slice of life

The media is abuzz with the history that Abhinav Bindra has created. A gold for India in an individual category is no mean feat. We are all aware of the dismal situation of sports in our country(leave aside cricket, that's a religion for us). However, this 25 year old young guy proved himself literally on his own. The media is also replete with the blessed background of the star shooter. Bindra's story is indeed incredible. The journey has been long and mentally draining for him. He missed a place in the 2000 sydney olympics final by one shot and finished seventh at Athens in 2004. However, the worse was yet to come when a back injury forced him out of the 2006 Asian Games at Doha. Abhinav was in a really bad condition then and merely picking up the rifle was a challenge. Keeping his spirits high and not letting his determination fade, he worked hard at recovering and regaining his strength. We are all talking about this cool and composed guy. Behind this grit and medal is this

We just celebrated our independence day. 61 years ago we were under the rule of britishers. We freed ourselves loudly declaring to the world our independence. We have come a long way. Today we live in an independent India. Are we actually enjoying the freedom today? I belive that we have come a long way from where we started and probably going haywire. In this growing journey towards individualisation, we are losing on many accounts. Everyday, one or the other terror strike and violence in some part of the country is certainly very disturbing and no matter how carefree you are, it would be tough to remain aloof. More agonisingly, our next generation would be suffering even more. Not really want to sound pessimistic but the panic-ridden faces of people even on an independence day are no comfort!