Seven decades of dreams
Being 70 is no reason to stop dreaming
When the Olympic Games have been officially declared closed and everyone has gone home, the world begins to believe in a myth. The myth of limits. That it is not humanly possible to do it any better… ever. Somewhere, tucked away in obscurity there is someone who does not believe in any such limits. Someone is still practicing for years for a shot at being unreasonable.For the hundredth time the person will take a run up. For the hundredth time that day, some girl called Dipa Karmakar in Agartala decides to risk her life and try the “Produnova” vault. She has watched that video and has been warned that a wrong landing could mean being crippled for life or even death. She has been warned that very few gymnasts around the world have done it. Naysayers tell her to be realistic. But then dreamers don’t believe in being realistic. They like to be unreasonable. That is why they can do what is unexpected.
The year is 2008 and a giddy fanboy is lining up to get a photo clicked with Michael Phelps. Joseph Schooling is delighted. He just got a photo with Phelps. Eight years later he is competing with Phelps in Rio. Singapore has never won an Olympic medal. It is unreasonable to expect anything else. It is unreasonable to expect Rio to change history. When the race finishes, it is hard to tell who is more surprised Phelps or Schooling. Schooling has defeated Michael Phelps. The New York Times headlines is apt. It says, “Somebody (His Name's Joseph Schooling) Finally Beats Michael Phelps”.
But don’t feel sorry for the defeated hero. He is an unreasonable dreamer. Phelps won his 23rd career gold medal and now ties up with South Africa for 38th place for most gold medals won by a country, all-time, Summer and Winter Games combined. He was still dreaming after his defeat.
He has had his share of glory in two Olympics and now must stay content, the media advised. This unreasonable man has won the title for the fastest man on earth by winning two consecutive Olympic golds in the 100-meter dash. He dreams of doing unreasonable things. “What I always wanted, was to be great.” The naysayers pointed out that Rio would be different. Usain had suffered a grade one hamstring tear and had not run faster than 9.88secs as he headed into Rio. He was ranked fourth on the world list. A 9.81 seconds, Usain proved that the Bolt of lightning strikes not once but thrice.
This too shall pass. Someone is already dreaming of doing something unreasonable. Someone is thinking of breaking Bolt’s record. Someone is aspiring to beat Phelps’ tally.
At seventy India has had its GDP growth forecasts trimmed from 7.6% in 15-16 to 7.4%. There are challenges. Our infrastructure needs to made world class. Our educational institutions needs to be revamped. We are ranked at 130 on Human Development Index. At 7.4% we will still be leading the growth rate of major emerging economies.We are a nation of unreasonable people. We are a nation of dreamers. We are that underdog who is practicing the death defying Produnova in a city the world does not know of. We are that nation that has steadily grown for seven decades and keeps growing at pace that is the envy of many. Dreams never follow a well-trodden path. Dreamers are unreasonable.----------
First published by The Times of India
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