Who doesn't like a pinch (or more) of appreciation?

I love appreciation. I really do.

And especially when it's done for my blogging exploits, I love it even more. 

I always wanted to write. Write as a hobby. And that's the reason I started blogging. Sports is my passion. I used to play a lot of Cricket, Soccer and Badminton back in the day. Now, it's more of watching and following the international events that keeps me hooked. So, to kill two birds in one shot hit two sixes in one ball (you see, I believe in non-violence), I mixed my hobby (writing) and my passion (sports) into one and thereby started writing sports posts in my blog.

Last year, I was somewhat surprised and very happy to know that my blog was shortlisted as part of the top sports blog by BlogAdda. That in itself was a very significant achievement in my blogging life. I knew, deep down, that I had little chance last year to win the coveted title of the "Best Blog in Sports Category". I eventually lost out to the best of the lot.

But, you see, in sports, lightning can strike twice! And thrice. And.. you get the drift, right?

And so it happened. For this year's #Win15 event hosted by BlogAdda, my blog has been shortlisted again in Sports category. And with even more competition, I might add. The Jury (comprising of super talented people) have considered my blog to be part of the elite list. Make no mistake about it, this in itself is a significant achievement (author pats his own back moment). 

But I now wonder, what's it like to actually win this coveted title?

The judges have done their part and it now rests in the hands of everyone who reads my blog. As per the rules, the winner will now be decided by the votes I get from my readers. At this juncture, I need to inform you of something I feel strongly about. Please vote for my blog only if you genuinely like what you read. Please vote for my blog only if you genuinely feel I have done enough to achieve this feat. I only want the best blog to win. 

What you need to do? - Simply click on this link (click here). A new web page will open (shown in image above). You need to register your vote by clicking on "like" button in that page. You can also click on "tweet" button and tweet the text that appears on a new page. Ideally, if you can do both, then great. That's it. Simple, isn't it?

Getting nominated last year was like a dream come true. Getting nominated this year again is like reliving the dream. Appreciation in this form really motivates me to continue pursuing my hobby and passion. And continue, I will. Irrespective of the result. But it would do me no harm if I am closer to the title this year compared to last year. Winning the coveted award will be icing on the cake. Lots of icing and a huge cake.

As they say, may the best player win. Likewise, may the best blogger win. 

Did The Joker kill Heath Ledger?

Rhetoric question, you may ask. Did I hear someone say "absurd"? You may even take offense to it. That’s exactly the way I felt when I heard about a new documentary titled “Heath Ledger: Too Young to Die”.

I am a big fan of the Batman trilogy. I am a fan of Christopher Nolan. And a huge fan of “The Joker” character from “The Dark Knight”. Joker is the only reason why I love watching the movie again and again. Heath Ledger took the character to a level where, I felt, that Joker was the real hero rather than Batman. His presence lit up the screen and his next move was always a surprise / shock. The dialogue delivery, the make-up, the laugh and other expressions made The Dark Knight a must watch – many times! And the fact that we didn’t see the actual death of the character prompted me to believe that Nolan will bring him back in the 3rd edition “The Dark Knight Rises”. However, that was not to be; primarily, for reasons well known to all of us.

In one of the interviews in 2007, Heath Ledger said the following about his role and the preparation involved – “It's a combination of reading all the comic books I could that were relevant to the script and then just closing my eyes and meditating on it. I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices - it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh. I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath - someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts. He's just an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown.”

Now, we have a German documentary (yet to be released) that claims to reveal the details of the diary maintained by Heath Ledger. They claim the details in the diary are shocking and, perhaps, have a link with his eventual untimely death. Heath Ledger’s father is also part of this documentary which, some may believe, gives the documentary a certain amount of credibility.

From what I can gather, the documentary is totally based on two aspects of Heath Ledger’s life – 

1. A diary maintained by Heath Ledger while he was preparing for his role as Joker. He was living inside a hotel room in London for almost a month trying to get into the much-acclaimed character. He practised with various voices, conceptualizing and interpreting the comic strips and developed that iconic laugh. All this has been jotted down on his diary with pictures etc. 
2. Heath’s health Issue: If you read about his health issues on Wikipedia, you will realize that he had sleeping issues and would usually fall back on medications. The autopsy report also suggests the same as the possible cause of his death. 

