WE MUST LET GO!

It has been quite some time - I wrote on this blog. POETRY hogs all my thinking - reminiscing time. But the few months that have just passed by - in my life - deserve this. OFTEN we have favourites in a group - people whom we give more attention than usual. We nurture them in the hope that when the time comes - they will stand by us. We ignore their faults and weaknesses - expecting a similar behaviour when we are down and out. Often that is the case - but sometimes, something much more devastating takes place. Pampered by our overbearing love they start thinking that THEY ARE INDISPENSABLE - and a sense of `indifference' builds up in them. Familiarity breeds contempt. And the more we try to - get their attention - the more farther they go away from us. The expectation that they should BE WITH US in our time of need - becomes greater and greater. This, in turn, suffocates their space and they develop a dislike - which may later go on to become hatred. It is at such times - WE MUST LET GO. There is no other way. If they genuinely care for you - THEY WILL COME BACK - sooner or later. Otherwise it is wiser to let them go. Remember - you are the one to be blamed - you were the one who initiated this relationship - and you must initiate the U TURN. This is the only way you can get your self esteem back. In my life time, MORE PEOPLE went away - than those WHO CAME BACK. But the ones which came back - have lasted me forever. You too will get your share. JUST WAIT!

SADHOO – JAG DARSHAN KA MELA

My father has a great voice for bhajans – and he is expert in harmonium. Except me all my brothers and sisters learnt it. I missed out on many other things too – but that cannot be the story here. The rustic voice – tugs at my heart and I have sung this many times – sometimes with my own wordings as I made them up. It has been a companion – this bhajan has been number one for me. SADHOO – JAG DARSHAN KA MELA IS MELEY MAIN KHOOB HAI RAUNAQ TOON KYON FIREY AKELA MELEY MAIN KAR MAIL TOO SABSEY KHALEE DEKH NA MELA SADHOO – JAG DARSHAN KA MELA IS MELEY MAIN KAYEE HAIN MAILEE KAHEEN GURU – KOYEE CHELA APNI BHAGATI GURU TAREYGA APNEE KARNI CHELA SADHOO - KAR LAY SAUDHA JO BHEE KARNA KHARCH LAY PAISA DHELA JAB YEY MAILA BICHUD JAYEYGA KAAM NA AAYEY DHELA SADHOO – KAUDI KAUDI MAYA ZODEE JOD LIYA EK THAILA KAHAT KABEER SUNO BHEE SADHO SANG NA JAYEE THAILA SADHOO The problem is now I would have to alter my singing to these new wordings. HA HA – SO BE IT.

UPDESH JO APNEE GEETA DA SAMJHA DIYA BANSURI WALEY NAY

How many times – in my childhood – I have woken to this bhajan sung by my parents – and whenever we are together we sing it. The eternal truths – in mother tongue – bathe me in joy. Someone one day – may similarly rejoice – to the immortality of our soul. The memory of mother singing this more often is vivid and as I write this – her singing chant – moves me – as nothing else. UPDESH JO APNEE GEETA DA SAMJHA DIYA BANSURI WALEY NAY AGYAN DA PARDA JO SEE PAYA OH UTHA DIYA BANSURI WALEY NAY SUCH JAN TOON ATMAN MARDA NAHIN EHNOO SHASTAR KATAL KOYEE KARDA NAHIN AG PANEE HAWA KOLON DARDA NAHIN SAMJHA DIYA BANSURI WALEY NAY JIWAYEN ADAMI MAILEY LAHNDA HAI NAWENY KAPDEY CHAH FIR PANDA HAI TIWENY ATMA TAN BADLANDA HAI FARMA DIYA BANSURI WALEY NAY EH DUNIYAN CHALDI AAYEE HAI NA KOYEE BHEN TAN NA KOYEE BHAYEE HAI NA KOYEE BAAP TAY NA KOYEE MAYEE HAI SAMJHA DIYA BANSURI WALEY NAY UPDESH JO APNEE GEETA DA SAMJHA DIYA BANSURI WALEY NAY AGYAN DA PARDA JO SEE PAYA OH UTHA DIYA BANSURI WALEY NAY And then decades later – Bhawana Sawanth wanted me to sing this bhajan as we walked late in the night in SUMPOORNA. I sang this – and suddenly realized the power of this bhajan. Then she wanted to sing along with me. Then others wanted to sing it too. I THINK MORE SO – when they realized their basketball coach was in joy – and they wanted me to be happy. Children have that innate quality of `connecting’ – because they still posses their INTUITION.

