Reflections after watching Pan Singh Tomar

The other day, me and my family went to see a very nice film PAN SINGH TOMAR starring Irfan Khan.

I learnt about the movie from my cousins during a family function. Seriously, until then, I did not know about such a movie , forget about the sportsman on whom the movie was based. Nevertheless I decided to go for the night show on the very day, I learnt about it.

I cajoled my wife to submission to come with me. And tried my best to cajole my elder one to stay at home, so that we "miya-biwi" could enjoy some rare solitary moments,........which have long become bygone. But as it would be, the son ensured that his dad did not play any "stupid" tricks on him and took him along.

So there we all went; me, my love and the first result of my love.

The movie was excellent. I re-lived some of my military training days and gave some boring tidbits about the importance of discipline, to my son, who endured it with that "come On dad" look.

Well that is not the reason for this post.

The story of Subedhar Pan Singh Tomar from Morena region, in MP is a mirror to our society.

The fact that an international level sportsman and an Army man at that, like Tomar had to take up arms in his civil life for his fundamental rights i.e. right to live with dignity,

The fact that despite of his illustrous career as an athelete he was provided with little or no assistance from the police and local administration,

The fact that many incidents of harassment and death threats from his relatives he eventually had to turn to banditry and become a dreaded dacoit in the Chambal Valley,

The fact that a SEVEN times national steeple chase champion had to die as a dacoit, should shame each one of us Indian. Pan Singh Tomar died a violent death in 1981.

You would say, it happened then. Yes it happened then, but what has changed even now? The other day the world cup winning women's Kabbadi team (yeah they did win....God Promise) found no one recognising them at the airport, leave aside anyone receiving them at the airport. Search the net, one can easily find similar stories of apathy and neglect of our Indian sports stars.

Such is the state of affair, in the country that Sports has become synonymous with Cricket. No wonder people find it hard to differentiate between a Saina Nehwal and a Sania Mirza. I am talking about the somewhat famous women stars of India. Leave aside a Mary Kom or Preeja Shridharan or Veerdhaval Khade or Gagan Narang and others.

It reminded me of an incident, which I was witness to some years back. I was on a deputation to UN at GOMA in Congo DRC, in central Africa.

On an evening one day, we were returning to our camp from our work place. Suddenly we saw that the road near the local airport was choke-a-block, with people. Being a strife torn country and we being representatives of UN made us suspicious about the crowd collection.

But the mob was anything, but violent.

They were dancing, they were singing and they were screaming.

All this in a country, where death in form of a bullet or a machete or due to AIDS is round the corner. Congo is a country where the people hardly managed a single meal and violence could trigger for no worthwhile reason.
One of us asked someone in the crowd, as to what was happening. The lanky Congolese, whom my colleague asked the question explained in his French and Swahili laced English, that the town's UNDER 10 age group boys were returning home after winning the national championship in soccer. We all Indians were flummoxed. The incident passed.

Juxtapose that situation to Indian scenario. Forget about receiving them at the airport, we would not let our children to go to such a tournament in the first place.

A country of more than a billion can not produce many Olympic medal winners, we cry, forgetting the fact that medals and trophies at international levels are the culmination of a long drawn plan in a sportsman's life, right from his childhood.

we being hypocrites, when we say India can not produce champions?

How many times has each one of us gone to that field and watched our kids play?

How many of us make it a point, to be present for the our ward's school sports event?

Believe me, more than the money and fame, a sportsperson craves for recognition of his abilities and efforts. We can definitely make a difference by just spending some time watching kids play and enjoy, by going to the tournament our child so eagerly waits to come. Coming from a background, where sports was definitely encouraged, I can say with experience that watching a match of hockey or that of a volleyball would give you the same pleasure of watching a action movie.

Well all the blah blah is over. Sorry for trying to break the ingrained value: "Sports is useless for kids".

"Aadi...Aadi...where the hell are you? Come on get your bloody books out. Football Football Football.....Idiot that is not going to help you to lead a good life......I will not let you ruin your life playing that stupid game......Aadi........Aadi".

# The picture in the post is of Pan Singh Tomar and his family

Teacher's Day

Today is 5th of September...the day we celebrate as Teacher's day in India. The teacher's day brings back vivid memories of my school days. As a student, I used to wait for this day...

