Patience and Perseverance

First things first. Our day begins with the sound of doorbell in the early hrs by none other than the Milkman. "Dhoodhwala" as he is fondly called. Of course, the concept of Milkman exists only in Indian States. In the place where I live, we pick up 3 days’, sometimes even 1 week’s quota of milk from super markets. Nevertheless, whenever I’m in Mumbai, I eagerly look forward to this man in the mornings. Lest my morning cuppa will never get done. I recently read an interesting news in dailybhaskar.com under the heading “Mumbai milkman’s son is India’s London Olympics hope”.

To quote from this source, “Mumbai: The nation will soon be cheering for the Jogeshwari milkman’s son as he will represent India in the upcoming London Olympics. The 24-year-old freestyle wrestler, Narsingh Yadav, has qualified for the prestigious competition to be held in July. He became the fifth Indian wrestler and the first Mumbaikar to do so for the 2012 edition of Olympics.
The youngster worked hard to prove his mettle while his family has been supporting him in his quest to make history. His father operates as a milkman in Jogeshwari, western suburb of Mumbai.”

I admire the zest of this young lad. Perseverance under the pressures of a middle class family, with absolute focus on a goal and working towards it. Isn’t this worth admiration? As against another news which talked about an increasing number of students, weighed down by load of academics, approaching counsellors and psychiatrists seeking ways to fight 'suicidal tendencies'. Not to forget the actual suicides that have taken place in the student community, which is unable to take the pressures of studies, failures, etc and succumb to this tendency.

Life is teaching us about patience, tolerance, perseverance here. Those who pay attention to these are like the milkman’s son. Whether this young lad wins the olympics are not is not my concern. He may or may not . I look at how he paid attention to the small voice that prompted him to venture. How he didn’t ignore it. He has certainly enriched his life.