Add 2 and 2 together and you get a probable conspiracy theory, which is what, I think, has been highlighted in the documentary. Personally, I don’t want to believe the documentary, especially the emotional side of me. If the sacrifice for making an iconic, epic, memorable and once-in-a-lifetime character was one's own life, I would have been content with the “scarecrow” and “Bane” type of villains (no offence to these characters) for Batman trilogy with Heath Ledger alive and kicking. If the documentary starts making sense, then Heath has literally sacrificed everything, even his own life, for his role as The Joker. 

I will sign out using one of Joker's most memorable quotes -

Long live ‘The Joker’. Long live Heath Ledger. His legacy lives on, with / without documentary.

Thank you for everything, Dr. Kalam!

It’s been a week since the unfortunate incident. And the mourning hasn’t stopped one little bit for the majority of Indians. It’s like losing one of your own and knowing that life won’t be the same again. That’s the impact Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had on the entire nation. He loved us and we loved him. Before being the president (first citizen of the country) to being the President and even afterwards, he was always interested in meeting people and sharing his words of wisdom. Despite all the accolades that came his way, he still remained humble, true to his roots in a world filled with greed for money and hunger for power. 

I wonder how the students and faculty members of IIM Shillong might be feeling right now. They were listening to him intently and were about to be overpowered by his awe and persona when the unfortunate incident happened. I was tracking the news on Twitter but thought this might be another rumor. After all, twitter has reported death of a lot of celebrities / popular figures only for them to tweet proclaiming they are alive. Deep down, I was hoping it to be true even for Dr. Kalam. But it was not to be. News channels started their “Breaking News” stuff and in no time, the news I didn’t want to hear, started appearing in all news channels. Dr. Kalam was 83 years old.

Image: Kind Courtesy - White thoughts and Branding

Isn’t it poetic that he left us for heavenly abode doing what he loves doing?

Dr. Kalam was born in a poor family and was the youngest of 4 brothers and 1 sister. Due to the poor background, he started working to support his studies. By now, everyone knows he used to be a newspaper boy. He went on to graduate in Aerospace engineering. He joined DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization) as a scientist then went on to become a project director who successfully launched the satellite ‘Rohini’ in the year 1980 while working for ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization). He was conferred with “Padma Bhushan” in 1981, “Padma Vibhushan” in 1990 and the biggest civilian honor “Bharat Ratna” in 1997 by the government of India. His story is a ‘rags-to-riches’ one with the only different being that his “rich” was more in terms of knowledge and compassion than money and power. He has and will continue to inspire millions to become the next ‘Kalam’.

Dr. Kalam had listed the following areas Indian need to focus on to become a "knowledge superpower" in his book “India 2020” - 

1. Agriculture and food processing 
2. Education and healthcare 
3. Information and communication technology 
4. Infrastructure, reliable and quality electric power, surface transport and infrastructure for all parts of the country and 
5. Self-reliance in critical technologies.

..and he added one more in his recent book (Transcendence) – “Faith in God and spirituality”.

These aren’t just 5-6 pointers every other leader makes every other day in every other meeting. Dr. Kalam actually connected them and cohesively growth in these areas will make India a superpower in the real sense of the word. The essence of the above mentioned points is to become self-reliant and actually lead the world as the first mover – be it technology, infrastructure, education etc. It’s now up to the government, leaders and citizens to unite and fulfil the dream he had set for our country.

The subsequent generations will learn and know Dr. Kalam as one of the truly greats who walked the face of the Earth. His stories, the lessons to be learnt from him and his life, his witty and life-defining statements, his reign as the 11th President of India and he being known as the “People’s President” will all be part of the history books. I lived in an era when he was alive. My only regret is not being able to meet him or see him. But one day I will, for I will meet my maker one day and am sure my LORD will ask me what do I want to do first and my answer will be, “Can I meet the person who inspired millions of people on Earth, a leader who practices what he preached, a leader so rich in knowledge but was always ready to share?” 

