friedman wet dream.
on June 21, 2006 8:08 PM · Direct link
Finally they read Vivekananda: You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Bhagavad Gita
on June 21, 2006 8:12 PM · Direct link
Woah, how can the World Cup compete with Bhagwan Ball??
Other possibilities: Begging Bowl; Non-Soul Not-Cupped; Sanyasi Soccer...
Wait! I'll groan for you...
on June 21, 2006 8:15 PM · Direct link
any AP photographer who doctored photos to this extent, and without mentioning that it was doctored, would be in big trouble.
"Good show Mr. K."
second that.
on June 21, 2006 8:34 PM · Direct link
doctored from what? a kabbadi tournament?
on June 21, 2006 9:00 PM · Direct link
The tackle on the right looks quite Brazil-worthy :)
on June 21, 2006 10:36 PM · Direct link
Insane pictures .. made my day =)
on June 21, 2006 11:20 PM · Direct link
Too funny, See Indians have mad skillz.
on June 21, 2006 11:23 PM · Direct link
Niiice!
on June 22, 2006 12:05 AM · Direct link
photo may not be doctored..... but the scene itself mite have been, rather than being normal....
on June 22, 2006 12:23 AM · Direct link
Those are great pictures!!! They for real? Look real to me.
on June 22, 2006 6:59 AM · Direct link
Those are beautiful, but it doesn't strike me as all that strange except that it's impressive given their apparent age. If you're a Vaishnav, you could even make a case that it's a devotional art to maintain, much like garland-making and cooking. If Krishna wouldn't like soccer, I don't know who would.
on June 22, 2006 8:30 AM · Direct link
amazing pics ..
really good timing .. did any one of them score .. [:D]
on June 22, 2006 9:06 AM · Direct link
you found my uncle!!
on June 22, 2006 10:34 AM · Direct link
Not doctored...BBC etc wouldn't allow it.
Awesome stuff!
I just read an article about some head monk in Cambodia telling his monks that they would suffer bad karma if they indulged in the world cup! At least indian sadhus get their 'dum maro dum' on and can kick the ball around without worrying about being held back at the gates of heaven etc.
on June 22, 2006 11:11 AM · Direct link
Pictures are real. I just saw a TV report with video on one of the News channel in India, and boy, this Sadhus can play, at least some of them!.
on June 22, 2006 11:49 AM · Direct link
The pic is taken on the bank of Ganga, Allahabad. Way to go(al)!!
on June 22, 2006 12:03 PM · Direct link
People who doubt whether these pictures are doctored are victims of their own subjective preconception mechanism. Reasoning evolving from thought processes attributed to pre-established concepts existing in ones subconscious as the truth, will always suffer from anomalies if the truths or ideas that aided in such an evolution are erroneous.
Here the picture of Sadhus enjoying a game of Football has triggered anachronistic thought processes in many unsuspecting minds. These minds are provoked by the sight of events that are perceived as mutually exclusive; hence the dissonance and mistrust.
The hidden, raw, absolute truth is that Football is an Indian game and these Sadhus are partaking in a ritual that they have nurtured at its purest form for generations. White people who ruled India stumbled upon this beautiful game and manipulated it by adding shoes and fancy clothes to fit the demands of mainstream media and capitalistic societies. A ritual that is supposed to be performed barefoot has become a convoluted commercial circus. The Football World Cup is a morally defunct enterprise that is fuelled by greed and vested interest. By watching it, we are allowing our souls to decay to a state where ethics cease to exist and chaos reign. I can see the truth, why cant you?
Also, I think Ronaldo is fat and Roony looks like Shrek!
Peace.
on June 22, 2006 12:25 PM · Direct link
UberMetroMallu:
QUITE RIGHT! I bet that if we conducted a deeper investigation into the reasons for India's withdrawal from the 1950 World Cup, we'd find that FIFA officials were perfectly willing to let India play barefoot, but that righteous and brave young India demanded that EVERYONE play barefoot, as per the customs of the ancient game (which, incidentally, the sadhus had to keep secret for hundreds of years during Muslim rule - THAT's what they were doing in the mountains). THIS is the demand which FIFA (oppressive closed-toed bastards that they are) must have turned down.
Long live barefootball!!
Long live the Golden Goal Age!!!
on June 22, 2006 12:51 PM · Direct link
awesomeness..
sadhus dont need viagra in their old age..they get everything in their daily "booti", not to be confused with booty
on June 22, 2006 1:57 PM · Direct link
Jeet
:D
Good one!
on June 22, 2006 4:13 PM · Direct link
Thats pretty wild stuff man - nice find.
on June 22, 2006 6:48 PM · Direct link
even the sadhus need to live it up a little... maybe they are moving from renunciation to the middle path!
on June 22, 2006 7:13 PM · Direct link
Swami Ranganathananda (who passed away last year at 96) of the RK Mission is known to have played some 'mean' footballer and volleyballer himself.
on June 22, 2006 8:10 PM · Direct link
If only the US team had played as well!..why they wnet 4:5:1 is beyond me.. sigh.....
on June 23, 2006 2:24 AM · Direct link
I bet that if we conducted a deeper investigation into the reasons for India's withdrawal from the 1950 World Cup, we'd find that FIFA officials were perfectly willing to let India play barefoot, but that righteous and brave young India demanded that EVERYONE play barefoot, as per the customs of the ancient game
What makes you think this isn't India's 1950 team? :)
on June 23, 2006 9:52 AM · Direct link
In the first pic they are wearing shoes/slippers. In the second one they aren't. We haven't progressed much since 1950, have we?
:-)
on June 23, 2006 10:21 AM · Direct link
>>sadhus need to live it up a little... maybe they are moving from renunciation to the middle path
You are confusing Sadhus with Sanyasis. The latter is the one who renounces. Sadhus are worldly meditators. A nuclear scientist can become a sadhu after retirement.
So yes, Sadhus can play soccer.
M. Nam
on June 23, 2006 1:00 PM · Direct link
sexy.
on June 23, 2006 1:03 PM · Direct link
i'm surprised no one's brought this up yet...
hail monty python!
on June 23, 2006 1:39 PM · Direct link
on June 23, 2006 2:51 PM · Direct link
Terrific shots. We're using them (with credit) to illustrate our evening of live football commentary from Germany starting now... www.pierretristam.com
on August 10, 2006 1:08 AM · Direct link
no big deal!! doesnt look natural, they may not playing regularly. Might played for our great AP photographer.
Good show
on March 6, 2007 1:37 AM · Direct link
This is no good...I am not in favor of setup shots like these. Although the pictures look fascinating and interesting but being a photojournalist I wont favor capturing a set up shot like this.
on March 6, 2009 5:36 PM · Direct link
Funny stuff, here. I just found this, looking for the original link for the pic on the left, which I saw on the BBC news site some time ago. My favortie photo of all time; it says so much about the concept of faith to me. And you have to love the colors, as well as the fact that it is just a bunch of old guys playing ball. As an old lady (50+) who plays the beautiful game, I imagine I know how they feel, even though we are worlds apart in so many ways.
Anyway, I loved the discussion here and anyone who believes those pics were (a) doctored; or (b) set up, is missing the whole point. Some things are just meant to be. Soccer is one of them.
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