Why? Because it made me thrilled to see the Xth std. students taking our regular teacher's place...It was one of the rare oppurtunity when the senior students could be in the school premises in civvies. The girls would come in their best of mom's sarees and the boys in the best of formal attire they could manage.

This craze to become a teacher on the teacher's day, was present in me from the day I was in the VIIth standard.
Why I do not know?
May be it was because of the opportunity to wear civvies to school, which was otherwise allowed only on your birthdays,
or maybe it was to announce to the school that we were seniors
or may be it was because the realisation that it was your last year in the school. Whatever???? I wanted to be the teacher on the Teacher's day and it was a deep trenched desire.

So finally I reached the Xth standard and then came the Teacher's day. I remember making preparation for it from a week before the D-day or should I say the T-day. I checked my wardrobe, if I could call one . I matched my shirts with the only two "full" pants I possessed. I applied the permutations and combinations and finally decided on the attire. Apart from the brown canvas shoes,which was part of the uniform, I possessed a sneaker to complete my collection of shoes. Now in that era, no body thought that wearing a blue sneaker underneath a brown pant was a bad fashion statement. Even if anybody did....I did not know it and I didn't care about it.

I did not think about anything else but of being the teacher, in the preceding few days to the actual day. My mind was a theater where I rehearsed my mannerism, my expressions, my "teaching abilities"....I was strict, I was benevolent, I was whatever my educators were. I modeled myself on Stephen Sir, Maggie teacher, Hilon sir. I was every one of my teacher.......

Then the actual day arrived. I got up early......much to my parent's surprise and delight. I was like that effervescence in a soda bottle..all bubbly and tingling.
If I am not wrong, I remember that day, the school opened a bit late than the normal working hours.
I got up, I completed my normal chores and I took out my peach cotton shirt and the brown pant. I checked all the buttons and the hooks and the zipper. Well I had done all these the day before, umpteen times, but still....
I wore my black socks(another fashion disaster)and then the chosen shirt and pant and finally the blue sneaker. I had this desire to wear a tie ( and I really do not why I desired so????!!!!!) and I had borrowed it from an friendly neighborhood uncle. That the tie's colour was somewhat crimson, did not matter to me at all. So I knoted the tie and I was ready.....Since being an obedient Mallu boy, I could not escape the coconut oil on my hair.

So the boy-man was ready in his peach shirt, brown pant, black socks, blue shoes and the crimson tie. I asked my mom, about my get up. She gave me a look which was neither encouraging nor discouraging. I stepped out of my home.... some of my neighbours gave me a bemused look. But I moved on to the school. People's heads turned when I passed them (now I know why?). I was amused and ecstatic and finally I reached the school gates.
As soon as I saw my classmates, the first thing which was gone was my tie. It went deep into my pocket..It had to as I was the only one with a tie........

Now I guess two or three students were assigned a class/subject. I do not fairly remember what was the criteria. but I was assigned a class of the VIIIth standard. I along with my "co-teachers" went to our assigned class. As soon as we entered our students roared "Good Morningggggggggg Teeeeeeeaaaaacher"....And my colleagues, the smarties they were, one coolly occupied the teacher's chair and the other the available empty bench. I had no choice but to stand in front of the black board......The class monitor handed me the attendance register and I blurted out the names listed one by one and marked the attendance.

Now what?????My colleagues were not even giving me a hint. They were just passing their time....But me being me and the preparations I had done. I asked for a text book of English....and opened it. I mumbled some incoherent things....and I could see the students looking at me with the utmost disdain, their looks gave me the hint...."STOP...u are boring us".
That's when the reality struck....
I suddenly realised that I am no good. I was jittery and slowly turning into pulp........
All my preparations went down the drain. Over and above everything, even my colleagues were grinning.....

That's it....I closed the book. Asked the kids to do as they liked, but maintain silence....
and my teacher's day ended.....and so did the dream and desire to be a teacher.

I realised that day....and beleive it till date, that teaching is not everyone's cup of tea.

Hats off to all my teachers and thank them all for what they have done to enhance my life....Thank You very much.

Do we deserve ANNA?????

