Handling Pressure

Way back in 1991, my dearest friend Jaydeep cajoled and convinced me into joining Football. A hard core Cricketer, for a change, I decided to play  this game too. It was a decision made not out of enthusiasm for Football but love for Jaydeep. I knew, this would be the reason for spending more time with him. 

Alien to Football skills, I invariably took to Goal-keeping. Slowly and steadily I started enjoying my role below the Goal Post. 

Purshuramians, the club which was bearing me, was a disciplined unit. Boys used to arrive in time, do their warmup, play the game and do the stretching before retiring for the day. After the stretching exercises we would gather behind the Goal Post where our kits used to be kept and change our shoes, our soiled t-shirts and other equipments. 

In one of those days, after a hard game, totally tired, we having completed the stretching sat down to change the shoes. Our Coach, Satish Deodhar was not satisfied with one of the young forwards, Raghu, and was still on the field giving him lessons. 

According to Deodhar Sir, Raghu had committed a serious mistake and if not rectified would harm his game as a Forward. Deodhar Sir was angrily explaining to him that whenever he would be marching towards the opposite goal with ball in his possession he should anticipate at least two defenders, one to his left and other to his right moving along with him. His words of wisdom were, ‘Forwards should be able to carry along these two defenders and march towards the goal to strike at the right time. Never expect the defenders to leave you alone to shoot a goal’. 

This left me thinking. Till then my imagination of an ideal goal was the strikers leaving the defenders behind them and running along to score the Goal. This new concept of travelling towards your goal with opposition tagging along was strange...... 

and bingo I learned the lesson of my life! 

In life, there are so many occasions when you face challenges. Solving these challenges is a task. Some succeed, some falter, some freeze while others flight. 

For me, after the lesson learnt from Deodhar Sir, I will never be left alone by issues as I march my way towards my goal. It’s upto to me how I handle this small and big pressures while  never loosing my focus of achieving the ultimate. 

Raghu may or may not have scored further goals in Football matches but I got the magic formula to score my goals in life! 

Sinhagad calling!

This incidence dates back to Oct 28th, 2015.

Overconfidence, almost every time, leads you to a mess!

As decided, for Wednesdays, inspite of a lot of mental and physical resistance, set out for Sinhagad at 5:10am.

The fuel indicator showed that the petrol was at the minimum, but I continued, deciding on filling the tank on my return. 

As I crossed Khadakwasla the car started giving warnings. I preferred to ignore it. As I crossed Donje Phata, the Car started stuttering on upward slopes, I had no options but to carry on.

As I neared the base of the mountain, the slope of the road increased and the car gave away! I was stranded on the middle of the road! My attempts to park the vehicle on the sides failed as the car decided that it is not going to cooperate and teach me a lesson for its under nourishment.

It was stark dark outside and the same condition inside my mind. No idea as to what I should do. I was desperate. A little fear too existed.

Finally, I decided to leave the car as it is and set out for my journey up the hill. 

As I walked, initially a lot of thought of my return journey were coming but it subsided as the elevation increased. This was my third climb in three weeks. On one side I was proud of myself for attempting this climb while on the other I was frustrated on myself for the foolishness I had made. 

I completed the day's target of 40min climb and after a rest of 5 min started on my way back.

As I came down, the Temple of Vittal Rukhmini, in which the devotees were getting ready when I started, was in its full flow. The devotees had warmed up and were in their zone reciting lovely bhajans and swaying their body on its rhythm. The 'Gabara', lightened up with the light of the Arti,  was looking amazingly pure. I immersed myself into this mood for sometime and after the bhajan got over resumed with my walk.

A thought crossed my mind, though selfish, that will my god help me out of this situation. 

By now, I was pretty clear on my line of action.

The solution was quite simple. I had to reach the nearest Petrol Pump, somehow. Get 2-3 bottles of Petrol filled. Come back to the car. Empty the bottles in the Tank and see if the machine starts.

