~ Why do we Pray?...~

So, what in essence is the logic behind the prayer? Why do we pray? Is it the fear of that unknown power which we deep inside think can do anything to our existence, anything worse which is beyond our control and we fall back at our nadir Or we stand with folded hands before that unknown source of energy to just thank him for our daily existence.

We have many loose points and much to fall back on, what happens when we lose someone special or we can be made miserable within nick of time through some unpleasant events in our life. Prayers for many of us can be our offering of gratitude and thanks giving to the almighty or that unknown consciousness, whatever we may call it, at the same time Prayers can be our selfish desire to want and achieve something substantial with a cult which we firmly know deep inside our soul that cannot be achieved without an invisible hand or providence. 

We bribe God many a time – this is a hard and compelling fact which we know internally but would not accept openly. Sit in silence and think as to how many times have we been gracious enough to thanks the almighty for giving us tough situations and then held our hand to pass through those toughest moments or for that matter we have been bestowed on so many happy moments to fall back on whilst we were ignorant to facts of our living.

Many a time is see humble prostrations from sundry who by the look of their body gesture have succumbed to the perils and pressures of life – they have got to know one big thing in life –“We are not the doer of this world, we didn’t created it and we cannot control various situations in its entirety!”, one who has ingrained this pivotal thought in their mind would start living happily as the burden of the doership will just vanish from his /her being. You will just do your best proposition with all your might and faithfulness and leave the rest to that ultimate power to give you results.

There have been many such examples in our lives which proves beyond measure such facts which makes us believe in this simple Idiom “ We are not running this world, there sure is some divine intelligence who is taking care of situations for every atom or molecule in this universe and not only this planet.!”

Many Scientists, Astrophysicists, Medical professionals, Researchers and Engineers when go deep into their research find perfection in every sphere of their research – at a grandeur level, observe our galaxy and solar system – so much perfection has been attained to provide life on our planet, everything seems to be aligned with one another in perfect harmony – a genuine question thus begets to the thoughtful mind “Who created this perfectness? And how? “. We still don’t know how life began on earth and how universe was formed. All these questions make us believe that there is definitely some primordial power or conscience who has created this grand design for us to exist.

Patiently observing the marvel of life and death , you will start to believe the power of his ‘Maya’ which begets situations to unearth with the passage of time as we loose souls who have been living with us for ages and we don’t know where have they gone now. On the other hand,  we make additions to our families with advent of newborn children, whom we don’t know from where have they come in our life!

Our prayers for that source of wisdom gives us that adrenaline rush to start again lest we fall. The incomprehensible nature of life makes us believe in His existence in our life as a driving force and as a divine energy who is channelized in our life each day. This cat and mouse game shall always be there for humanity to surrender to the surreal world we called “Maya”, our only resolve will be a total submission towards our thoughts and every act we do to achieve our objectives taking into consideration the uncontrollable results which we would incur on daily basis… Praying is the only solution towards our liberation, sooner or later you will realize this in due course of your life…

~ Theology of Life ~

Today I draw my thoughts and imagination to a very vital question towards our fag end of our existence, these thoughts generally come to your mind when you hear some unfortunate news of someone calling it a day!

Suddenly your mind focuses on the personality that he / she was and about your relationship with him / her and may be the good times you might have shared with the soul.

Going by our mystic philosophy, we sometimes ponder about the other dimension we will go soon after we loose our physical bodies, varied thoughts come to your zestful mind, how that other world would be, what would be cause of our death in this world, how it will occur, will it be painful, who will we meet when we co to the other sphere of life.

Everyone at some time in life wonders what happens after death. Throughout history, some of the most thoughtful minds have advocated that life does not end with the death of our body but continues on via a process known as reincarnation. In the Western world, followers of the Orphic religion in ancient Greece were the first known exponents of reincarnation. They were succeeded by Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and a host of other philosophers.

The Vedic literature of India advocates that the soul, or “Atma”, gives life to the body. Life does not arise from a particular combination of material elements as some modern scientists theorize. At the time of death, we leave one body and enter a new one. That is called reincarnation, many old civilizations believed in the process of reincarnations. Civilizations such as Egyptians used to preserve the mummified bodies of the dead with a hope that one day it would come back to life as an incarnation, 

The concept is not as alien as it might seem. We can observe that we change from one body to another throughout our lifetime. Our body at birth is completely different from our adult body. Yet throughout these changes, the conscious self remains the same. Similarly, the conscious self remains the same at death and transfers from one body to the next in the cycle of reincarnation. 