NEVER MIND – OH – NEVER MIND – MY CHILD

NEVER MIND – OH – NEVER MIND – MY CHILD the pain and anguish of this separation. This must be done – this is my commitment to my nation and its children. For if I don’t do it – I will be denying myself of the rarest of the rare opportunity to `release’ the yolk of this `slavish education’ that we have tied around the neck of a billion children I must help them – I must raise their `war-cry’ to a crescendo that will burst the ear drums of their enemies. I know loneliness is terrible – particularly when you are away from people you love – but then every person must pay this price. I must pay a heavier price for the additional burden that I carry ‘of wisdom’ – of knowledge that few possess.

THE PRICE FOR GREATNESS

THE PRICE FOR GREATNESS must be paid. If you are to be an achiever you must be ready to ignore the recreations that others enjoy – you must ignore the make-believe `joys’ that they have – ignore the `fears’ – ignore the `comforts’ etc. You must resolutely work every moment of your life towards the goals that you have set for yourself You must ignore their `glee’ when you fail – ignore their malignant smiles when you are in anguish – ignore their restlessness when you are near your goal – ignore their `stomach burn’ when you achieve your goals – and forgive them for their pettiness [past, present and future]. But for others – who test your resoluteness again and again you may not have achieved your goals. They are the `test’ you must pass. When they tell you that they too must share in your greatness – forgive them and allow them this `shameful act’ because by doing this – you prove worthy of yourself. Great people were never treated nicely by the `others’. They were mocked at, laughed at, jeered at – for their `focus’ – they were treated as freaks. These great souls had to suffer greatest hardships for least joys – but for them even that was enough.

SABAL 2012 RECREATIONAL MICRO BASKETBALL

OBJECTIVE : To catch the children at a young age - imbibing a sports culture in their minds and making their bodies physically fit for the game of basketball. METHODOLOGY : To enlighten parents about the joys of playing the game - and encouraging them to sign their children for the annual training programme called SABAL 2012. WEEK-ENDS are utilised to conduct the programmes - which are otherwise wasted in mundane activities like over-sleeping, TV or other such activities. TARGET GROUP : Children from IV, V and VI standards are ideally suited for this programme. Exceptions can be made. TAKING OFF : On 26th January, we will have a curtain-raiser called SABAL 2012 RECREATIONAL MICRO BASKETBALL. A registration fee of Rs. 100 per student will be payable. Limited number of SUMPOORNA Shirts and Basketballs are on sale. The activities will begin at 9am sharp. There will be series of competitions - play-drills - and competitive matches. The idea is to show-case basketball in its entirety. The winners of individual competitions will get certificates and medals. CONCLUSION : The enormous benefits of regular exercise - in terms of physical and mental development - are highlighted to encourage parents to get their children involved in a scientific way.

THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF A BASKETBALL COACH - II

There are two ways of becoming a better coach - one is you train elite players and are officially recognized. The second is you use your instincts to train young and new players. If you love the game enough - the coaching ability grows on you - you learn to create chemistry between different people - maybe the methods are not exactly from the text book. This rubs off on your students who become innovative players and learn to enjoy the game - and develop a fervor and passion equal to your own.

My students were good - but often the tournaments we went to - were arranged in a way to favor the host team. This created a feeling of `frustration' in all of us. So we organized tournaments ourselves in which a fair opportunity was given to all teams.
I was stepping into unknown - uncharted territories - but I had to give a logical conclusion to my players who were becoming better and better. The idea to create an year long league came up - it was a visionary thought - A.B.L.E. CUP became a mile-stone in promotion of basketball in Bangalore city. Suddenly, everyone wanted to be a basketball player. But these were still early days. And suddenly we stepped into another NO NO ZONE - young players like my son became coaches. We had broken the code - and now we could go wherever we wanted. Senior players donned the role of coaches, officials - and I became the VOICE for hundreds of `tournament starved' children.

AN YEAR LONG A.B.L.E. league took every ounce of energy I had - it left my finances and family in shambles - but I was ready to pay the price AND I DID. But when the final moment came in Beagles basketball court - it was gratifying. SUCCESS has its price tag. Different pressures from different directions - slowly started nibbling at our programme. We couldn't follow up it with other grandiose plans that I had envisioned. Printed pamphlets and book-lets still lying in my cupboards - of almost 10-12 years ago - to tell the story of failed dreams.

But I didn't give up. The idea of going to every school and be a `honorary coach' slowly germinated. I was breaking fresh ground - I was learning fast - but it was painful. THERE WAS NO SUPPORT from any side - and slowly my ideas and the support I had withered away. My career as a coach had slowly ended and I started calling myself as a promoter. It was sheer madness - a man who always was bankrupt was talking of networking ONE HUNDRED SCHOOLS. The vision I had seen for myself - slowly crystallized in the shape of SUMPOORNA BASKETBALL SCHOOL. But there were family responsibilities too. I had come so far - and now I looked to GOD. I asked him for help - and HE CAME. Finally I had a back-up. It was time to go - and another journey began. This time I had a smile on my face. To be continued -----