Strong @ Sixty One

A great moment for India. My country. Our country. Number of years, as such, do not enhance or diminish the importance but an occasion arrives to celebrate and one just relishes getting mixed up in a lot of emotions associated with the day.


This August 15 was one such day when individuals, by default, have to take a backseat against thousand others who made this journey a worthwhile one. Great sacrifices, great efforts and amazing resilience by millions of people...there can be no substitute to the feeling of pride and belonging.


Right now, it's really a mixed feeling. There are thousand great things brightening up. There is something for everyone here to feel proud.


And then, sadly, there are also few things that we could do much much better.


The economy, of course. I am no expert on this, but the rising costs, sudden black out of certain essential commodities, the mad rush for petrol & diesel we faced recently, for example...these things clearly indicate a gaping hole in our system. The worst part is that other than making statements on issues, we haven't seen any real action from the empowered leaders. If we cannot assure certain basic things to our people, then what have we done with the 61 years of our lives as a country? This is an area of real concern. Has the exercise of choosing our own governments not ensured a steady movement towards a better system, however incremental whatsoever, over all these years?


The chain of events that have rolled out in the last one month where common man was targeted through a series of blasts speaks of the mess we are right now in.


Independence days are clearly marked as terror-targeted days. We see more check posts and restrictions on such days. Sadly, individuals with limited options and powers are trapped in these situations and cannot do much about these things other than thanking one's stars for reaching home safely every day.



Whenever a catastrophe strikes a city there are reports praising the resilience of 'the common man' who bounces back. Frankly, do we have a choice to do anything else?

Looking at the medal tally in the Olympics brings a lot of comparative revealations among the countries of the world. Much smaller and much younger countries are sweeping the stakes while we are struggling. We win one gold but then we understand that it was won despite our system.

The scarcity, the prices, threat to peace could all be taken care by an effective system put in place and nurtured by effective Governance.

Abhinav had to build his own practice range at home and had to go out of the country for his training. And at last, he earns his gold but there are stories - real or fictitious, they have done enough damage already - of attempt to sabotage his rifle. And then, we complain that he did not display enough pride and patriotism at the podium while receiving the medal.


Is it enough just to praise our past? Is it enough to just say we are the biggest democracy in the world? I have no idea what it takes. Like the Spidey says...with great powers come great responsibility. Let's hope that the people with power realise this.

At 61, there is no doubt that our country is strong... but we could have been even STRONGER.

I hope and pray that at 62 we get a bit more stronger.

An approach to success

Like the thousands of Indians and a few hundreds from other nation, I too was fascinated by the 'Indian' Gold medal in the Olympics.

Rather than gushing and blurting about it here, I would rather let the first person view tell all the tale.

Here is what was on the day before...

"Today is my day off and so i am going to spend some time soaking in the village and actually getting my mind to do something it has never done before.... NOT THINK ABOUT SHOOTING!!!


So instead of thinking about shooting perfect bulls eyes... today i am going to think of the pretty women in the village, the weather, the great city of beijing and whatever else pops into my mind will be allowed to stay as long it doesn't involve the words "rifle", "shooting" in it.... hey all it is a great time to be an athlete and this event is what we all live for..... "

....and here is what was on, after....

For more than a decade now my life has been all about my sport. In fact, I do not have a life beyond the confines of the 10m range. I have had a range built in my own home to cut down any possibility of distraction and to be able to practise my sport whenever the fancy strikes me. It all did pay off, didn't it?




The joy that the nation feels at my win is humbling. I just wish that this is repeated more and more often.


With our depth of talent and expanse of people I firmly believe India can be a world-class sporting power. What we need are precise systems. I will try to do my bit at grooming the next generation. I would like to appeal to each Indian to also do their bit in prodding us out of sporting complacency.

To me these statements seem to be the ultimate success mantra.

May be, one more stop to enquire about success could be with one Mr. Phelps! He is unstoppable.

My salute to all the heroes who break the barriers, at will.

Bucket-Filler or a Dipper?

You have heard of the cup that overflowed. This is a story of a bucket that is like the cup, only larger, it is an invisible bucket. Everyone has one. It determines how we feel about ourselves, about others, and how we get along with people. Have you ever experienced a series of very favorable things which made you want to be good to people for a week? At that time, your bucket was full.

A bucket can be filled by a lot of things that happen. When a person speaks to you, recognizing you as a human being, your bucket is filled a little. Even more if he calls you by name, especially if it is the name you like to be called. If he compliments you on your dress or on a job well done, the level in your bucket goes up still higher. There must be a million ways to raise the level in another's bucket. Writing a friendly letter, remembering something that is special to him, knowing the names of his children, expressing sympathy for his loss, giving him a hand when his work is heavy, taking time for conversation, or, perhaps more important, listing to him.

When one's bucket is full of this emotional support, one can express warmth and friendliness to people. But, remember, this is a theory about a bucket and a dipper. Other people have dippers and they can get their dippers in your bucket. This, too, can be done in a million ways.

Lets say I am at a dinner and inadvertently upset a glass of thick, sticky chocolate milk that spills over the table cloth, on a lady's skirt, down onto the carpet. I am embarrassed. "Bright Eyes" across the table says, "You upset that glass of chocolate milk." I made a mistake, I know I did, and then he told me about it! He got his dipper in my bucket! Think of the times a person makes a mistake, feels terrible about it, only to have someone tell him about the known mistake ("Red pencil" mentality!)

Buckets are filled and buckets are emptied ? emptied many times because people don't really think about what are doing. When a person's bucket is emptied, he is very different than when it is full. You say to a person whose bucket is empty, "That is a pretty tie you have," and he may reply in a very irritated, defensive manner.

Although there is a limit to such an analogy, there are people who seem to have holes in their buckets. When a person has a hole in his bucket, he irritates lots of people by trying to get his dipper in their buckets. This is when he really needs somebody to pour it in his bucket because he keeps losing.

The story of our lives is the interplay of the bucket and the dipper. Everyone has both. The unyielding secret of the bucket and the dipper is that when you fill another's bucket it does not take anything out of your own bucket. The level in our own bucket gets higher when we fill another's, and, on the other hand, when we dip into another's bucket we do not fill our own ... we lose a little.

For a variety of reasons, people hesitate filling the bucket of another and consequently do not experience the fun, joy, happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction connected with making another person happy. Some reasons for this hesitancy are that people think it sounds "fakey," or the other person will be suspicious of the motive, or it is "brown-nosing."

Therefore, let us put aside our dipper and resolve to touch someone's life in order to fill their bucket.

Attitude is Everything