Our present body is the result of a long series of actions and reactions in previous lives. The law that governs this is known as karma: every action has a reaction. Our previous actions have produced our present body, and our current actions will determine our next body. 

Only in the human form can we free ourselves from the endless cycle of reincarnation, of birth and death, by re-establishing our eternal, loving relationship with Lord Krishna. As Krishna states in Bhagavad Gita 8.16, “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one attains to My abode. never takes birth again.” 

~ Are You Rich or Poor...~

Sitting with best of minds make you ponder on lateral question which begets you conscience every now and then. Today had a conversation which stretched beyond prescribed times but was spellbound and resulted in spectacular observation which you can ponder on in any stage of your life should you feel down or hapless. 

The million-dollar question that came during the general chit-chat was “Are you rich or poor?”,

We were group of four chaps sharing a common table in the neighborhood park and out of curiosity started to converse with each other.

One Septuagenarian out of us was eager to answer the question in his own vernacular. He seemed to be over eager to quote a fine example to all three of us and make us explain the relevance of his answer. He gave us his introduction to be a retired mathematics teacher of a Government school and he often caressed his students with his life wisdom rather than bookish rotes, he thus began: 

One day I popped up a life’s most intriguing question “ Are you Rich or Poor?”, the students got a little confused and seems to be in a fix to answer this presumably looking straight forward question. Sensing that I would not get an answer I started my explanation to the same. 

I asked the class following questions: 

1. What is ZERO?

2. What is INFINITY?

3. Can ZERO and INFINITY be same? 

Some of the students spoke in tandem and thus replied as following, 

ZERO means nothing 

INFINITY means a number greater than any countable number. 

ZERO and INFINITY are opposite and they can never be same

Listening to the answer from students, I rolled out another related question towards them.

 ‘How can there be any number which is greater than any countable number?’

 As expected, there was pin drop though provoking silence in the class and  I had no answers. 

I then explained the concept of infinity in a very interesting way, which I remember even after more than 35 years. 

I said that imagine that there is an illiterate shepherd who can count only upto 20.Now, if the number of sheep he has less than 20 and you ask him how many sheep he has, he can tell you the precise number (like 3, 5 14 etc.). However, if the number is more than 20, he is likely to say, “TOO MANY”. 

I then explained that in science infinity means ‘too many’ (and not uncountable) and in the same way zero means ‘too few’ (and not nothing). As an example, he said that if we take the diameter of the Earth as compared to distance between Earth and Sun, the diameter of earth can be said to zero since it is too small. However, when we compare the same diameter of earth with the size of a grain, diameter of earth can be said to be infinite. 

Hence, I concluded that the same thing can be ZERO and INFINITE at the same time, depending on the context, or your matrix of comparison. The relationship between richness and poverty is similar to the relationship between infinity and zero.

 *It all depends on the scale of comparison with your wants*.

 *If your income is more than your wants, you are rich. If your wants are more than your income, you are poor.* 

I finally concluded the conversation by telling them that I consider myself rich because my wants are far less than my income. I have become rich not so much by acquiring lots of money, but by progressively reducing my wants. If you can reduce your wants, you too can become rich at this very moment.

When he finished, we had a gala applause to his wisdom, he had convincingly stated and made us believe on to the simple explanation of one of life’s intricate question. 

Thanks Uncle for todays Session, I hope we all cater to and follow up on this valuable life lesson for the rest of our existence on this planet.!

~ Rs 5, is all it is..~

 Today, I write about my first hand experience of what Rs 5 means to many, though for us it might be just a negligible amount which we might even don’t think of when there is no change  to be given back to us whilst we go shopping. When you are providing home cooked food for a nominal amount of Rs.5 / plate consisting of morsel of food containing four chapatis, lentils , Rice, Salads and a sweetener sometimes, your hunger would satiate only when you will partake some of it.

You get to experience humility of a lifetime when you become a part of a initiative which includes providing for sumptuous lunch to the downtrodden and the unprivileged section of society. Within no time your see serpentine queue being formed consisting of people who want to have lunch priced at unbelievable rates.

