The whole world is talking about Salman Khan is a real life hero and he does not deserve this. He cannot be punished Blah Blah. Well, I say to them, what about than person who lost a life under his car and other who got injured. Yeah, ok fine, footpath are not the places to sleep, but they really not the places to drive too.
Celebrities commenting on the judgement of a sessions court judge are completely wrong. Also they way few of them have reacted is again so silly that I have started to judge their intellect.
He would have been a hero if he would have come clean and said yes I did it and I will suffer the consequences. More so he is being arrogant about the whole issue and playing as if nothing had happened.
Well Mr Salman Khan, I was never a fan of yours but if you would have come out clean I would have waited in line for every release of yours
I out of AC cooled Toyota Innova on the dusty highway. I was around 130 kms away from Baroda and travelling from Mumbai to Baroda. “Into Modi`s Land”, I said.
12 Years ago I had visited Gujarat and I kind of knew that Gujarat had become a changed state under the leadership of Narendra Modi. This time I was very keen on knowing the impact of this change. From my market research experience, you catch the most obvious of the sample population and survey it rigorously.
On a dusty highway, we caught up with a tea vendor and asked for Chai.
“Sirji, how far is Baroda from here?” I asked.
“One hour, max”, He replied quickly.
“So much has changed in years, we used to take 10 hours by road to reach from Mumbai to Baroda”
“You are in Gujrat Sir, What do you expect?” He said enthusiastically.
This made me realize that this guy has more information to provide than directions.
“So what has Gujrat government done for you?”, I started with my negative hypothesis and now the onus was on him to prove me wrong.
“ A lot”, he continued, “People have changed and the reason for this change is hope. Hope that there is someone behind you, to support you when you fall. I was a failed farmer few years back. I had a huge infertile land piece. Nothing would grow in it. I applied for help in the local Panchayat. I was surprised that they came back with a plan under some government scheme. I was not expecting any of this. The government had realized that there many people like me who have barren, infertile land and something needs to be done.”
“Ah, a proactive approach”, I spelled by MBA Mumbo Jumbo.
“I was not prepared for this change. I was dicey on the way this scheme would be implemented and I will have to make rounds in government offices and nothing will come my way till I bribe someone”
“So how much did you bribe?”
“Nothing. To my surprise, I got every help to change my barren land into a fertile land, without a single money being paid to any government officials.”
“Ok, now you are lying. I know Gujrat has changed, but there has to be some level of corruption somewhere.” I said with emphasis.
“No, I didn’t find any. So with help from my government, I changed this land and repaid all the debt in two years.”
“So why are you selling tea on the highway now?”
“Actually, I own all these shops. Side business, you see.” He said proudly.
“All 10 of them.” I asked
So I suddenly realized that this person was making a handsome amount of money. Over the years, I understood that you change poorest of the poor and it creates a huge impact. A simple push and their hard work can change everything. Change is something which can be achieved only by will to change.
The game of cricket is something which I and my family enjoy a lot. A few years ago, I was having a tough time. I was doing MBA and it was taking a toll. I used to spend the day at college and I came home just for the sake of eating and sleeping at night. In Dad`s words, “Ghar ka Hotel Bana ke Rakha Hain” .This pissed my family. My mother was concerned about my deteriorating health and father was suspicious of me doing wrong things under the pretext of MBA. It is a common problem with all Indian parents. A kid sits at home they call him lazy and if the kid is away from home, they would feel he is wasting his time.
India vs Pakistan and Sunday was always something I loved prior to my MBA days. But that had changed and I was skeptical about everything. I was in hurry, but bargained with my conscious and decided to stay home and watch the first 10 overs before leaving. Yes, MBAs have lectures on Sunday too.
“Sachin will definitely score a century”, my father said.
“Sachin is not even reaching double figure”, I said.
Match started and I was very much keen on watching Sachin choke and walk his way to the pavilion. I was so pessimistic about everything happening around me. My father being a Sachin Tendulkar Fan and an ace in Cricket technicalities, started with the way Sachin uses straight batting strokes. I started criticizing him for making Sachin Tendulkar a demi god. This stroked a conversation which lasted for the next 43 overs left in India`s batting.
His passion for Cricket and the understanding of the game was something I had not known earlier. He started with Sachin`s life and how he was born to play cricket. He went on saying how he realized that Sachin`s bat play was something he had never seen earlier. He praised Sachin’s talents and skills. He talked about how focused he was and was ready to accept failures which came his way.
“There was a time, where Sachin couldn’t reach the score of 20. He had a keen analytical mind on why he was getting out so quickly. He had once played around 53 matches back to back. He had that stamina to play and sustain. He basically never wore out.”
He must have never won all the matches, but he kept on playing. He just loved cricket.
“Whatever you do in life you just have to love it”, my dad said.
Since that day, I completely worship Sachin Tendulkar just for his passion, optimism and his love for Cricket. Those subtle stories about Sachin Tendulkar, my father gives are one of the best memories I have with him.
India was batting first and Sachin scored 109. India went ahead and won the world cup. On home front, I think I was a changed man from those subtle words of wisdom from Dad. It is quite stimulating how a lazy afternoon spent together with family can change your life.
