The Leicester City of India

Everyone loves a good underdog story. Last year in May 2016, Leicester City scripted history by becoming the EPL champions and it was talked about for months. We can now say that history has been made in India too. Aizwal FC have become the first team from the North-East to win the I-League and they've really made India proud. Aizawl FC won their maiden I-League title following a dramatic season finale, which saw them going toe-to-toe with Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan. On the final day of the season, Aizawl, who had 36 points from 17 matches, needed only a draw to be crowned champions ahead of Bagan, who trailed them by three points. Their 1-1 draw against another club from the Northeast, Shillong Lajong, confirmed the stunning achievement for Aizawl FC, who, in the process, became the first team from the Northeast to win the national championship.

What was the journey of Aizawl FC like?

It’s an incredible tale at many levels, not because Aizawl were relegated to the second division last year. That was their debut season and Aizawl’s young, untested players were seen as not good enough at this level and the team’s nightmare ended with them being bundled out of the league. This season, as the clubs from Goa boycotted the league due to a tiff with the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Aizawl were brought back, just to make the numbers. The reinstatement happened barely a month before the start of the new season in January.

Every great team needs a great coach. Khalid Jamil was appointed as Aizawl FC’s head coach just before the start of the 2016-17 season and he delivered it for them. Jamil, born in Kuwait to Indian parents, had been sacked by Mumbai FC last season after a seven-year stint with the team. The club thought he wasn’t ambitious enough and termed his seven years with the team “a failure”. A similar scenario was observed with Claudio Ranieri too.

At the start of this season, Aizawl’s target was to avoid relegation, which was understandable for a club with modest means. In Mizoram, they joke about how one Mohun Bagan player can pay for the entire Aizawl team. Unofficial estimates put their annual budget at Rs 1.25 crore, which includes players’ fee, food, travel, stay and medical expenses. That is one crore less than what Bagan reportedly pays its costliest player, Haiti’s Sony Norde.

But just like Bengaluru had shown three years ago, Aizawl too have proven that teams with virtual unknowns can win big. And win in style. Every match day, sceptics waited for this bunch of novices to trip but they have played on. They remained unbeaten at home and played a brand of football that is synonymous with teams from the Northeast – attacking, yet sublime. The packed stands, even on weekdays, were testimony a state that is crazy about its football. The culture and passion of the states like Mizoram, Assam & Shillong have created an example for others to follow.

Hilex Water Tank Overflow Talking Alarm

The road ahead for Aizawl FC looks very bright and the recent decision that the I-league and ISL merger won't be happening for at least 2-3 years gives them hope to carry forward their legacy and provide a platform to showcase North East football.

What happened to Ash Ketchum's original Pokemon in Indigo League?

I am a huge fan of Pokemon (mainly the Kanto Chapter- the Indigo League) . It was an integral part of my children just like many of my friends. Ash Ketchum’s original 6 Pokemon team consisted of Pikachu, Charizard, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, and an honorable mention, Muk. He caught them and their fates are as follows:

1. Pikachu - Given to him by Professor Oak, the bond between the two grew and grew, and Pikachu remains with Ash over 700 episodes later.
2. Charizard - Charmander was found abandoned by its trainer, but Ash rescued it and nursed it back to health. It would eventually evolve into Charmeleon and Charizard very quickly, but as a result lost its respect for Ash. After being frozen in an ice beam attack on the Orange Islands, Charizard would regain its obedience to Ash’s orders. Eventually it would be left at a special camp for Charizards in order to strengthen its skills.
3. Squirtle - Originally a member of the Squirtle Squad, a bespectacled quartet of delinquents, the leader would join Ash’s team early in the show. Eventually it would return to its squad, converted into a firefighting team, but can be called upon when Ash needs Squirtle’s help.
4. Bulbasaur - Bulbasaur was befriended by Ash, but Ash decided to capture him in a more conventional sense, in a battle. Bulbasaur would go on to resist evolution, preferring its current form, and live at Professor Oak’s laboratory, serving as a peacekeeper between all the different pokemon there.
5. Pidgeotto - Caught in Viridian forest, Pidgeotto served as one of Ash’s strongest pokemon. However when a flock of fellow Pidgeys and Pidgeotto’s was threatened, Pidgeotto evolved into Pidgeot in order to save them. Ash would subsequently release Pidgeot, who would serve and protect its newfound flock.
6. Butterfree - Caught as a caterpie in Viridian Forest, Caterpie quickly evolved into a Butterfree, and was one of Ash’s favorite pokemon. Upon meeting a female pink butterfree, Butterfree was released in order to live happily with her

