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Life is funny. Just when you think the grass is not so green after all nor the light as bright as it should be, life hits back at you with funnily wierd moments.
One such moment happened with the rescue of the two-year-old kid Vandana who was rescued by an army team from a 45 feet deep pit. A two year old kid trapped in sand and gravel till her shoulders survives, if this is not triumph of the human spirit, there is nothing else that can classify to be a heroic moment for life.
Ofcourse the same thing keeps happening in our country. Just a couple of years back another kid was rescued, a year earlier one kid perished. These are ofcourse just the cases that get highlighted but there are so many more cases which go unreported and nothing is ever done to bring any change to the lives of our common man. Its a harsh reality of our country and its as real as those flashy figures thrown at our face by the finance ministry about our GDP growth or a forbes rich peoples list having Indian citizens. There is a grave divide. Most of us are fortunate to be on this other side but if we turn a blind eye, we might soon be back to the other side. This post is not about the reasons why no action is taken against the guilty but its about the human spirit.
Of course everyone played their part well, the technical advisers, the rescue teams and the army and the doctors but what would have been their worth if the spirit died? The kids spirit not only kept her alive but the rescue men as well. Its not a ordinary thing to happen. Its such an occult like phenomenon. We just ned to open our eyes and see the reality. When someone like Lance Armstrong beat cancer and came back to win the Tour De France it was considered such a dicey thing and then to justify that the doping controversy which will sadly never leave him lone because we do not belive in the triumph of the human spirit anymore. That triumph can work more than any miracle. We are the miracle and we are the gods. Each one of us is a god. The best gift we can give ourselves is to realise our spirits and then walk on our paths with that spirit. Ofcourse some will loose and some will win but the end result would never matter in the broader sense. Just the walk is such a high that the failure or the sucess would be a by product which will not be of much significance.
One thing i value the most is the spirit. Its triumph in failure or victory. The end result never really matters, just the effort of the spirit. That is the only thing heroic in man and worth living for. Thats perhaps a subset of my Ayn Rand’ism but thats how i see life and i don’t care if its the right way or the wrong way.
I know this post has got nothing to do with me in a way but in a distant way it reflects my feelings watching the recent developments involving one of my favorite sport personalities Leander Paes. To me, its not always been about the sport but more about the spirit and the heroic trait of that being, in victory or in defeat.
I still remember that Davis Cup tie between India and Pakistan in the Asia-Oceania Zone Group 1 play-off which was tied at 2-2. I remember how everyone became restive as he began to tire and commit less towards some points. He gave the impression that he had lost it. His regular conferences with doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi made people wonder what was up. He received medical aid that made people confirm to themselves that not before long, he would be finished and Pakistan would win.
Paes came alive in the fifth set, started to chip and run and outgun a younger but now tiring Aqeel.
And after it was all over, he submitted to all the physical punishment he went through to crumble to the ground and cry with joy. “It was not about tennis today. It was all about head, heart and patriotism,” he later said.
Patriotism Leander, Yeah and look at the reward for all the tears and the commitment.
A reward for being honest and outspoken.
A reward for playing for the nation rather than opening up a sports academy for people.
A reward for being passionate for the thing you love which is playing for India.
This is just a case of jealousy and greed overpowering any honest introspections. To underline my facts, Amritraj and Bopanna have said that the captain(Leander) was trying to hog the limelight by playing those matches, which they could have won easily.
The fact is that same Rohan Bopanna had lost his first singles (against Pakistan’s Aisam Qureshi) and was not high on confidence at all. To say that Bopanna could have defeated Qureshi at that point is BS.
Mahesh might be a better player than Leander at the moment but its always been Paes who has played for the pride of the nation.
There might be some inside stuff which is not Public Knowledge but a lot of stuff is Public knowledge including the facts that Mahesh Bhupathi made Sania Mirza skip the Tournament in India recently as his globo sport company lost contract for the Bangalore open. Prakash Amritraj – The US returned NRI who was disqualified from US , wants to now play for India as he is kicked out of US circuit. Only achievement being son of great Vijay Amritraj. Rohan Bopanna – another boy from Bhupathi tennis academy.
