Sports in India – A road to glory or a path to misery?

Being a sports enthusiast, I love being here at Complete Sports Complex. You too must have played or followed some sport or the other. So here is a question for you - He received the Arjuna award at the age of 15, Padma Sri at 18 and later Padma Bushan and Padma Vibhushan. Recently, he became the World Champion for the 5th time. Who is he..??
He is the Grandmaster, Vishwanathan Anand. Likewise, exemplary sportspersons like Sachin, Sania, and Saina etc. are role models for budding sportspersons in India. They have proved that if you follow your passion sky is the limit.

Now guess this one - He was a seven-time national steeplechase champion and represented India at the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games. A property dispute with his relatives and harassment made him a rebel dwelling in the Chambal valley. He met a gruesome death at the hands of police. I am talking about Paan Singh Tomar. Recently, Archer Nisha Rani (Bangkok GP gold medalist), had to sell her world-class archery equipment due to poverty and the list is endless…

Abhinav Bindra is the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. How? Because his affluent parents could afford to make a shooting range worth Rs. 10 crores in their backyard and he had a 5 time Olympics shooter as his coach.

Wealth brings prosperity. It has made IPL a game of glamour and a road to stardom. But, IPL is also a platform for players to get into the national team. The World Series Hockey Championship is also inspired by IPL. Now, Shahrukh Khan buying 50% stake in Dempo Football club can prove a game changer for Indian football. However, where there is money there is envy. People argue that the IPL is Indian Paisa League. Money is a magnet that attracts power. Where the BCCI chief is a team owner and the chief selector is the team’s ambassador, the argument seems plausible.

In India, we are also compelled to choose one between hobby and career. Why not hobby as a career? As they say – Do what you love and love what you do. But, boss, it’s easy to say, but damn tough to do. For those who choose a sport as their profession, the issues leading to their misery are lack of - sponsors, proper equipment, medical and training facilities, and experienced coaches. Crores are gulped by opportunists and our Olympics team is being served rotten food in the training camps.

There are countless people who have made the nation proud even without any support. It’s now the government’s responsibility to alleviate their misery and utilize their potential. We need funding in sports and to have sports as a part of school curriculum, to recognize talent and hone their skills so as to create more and more role models. Only then the nation can bask in the glory of World Champions and Olympic medalists.

P.S.: (This article is a modified version of my Toastmasters Project #2 speech)

A Rookie’s guide to get the most out of Toastmasters Club

I joined the Toastmasters club five months ago as a guest and soon became a member. I had found a place where I could translate my thoughts into words and words into expressions. Here, people are there to patiently listen to whatever I have to say and the elaborate analysis of my speeches by various evaluators is an icing on the cake. However, you can’t benefit from it without your sincere efforts.

The Basic Necessities:

1. Be Regular: It is not too hard to take 60-90 mins out of your whole week’s recreational activities. Where there is a will there is a way.

2. Be Active: Not just regular, but active participation is also a must. You can’t benefit from just passively attending the meetings. Take up certain roles in the meetings.

3. Act on feedback: Note down critical feedback from all the evaluators and gradually work on improving upon those points.

4. Ask the Mentor: Your mentor was in your shoes someday. You can learn a lot from the experiences of the mentor and of course other senior members.

My Two Cents on Speeches:

Extempore: The toughest speech to deliver is an Impromptu. You never know what can catch you off guard in a real life situation. The Table Topics are an interesting way to overcome your fear of public speaking and to enhance your confidence. It takes conscious efforts to reduce your hesitation, Ahs, Ums and fillers. Browsing through newspapers or news channels lets you have the content and confidence in your speeches, which then becomes a habit!

Prepared Speech: The Ice-breaker gives you initial hiccups. It is not easy to express interesting parts of our lives, even the harmless ones that can be easily shared with the audience! One should go through the projects following the guidelines in the CC manual. This leads to make gradual but significant headway towards better communication skills. It requires some thinking and observation of our surroundings to choose the speech topics. Once the content is ready, get it reviewed by mentor. A good rehearsal is a must to deliver the content in the best possible way.

A final word:

Complacency: The road to better communication has no dead end. You should never get complacent, and should keep striving hard to better your skills. Even if you are one in a million, there are 7000 people just like you!

Care to give back: "Toastmasters International" has given us an excellent opportunity to learn by fun at not so great a price to improve our public speaking, communication and leadership skills. We should be grateful for everything that we get from the club. So participate, indulge, share and make the most out of this great initiative.

Work for a cause, not applause.

Live life to express and not to impress.

The White Tiger

The author Aravind Adiga has won the Man Booker Prize in 2008 for this debut book of his. I must say he deserves it.The book captures a fictional story of a poor Indian servant turned Entrepreneur. An unconventional start followed by a captivating account, keeps you engaged till the end. Unlike any typical rags-to-riches story, the author gives a sarcastic, irreverent and heart wrenching account of the plight of the weaker sections of the society dominated by their wealthier counterparts. Every bit of it is evident of the anger, filled in the author, with which every common man can relate to.

The White Tiger is a rare creature born once in several years and the metaphor rightly suits the protagonist. Balram, a rickshaw driver’s son, is forced to leave school to work at a tea shop in Laxmangarh village. But he continues to educate himself through the hardships of the arduous routine. However, now he learns not from a book, but by eavesdropping on the customers, political workers and the so called strong men. Soon, Balram is sent to serve, alongside his brother, at a tea shop in Dhanbad where he finds a new job as a driver. His life takes a new turn as he is corrupted by the city and its people. What follows is a dark tale of how he becomes a murderer and later a Bangalore based Entrepreneur.