Welcome back to Monday Truclusions once again. First of all, I apologize for changing the topic today if you were expecting to read about what I’m passionate about. It so happened that the world witnessed some things this week that inspired me so much, that I could not stop myself from writing about them. But before I get there…
I need to tell you a story
…and then I will relate it to the events that inspired me so much.
There lived two kids in a village; one was six-year old and the other ten-year old. The elder boy was stouter that any other kid of his age and the younger boy seemed to be skinnier when compared to the children of his age. Both were famous for being extremely naughty. The whole village was fed up by their pranks. Finally both the families warned the boys that if they were found responsible for any more pranks in the village, they would be punished severely.
One fine day, both the boys went out to play and they crossed the borders of the village, without realizing it. While playing, it so happened that the elder boy stumbled and fell into a well nearby and panicked. The younger kid got scared too and didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t decide if he should run to the village and get help or try to rescue his friend by himself?
He told himself that he would be risking his friend’s life if he waited for help to come, and so he decided to try and save his friend. The young kid called out to his friend to be brave and hang on, and that he would pull him out of danger soon. The boy quickly looked for something that he could use as a rope to pull his friend out of the well. He found a half burnt rope which was left there by some travelers, but it was not enough to reach his friend. Then he sighted long climbers that grew hugging a stem of a huge tree. He used all his might to uproot a couple of them. He joined the half burnt rope and the climbers to make the rope long enough to reach the bottom of the well.
He threw one end of the rope down the well and tied the other to a nearby tree, and helped the other kid get out of the well. The boys went back to the village and narrated their experience to everyone in the village. Nobody believed what the kids had to say. Everyone ridiculed them; some went on to scold them including their own families.
There was only one grand old man in the village who believed the kids. The old man was well respected in the village. Everyone wanted to know why did he believe the boys when their own parents didn’t. How can a skinny six-year old boy pull a ten-year old boy three times his own size was everybody’s question.
The old man said- “No one was around the kid at that point in time telling him he is not capable of doing what he wanted to, including himself. He believed he could do it and so he did it!” Everyone was astonished at the old man’s perspective. The point here is that the kid did not quit in his attempt. The fear of failure didn’t deter him from trying.
Now what is the relation of this story and the event that the world witnessed last week?
Four Names Made India Proud
M.Thangavelu, Varun Singh Bhatti, Deepa Malik and Devendra Jhajharia. Our very own Paralympics champions! These guys didn’t listen to anyone when they were told that they couldn’t achieve what they actually did.
Mariyappan Thangavelu – High Jump
M. Thangavelu was one of five children, and was raised by his mother, who was a single parent. She made a living by carrying bricks everyday. When Mariyappan was 5, his right leg was stunted below the knee after a drunk bus driver ran over him when he was just walking to school. Despite this he pushed through life with determination, because he didn’t see himself any different from other able-bodied kids.
At the age of 14, with his PE instructor’s encouragement, he bagged the second place in high jump in a competition with other able-bodied students. After that, there was no looking back. From clearing a distance of 1.78m in T42 event at the IPC Grand Prix in Tunisia to winning the gold with a leap of 1.89m at the T42 Finals in Rio Paralympics, Mariyappan is on a roll!
Varun Singh Bhatti – High Jump
But what made the high jump a highlight was that while the gold was bagged by Thangavelu, the bronze was clinched by fellow Indian- Varun Singh Bhatti! Varun came to fame with his performance of a 1.60 m leap in 2012 Paralympics. But because of limited slots, he could not make it to London 2012. But he never gave up!
From coming 5th in 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon (Korea) and winning Gold at the 2014 China Open Athletics Championship, to winning another Gold at the 2016 IPC Athletics Asia Oceania Championship, he set a new Asian record. The bronze in 2016 has added more accolades to his achievements.
Deepa Malik – Shot Put
The third iconic inspiration I am going to talk about is Deepa Malik. She is one who believes in “Ability beyond disability” and refuses to be anybody’s stereotype. In spite of being paralysed permanently below the chest, she became the first woman with her disability to conquer the high altitude roads of Leh Ladakh in 2011.
She made her entry into the field of sports at 36 years of age, and became the oldest Arjuna awardee at 42! She has made us proud a number of times at the world stage for various reasons. She’s added another feather to her cap this year, by being the oldest athlete to win a medal in the Paralympics for shot put.
Devendra Jhajharia – Javelin
The last but not the least name that inspired me for this write up is Devendra Jhajharia. He lost his left hand when he was 8 years old, when he touched a live electric cable while climbing a tree. One fine day, in the year 1997, Dronacharya Awardee Coach RD Singh spotted him, recognized his talents, and coached him!
Dev went on to become the first man to win two gold medals for javelin throw in Paralympics. He set a new world record this year with his gold medal.
The reason why these guys could raise beyond expectations was because they did not crib about the situation life posed at them. They didn’t use excuses for not trying to excel in their passion. But they created opportunities for themselves, and converted the stones thrown at them into milestones of their lives. They never gave up on chasing their dreams! I hereby sign off for this week with this poem.
The five rings of glory,
Will speak of our story.
It’s what all our lives we have dreamed,
Believing it is for what we were sent.
Every ounce of energy we will burn,
Victory for a billion, we will churn.
We will play hard, we will play fair,
Failure will never be a scare.
We will achieve what we seek,
Nothing at all can make us weak.
In the abyss of the dark,
We walk with a hopeful spark.
The nation’s flag will flutter high,
On the pinnacle is our eye.
The pride of our land we will uphold,
We aim at not bronze, not silver, but only gold.