Suddenly a voice is raised, and you hear thus, “Bhaiya, mere pass paanch Rupay nahi hain!” – [Brother, I don’t have Rs.5], expecting that he would not be served the lunch, he continuously looks into the cauldron full of freshly cooked rice along with ladle serving lentils. He loses hope of being fed but suddenly gets a help from a lonely stranger who offers to pay for him. The camaraderie of people standing in the queue to have grab of their plate is worth watching. Unknown to each other but still forming a bond over those few minutes when they are in the queue is a lesson learnt on humanity. It was not that he would be bereft of his afternoon lunch, but it was made available by a person not knowing him – may be the similarity of predicament they are makes them help each other at such odd times.

The queue starts again and suddenly one more chap turns up with a cheeky smile as if he wanted to tell something different which he actually did. He had a short story to tell “bhaiya, mere pass teen rupay hi hain, do rupay kahin gir gaye !” – [ Brother, I only have Rs 3 and I lost Rs 2 coins somewhere!”], there was certainly no cause of concern and he was served lunch with same aplomb and with no differentiation whatsoever. There are many such examples which make you feel about how important Rs 5 is for them, a full plate can be served, and they can have lunch which is sufficient to satisfy their hunger.

Many of them would come with a second round of having lunch and not before praising the taste of the succour demand more by taking out the humble Rs 5 note crumbled inside one of their pockets. The second time they have their lunch, many burp and give us a genuine feedback of how they felt about the taste and also about the feel they had whilst they had their meal. Feedbacks such as “Bhaiya bahut swadhisht khana tha,bilkul ghar jaisa!” – [Brother, the lunch was very tasty, felt as if it was home cooked!”] – such a feedback acts as a catalyst of motivation for us to serve such souls better day by day and make us feel satisfied by merely seeing such people having a sated appetite and thereafter moving back towards doing their daily chores as satisfied souls!

~ Lets be Free...~

Talking to a friend today, a question popped up in my mind and I was quick to ask him the same out of curiosity, just to know about his thoughts of freedom.

“What does freedom mean to you?” I asked, his reaction to this out of context question was “ Just a holiday to relax and do my own things!” , firstly I presumed his wife must have gone outside 😊 but was proven wrong as I could hear her voice behind the scenes.

His answer started to make me ponder about our meaning of ‘Freedom’ and that do we really value it in todays time. I thought this newfound freedom was misjudged to certain degree and but for me this newfound freedom has to be adored and respected beyond measure, it was with much sweat and sacrifice which lead us to call ourselves free. So what does freedom mean to you in true parlance, is it the gesture of doing things what you like or going your own way without any restrictions of time, place or anything else which you think can bind you. Freedom has many interpretations, we may have judge freedom to be free from any acts of duress, compulsion or pressure, as we may act at our own will to the best of our abilities and knowledge.

Today being the India’s 75^th Independence Day, a lot of thought goes into the times when we were in bondage of foreign power, black and white pics and trailers show us the treatment we were meted out in our own land. We were truly oppressed citizens , what we may call ourselves as 2^nd class at that time but certainly this great nation had the vision and visionaries who didn’t wanted to live in bondages of life bestowed upon them, just with this noble thought the great Indian struggle towards achieving independence started.

Moving to current times, do we in 21^st century admire and cherish the freedom we are living in, many of us have not seen those traumatic days but only have heard stories of partition and death, the penury which followed after independence, all seems to be a story for us, but on a serious note we truly undermine the gesture. Cut short just 4 months back , when many of us were confines to our homes and were severely restricted by Covid, we started to hear stories of domestic violence, depression, anxiety and even suicide. In just few months we lost hope of a bright sunrise next morning, the melancholy seeped in and we didn’t see the end of the tunnel – today, if we are told that this would continue for next couple of years and would turn stringent, think of the conditions we are heading to. Freedom is what we want to achieve our true potential, be it freedom of choice, thought or action, it is the single most important aspect of our life which shapes it. Our parents out rightly gave us freedom to express ourselves and tell us what we want in life or what we want to do, today what we are is result of such expression of freedom.

Man is born free and his freedom is an asset which comes to him naturally, bounding him to the confines of physicality or a mental graffiti would enrage him beyond a certain point of achievement. Give him time and space to act and you will get wonderous results beyond your expectations!

