A shining example

Humble and obscure may be our lineage but what matters is what we make of ourselves.

Dinner plates cleared, dishes dumped into the sink, I was closing up the kitchen for the day.  In stormed my son with an urgent yet, bated breath. I could sense his unease, an unusual expression of sadness and discomfort. What could possibly trouble this blissful teenager, I wondered.  With mid-term exams around the corner, I felt moved to extend some comfort, but stopped, as he began to speak, “I just read the news online, he is no more… but a wonderful death, no suffering, no trauma, gone in the wink of an eye, amidst youth and students who were always close to his heart.”

I could barely believe that our beloved “Missile Man,” the silver-haired 11th President of India, with the sobriquet of the “people’s president,” had breathed his last while delivering a lecture to the students of RGIIM at Shillong. Yet, his life and death reinforced my beliefs in some unshakable aspects of our journey here on earth.

I now believe that it does not matter who our parents are or where we hail from. Humble and obscure could be our lineage but what matters is what we make of ourselves and for our posterity. I now believe that the highest office need not always be reserved for the scions of the most influential families. It can also be for those who dare |to dream with honest work and noble intentions.

I now believe that simplicity and humility are still the most admired virtues in a person, ones that set a truly noble soul apart and leave him/ her etched in the minds of others forever. I now believe in the power of education, hardwork, honesty, sincerity, courage, loyalty and service. I can now reinforce my belief in the truth that great leaders are not always born, but they can be self-driven, self-made and self-motivated, fighting against all odds forging ahead in their mission and service to others.

Innumerable are the lessons we can learn from the lives of some great persons who walk this planet. They help us redefine our  conventions and beliefs. Through their shining examples, they leave a string of endearing and ennobled human qualities that can be imbibed and emulated. One such stalwart was indeed our beloved Dr Adbul Kalam, in whose life we can pride and look upto.

I walked out of the kitchen in tow with my son. His sprightly gait shifted my focus from Dr Kalam to him. As a mother, I evoked Kalam’s uplifting words, “If a country is to be corruption-free and a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.”