With the resolution firm and with the new found faith, as I was passing the village, first I saw a Bus waiting for the passengers. Just some moments ago, I had seen the Driver and Conductor of this Bus climbing up the hill. I calculated that it will take another 10-15 min before they return. Hence, I decided not to enter the Bus but to look for anther option. 

At hardly 20 steps away I saw my saviour! A school Van filling its passengers, small kids, 5-6 years old, waiting on the sides. I identified the driver and asked him whether he would give me a lift. Though he was a little tentative, he agreed to partially solve my problem. He offered to take me along till the Petrol Pump.

I boarded this vehicle not knowing another beautiful experience lay in store. This Van used to stop at particular intervals and parents would be waiting  for this Van to see off their kids. It was a cute experience. One of the kid had his younger sibling coming to see him off and as he climbed up the Van, the younger one said good bye to him at least 4 to 5 times with so much excitement which we elders can't even imagine of. It was apparent that the kid was desperately waiting to grow up and like his big brother enjoy this Van some day. 

As we neared our destination, the Van Kaka, intelligently informed that after filling up the bottles in the Petrol Pump, I won't be easily getting any lift back and he said that he will be again going back the same trail to pick up some more kids in his second round. So he asked me to wait on the side of the road for 5 min until he returned and that he will help me reach my car. I couldn't believe my luck!

Everything happened as planned by Raju Chavan, the Van Kaka, and within a short time, I was near my Car. 

The procedure after that was easy and in no time I was behind the steering wheel on my way back.

Wondering I was, whether, it was actually the Van Kaka or God Vittal himself giving me this beautiful experience!

So what do I learn? Should I be more organised the next time  and avoid all these unplanned activities or will I get one more opportunity to be messy and in the process experience Him!

The Shining ball

The stories of the beauty of India’s North Eastern States were long heard. This pull resulted in planning a cycling expedition to any one of the States. This year, Sikkim turned out to be our destination between Oct 22 to Nov 2. 

Mitra bhau Naik, an expert in Cycling and trekking tours was our guide. We landed at Baghdora and after two days of acclimatisation, the Cycling started from the beautiful Darjeeling. 

In the next few days we hopped from one destination to another and were blessed to experience West and South Sikkim. We moved from Darjeeling to Jorethang to Pelling to Yuksom to Ravangla to Gangtok to Namchi to Kalimpong to Siliguri and 

back to Baghdora for our return flight. 

‘Incredible India’ is the only word which can describe the places we visited. Huge Mountains laden with thick vegetation, deep Valleys converging into crystal clear rivers flowing with childlike enthusiasm, clean places being a culture, loud noise an impossibility, kindness of the villagers a permanent virtue and vibrations of happiness all over. The most attractive part of this dream journey was the cuteness of the kids. The combination of chubby cheeks and small innocent eyes was irresistible! 

As we moved along paddling on our bicycles, sometimes on upward slopes and on others, downward, but seldom plain horizontal ones, a crucial lesson was learnt. Four of us, Tukaram Naik, Nilesh Jakotia, Pratik Bafna and myself, used to cycle for hours together. Sometimes for 4 hours, at others 5 and once even for 6 and a half hours, to be totally exhausted. 

We used to push ourselves through the upward slopes for hours and feel like quitting. At times even downward journey used to be a test of our endurance with practically only stones to ride on instead of roads. Sweat running down the forehead, legs aching, eyes fixed on the never ending upward slope, the top of the mountain still high enough to scale, the cycle moving along in inches, lungs thumping in exhaustion, heart ready to give up, the only hope of reaching the destination used to be the mind. Clinging tightly to will power as we used to reach the top a complete sense of satisfaction used to grip in. 

A break for a sip of water, something to munch from our bag, a moment of solitude listening to the birds around and hours of struggle used to just vanish! It was pure magic! 

Till minutes ago, the thought used to be never again will we put ourselves to such physical impossibility and all of a sudden within minutes of achieving our goal it was felt that another peak is definitely scalable. 

In Cricket, the opening batsman have to face the swinging new ball. If they successfully pass the test, in few overs the ball looses its shine and stops swinging. Life becomes easy and now the batsman can enjoy their strokes. 

