Skip to main content

LIFE AND LIES #31 | For Name Sake

Dear Modi Ji,

Thanks for the honour. It feels great to know that even after all these years, my achievements are brought to the fore and regarded in such a manner. Though, I feel you shouldn't have taken the trouble. I, anyway, receive a lot of love when everyone celebrates National Sports Day on my birthday. Now by renaming an award that was formerly dedicated to an erstwhile PM, you have dragged me into something I was never interested in. Politics. As usual, the tirade will follow. Congress lamenting: WHY? Your party commenting: WHY NOT? Amidst all this, the men and women who have done nothing but strive for success, who rarely receive the limelight will recede in shadows once again. Someone as competent as you must have seen this coming for I'm sure this wasn't deliberate. You had your heart in the right place and you just wanted to honour me. But this honour that you bestow on me is also accompanied by a sadness, a realisation that in light of our recent achievement, you couldn't think of any other hockey player to honour. Did you fall short of names? If yes, then why?

What these men and women have achieved is remarkable. But, it's just a start. Bronze is not something you aim for, it's something you settle for. I have won Gold. I want Gold. India wants Gold. These men and women want Gold. And if it takes another four years to achieve that, so be it. We'll work for it.

All I want to ask you is: What are you going to do about it?


Regards,
Major Dhyan Chand


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

LIFE AND LIES #98 | Talk To Me

*** The woods are gloomy, dark and scary. You were supposed to keep me company. Even when the roads diverged, You promised me we wouldn't split. Talk to me, man! The mountains spit fire. The rivers run acrid. I walk the barren valley All by myself. Talk to me, man! You and I had concluded long back That life is a joke and Death is the punchline. Then why am I not laughing? Talk to me, man! While I grow old and frail, You'll remain forever young. I say that out of envy Or maybe to content myself. Talk to me, man! I hope you have the answers now To all the questions that befuddle mankind: God, soul, afterlife, rebirth, heaven and hell. You can go on a rant about them if you want, But just once come and talk to me, man! ***

LIFE AND LIES #100 | The Blurred Lines

Nitin was utterly shocked when he woke up on Saturday morning with a hangover and without any recollection of what had transpired the previous night. He had been drunk before. He had lost all of his senses before. But everything always came back to him the next morning. However, that day, it didn't; complete blackout. There must have been something bizarre in that drink. Over the course of the week, though, he started remembering flashes of it and began looking for an opportunity to talk to Sandhya, sober and alone. The weather had taken a sharp turn today. A sweltering sunny day gave way to a cloudy evening with thrashing winds. As everyone raced to the office window to watch the scene unfolding outside, Nitin saw Sandhya signalling to him by pressing two fingers to her lips. He couldn’t help but smile. She knew he loved to smoke in this weather. After all, she was his smoking partner in the office. Together, they went downstairs, but as soon as they stepped out of the building, t...

LIFE AND LIES #82 | In The Moment

Impervious to words of encouragement I shouted from the opposite side, Fearful and indecisive, To and fro she went, Looking for a point where the stream Was narrow enough to jump across; But there wasn't one. To get to the other side, Just like me and everyone else, She had to walk barefoot Through the shallow muddy water, Icy cold and riddled with boulders. The summit fever Or some moral conscience, I don't know what triggered me, But I got back on my feet That was still numb from before, And went back the way I came. The water didn't affect me this time. Retracing my footsteps And words of a poem I had written long back, I reached her to find her eyes Wide open with surprise. One after another, I sent her shoes flying across, Which probably hit someone. Then without losing a moment, I took her hand and asked her To count with me... 1, 2, 3 and go! The water welcomed me this time, Sending a flash of inspiration. And when we reached the other side, We were welcomed with che...