60 years Young...Are We ??

Chak De...Chak De...Chak De INDIA...!!! No matter whatever you say but in a nation of such immense diversity it is sport that binds us together and makes us feel proud to be united against the oppsition.

If Cricket is believed to be a Religion then I guess Hockey can be termed as a bright spark which can fuel a revolution and galvanise people of this frenzied nation. An Ind vs Pak Hockey encounter can generate as much passion as Cricket if not more. Players in this country believe that their lives are on the line if it is an Ind vs Pak final. Why is it that the fear of defeat so intense and unacceptable when we play our arch rivals and not any other team. The reason lies in our not so glorious past but it is hard to believe that we cannot till today generate the same level of passion on field against a different opposition.

Consistency is something we lack in various fields and sport is not any different especially the Team games. One of the major drawbacks of our upbringing has been the glorification of individual brilliance and the lack of team effort which explains why we have exceptional talent but poor Teams comprising them.

Right from our childhood we have been inspired to excel individually but we have never realised that as a nation to progress in any field we need to have a collective contribution otherwise it will always be about individualism and India will always be talked about as a third world country. Team work as a key aspect is now being taught at the grass root levels which is a good sign for the days ahead.

It is said 'Better late than never' ...but the saying doesnt aptly aply to our youngsters when you ask them about their active role in democracy and politics. Present day is a bit different from yesterday when none of the younger generation would have liked to take politics as a career option. The reason being the inherent assumption that nothing can be done to clean up the corruption and that we dont want to get our hands dirty. But when you choose not to play then how do you expect to win and here we are talking about a whole corrupt system as the opposition. Yes it would require a lot of courage and mental strength to stand up against lawlessness and deceit but sometimes you will need to bend the law (not break it) to make acceptable choices.

My obvious reference is to the Times of India organised Lead India campaign with the message "DO" as their tagline. The last time we said "Do or Die" there was gruesome bloodshed and sacrifices had to be made to achieve a common goal. Somewhere down the line we have lost that sense of belongingness and thereby faith in our system. But are we prepared against a more potent opposition (our own elected leaders) this time around ? All said and done it again boils down to collective effort and that is where I am not sure how big a success this venture can be but judging by the interest levels I wish the participants all the very best. But it remains to be seen as to how much energy can a single winner imbibe into a rotten machine.

As we celebrate the 60th year of our independence, my thought goes back to the three words Dr.Kalam said in an interview some time back ..."Strength, Respect and Strength"...As India prepares to announce its arrival in the big league it is high time we realised our Strengths...learn to Respect them and build on that respect to gain more Strength and Respect.

Note : The views expressed in this article are personal and extremely subjective in nature. They were never meant to be for public broadcast and so I would ask readers to refrain from making such requests. Writing to me comes when I have the time and feel for it and it cannot be hastened. At the same time a request to the other contributors to this space to end their hibernation and start contributing effectively. :-)

Coming up soon - Life In an 'IT' Industry !!!