MILIND'S MILESTONE







Pic.: Chetna Shetty
Thanks to Milind Soman, I now know what a Triathlon means: It is one of the world’s toughest races… which includes a 3.8 km swim, a 180.2 km cycle-ride and 42.2 km run raced in that order, without any break. The participant is expected to finish it within 16 hours to win the coveted title – ‘Ironman’!

This year, on July 19, the race was held in Zurich, Switzerland. Of the 2,000 participants, seven were Indians… Milind Soman was one of them. He completed the race in 15 hours and 19 minutes!

And, hello, listen to this: Milind has done it at 50!

Well, that’s the main reason for all of us going gaga over Milind’s feat. Certainly, he deserves all the accolades he has been receiving. He is a tough guy… Incredibly focused, determined, committed, hardworking and, yes, disciplined…

Stamina has to be built gradually… It calls for a great amount of perseverance, focus, discipline. I know it, because, I lack it. Leave races of these kinds – Triathlons and Marathons – I cannot even run a very short distance… Because, I have never focused on stamina and fitness unlike many people around me do. I have not made it as my priority as they have made. So, whenever I come across a fitness–and-health-conscious person, I treat him with great respect…

And, when I come across someone like Milind Soman – ‘The Ironman’ – I just stand up and salute!


Well, in life, many of us run our own Triathlons. And, yes, they are too tough to complete… And, because we put in the same kind of focus, commitment, determination, hard-work and discipline, we, too, complete our races successfully… We all know, for many of us, our races last life-long… They don’t stop at 50!

Milind’s milestone has inspired me to remain focused and determined to complete my own tough race… In life, whatever we focus on, expands… builds, grows, succeeds. I have such kind of focus and determination in some areas of my life… and, in some other areas, I lack it. I am aware of the fact, that it is so for everyone on this planet…


So, well-run Milind… “The Ironman’!



GERALD D’CUNHA
  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...