The M Factor (Part 4): Masters

Masters : Who r they??

Well I pondered on what my next blog should be about after the rather boring autobiography of myself. So choosing between various options ranging from movies, mind and money, i thought that this topic would be more interesting.
Inspirational, incredible,immaculate, and influential are the terms, I use to define the MASTERS of any field. Every one has their own inspiration at some point of my life. I look down my life and see 3 main inspirational characters of my life (for many of them who r reading this article..also):
1) MASTER BLASTER: SACHIN TENDULKAR

From the days of reckoning in the cricket circles as a child prodigy, little has this man done wrong to prove his credibility. The game of cricket is sort of religion in India, the one that cuts through cultural, religious and age group barriers and Sachin is the GOD of it. Eventhough he had a great power, skill and knowledge of the game, this man had his share of ups and downs of life. Spending half of his day in the cricket field (rather than in school) and carrying the dream of playing for India one day, this man has followed the same routine for most of his childhood days.Play, Hit and Win. Such was his talent that his coach used to keep coins on the stumps and would give it to the bowlers who made him out at the end of the day. Alas...it happened but just like the rarity of sun rising in the west. Having proved his talent in the school competitions and selected for the Mumbai ranji team, he soon became the first person to make a hundred in each of his debuts (Ranji, Irani and Duleep trophy-A record not broken to date). Setting the scorecards on fire, it was not too late before he earned his first call to the national team in 1989 for the tour of Pakistan. A child among the men, stood upto the fire arms thrown at him by bowling greats like waqar, akram and qadir with utter disdain and proved that he was no mere pass by as his other contemporaries. Soon he became a permanent fixture of this Indian team(he never got dropped...a rarity in itself) and proved his all round talent. Many cherishable moments were provided by this little man for the whole country surviving on HOPE through the rough days of 1990's where the indian team was a one man army (sachin's army:get sahin, win the game was the motto of the opponents). He provided them the hope to live, survive and show the face of getting back once anyone gets to you( remember Henry Olanga of Zimbabwe was brutally murdered that he lost his place, Shane warne of australia who had nightmares about him or akthar of Pakistan who unfortunately faced the heat of him in the world cup). Riding on the hope of billion people this man has faltered , but he stood up everytime, neverthless still providing this country the HOPE to survive and fight. A person with the cleanest public image ( remember the match fixing fiasco and the only person who was never doubted was SACHIN), a person who has been a great father to his lovely children or the son who gave a perfect tribute to his dead father by scoring a hundred for the country in the hour of crisis(2 days after his father died) he is the person any father or mother would love to name their children after. For me he represents HOPE and a WINNER, and his LOVE for the game would be one i would like to have for my work. Whatever one says, thank you Sachin for providing those undefinable moments of joy and i hope to have some more as long as u r there fighting for this country.

2) MEGA STAR: CHIRANJEEVI










He is called the mega star of telugu film industry (undoubtedly for his mass flicks which earned crores on the routine run of the mill action dramas). But then how did he provide me the inspiration. His fight to reach this stage of jaw dropping crowd pulling capacity, his ability to give run for the money to youngsters half his age...well may be the second reason, but his sheer hardwork is one of the primary reasons that inspires me a lot. Telugu film industry was dominated by one of the higher castes in the late 70's and herein the lucky factor comes, where a guy of middle class background struggled through these barriers, to leave a mark of hos own in this field. Some say he achieved all this because of luck ( he got the right scripts and right director), but even this agreed, he had the persona and elegance to carry over that work and move to apoint where no one has ever reached. I loved his potrayal of the common man in films like SWAYAMKRUSHI and RUDRAVEENA, which contary to the many beliefs about this man, are good entertainers without any of his trademark cinematic expressions. It would be true to say that i liked his character in SWAYAMKRUSHI which matched with his real life, and made me a fan of this character (played by him). Some criticise his idea of running blood banks and other stuff as a part of his building process, but i do not see any other person who does it also unselfishly( after all he is human)...and I hope that i am wrong in this aspect. Luck is one thing, i do not deny this person has, and i am always inspired by the fact that i would one day have the same amount of luck( not to become a hero but)...to achieve whatever i wanna do (once i decide...). But to me to say Chiranjeevi has inspired me the importance of hardwork is always true..and i will be one of his admirers all the time he does good things.

3) MALGUDI MAN:THE COMMON MAN OF INDIA
R K Laxman's COMMON MAN represents the hopes, aspirations, troubles and perhaps even foibles of the average Indian. This daily newspaper cartoon may not sound to be inspirational to those who like to look life at a lighter note, but still it leaves an deep notion of life and living of the common man. For me it represented the very nature of sattirism at its best (without being vulgar). I liked his wits, his response to the daily ongoings in his life and reminds me of the greater than own's life to be taken care of. It reminds me of the deeply rooted traditions, practices prevalent in India, and still provides a futuristic hope to come out. I still believe this common man of india is still missing in everyone's self, and it is the time to do some soul searching in remembrance of this fictitious character.

For me all these 3 MASTERS resemble me the most important thing in life: HOPE, HARDWORK and HUMILITY. Let generations know about them and let us learn from them.