Milka
Singh, the flying Sikh, senior of the three was
born 20 Nov 1929 in the village of Govindpura of Punjab to a Sikh family. He
was a witness to the barbarism of the partition where a brother and a sister
were killed. During the partition he came to India
with his married sister and spent sometime in refugee camps during which he was
jailed for ticketless train travel. He almost joined the gang of youngsters who
were involved in Dacoity but the elders advice, made him to join the Army that
too after three failures. His three failures did not deter him from trying,
which is characteristic of such persons. He represented India in the 200m and
400m competitions of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Singh and his daughter, Sonia Sanwalka, co-wrote his
autobiography, titled ‘The Race of my life’. Bhaag Milka Bhaag , the movie was inspired by
the biography. Singh sold the movie rights for one rupee but inserted a clause
stating that a share of the profits would be given to the Milkha Singh Charitable
Trust. The Trust was founded in 2003 with the aim of assisting poor and needy
sportspeople.
Mary Kom is a name
given to Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, by her Coach M. Narjit Singh, Manipur State Boxing Coach at Khuman
Lampak,Imphal. She is a five-time World Amateur Boxing Champion, and the only
woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. Kom
was born in Kangathei, in Churachandpur district of Manipur. Her parents,
Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom, worked AS A farmer. She won her first
Gold Medal in the Asian Games in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. Kom co-wrote an
auto-biography called Unbreakable was made into film Mary Kom.
Kom also has started a female-only fight club at Imphal to teach girls to
defend themselves against sexual violence in India. She is married to K. Onler
Kom and has twin sons, Rechungvar and Khupneivar.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, commonly
known as Mahi was born 7 July 1981,
Captain of Indian Cricket team, is one of the greatest finishers in
limited-overs cricket. His Test and ODI records are the best among all Indian
captains to date. Under his captaincy, India won the world cup, Asia Cup and
the Champions traphy. After taking up the Test captaincy in 2008, he led the
team to series wins in New Zealand and West Indies. He has also captained the Chennai
Super kings to victory in Indian Premier League &Champions League. Dhoni
was born in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Early in his life his parents moved away from his
paternal village, Lvali in Uttarkhand to Ranchi, where his father worked in MECON.
Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a
local cricket club by his football coach. Based on his performance in the
Cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16
Championship and he performed well. And then onwards there was no stopping him
from winning awards and trophies for the country.
These
three success stories indicate the triumph of the indomitable human spirit over the
challenges of the societal inequalities. Their grit accompanied with the focused
dedication without support, fighting it alone in and out of the ring and the field,
matches the spirit of Smith, the protagonist in the ‘Loneliness of the of the
long distance runner. These stories are the adventure of the spirit. The power
of being alone is evident in their journey to success. It is better to be alone
than go in wrong direction. Their steely nerve was much more pronounced and
stronger as diamond to win the gold. Their spirit challenged the conventional tradition
to lead the secure life and ventured into those areas which were dreaded by the
families of the middle and lower middle class. These souls, had a different
purpose to seek the higher purpose in life against the worst fears of failure
and subsequent rejection by the society just like the Jonathon Livingstone
Seagull, who even after being banished from his flock and falls from height
breaking his wings, seeks the ultimate transcendence to find the meaning of
love and kindness. Like the Jonathon Livingstone Seagull, they wanted to fly
faster; to fly higher; to soar in the life updrafts, and dive in the life’s
downdrafts. Live in the heart of free spirit flight. Nothing mattered at that height of no reach,
only the meaning of existence from where the world seemed dwarfed. There is
much more to be achieved – much more. In the darkness of the unknown, which
could be short lived like any another situation one may lose his way; where, millions
have surrendered and drifted away, but those with their strength of nerve and
character go through to the final dawn.
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