Every time he is pushed to the limit, Paes rises like a phoenix from the ashes. No doubt he rose from a near fatal disease to play at the international circuit for India. Few people in professional sports can put country above self-interest and Leander tops the list of such proud Indians. I don’t care if he never plays with Bhupathi again. Leander is and would always be the ONLY sportsman India has produced whose passion for the sport increases million fold when hes playing for the nation rather than when he plays for himself in ATP’s or Grand Slams.
Leander You are a champion, No matter what…
Ive got no reasons to give for ignoring this space for almost a year. I was just writing whatever i had to on my personal page. But now i feel like reviving this space. Reason being? Well no apparent reason but just as the tide falls to ise again and to fall yet again? I donno. I dont think anyone cares and i dont care if anyone cares so i am gonna revive this anyways.
Fashion is a very broad term, it can reflect differently in different situations. It can be a style or a characteristic depending on which way you look at it. The last few days have been an overdose of celebrities walking down the ramp more in the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai than the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in Delhi earlier. These so called The fashion extravaganza’s make sense to a limited set of people while others just feel its a waste of time while the celebrities use the stage to hit the spotlight and keep themselves in public memory.
But is that all to fashion shows and all such fashion extravaganzas? People say clothes showcased at such events by designers are over hyped and overpriced which may be true in a sense but its half the truth.
I’ve heard people say that designing is nothing but a western concept to make clothing into a style and hype it up so that users spend one hundred times the price for the same product they can get done by a local tailor or a retail outlet. What they don’t understand is that designers are not about all flashy women and clothing, it’s a seriously creative job. Now my problem with this argument is that shirt designed by the local tailor is nothing but an imitation of the ‘first’ design of a shirt that was created. So it’s a cheap imitation of a design done by the creative designer somewhere.
I have seen first hand, the degree of research and sheer hard graft that goes into creating a garment.
The comfort that your tailor gives you is by copying the design of someone. The designers need to be there, because the innovations come from there.
Fashion shows are not just about celebrities or women with great bodies or overpriced stuff. Watching designers on FTV give a sense of what he or she is trying to express in clothes. But yeah most of the Indian designers on simply copy the west. They might have some fashion creativity but they don’t have any new ides to project themselves. They simply copy what the western world is doing. There is no doubt that we haven’t heard of any Indian designer who has been able to command respect overseas. Some of them might be selling ethnic Indian apparel under their names but they are just swimming in a fish bowl while looking at the sea.
It’s true that we live in a different world where most people are lost and running behind gloss and god. People die of hunger, lack of medicines, diseases, crime, and hatred. Women don’t have the free will in a lot of countries, including India. Designer clothes and the creation might be a useless thing for someone who’s just making enough to cover his/her body but THAT’S exactly the reason why designers and creativeness makes sense. It shows the endless possibilities, the possible high fly’s, the jump, the power of creative satisfaction, the love, the smile.
Fashion shows are NOT about Page 3 people walking down the ramp with no sense or care for the world. It’s not about the models. It’s about the designers, the thought, the uniqueness, the new idea.
What’s happening with India Fashion scene is stupid replica of the west. There have been no real path breaking ideas to have emerged from these shows. Fashion shows in India are just a party, its got nothing to do with creation. And for Fashion Shows in India, well Fashion sucks, Fashion style.
I woke up today with the sounds of kids in the neighborhood laughing and shouting in the distant. My first reaction was ‘wtf’? Then i got up anyways, got hold of the newspaper and tried checking out the motive of all the noise and the big deal. It was early about 7′ish but kids were getting ready for their Holi bash i guess.Did i stand in on my terrace to watch the children laugh and play? No i did not do that. I went back to reading my newspaper about Badal’s oath ceremony and the Mohali pitch fiasco. As for Holi, i think i last played about 4-5 years ago. Its not that i feel old or i don’t like it anymore but its just not in my scheme of things for now i guess.
Holi is all about fun and color. I took this quiz today (because i was bored and had nothing better to do:p) just to check what’s the color that reflects my personality.
Your Power Color Is Lime Green
At Your Highest:You are adventurous, witty, and a visionary.
At Your Lowest:You feel misunderstood, like you don’t fit in.
In Love:You have a tough exterior, but can be very dedicated.
How You’re Attractive:Your self-awareness and confidence lights up a room.
Your Eternal Question:“What else do I need in my life?”
Last but not the least, check out this video. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
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