In life too, sometimes we face tough situations. It seems the end of the world for us. But with a mind of steel, patience as our virtue, confidence of getting over the crisis, if we hold long enough, the tide soon gets over and everything becomes nice and rosy!

Let’s believe, it’s not the end but only a bend! 

Next turn might be the top of the mountain, next ball might loose its shine and stop swinging, the chirping of the birds will again be heard to relish!

Above Comfort Zone!

We are fascinated by people working outside their comfort zone. These are a different breed of people. Always enthusiastic, react to new ideas with an open mind, have an eye towards the future, courageous. 

If 90% of people work within their comfort zones then  there are these select 10% who work outside theirs. 

But what about those rarest of rare who not only work outside their comfort zones but above it.

As we have in Mathematics X, Y and Z planes, these are one among lakhs who work in a plane much above the rest. 

Their Destination is the only thing they know about their work. All the others,  like path towards their destination, method of work, their team,  everything they discover as they move along the path!

Who are they?

Alexander the Great!

Christopher Columbus!

Shivaji Maharaj!

Mahatma Gandhi! 

Abdul Kalam! 

---- and others!

Each one of the above knew only about their Destination..... and nothing else!

What are their Anchors?

Love...... Courage..... Peace!

How is their method of working?

Idea.... Research.... Plan..... Execution!

Their method towards their path?

A committed team,

A Culture in the team,

Perseverance, come what may,

A single point Agenda. 

When these people achieve their goals we are left flabbergasted!

In the final analysis, we conclude that He has chosen our Heroes to come into this world at the right time, at the right place and in the right situation. 

It's not always that someone comes with an idea to create a dent in the Universe! 

Speak, I will

Business requires you to visit all sorts of places. For renewal of Police License I frequent the Police Commissioner's office,  once in 3 years. 

On one such visit it was a rainy day.Parking is a big issue always and on that day it appeared that the whole city's vehicle were parked at that location. Parking a long distance away I started to walk towards my destination. 

The climate was beautiful and I was enjoying the slight drizzle. A little distance away from the building I saw a huge crowd gathered on the streets. They had occupied the whole area and from far it was clear that some strike against the authorities was the agenda. 

As I neared the crowd, I found something odd going on. My eyes could see before me a crowd of almost a thousand gathered in the narrow lane but...... but, my ears could hear almost nothing! 

How is this possible?

As I neared them....... the picture became more and more clear. The gathered people were 'talking' with frantic hand, eye and lip movement, but still no voice heard! It was a gathering of more than 1000 deaf and dumb people! 

As I passed through the crowd there were goose bumps all over me! Just couldn't handle the whole scene around. 

From the displayed boards I came to know that these people had gathered to protest against the government because the authorities had withdrawn some basic rights that the deaf and dumb community were enjoying all these years. People had come from all over the state. Some were wearing similar t-shirts which had the names of their village printed on it. 

I observed one more scene. There was a small clutter of people inside this huge gathering and a leader was addressing this group. It was a sight to see a deaf and dumb Speaker 'addressing' a deaf and dumb audience. The leader was frantically waiving his hands and giving the 'speech'. At frequent intervals he would raise his right hand and the whole audience would follow in unison and show their support by raising their hands too. 

In a state of total shock, as I moved through the crowd, I saw a group of ladies 'sharing' together, a group of senior persons and surprisingly a group of deaf and dumb eunuchs too 'discussing' together. 

It was a different world altogether. But there was no sign which reflected that they were lacking something. It is we, so called normal people, who think that they are 'disabled'. There all of them were laughing, sharing and having the time of their life. 

I finally passed through this crowd and reached the Commissioner's office. On my way back, I again walked through this amazing gathering. This time round, I was more equipped to handle the scenes around. Observed a lot, stored in my memory the scenes and moved away. 

As I reached my car, a storm of thoughts were going on inside me. After sometime as everything settled down I contemplated on the experience. 