Your achievements in life is set on the bedrock of freedom as you experiment with different ideas of workmanship, when you succeed you enjoy your pursuits with much chaste and show to the world the consequence of what you can do if given a free hand. I read so many inspiring examples of women who have set foot in man's bastion and have openly challenged its hierarchy, the Indian woman hockey team is the best example I would like to quote here. Many of girls come from unprivileged backgrounds with no access to basic needs of life, but only one thing was given them – “Freedom” to act and chase their dreams….Next time when the world ‘Freedom’ comes to your mind, pause and thanks all those noble souls starting from your home who gave you’re the liberty to be what you wanted to be…

Though coming back to my friends’ state of mind, had go got his freedom whilst his wife at home was altogether another question of debate…. Till then…

Happy Independence Day India...!!!

~ My Joker...~

He is the night watchman of the park, roams around as if he has owned it since centuries. The canine has been a somber looking dog which I have befriended whilst I was going through my regular dose of brisk walking. Quite suddenly he started to follow me silently and behold, he just did two full rounds of the park aisle as if he was doing his sort of brisk walk.

He didn’t growl on other dogs which came to his vicinity and quietly ignored their presence as he seemed to be quite focused on walking and following me. One thing I noticed, he didn’t surpassed me though he could have done that quite easily and without any fuss, he just didn’t! I have pet named him as ‘joker’ as he do some weird things on his own, sometimes trying to catch his own tail to the merriment of all, at other times he is engrossed in his own thoughts and after calling him with lot of pooches , he would not pay any heed to your lovely calls He is a moody canine but still has become cynosure of all eyes, many walk away pedestrians lovingly call him and give him bread and mill, biscuits and other left overs of home, which he nourishes quite happily. 

Just the other day, after it had rained profusely, I went for my evening strolls and was also parallelly on the lookout for my ‘Joker’, but couldn’t locate him, I searched him at his favorite place but my search went in vain, as time passed my search went hopeless and it was time to go back home but suddenly I saw my joker cleverly hiding in the municipality installed dustbin, which he had made his temporary shelter!

Apparently, he had thrown out all the collected garbage dump and comfortably placed himself in and was enjoying the drizzling, he must be having a good time of his life. As I restrained in calling him, as he would surely come out to meet me but would have unsettled his comatose position which he was so passionately enjoying, as a result I moved on, quite happily seeing that my joker was happy and safe and had protected himself out of outpour!

Canines are very emotional fellows and can sense your mood quite effectively, maybe they have been given the sixth sense, they can foretell eventualities. My joker was upset the other day as he sat meekly resigning to situation. He was not responding in his favorite mood as I sensed that something was surely wrong with him. Then after some days I got to know that he had lost his friend to an accident adjacent to the road, he was grieving and was not at his playful best, just a cuddle and talk wont do, giving him milk and biscuits turned out to be a failure.

 I sat with him for quite some time and was talking to him in my own tone, cuddling him, trying to make his mood happy, he started to respond though not at his best. After few days as his grim mood settled, he was again at his best, as playful and jolly as I know him. Through this short instance of his life, Joker taught me a lesson though, nothing is permanent in life, keep moving, you will have your share of ups and downs, you will feel bad but uplift yourself from your grief and stalk walking…that’s Life!

~ Early Success - A Dilemma...~

What has been the intrinsic value you have derived from the money you have earned till date, has it made your life happier or have you gone miserable thinking about to doubling it or investing in all sorts of propositions that have open up the flood gates of investments. A friend of mine has been in a position of power in Big 5 accounting firms and has been hovering around numbers for almost a decade, till recently he had made a formidable portfolio to the envious of all, he was going at the right way of an ‘early retirement plan’ which most of the early successful youth aim for. He has done it but not with problems which are copious to his treading this path of wealth and fortitude as up there on the pinnacle of his professional height, he feels lonely and sidelined by average outs there in the society.

A quick view around your living, one can see many strugglers entrenched in daily living and balancing the limited amount of resources they have, the zeal for them to do this is their immediate family and friends – the souls they can bank upon at time of aloofness, but here I am confronting a guy who is all set and done at a middle age of his life, having accumulated riches and wants to enjoy his new found success but the point is with whom ?

