Printed in bold letters in your morning newspaper, scrolling through the news channels and even during lazy post-lunch discussions, its Olympics fever everywhere. Kerala Sports Council decided to chip in their bit for the season.
Take the flight of steps leading to white shamiana set in the Central Stadium. Five rings floating in the mid air and the red carpet welcome you to what lies ahead. Maroon velvet laced boards arranged like a rectangular maze and on them photographs and cut-outs of the Olympics sorted in a chronological manner.
Made of fine marble, the Panathenaic stadium staged the 1896 Olympics, but it is said to have been transformed to a stadium by Athenian statesman, Lycurgus, in 330-329 BC for the athletic competitions of “Panathinea”. The first picture in the series, shows a black and white version of the stadium during the first Olympics meet.
Holding onto their bicycles, with a grim look on their mustached face, Paul Masson and Leon Flameng posed for the camera, with a beautiful stonewall as the backdrop. The picture is sure to catch your eye among several other oath taking moments, fencing duels, horse riding games etc. The look of anxiety in their eyes, the hint of victory in their smiles and the poise with which they pursued their passion, there are a lot of pictures that reveal such nuances that you can indulge in even if you aren’t really a sports freak.
Penny Heyns’s hawk eyed close up picture and Leon Rotman’s band-boyish smile with an oar in his hand when he secured a first for canoeing, during the 1956 Summer Olympics at Melbourne are two must notice pictures. Two boards are set aside for names more familiar to us, for people who have represented India at the Olympics level. Smiling faces include those of Shiny Wilson, P T Usha, Abhinav Bindra, Karnam Malleswari and K M Beenamol.
This photo exhibition is dedicated to Olympian Suresh Babu, who died on 19 February 2011 in Ranchi while attending the National Games of India. The exhibition was inaugurated by Sports Minister, K B Ganesh Kumar, who also distributed sports equipment to the Sports Academy on the occasion.
“We just aimed to spread awareness about Olympics and thought that it would be an interesting collage. We had planned it as a two day exhibition but owing to the crowd, we have extended it till this Sunday,” says Narendra Nair, District Sports Officer.
Whether you closely follow the Olympics or whether you are one of those blissfully ignorant ones who has recently developed an interest this season, drop in at the stadium to experience Olympics, in a nutshell.
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