We can be but partially acquainted even with the events which actually influence our course through life and our final destiny. Could we know all the vicissitudes of our fortunes, life would be too full of hope and fear, exultation or disappointment, to afford us a single hour of true serenity. Acting instinctively is a primal habit of the social animal. No matter how well you plan, how well you try to manipulate the forthcoming situations, you will be swayed by the course of events and work according to it. Life is a strange humdrum affair where the graph of life forms a gram which can be deciphered by none. You can but try to meticulously work on your fortune and prove that the wrong that men do lies not in their stars but in their actions.
Football, a highly revered epidemically viral sport among an odd 170 countries around the globe is pretty much like a life circle. The starting of the game portrays the birth of an infant ready to explore the dangerous treacherous world awaiting his entry to engage and tangle him into an incessant mind game. The minutes tick by, the boy makes initial strides towards his goal. But he is confronted by defenders, who put obstacles in his path so that he can work on his present situation in a better way and come back stronger and better. The little boy now a youth with fresh blood running hot in his veins becomes more adventurous and rushes past the defenders with full zeal and enters that phase of his life where he gains the maximum of experiences, where the graph of his life has the most number of crests and troughs and gets gripped into its fold with peeping loopholes for sometime. But the true champion, finds those loopholes and kicks the final step towards his goal. But he has to be careful so as not to attract the final obstacle to get himself attached to it at the active site and rather denature it to complete his mission. That brings us to the end of Normal 90 minutes of a football match equivalent to a life cycle of an individual.
But in the midst of this cycle, in between this limitation of time-controlled events; occurs an event enough to cause an uproar from the ocean of similar human beings. They say to err is human, to forgive divine. But does this ideally pleasing thought have a fair success rate in this horribly practical world? Doth not the 110th minute of a single match redefine all that is perceived of a human being and shatter him to pieces without even bothering to question him, without even bothering to listen to his side of the disastrous course of events?
The 2006 World Cup FIFA final match between four time champions Italy and a sole time champion France was a match worth remembering. Both teams were in their best forms, despite the early set back had come out rocking and reeling to make it to the finals. The match was Zinedine Yazid Zidane's last ever match in the international forum. Being the captain of the winning team in 1998, he brought out the best out of his team. The match started and within the very first 20 minutes both the teams outwitted each other by levelling their scores. Time ticked by and slowly the 90 minutes of the match were over. The extra time started towards the search of the ultimate winner. Fueled up with energy, they played with all their zeal and then happened the inevitable. Marco Materrazi of Italy and Zidane of France geared up closer to each other and Materazzi happened to be tugging at his shirt. After sometime, they walked apart but Zidane suddenly head-butted him at the 110th minute only to be awarded with a red-card and Italy won the match in the penalty shootouts. But why did Zidane, a brand ambassador of UNESCO, a free-spirited cool person go back to head-butt Materazzi?? --- the question lurked long in the minds of people and controversies emerged from all corners.
Apparently, the media was voluminously sympathizing on the situation. Scrutinizing the events from all possible angles; the paparazzi hurled all kind of accusations and brought all kinds conclusions they could of the 110th minute. Interviews, conferences revealed that while Materazzi tugged at his shirt Zidane said that he would give him afterwards. But Materazzi was accused of provoking Zidane by saying," I prefer the whore that is your sister." A sane human being no matter how cool-minded, no matter how disciplined in going by the rules of humane behaviour is sure to stir the animal instinct out of any human. Football is a free-spirited game where at all times no matter what; one should maintain the decorum of the same. But censure, praise, merriment, scorn, and indifference were all one, or rather all nothing, to Zinedine Zidane. The glory of a person was at stake. He was snatched of his actual worth, his actual praise because of one folly of his. Materazzi did apologise but did that wash away his statement, did that bring back the 110th minute of the game and did that change the consequences of the game whose result might have been different?At all points of time and at all situations of circumstances, Zidane's slightly regretting, slightly accusing thought should always be beared in mind that no matter what, "Let's not forget that provocation is a terrible thing. I have never been one to provoke: I have never done it. It's terrible, and it is best not to react."
Friday, 8 March 2013
Thursday, 28 February 2013
(-) The Umbilical Cord!!!
Walking through a lonely road, a child clasps his hand around his bag strips. He walks on with the fear that maybe his heartbeat is too loud to be heard by that mysterious unseen outline behind the trees. He feels the whispering of the trees, the whistling of the wind, the psychological hearing of voices. At that instant, all the child thinks of is his mother.
