100!

I never thought my "published"100th article will be a cry! I got a few banging messages for my earlier article titled "100th Article" stating that I am too harsh on myself! Writing 100 articles in seven years  is not a big deal, no improvement in writing skills were the example statements that irked my readers looks like! So, I was thinking of a positive tone for the actual 100th article! I would have continued my Sea Shells, Inky Pinky Ponky series and it would obviously be in a positive tone, I thought! Hmm… one news changed the whole thing!

In Tuesdays with Morrie, I wrote about my inability to cry and me attending a meeting in spite of hearing that my favourite professor, my role model passed away! This was very similar; but I think this is better and I was a better human being in terms of expressing myself! I came to know about Dr Kalam's demise a few mins before a critical meeting which I had to facilitate! A facilitator has to be alert all the time; may not speak a lot in the meetings but has to listen to every single word that is uttered! That too, in a project that has a potential to turn red, it is all the more important to be 100% present all the time.  I sailed thru that meeting. Wrote "நிலவும் கதிரும் உதிருமோ?" after the meeting! Tears rolled down my cheeks! Tamilnadu government helped me by giving a day off for his funeral! Thanks to technology, I attended the funeral remotely, fasted with tears as I would have for a close relative, bathed after the funeral. But then, true to my nature, I attended another long meeting as if nothing happened in my personal world!

Sure, I never attended Dr Kalam's classes personally. But I consider him as one of my role models for his ability to be curious and a learner till the last minute. How can someone be so simple & humble is one of the questions I ask myself. If someone with that level of intelligence, achievement in spite of all the other circumstances can be that humble, what am I doing, where do I stand compared to him is a big question to me!

More than crying for his demise, more than asking where do I stand, what can we learn from him and what should  we do to take this nation to the next level are important questions for each one of us! Should we do extraordinary things to achieve what he dreamt? Not necessarily. If each one of us does whatever we have chosen to do with utmost sincerity with an intention to improve things continuously, that will be a good start. As a nation, we have challenges there itself. We seem to be accepting mediocrity in ourselves and others. How do we break this habit? Sure, we should be gentle on people; but it does not mean we can accept intentional mediocrity. How do we bring in "Karma yogic" mind set in whatever we do? This thought is not new to our society! "செய்வன திருந்தச்செய்" is a short, precise, crisp message taught from KGs! It is a matter of applying what we learn(t)! That is the only thing we can pay back to a legend!

Let us gear up!