I shall venture on this marathon journey - blessed by my parents, friendly gestures by my friends and loved by my students. This journey is as much inward as much as it is outward. I shall carry the shooting post and the basketballs to small villages - maybe even hamlets that don't find their names on maps. I shall teach children {and others] to hold THE BALL, to dribble it and shoot it from impossible angles. I SHALL GO WHERE I AM CALLED and even where I am not. I shall promote basketball and a way of living that I have lived for the last 56 years. I SHALL NOT GIVE AN INCH IN THIS EFFORT and I am not expecting any pats on the back. IT IS TIME!
I have loved journies but this one is different. I want to share the fulfillment that I have got from my life and what better way than teaching the `divine dance' of a basketball player. Every time I hold the ball and enter the court a surreal joy pervades my soul. The God within me comes out and walks along with me. It is a bliss that I want every child of my country to have. I want to give them the values that I have imbibed while playing this game - gentle yet ferocious; smiling yet serious; giving while taking; friendly yet competitive - to bring the best out of myself and my opponent. I have never won from a lesser player - I have never given less than 200% to a better player - and even in losing I have won! This game has taught me compassion and kindness - IT HAS MADE ME HUMAN, in real terms. As I see values taking a nose-dive; as I see erosion of being humans - I embark on a MARATHON JOURNEY. It is for me as much as for the children that I wish to teach.
I have been admired by my colleagues - loved by my students - and this has made me believe that I have what is needed to be a good coach and a teacher. They were the ones who brought up `the best' in me. As I move away from them - I beckon them - COME ALONG!
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