A mother, they say is comparable to God. A woman of extraordinary powers, she being made from Adam's rib cage protects her child just like the rib cage protects the lifeline of human body- the lungs. She has a sense of telepathy which is indescribable and alluring. She will take care of the minute details that we seem to overlook. She wakes up precisely at the first reddening of the sky and graces Aurora's palace footsteps and sleeps only after biding farewell to Nyx. Like Tithonus, she ages filling her bag with more and more responsibilities and aging in the way. But unlike him, she never complains, never utters her thoughts on what she might be undergoing at any instant. But sadly, this is only one side of the treacherous coin.
The basics are same, only the situations differ which have resulted in us seeing the dark shades of this very female. She does care for her child but the relation gets somewhat restrained if she does not share the genetic umbilical cord with the child's naval. Its not in all cases but somewhere or the other down the life's lane of the child, he faces those moments of torment for which he was not responsible in any way. An adoption can be in any form. Starting from the simple procedure of voluntary adoption from the many countless orphanages to the involuntary submission to the pressure of myriad circumstances, from voluntarily rescuing a child from the dungeons of Adversity to parenting a step child half-heartedly --- the action of Adopting is as complex as the procedure of Adoption itself in India.
There have been many instances when the child is subjected to inexplainable behaviour from the mother's side. That same mother whom he looks upon as all knowing, as omnipresent in all his problems, as a life-saviour. The child is a loss of what he has done as wrong to be subjected to such cruel behaviour. The perplexity increases more so if the child is unaware of his change of fate in his primal days. The incessant shouting, the expression of displeasure at everything the child does, the mental harrasment has no bounds. Does the umbilical cord play such an important role so as to isolate that child who is innocent and has all rights reserved to a normal healthy life?
Its true, the pain experienced by a genetic mother at the time of labour is worth a long silence out of respect. But mistreating the child one has consented to take care of doesn't seem much of a justice to not being a genetic mother to the same. Its all about the heart and the mind combination. Is mastering the heart such a difficult job and is loving a child so hard? Is the proper upbringing of a child who shall be the future citizen of a country a smaller issue than the meager fact that he is not her own blood?
A child is the purest form of creation the world has ever seen. To refuse to provide the fuel to his realizing his dreams is snatching away his birth right, his fulfilling his purpose of coming to this world. The child looks up at his mother as his first teacher, the first interaction that he experiences after coming to this world and if he is taken care of, right qualities are instilled in him; he will grow up to be a responsible human being who will give utmost importance to humanity. A person who will not back away in serving the mankind. Service to man is service to God. A mother can have profound effects in the upbringing of a child.
So its a request to all mothers'
"You impersonate God on this earth, you might live a single life but you can make a footprint deeply embedded forever in someone's soul."
and to all the offspring' of this world who come from some female's womb
"You are invaluable. Instill such values in yourself so as the world honours you and make those mothers realize that beyond the narrow line of blood lies a broader of humanity."
A mother, they say is comparable to God. A woman of extraordinary powers, she being made from Adam's rib cage protects her child just like the rib cage protects the lifeline of human body- the lungs. She has a sense of telepathy which is indescribable and alluring. She will take care of the minute details that we seem to overlook. She wakes up precisely at the first reddening of the sky and graces Aurora's palace footsteps and sleeps only after biding farewell to Nyx. Like Tithonus, she ages filling her bag with more and more responsibilities and aging in the way. But unlike him, she never complains, never utters her thoughts on what she might be undergoing at any instant. But sadly, this is only one side of the treacherous coin.
The basics are same, only the situations differ which have resulted in us seeing the dark shades of this very female. She does care for her child but the relation gets somewhat restrained if she does not share the genetic umbilical cord with the child's naval. Its not in all cases but somewhere or the other down the life's lane of the child, he faces those moments of torment for which he was not responsible in any way. An adoption can be in any form. Starting from the simple procedure of voluntary adoption from the many countless orphanages to the involuntary submission to the pressure of myriad circumstances, from voluntarily rescuing a child from the dungeons of Adversity to parenting a step child half-heartedly --- the action of Adopting is as complex as the procedure of Adoption itself in India.
There have been many instances when the child is subjected to inexplainable behaviour from the mother's side. That same mother whom he looks upon as all knowing, as omnipresent in all his problems, as a life-saviour. The child is a loss of what he has done as wrong to be subjected to such cruel behaviour. The perplexity increases more so if the child is unaware of his change of fate in his primal days. The incessant shouting, the expression of displeasure at everything the child does, the mental harrasment has no bounds. Does the umbilical cord play such an important role so as to isolate that child who is innocent and has all rights reserved to a normal healthy life?