Anna Hazare broke his fast, to the relief of all Indians. He began with a agenda of forcing the government to toe his line on the methodology of rooting out corruption from our nation. He put his own life on the anvil. The sheer power of his simplicity and unassuming beliefs made it possible for us commoners to identify with his cause and we all in our own little ways made it our own cause......WE THE PEOPLE made the pillars of power resonate our call. Everyone from the media to the chaiwala were unanimous in declaring the politicians the VILLIAN No. 1 of this country. I guess the political class of this country might not have been subjected to such public outrage for a very very long time. It made them jittery, irked and even coy.

Did Anna succeed? Well this is a matter of speculation and individual interpretation. But he did bring the problem of corruption on the forefront of our national agenda. Personally, I think Anna got the politicians realise that this country will not accept graft and nepotism any longer. Yes that is what I like to believe.The LokPal would come, but in what form, is something which the whole country is eagerly waiting. Lets wait and watch.....

Meanwhile, a question is lingering in my mind for some time now...

"DO WE DESERVE ANNA?"

Do we deserve his sacrifice? Do we really feel strongly about his (our) cause?

Yes it's true...

I know, it has got you thinking...Think hard....Are we worthy of his efforts.

I read somewhere, that if Anna had put the condition that only those people who had not committed a graft in the preceding 07 days of the agitation can only join his agitation, then only he and his team would have been available at the Ramlila Maidan......maybe it is true.

Jokes apart, it is a fact that when we scream heart out against the politicians, that very heart knows that we are also corrupt.....

How many of us think before breaking the traffic rules? How many of us think it is bad to travel without ticket? How many of us think that queuing at the bus stop is actually right? .....These are some examples....There are many such situations where we don't think twice before breaking all civil and social norms. And if and when the law catches up with us, we know we can bribe our way out.

Now some one would say these are trivial issues. No Sir, it's not. These are also forms of corruption. These small manifestations of lawlessness results in the bigger cases of graft.

The politicians are corrupt , the government bureaucrats are corrupt, we say ....but they are because we allow them to be. And it has come to a point wherein, when we come across some honest person doing his job properly, we start suspecting his motive. We just can't believe, that he can be honest.

Honesty is no longer a virtue we can adjust to. Sad ...but it is true....

I would not be off mark, if I say corruption is in our blood.

Anna, was spot on, when he said just wearing a cap with the words "I AM ANNA" does not make you one. We need to make changes in our thought process, in our actions, in our words.....and it has to be real and sincere changes, if we dream of making our's a model society.

We as a nation needs to improve by leaps and bounds if we actually want to reach the standards we often dream and crib about.

Ask yourself, Do we deserve ANNA? I know, it is difficult in the world we are living today. Even I am not sure I can change myself. But I will try...........

"CLEANLINESS"........what the hell is that????

The other day, I saw a status update of a friend on the popular social site Facebook which said:

"kicked the f***in shit out of a guy who refused to bin his plastic bottle. his argument was the railways have employed people for this."

Being someone who moves around in Mumbai city regularly, I was not surprised by my friend's experience. But the fact, that his good intention was resisted upon by this very “educated urban young thing”, and that my friend had to hit him to put across the point, was appalling to say the least.

Made me think…….

Where are we moving towards as a nation? What about the values we learned as children?

Move about the city and I bet one can ever come back without witnessing someone either spitting on the streets, or urinating in open. Throwing garbage and other debris on the streets seems like one of the fundamental right envisaged by our forefathers. Young and old, rich and poor alike are united in one aspect i.e. dirtying this lovely city.

“That it is the job of the Municipality”, “ We pay our taxes yaar”, “ Government must have some work” are some of the dialogues one can hear, when reminded about maintaining cleanliness of the public place. It’s a sad commentary on the collective psyche of a nation.

And this phenomenon is not just restricted to the big cities like Mumbai or Delhi. It is as rampant in rural India as it is in urban India. At times, I am tempted to call this phenomenon as “INDIANNESS”

If one thinks that it is a class/gender issue. Think again. Rich or Poor, men or women, educated or the illiterate, all are united in soiling the motherland. And think of it, we take pride in calling our country BHARAT MATA…meaning MOTHER INDIA and do not think twice when spitting on the Mother’s face. Pathetic!!!!

It seems the subjects of Community Living and EVS is for gaining that extra mark in the exams, nothing more. Frankly, I do not see any change in public attitude in this regards for years to come. The only hope, which remains is that the young children of today be responsible citizens of tomorrow…….

But then we were children once, and we were also thought
“CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS”…………