The circle he has ventured out is always busy in acquiring fame and trying to climb up the ladder of society, the family is of support but now that the kids are on their own and have just entered collegiate education, don’t have time anymore for their ‘Rich and Lonely’ father, the wife has made her own kitty party circle over a period of time which she doesn’t want to loose as that would certainly bring back loneliness in her life. 

His parents have their own group of oldies with whom they love to gel up, as he has been ignoring them for quite some time now, destiny would settle scores with him at this juncture. The only ray of hope comes in the form of his sister who is as loving as she was when both had a brilliant camaraderie, he tells me that he calls her everyday to discuss matters and shed his inhibitions.

Today, my friend finds himself in a complex vagary of life, where most people want to be financially secure and then start a retired life, he has achieved the acumen at a middle age and now has ample time to defy his aloneness! The other day he told me that he has started to invest his riches in Himalayas to find ‘Solace’, an escape from the daily buzz of life, hearing this I was quick to interpret his state as a ‘Victim of Success’ as his achievements are now paining him to do more as he enters the highness of the sophisticated society, though he doesn’t want to be a part of it anymore, but the pulls will not leave him for quite some time now! It was his own choosing to break the shackles of his middle class upbringing and do something ‘Big’ in his life, he did but not for a price, which he is paying now.

His confused state of mind is a learning allegory to me and may be to many who would read his story – everything you achieve will come with a cost attached to it, weather it is time, money, health, family all needs equal respect…you ignore any one and you fall to your nadir… As the conversation ended, a prelude to a next phase of our life, all I could tell him is ‘Best of luck!” for his future endeavors, as I know that he has the acumen and the skill to fight it back , I expect he would be a better caller the next time we converse on the state of his living.. till then let’s wait and watch!

~ In between Times…~

 The two wanders around the streets of our mart, they know the narrow lanes and the gangways crisscrossing between the shops and offices and have been a regular visitor every summers far away from their home in Rajasthan. Both of them are school going kids and have taken a ‘Break’ due to Corona pandemic as their government school have gone virtual. They need not be present in the class as they have an excuse of low or no internet connectivity, though they sometimes log-in intermittently to ‘See’ who is online and who is not or just to say a simple ‘Hi’ to their fellow classmates.

Raju and Monu are new to our office vicinity as just the other day I spotted them loitering around looking for prospective customers who would offer them to polish their boots. As I asked them why they have come to so far of land just for this menial job – quickly Raju replies “Bhaiya, this is the easiest of the jobs I could have learnt without doing much effort. I am in class 9^th and I know some computer too, but no one will give me a desk job, also I don’t have a shave yet so I don’t look big enough to be doing an office job.”

Monu the other street urchin was at its elementary best – when I asked him to pose for a photo of his which I will make him show in Computer, he was elated and stood with his favorite ‘Stand Straight’ pose, though somewhat grinning, he has his own story to tell – He is from Ajmer, a popular town in Indian state called ‘Rajasthan’ and his father is a cobbler here in Delhi – as per him, quite boldly and with a steadfast accent he tells ‘This is a family business and I can earn quick money out of it, moreover, I don’t love to study and be restricted to the confines of school. He is in class 7th in the same school but he has one penchant quality - he is sharp minded in looking at people who could be his prospective customers.

As there was something which was captivating me to join them in some sort of conversations, a nearby tea stall did the trick. My new found friends were invited for a morning tea cuppa, to which they readily agreed. We three had a nice morning conversations with a cup of Tea and our desi snacks – “mathri’ (flaky biscuits), which quite coincidently we all loved. That is the only parallels we three could draw as we differentiated in our thoughts of what life is, may be at this age of my life, the empirical’s that I have lived far outlive theirs and they have much to understand and experience to come to terms with my observation of life – as they say ‘time is a big teacher’, may be one day they will understand the true meaning of our little conversation.

As we emptied our tea cuppa, it was time to disperse as for Raju and Monu , they had done their breakfast and had to find customers to earn their daily bread and butter, for me it was time to go home and start my daily chores. As I said byes to them, the meeting had profoundly made me think about the life ahead for these youngsters, full of life they were and didn't much knew what lies ahead as they are missing on the prized time of life doing nitty-gritty of things which they should not , the pennies they are earning is a huge contrast to the time they are wasting, though they are loving their freedom now but a time would come that they will have serious regret of what they have shaped their lives… 

I wanted to converse with them more, but today’s meeting was meant to be as an introductory liaison , may be next time I meet both of them we will set the accord straight…may be they get back to their homes and start concentrating in their studies… till then, eagerly waiting for that meeting...

