THE SEVEN-CRORE POISE






Pic.: Candice Correa


I admire people who remain calm and composed under stressful situations. What is a stressful situation? Well, it is difficult to define in one flat definition…

Last night, I watched the historic episode of KBC, in which, the Delhi-based two brothers – Achin and Sarthak Narula – went home winning the 7-crore prize!

In yesterday’s episode, the two brothers had to play only the last two-questions… The 13th question would take them to Rs. 3 crores if answered correctly, or it would crash them down to Rs. 3,20,000 if answered wrongly…The 14th and the final question would strike the 7-crore jackpot if rightly answered, or drown them down to Rs.3,20,000 if wrongly answered!

As Amitabh Bachchan asked the last two questions, I could sense the tension in my heart… It, almost, stopped! But, the two brothers, particularly Achin, the elder one, showed not even a bit of tension on his face… Their minds were thinking clearly, they could poke fun at themselves… While talking about the problems their family had to go through - their mother’s cancer and father’s business losses which made them lose their house – I did not see any melodrama…. And, finally, when they made it, it was a triumphant reaction… not a loud, eccentric outcry!

A very few people can exhibit such a poise under high pressure situations… I remembered some high-pressure cricket-matches, particularly India-Pakistan nail-biting last-overs! I remembered the brave-hearts who maintained their cool and clinched the victory!

The success, which we saw yesterday on KBC, was not by fluke. The young brothers were extremely intelligent, focused and hard-working. Achin, 28, the older of the two,had been trying to be on the hot-seat for last ten years, which means, he was continuously trying since he was 18! Imagine the kind of preparation that had gone into it… Imagine the perseverance and commitment… They deserved every bit of their success!

And, for the way the twosome displayed their levelheadedness, they deserved every bit of respect the world showered upon them, last night!

As the winners took home the 7-crore jackpot, I took home this:

“It is the fear of failure – which comes from the attachment to the outcome of our efforts – that robs us of the poise and our ability to enjoy the process of success!

Yes, that’s was the jackpot I took home, last night!


GERALD D’CUNHA



Comments

Manoj Tiwari said…
Simple and inspiring! Manoj Tiwari
October 11, 2014 at 7:28 AM
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