When a well-respected and renowned person loses his life and we experience personal loss, then that’s a life worth living!

Long live, sir. Forever.

Bad exam result is akin to losing a wicket - the match is still up for grabs!

It’s the most dreaded season of them all. Not summer, not rainy, not even winter. We, in India, can actually call it the “result season”. Tenth and Twelfth results to be precise. And if you are born to Indian parents with traditional (educational) values, then the pressure on you is nothing short of humungous! The pressure can be compared to a World Cup final match featuring India. The whole world will watch your performance (in exam: all relatives, neighbors, family friends, teachers and even your society will be keeping an eye on you). Good performance and a favorable result – you will be elevated by one and all. One bad step and an unfavorable result – you will be severely scrutinized, perhaps for the rest of your lives.

Is it really that bad? No. It’s not as bad as society and media makes it to be.

Can we form an analogy between Life and Cricket?

In Cricket, a batting team has resources up its sleeve to achieve a specific target. In doing so, they may lose out on some resources. Losing a wicket is losing a resource. Assume an ODI match is about to start. The opening batsmen are ready. A wicket goes down early. What does the one-down batsman do? He approaches the crease, looks for any uneven spot on the pitch, tries to even the surface, does his before-facing-the-first–ball routine, focuses on the immediate task at hand (and not the eventual target) and ensures he handles the initial friction well. I think this is what one needs to do in life too, especially after an exam result. Once we get hit by a hurdle, we need to slow down and contemplate the next course of action with caution. After the result, the world would want to know how much you have scored and congratulate or empathize with you based on the outcome. If you are the one anticipating empathy, watch out for friction and a bumpy road ahead. Overcoming this phase with caution is the key. Wait for the next phase to begin. 

In Cricket, the new batsman will try to form a partnership with the other batsman and start “rebuilding” the innings. He never laments for the wickets lost. What’s past is past. He may or may not be compatible with the other batsmen, but in the interest of his team, he “adjusts”. Shouldn’t we also follow the same principle? Once you start going to college, focus should be on present and the future and not the past. The result has come and gone. College life beckons. Also, you may not get the college / stream you want. But just like a partnership in Cricket, you need to “adjust” and form a partnership.

When I was in tenth, I attended a send-off function hosted by school authorities. I happened to top the prelims (exam conducted just prior to the one that matters). So I was given an opportunity to share a message (motivational one) with the 9th standard batch-mates who were also present at the function. Since it was impromptu, I decided to say what I felt like without worrying much about the repercussions. This is what I told them – “Don’t compete with your friends / batch / university. Compete only with yourself. If you feel you can achieve 90%, go for it. If you feel 60% is the limit for you, strive to achieve that. Compete with the target you set for yourself and try to outdo it.” Post the function, my principal called me and asked me regarding the message I gave. I said, I conveyed what I felt was correct. The principal was of the opinion that I should have motivated them to achieve 90% and beyond. The message should have been the means to overcome all odds to be the best in our city. Although I had a sudden disconnect with what was being discussed, I realized that the society in which we live, judges us by the marks and not by the effort we put in. 

It’s now 16 years past that incident but sadly nothing much has changed. The only thing I feel has changed is that in those days, even 75% was considered great. Now 90% is only considered “decent”. I am not really sure why. Are the kids now well versed with what they study or is the evaluation now more lenient, who’s to say? 

It’s just a wicket that has gone down. The match (your life) is still up for grabs. Introspect the situation, learn from mistakes / shortcomings and do better next time. The only difference between Life and Cricket is that in Cricket, your success depends on your opposition losing. But life is much better; you can still win while celebrating your opponent’s success. 

No Dream too big. No Obstacle too high!