Its true, the pain experienced by a genetic mother at the time of labour is worth a long silence out of respect. But mistreating the child one has consented to take care of doesn't seem much of a justice to not being a genetic mother to the same. Its all about the heart and the mind combination. Is mastering the heart such a difficult job and is loving a child so hard? Is the proper upbringing of a child who shall be the future citizen of a country a smaller issue than the meager fact that he is not her own blood?
A child is the purest form of creation the world has ever seen. To refuse to provide the fuel to his realizing his dreams is snatching away his birth right, his fulfilling his purpose of coming to this world. The child looks up at his mother as his first teacher, the first interaction that he experiences after coming to this world and if he is taken care of, right qualities are instilled in him; he will grow up to be a responsible human being who will give utmost importance to humanity. A person who will not back away in serving the mankind. Service to man is service to God. A mother can have profound effects in the upbringing of a child.
So its a request to all mothers'
"You impersonate God on this earth, you might live a single life but you can make a footprint deeply embedded forever in someone's soul."
and to all the offspring' of this world who come from some female's womb
"You are invaluable. Instill such values in yourself so as the world honours you and make those mothers realize that beyond the narrow line of blood lies a broader of humanity."
Friday, 1 February 2013
A less-acknowledged Talent!!!
"Experience is not you get what you wanted; Its what you never expected for, and Its sometimes the most possessed treasure you have to offer.
It is difficult to access the range and quality of human emotions.Those with smiling, evergreen faces may have worm-like griefs gnawing at their existence while a dull, idiotic looking person might be blissfully happy. Life is a strange, humdrum affair where even a few moments of peace shall be gratefully acknowledged. Life is not about how successful you have been, how high a post and reputation you have achieved; its about the times of distress, the times of pain and rejection, when the world shuts the door at your face and at that instant the way you handle that tumbling down the hill of your life. To loose heart is not easy but to never accept defeat when a person's integrity is put at stake is much harder. When you are thrown stones at, when the society questions your very existence, when you are declared a "gaddar" by the very motherland you gave your heart to --- the headstrong heart does crumble to pieces. But withstanding the storms with faith in that same heart is worth a higher degree. An wholesome life is that which has faced many things, things which make a person experienced, matured and perceptive.
Today, I would like you to spare some of your precious time for people who fit into the above description and ponder over the thought: Aren't we sometimes too judgemental?
A humble boy with dead-set passion in his blood for hockey, the national game of India sets his vision to play hockey for his motherland. Being talented and apparently lucky, he climbs the stairs of success with all his zeal and dedication and one day finds himself as the Captain of Indian Hockey Team. The captian of that team which was declared to be unconquerable by the world. Don't mistake him with Dhyan Chand or with Balbir Singh --- they are the Gods' of Indian hockey. But there was another man, another blooming talent under their shelter and he is Mir Ranjan Negi. Let me take you to the finals of the 1982 Asian Games --- the Historic Match between ever rivals India and Pakistan. He was the captain-cum-goalkeeper of the team. India was in superb and indomitable form till the semi-finals. But, a person's sixth sense does speak volumes. He had a feeling that he might not play well that day. What with the added pressure of the presence of the then Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi alongwith the whole country, anybodies heart will miss a beat!
As history goes, India lost the match to Pakistan by 1-7. India won the silver medal, but that was not what India roared about. India shrieked over having the false impression of Negi being involved in match-fixing. They pelted stones, burnt effigies of him, spoke of him as a sinner incapable of being forgiven. He was completely isolated, grounded and shattered to the core of his heart except for his eternal support by his wife. He returned to Indore, lived under literal voluntary house-arrest with a tinge of hope in his heart.
Twenty-one years passed by and finally he got a daring opportunity to coach the Indian Women Hockey Team. After much controversy, he agreed to coach the team. He struggled with each obstacle which tried to engulf him and strived to regain his respect from India. Day and night, he worked hard on the fields. He brought out the best in the girls, he made the girls immerse in the passion for hockey and India. His zeal bore him fruits and they won, The Indian Women Hockey team won the finals of Afro-Asian Championship over Australia and brought back the glory of India in the field of hockey. His graph of life started its journey up again.
But the pinch of being insulted with the tag of a "traitor" is not so easy to forget, a wound not so easily forgotten. It seemed he was happy, it seemed he was getting back his former glory. He got to coach teams and many such offers. But somewhere, the quest for gaining back his glory was not yet over and God, not yet done with his work of providing justice to him. This happiness was short-lived when a few years later, He lost his elder son. But as they say, God is a good planner and always plans for the betterment of us. He took his child but gave him an opportunity to redeem his glory. Fate stopped by him once again in the form of Shimit Amin, the director of Chak de! India. He listened to his tragic story and promised to make a motion picture on him. Mir Ranjan Negi understood as the only way to retrieve his respect fully and show India what he actually was. Shahrukh Khan portrayed his character and brought the true colour of Mir Ranjan Negi. The film broke the spell of 25 years of false impressions and conclusions.