God has blessed us with so many physical and mental abilities. If someone is lacking any one of the crucial ability we immediately sympathies on them. But is it really needed. He who has taken away something has ensured that He makes up with an additional ability which will fill the lacuna in that soul. 

Balance in some way or the other is the rule of this world!

Lemon-Chilly Solution.

 

As I see a traffic signal from far off showing green, it seems like the whole world is cooperating with me! But, amidst the traffic, as I near the signal, it turns red and now the whole world seems against me. I curse my luck. This happens only with me, always. Whenever success seems just a step away luck deserts me and I fail. Why does it happen always with me?

As I sat their, behind the wheels, a little annoyed, my patience getting tested for the next 1.5 min, I observe a familiar sight. Looking at that sight I realise it's Saturday. A lady, unkempt, knocking on my car window. She was holding a bundle of lemon and chilly, stitched together with thread. Only on Saturdays, she and her army of friends, appear with this unique product. A no moon day (आमावास्या) also gives them a bonus day to sell this product. 

Humans are superstitious. In India, these superstitions take different and huge  forms. Along with these grave implications also come their solutions. The combination of lemon and chilly is one of them. 

They say, that if 'evil eye' invades us than this lemon-chilly combination keeps it away from us and shields us from ill-fate. Some also say that 'Alaxmi' the goddess of poverty is driven away by this powerful combination. 

Experts prove and preach that for success we need to be disciplined, skillful, knowledgeable, well networked, persistent, patient, strong will-powered, and a lot more things. But, one bad look from someone who doesn't have even 1% of all the required qualities for success, can destroy all our lifelong efforts! How sad! 

So along with the mantras for attaining success we should also have the all important thing growing in our backyard, a plant of lemon and another one of chillies! 

Also, this evil eye strikes only on Saturdays or no moon day. All other days of the week the conditions are not favourable for them. Hence, we need to have a fresh set of lemons and chillies to drive those evil vibrations off, a rotten ones won't do. 

As I sat contemplating on those merchants of good luck, sweating themselves off on a hot summer day, working hard for our success, driving off the goddess of poverty, I observed a little distance away sitting on the divider, beneath the signal pole, was a little child, crying her heart out for attention. With torn clothes, malnourished, sun burnt, eyes deep inside, craving for a little food. 

Their own child is struck with poverty, ill-fate, but we believe that they have the solutions to our bad luck! 

Either these Angels of god are too generous to distribute even their share of luck to us or our belief on lemon-chilly solution is too strong! 

Sharing

 

What are the basic needs of a human?

Food

Clothes

Shelter

What else?

Should we add Oxygen and water too?

Surely. What else?

In the last some days, watching 3 Hollywood movies, 'Cast away', '127 hours' and 'Into the wild', one thing that I found which should be added to the above basic needs for us is 'SHARING'!

Yes, a simple activity of sharing. 

As I started observing people, analysing situations, studying results, it became more and more obvious. A man can live without his basic needs but not without sharing. Believe it or not!

Facebook, Whatsup, and all the other Social Media tools have one and the only reason for their success and that is sharing!

When a man succeeds, he wants to share. When he fails even than he wants to vent out his feelings and share.

When he is in love he wants to share, when he gets rejected, he wants to share.

A Buddha becomes enlightened and for the world to understand the importance of spirituality, he shares!

An artist, whatever medium he is using, whether Painting, or Acting, or Music, or Cooking, what he is basically doing through the art form is sharing!

A blind man shares. A dumb and deaf also finds some way or the other to share!

An Adam without an Eve or an Eve without an Adam is not possible because than there will be no one to share!

What is the toughest punishment meted out to a criminal? 

Hanging might end him of all his troubles. But imprisonment seems to be tougher. If the authority wants to punish more harder, what do they do? The convict is enclosed in a dark cell. Here he has clothes, shelter, food, everything but still it's horrible....why? Because he has no one to share! In this condition he may loose his mental balance too!

If I am happy, I share.

If I am sad, I share. 

..... if I want to express my feelings, my observations, my achievements, my so on and so forth, what do I do?

I write a blog!

...... and I share!