God has a peculiar way of inspiring each and every one of us through one of our own. Our inspiration can come from a nursery story of a Hare and a Tortoise, or a David v/s Goliath story. It could come from a person, like your parent, sibling, teachers, professors, bosses or any random person you meet. It could come from experiences – sometimes as simple as watching the rising sun, walking barefoot on a virgin beach, listening to music, watching movies / sports or in some cases, from our own personal life.

India adores sports. Cricket in particular, but things are changing and that too, for the better. We now have World Class performers in Badminton, Tennis, Chess, Athletics, Boxing, Wrestling et al. India is on the global map and is only destined to improve year on year. Many of the renowned players have had a humble beginning. They went through testing times and eventually overcame all the odds.

One such sportsperson is Mohammad Salih. A Chess fanatic who has played and won at college, university, state and even at South Indian Chess Championship, where he came 2nd. What’s that big a deal, you may ask? It’s a big deal, because he’s blind. That’s right, a person blind from birth plays Chess, a game where you have to be visually and intellectually astute.

He was born in Calicut to a poor family which included a blind father and two blind sisters. He grew up not clearly knowing the benefits of sight. He was later admitted to a residential school for the visually impaired. That was when he was introduced to Chess, among other games. He took to Chess the way a fish takes to water! But fate had a different story for young Salih. He was moved to a different school where his freedom to play was restricted, more so due to extra care given to him by his teachers. During these testing times, he gave equal importance to academics, passed his 10th and later on went on to complete his LLB.

But his passion for Chess remained intact. Anyone who has played Chess knows how important it is “see” what the opponent is trying to do. Imagine closing your eyes and playing it. Very difficult, isn’t it? Also, when Salih works on his strategies, he has to touch the pieces to determine its position and then play. This gives a strategic advantage to the opponent. Another problem he faces is during the practice. While other players can practice using computer opponents and afford coaches, Salih had to practice with humans and had to teach himself through experiences. Despite all this, he went on winning – not only against the visually impaired opponents, but also against players who don’t have the disability. Quite incredible!

He is the only earning member in the family. To make ends meet, he has started taking Chess teaching sessions. He dreams of starting a Chess Academy to develop the next set of champions from India. He also dreams on representing India on the world stage – which involves a lot of money, something he is deprived of.

In one of the interview, he said – “I want to be known as famous chess player and not a ‘blind chess player’. I can play as well as other sighted people. Then why to add ‘blind’ to my name”. It’s very obvious he doesn’t need our sympathy. Disability does not (and should not) disturb our ability to achieve success. Mohammad Salih is one such icon we need to look up to and respect.

A true sporting icon indeed!

Corporates have regularly come in to assist, support and develop simple yet super-human icons live and realize their dream. WillOfSteel.in is one such initiative from JSW. When you visit the website, you are introduced to wonderful human beings who have braved all odds, sacrificed self and family needs, for the betterment of the society at large. These are the people who need our support. Just read their stories, select the best out of them and vote for them. It’s that simple.

I’m voting for Mohammed Salih’s #WillOfSteel and blogging on BlogAdda to help him get felicitated and eventually enabled by JSW.

Who are you voting for?

Route to Happiness

"Happiness is ideally what we yearn for. Happiness is practically what we earn for." - Me!

I can't believe I came up with the line above. 

I won't be farther from the truth if I say I need happiness and that too eternal. And am sure everyone reading this will agree. And there's no ambiguity either. Normally, when we are confused with multiple options, we make decision that may not be right in the long term. Like career v/s marriage, or career v/s having a child, or family time v/s time for passion or even black forest v/s walnut brownie. These are like cross-roads – you make a choice & move on and the rejected option may not return ever again (apart from the ice cream, of course). These are the considerations we have to make whose outcome will define the future we will witness.

And what’s the future we are looking for? Anything that has happiness at its core, isn’t it? We chose various means to attain happiness but seldom reach the desired destination. Money is one such means. Many of my relatives and colleagues feel they lost out on opportunities just to ensure they children have a safe and secure future. We Indians are habituated to this, aren’t we? Our parents have going through the same thing and we will go through when we reach this stage – despite knowing what we are losing out on. 