Life does give us a chessboard of joys and sorrows. Sharting from our childhood, we play the pawns, be the defenders, we are defeated sometimes; but its it in the end when the final checkmate move is given, which determines our intelligence, our integrity, our optimism and more so our stubbornness to never give up on ourselves. Mir Ranjan Negi despite many downs didn't forget the ups of his life. The saying " The year you were born only marks your entry to the world; other years where you make your mark and prove your worth are the years worth celebrating."
It is difficult to access the range and quality of human emotions.Those with smiling, evergreen faces may have worm-like griefs gnawing at their existence while a dull, idiotic looking person might be blissfully happy. Life is a strange, humdrum affair where even a few moments of peace shall be gratefully acknowledged. Life is not about how successful you have been, how high a post and reputation you have achieved; its about the times of distress, the times of pain and rejection, when the world shuts the door at your face and at that instant the way you handle that tumbling down the hill of your life. To loose heart is not easy but to never accept defeat when a person's integrity is put at stake is much harder. When you are thrown stones at, when the society questions your very existence, when you are declared a "gaddar" by the very motherland you gave your heart to --- the headstrong heart does crumble to pieces. But withstanding the storms with faith in that same heart is worth a higher degree. An wholesome life is that which has faced many things, things which make a person experienced, matured and perceptive.
Today, I would like you to spare some of your precious time for people who fit into the above description and ponder over the thought: Aren't we sometimes too judgemental?
A humble boy with dead-set passion in his blood for hockey, the national game of India sets his vision to play hockey for his motherland. Being talented and apparently lucky, he climbs the stairs of success with all his zeal and dedication and one day finds himself as the Captain of Indian Hockey Team. The captian of that team which was declared to be unconquerable by the world. Don't mistake him with Dhyan Chand or with Balbir Singh --- they are the Gods' of Indian hockey. But there was another man, another blooming talent under their shelter and he is Mir Ranjan Negi. Let me take you to the finals of the 1982 Asian Games --- the Historic Match between ever rivals India and Pakistan. He was the captain-cum-goalkeeper of the team. India was in superb and indomitable form till the semi-finals. But, a person's sixth sense does speak volumes. He had a feeling that he might not play well that day. What with the added pressure of the presence of the then Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi alongwith the whole country, anybodies heart will miss a beat!
As history goes, India lost the match to Pakistan by 1-7. India won the silver medal, but that was not what India roared about. India shrieked over having the false impression of Negi being involved in match-fixing. They pelted stones, burnt effigies of him, spoke of him as a sinner incapable of being forgiven. He was completely isolated, grounded and shattered to the core of his heart except for his eternal support by his wife. He returned to Indore, lived under literal voluntary house-arrest with a tinge of hope in his heart.
Twenty-one years passed by and finally he got a daring opportunity to coach the Indian Women Hockey Team. After much controversy, he agreed to coach the team. He struggled with each obstacle which tried to engulf him and strived to regain his respect from India. Day and night, he worked hard on the fields. He brought out the best in the girls, he made the girls immerse in the passion for hockey and India. His zeal bore him fruits and they won, The Indian Women Hockey team won the finals of Afro-Asian Championship over Australia and brought back the glory of India in the field of hockey. His graph of life started its journey up again.
But the pinch of being insulted with the tag of a "traitor" is not so easy to forget, a wound not so easily forgotten. It seemed he was happy, it seemed he was getting back his former glory. He got to coach teams and many such offers. But somewhere, the quest for gaining back his glory was not yet over and God, not yet done with his work of providing justice to him. This happiness was short-lived when a few years later, He lost his elder son. But as they say, God is a good planner and always plans for the betterment of us. He took his child but gave him an opportunity to redeem his glory. Fate stopped by him once again in the form of Shimit Amin, the director of Chak de! India. He listened to his tragic story and promised to make a motion picture on him. Mir Ranjan Negi understood as the only way to retrieve his respect fully and show India what he actually was. Shahrukh Khan portrayed his character and brought the true colour of Mir Ranjan Negi. The film broke the spell of 25 years of false impressions and conclusions.
Life does give us a chessboard of joys and sorrows. Sharting from our childhood, we play the pawns, be the defenders, we are defeated sometimes; but its it in the end when the final checkmate move is given, which determines our intelligence, our integrity, our optimism and more so our stubbornness to never give up on ourselves. Mir Ranjan Negi despite many downs didn't forget the ups of his life. The saying " The year you were born only marks your entry to the world; other years where you make your mark and prove your worth are the years worth celebrating."
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