~So this is the end...~

Walking down the aisle, the slow moment of his body is a side effect of the age he is going through in his life. The body has turned fragile and is weak enough to carry its own weight. Slowly but steady degeneration of body has happened. But is it the end for all of us, the cycle from birth to its inevitable death? A question caught my mind as I see the octogenarian trying to walk passively and wishing everyone ‘Ram Ram’ as a gesture of his presence.

Sultry thoughts engulfed my mind as I repeatedly passed him after every round. He travels at a slow pace but his zeal to cover the ground is remarkable. I quickly put myself at his place and wonder, if at all we would be in flesh and blood, would we be having such zeal to still come to park for our own benefit and try to defy the aloofness which age causes along with zillion other anomalies!

The answer which came to my mind is ‘God knows and only time will tell.”, at almost half of the gentleman’s age, we are at a point of life where we have started to bear the brunt of worsening bodies – tender bones, lack of agility and various other pitfalls. The whole life we are chasing our dreams and trying to fulfill our deepest desires to be left in such a situation by passage of time when we stand almost helpless and a living on an bonus time each day!

He comes with his benchmark attire, a tericot trousers with a neatly pressed Shirt along with his pet shoes and a cane stick, which gives him an aristocratic look. He takes his own time to sit and roam around the park and has no fixed route to follow, though he comes at a fixed time and leaves the place before twilight, owing to his weak eyesight.

Just other day, the gentleman was seen encouraging the kids whilst they were playing their games – may be a thought ventured onto him and he started to remember his younger days – hopefully, we would also end up living the same life when we are done with our current responsibilities of life and age would not be on our side, days would be counted for the final inevitability, though many of us wont like to talk about it at this juncture of their life.

“So this is the final end when your most favorite possession, your body, won’t be listening to your commands, you will have to tread it quite shamelessly to stay fit and be independent at that fragile age of your life…” ,I told myself and overtook uncle, with my thoughts that there must have been a time in his life too, when he used to overtake many other pedestrians. 

Quite unthinkably so, the cycle of life would keep on repeating itself till eternity and today its his time to walk slow as this is what he can do to the best of his abilities, tomorrow we would be in his footsteps and someone would be observant towards us and thinking about his old age… the end would be a new beginning …

~ What Women are...~

Indian women Hockey team captain Rani Rampal letter cascading human endeavor and triumph to achieve a marvelous feat of victory – a dominion where male chauvinism and patriarchy has been the center point for this type of sport. Her personal vendetta and fight against all odds, the circumstances which lead her to believe on herself abilities combined with her power of thought which showcases a fine example of what Champions are made up of !

Her verbatim, “I wanted an escape from my life; from the electricity shortages, to the mosquitoes buzzing in our ear when we slept, from barely having two square meals to seeing our home getting flooded when it rained. My parents tried their best, but there was only so much they could do– Papa was a cart puller and Maa worked as a maid.

There was a hockey academy near my home, so I’d spend hours watching players practice–I really wanted to play. Papa would earn Rs.80 a day and couldn't afford to buy me a stick. Every day, I’d ask the coach to teach me too. He’d reject me because I was malnourished. He’d say, ‘You aren’t strong enough to pull through a practice session.’

So, I found a broken hockey stick on the field and began practicing with that– I didn’t have training clothes, so I was running around in a salwar kameez. But I was determined to prove myself. I begged the coach for a chance and told him “Sir, maine bahut mushkil se convince kiya unko finally!”

But when I told my family, they said, ‘Ladkiya ghar ka kaam hi karti hai,’ and ‘Hum tumhe skirt pehen kar khelne nahi denge.’ I’d plead with them saying, ‘Please mujhe jaane do. If I fail, I’ll do whatever you want.’ My family reluctantly gave in.

Training would start early in the morning. We didn’t even have a clock, so mom would stay up and look at the sky to check if it was the right time to wake me.

At the academy, it was mandatory for each player to bring 500 ml of milk. My family could only afford milk worth 200 ml; without telling anyone, I’d mix the milk with water and drink it because I wanted to play.