One of my friends father shared his experience with me – He said he went abroad to make money and left his family (wife and 2 kids) back in India. He used to transfer money regularly. This went for more than 2 decades. One fine day he left everything and came back home. He felt he had saved enough. When we came back, his kids were already in their twenties and were closer to getting married. He said he missed his kids a lot. He missed their growing up days, a walk in the park, playing with them, attending school events – everything. He wasn’t enjoying either. He sacrificed a lot of his pleasures to save for his family. There are moments when he felt he should come back, but the need to save more forced him to stay back. Yes, his family is now well-to-do and are secure financially, but at what cost? He advised me to take my family along if I happen to get an overseas assignment and to be a little bit more selfish than most Indian dads who are primarily concerned about a financially secure future.

Isn’t this the story of almost all Indians working abroad while feeding their families back home by transferring money?

Most of us are on a mission to seek happiness, but appear to be on a wrong path. We know it’s wrong but we are somewhat forced to traverse this path hoping to seek happiness through more money. Or maybe it’s the need to earn more money and later on redirect my route towards happiness. I don't really know. 

Life is too short to learn from our own mistakes. Maybe we need to learn from the mistakes and experiences of people around us. But then, experience is also like a comb that life gives you when you are bald!

When a Blade Runner ran on the wrong track!

We always look for stories / life that inspire us. In a world full of "selfies" - in terms of the selfish lives, that is - a motivating life is just a fantasy. We live in shades of grey. There are moments of greatness followed by moments of madness. How else can we explain the recent trend of suicides, especially those who are known and followed? A popular politician's wife (not yet confirmed if its suicide), an ex-superstar of the south and a corporate biggie - all powerful enough to motivate us succumbed to one moment of madness and scarred their life imprint beyond recognition!

There was this child, born on 22nd November 1986. He had a certain deformity in both legs (fibular hemimelia) that forced both his legs to be amputated when he was barely 11 months old. He didn't give up. He was passionate towards sports. He participated in sporting events and played all the games he can play despite the obvious disability. He continued growing and improving in this sporting culture and went on to represent his country, South Africa, in various Paralympics and even Olympics events. In 2012, he become the first double amputee to participate in Olympics. He is known by the name "Oscar Pistorius" - popularly known as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest runner with no legs". 

Isn't that an inspiring story of a sports athlete overcoming all odds to conquer the world and motivating everyone to achieve their dreams. He once said - You are not disabled by the disabilities you have. You are able by the abilities you have. These are the stories we seek and stories that inspire us to overcome our hurdles in life and achieve the dreams we dreamt for.

What's described above are his moments of greatness. Now comes the moment of madness. On the 14th of February 2013, ironically on Valentines Day, Pistorius was accused of killing his girlfriend at his home. One side of the story was that he intentionally killed his girlfriend by firing 4 shots through the bathroom door, three of which hit her. The other side of the story was that Pistorius thought his girlfriend was in the bed and the person inside the bathroom was an intruder and shot at him / her so as to defend him and his girlfriend. Whatever the truth is, it became Oscar's moment of madness and has now deprived him of the greatness he well and truly deserved. Its almost one year since the unfortunate incident and the case is yet to be resolved. This post is not intended to delve deeper into the murder case and its only appropriate that the law takes its own course and charge the criminal, if at all there is one. 

One bad decision in a life full of success is all its needed to etch a mark that can't be erased at all! Sports stars are no different here. Take Tiger Woods for example. He had everything going for him. A successful golfer, brands lining up with World Record deals, best of the best in sports. One indecisive phase - and that too in his personal life - robbed him of everything he had. But that's not the end of the story right? He came back and how! He regained the confidence of his fans and sponsors and, guess what, they all are behind him now. Isn't that a wonderful comeback story, personal life notwithstanding?

If success can happen again for Tiger Woods, I don't see any reason why it can't happen to Oscar Pistorius. The only condition here is - if he comes out of the murder trial. And if Oscar does makes a comeback and starts winning the way only he can, we will have another successful story to motivate us.