Inspiring story of the MAN in Man vs Wild

Everybody, at some point in their lives, has experienced failure. It could be something as simple as not getting the job you wanted, or getting fewer marks even after working your ass off. But what defines you is not your failure, but how you get back up after being hit. Here is the story of a wildlife presenter on the Discovery Channel

After leaving school, he briefly considered joining the Indian Army and hiked in the Himalayan mountains of Sikkim and West Bengal. Eventually, he joined the Territorial Army and, after passing selection, served as a reservist with the SAS in 21 SAS Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), for three years until 1997.

Changing Education Paradigms

    Every country on earth at the moment is reforming public education. There are two reasons for it. The first one is economic - people trying to work out how we educate our children to take their place in economies the 21^st century. Given that we can’t anticipate what economy will look like at the end of next week. The second is cultural. Every country on earth on earth is trying to figure out how we educate our children so that they have a sense of cultural identity and so that we can pass on the cultural genes of communities while being part of the process of globalization. The problem is they’re trying to meet the future by doing what they did in the past and on the way that alienating millions of kids who don't see any purpose in going to school. When we went to school, there was a story which is a child has worked hard and did well got a college degree. Many nowadays won’t agree to it.  You’re better having a degree than not but it’s not a guarantee anymore that you get a job particularly if it doesn’t teach us a few important things which we should have learnt. The problem is that the current system education was designed and conceived and structured for different age.

Schools are organised on factory lines, ringing bells, separate facilities, specialized in two separate subjects. We still educate children by batches. We put them through the system by age group. Why do we do that? The most important thing kids have in common is how old they are you. It’s not the most important about the day of manufacture. There are kids who are much better than other kids the same age in different disciplines or different times the day or bettering smaller groups. It is the need of the hour to stop the production line mentality and standardization procedures.

    We need to believe it on exact opposite direction that’s what I mean about changing the paradigm. Divergent thinking isn't the same thing as creativity. The definition of creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value.  Divergent thinking isn't a synonym but it’s an essential capacity for creativity. It’s the ability see lots of possible ways to answer a question and interpret it.  In various longitudinal studies, it is observed that a child has the ability to interpret a question in many different ways as compared to a teenager and much more capability than an adult. We are told don't look and don't copy because that's cheating mean outside schools that's called collaboration in international schools. This is because teachers want it this way it just because it happens that way. It's because it in the gene pool education have to think differently about human capacity we have to get over this whole conception of academic, non-academic abstract, theoretical, vocational. We need to understand and recognize that most great learning happens in groups the collaboration is the stuff of growth. If the atomized people in separate theming judge them separately we form a kind of disjunction between them and the natural learning environment. It’s crucially about the culture of our institutions the habits and institution and the habitats that they occupy.

    The nation needs an education system that excites and stimulates children, providing them with the learning they need - and deserve - to fulfil their potential.  This means providing a curriculum of practical and vocational learning alongside theoretical study.  This need for change has never been more pressing.  It is not due to the fault of any individual, any school or even any one political party but due to the simple fact the world has changed - and our education system has not changed fast enough.  Indeed, it is largely based on a system developed over a century ago; a factory manufacturing model where children are placed on a learning conveyor belt, then sorted, packaged and labelled according to their so-called intelligence.

    We must recognise that young people are individuals with different talents and dreams.  As such, not all children learn in the same way.  We need to move towards a system of mass customisation, based on a strong common core of essential skills and knowledge, which allows young people to develop their own particular talents and aspirations. We must support young people in discovering what they enjoy and are good at - and who they want to be in life.  And we must encourage and support teachers and schools in responding to these different needs.  Young people will learn if they see learning as important, meaningful and worthwhile. 

    The seeds of change are sprouting - but they won’t automatically grow.  For them to flourish they need to be recognised and nurtured.  They need the support of the nation; from parents, to young people and the government.

“The function ofeducation is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”Martin Luther King, Jr.