My coach supported me through thick and thin; he’d buy me hockey kits and shoes. He even allowed me to live with his family and took care of my dietary needs. I’d train hard and wouldn’t miss a single day of practice.

I remember earning my first salary; I won Rs.500 after winning a tournament and gave the money to Papa. He hadn’t ever held so much money in his hands before. I promised my family, ‘One day, we’re going to have our own home’; I did everything in my power to work towards that.

After representing my state and playing in several championships, I finally got a national call up at the age of 15! Still, my relatives would only ask me when I was planning on getting married. But Papa told me, ‘Play until your heart’s content.’ With my family’s support, I focused on doing my best for India and eventually, I became captain of the Indian hockey team!

Soon after, while I was at home, a friend papa used to work with visited us. He brought along his granddaughter and told me, ‘She’s inspired by you and wants to become a hockey player!’ I was so happy; I just started crying.

And then in 2017, I finally fulfilled the promise I made to my family and bought them a home. We cried together and held each other tightly! And I’m not done yet; this year, I’m determined to repay them and Coach with something they’ve always dreamed of– a gold medal from Tokyo."

~ Looser's are Winners...~

Sports have been an integral part of one life, during our younger days almost everyone was engrossed in playing his / her favorite sport till eternity – the only time we went back home was due to a reprimand from our vociferous grandparents…

Now that many of us sit at the cool comforts of our homes and watch the Olympics, there are many teachings that the sport camaraderie tells and speaks volumes about.

For many a ‘Bronze’ is a well-deserved medal than a ‘Silver’ which though has a high pedestal when one receives it, but it is only ‘Won’ when you fail, quite contrary to the Bronze which you have to “win” to procure it! so when our favorite P.V Sidhu won the coveted Bronze medal, it taught me a lesson , you have to fight till the end when you have fought your battle and still emerge as a winner after many defeats!

By this logic, a Bronze medal winner is happier than a ‘Silver’ medalist though he has a higher rank. The Bronze medal has been won by the grit of the player though he lost his contention to ‘Gold’ or ‘Silver’. The player does not loose his aim even after the defeat and continues till the last end with a hope of ‘Winning’ the ‘Bronze’.

Following the Olympics spirit, we have seen many examples of humane emotions overpowering the power knacks of sportsmen. A case in point is Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi facing Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim in the final of Men’s high jump when the Italian was injured and was not able to compete further – earlier both had jumped 2.37 meters and were on a tie! The sportsman spirit took the better off the Qatari athlete and he withdrew from the final jump and thus another sporting history was made – that the ‘Gold was shared for the first time in the Men’s high jump event on compassionate grounds!” , though Olympic rules allowed this to happen and due permissions were taken on this before arriving at any decision.

For many of us this is no little wonder, Olympic Gold is the ornament one would like to wear as a triumph of a powerful win in an event – it strongly portrays the effort and shinning spirit of the athlete to be at the top – a well deserved notion of a winner!

From motivational adverts “ Ma mein gold wapas le aayi” by Bhawani Devi - India’s first fencer to qualify for Tokyo Olympics’21, the charisma outshines other aspects of life – the shine of the metal overshadows all other ‘misses’ and one creates history, though this time a small step but the vision and focus have set ground for others to emulate, your name gets embarked in the memories of time for ever.

The precincts of the games give you an adrenaline rush down your spine, with zillion watchful eyes for that ‘Golden’ moment, it surely takes guts to offer your ‘Gold’ to someone else – there are no winners but only presets which become historical moments of time and are always remembered for its beauty and uniqueness.

There are many dejections too but every failure again teaches us that we are lacking behind in our effort as the opponent has something which you still have to achieve in order to get past him. The testimony of time is the only motivation one can have to achieve the unachievable. So when Indian weightlifter ‘Mirabai Chanu’ gets us a Silver, the first of its kind in our Olympic history, the whole country erupts – the story unfolds when she tells us about the hard work and toil she has gone through for that piece of metal. We all concur with the results but conveniently skip the journey!

So next time when someone stands on the pedestal, think about the path the sportsman has treaded to stand infront of the camera for those eye-catching moments, we should be engrossed in our thoughts about the slog and sweat one must have gone through to be where they are!