THE JUGGLING NUMBERS

15^th Nov 1989, the day was set for a long haul. India was playing a rare test match at Pakistan’s soil. The tempers and challenges were running high. The pace battery of Pakistan was at its best and yet another stump was uprooted when the pace King Imran Khan struck at the woods. In came a 16 year old boy named Sachin Tendulkar. He was destined to be bloodied into a battle which he would partake again and again for a number of years. Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis came in to bowl at young Sachin and he took many a painful blows to score his 15 on that day. Soon enough, in the same tour, he scored his first 50 and went on to become a legend of the Indian Cricket as he piled up record number of runs. The numbers just kept on adding up as one after another the records were marked against his name.

Vostok 1 (was the first spaceflight of the Vostok Programme and the first manned spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA space capsule was launched on 12 April 1961 from Baikonur Cosmodrome with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, making him the first human to cross into the outer space. Yuri sat inside the capsule and the countdown to the take-off began. The countdown was in numbers as time ticked by to reach the zero second when the engines fired and the capsule took off against gravity. The orbital spaceflight consisted of a single orbit around Earth which skimmed the upper atmosphere at 169 kilometers (91 nautical miles) at its lowest point. The flight took 108 minutes from launch to landing. Yuri Gagarin parachuted to the ground separately from his capsule after ejecting at 7 km (23,000 ft) altitude. The numbers played a crucial role.

Numbers form an integral part of human existence. They are found in all arenas of human life and keep counting in positive or negative directions as humans move on with their lives. The relevance of numbers can never be underestimated. Humans start getting into the number game soon as they are born. They end up being either the first child or some number thereafter. In schools, the Roll Number takes charge and soon the numbers settle behind humans as their performance is gauged at various levels. Numbers are needed to seek admissions for higher courses in education. Post education, even the job search has its own numbers associated with the game. Salary is also numbered and along with it the temporary partners before the marriage also are numbered. Post marriage, humans again get into the game of numbers of various kinds and then set off into a life cycle where different numbers keep them on the path of existence.

The facets of human society hinges on numbers as they crisis cross the myriad challenges. Some humans get burdened with numbers while some play their best parts with numbers favoring them. Good numbers bring smiles and happiness. Bad numbers can lead to depleted souls. Who then defines the human life and its vagaries? Should humans keep the numbers as the guiding principles of their lives? Time also becomes an ever juggling number for the humans of today’s age as life unfolds its drama. Numbers seem to be getting better of the humans at each stage.

The chase for various kinds of numbers is unending and steep in nature. The demand for a new number leads humans to spend more of their crucial energy and mental faculties are constantly under strain.

Are the numbers too difficult to capture? Most humans have a tendency to depend upon other humans for their existence. They wait, watch, cajole, follow or lead other humans to be on the path of their existence. They get delayed majority of the times as the response of the partnering humans cannot be predicted. The response can be sluggish or fast, but, the chasing human has a lot of work to do in both the cases. The various numbers associated with the human life, therefore, start moving in unpredictable fashion and a life cycle begins. Depending upon the circumstances, the life cycle can be good or bad and then comes the famous quote, “Bad times do not last forever”. A number features again as times change and years fly by counting the human life.

Humans need to keep numbers in their conscious mind to keep pace with the ever changing scenarios. Age moves and the numbers move. At each stage, numbers demand humans to pre-empt the next evolving number. It is a random calculation and the numbers simply keep moving on silently but at a hectic pace. All that humans need to do is to keep watching the numbers carefully and keep moving with them. The effort should be to keep on syncing the various plans with the numbers.

What must have been in both Sachin Tendulkar and Yuri Gagarin’s minds as they both faced an unfamiliar situation for the very first time in their lives on their respective debuts? Training is a different ball game than the actual scenario. A great bowler coming into bowl at his best and to stamp his class all over the young man and a rocket ready to propel a man into outer space- the adrenalin rush would have been unimaginable. The bowler had numbered his steps and so was the countdown of the rocket’s take-off. Both Sachin and Yuri went on to achieve unique number of records in their respective lives. They had the courage and conviction to count their numbers well and the numbers just swelled in the positive direction. They both would remain icons for this World and continue to motivate countless number of humans!! The numbers just do not give up, isn’t it?

Human lives cannot operate without numbers. These are both finite versus infinite and predictable versus unpredictable in nature. Humans can catch up with some numbers and have the ability to control their lives to match up to many of the other numbers. It is for each human to decide where he or she wants to head for in their life. The plan can lead to a certainty of numbers and many issues can be closed properly with least of the adverse effects.

Silent numbers keep plodding their way up to various counts. Are you ready to match up to your numbers and scale up your lives, eh?

TAKE THAT CALL

The young archer bowed in front of his teacher’s idol and raised his bow for the aim. One after the other, the arrows left his bow as the string gave them momentum towards the intended target. His aim was perfect and all his shots hit the bull’s eye with great precision. His gaze froze at the target’s line and the arrows cut across the air to sizzle the target. The new master was emerging and had majored in his art. His teacher was merely an idol who had never given any course correction to his art.

Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed the Lunar Module on Moon’s surface on 20 Jul 1969. A debate raged for days together to decide who would step out on to the lunar surface first- Buzz or Neil. Neil Armstrong was the Commander of the Apollo-11 mission and Buzz Aldrin was the Lunar Module pilot. Should the Commander of the mission get sacrificed in case of an emergency or the Lunar Module Pilot? Their seating positions inside the Lunar Module decided the history’s turn that day!!!

The young archer was Eklavya. He was summoned by his virtual Master when he saw a dog’s mouth stuffed with arrows as Eklavya ’s practice got disturbed by the dog’s barking. He fired arrow after arrow and kept the dog’s mouth opened without any physical injuries to the dog. The Master and his stunned pupils examined the dog and realized that Eklavya had picked up his art merely by focusing on his Master’s idol and zeal to learn the art of archery. The master asked for his gift for training him with virtual presence and Eklavya willfully sacrificed his right thumb as per his Master’s diktat.

Eklavya could never shoot precisely fired arrows again and neither Buzz Aldrin could step out to the first man on Moon. Logic sometimes defies clarity. Had Eklavya refused that day or had Buzz Aldrin demanded to be the first man on lunar surface citing the vulnerable Commander’s position of Neil Armstrong? Who knows what history would have been? What is it that defies humans to take that call which can make the difference between achievements and the also ran?

In almost all lives, situations keep on emerging out of nowhere. Many of these situations rattle the motley humans and majority of them try to subvert or avoid the confrontations. This is the most likely reason for not being able to take that call and to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. Coupled with the lack of the will power is also a sense of either gratitude or fear or lethargy or obedience or a combination of many such traits. It is a natural phenomenon to many humans to just give up when the odds are stacked against them. They merely raise their heads and immediately surrender when the situation appears to be big. Most of the times the fight is over even before the fight has begun.

What would have happened had Eklavya refused to the demand of his virtual master? The various options would have then raked the Master’s mind as his task of creating the best archer amongst his royal pupils would not have been accomplished. Maybe, Eklavya would have challenged the royalty at various occasions and emerged victorious or Eklavya might have been punished for his defiance. Both Eklavya and the Master would have weighed their respective options as moments ticked by them. Eklavya was alone in those moments and his call was to follow the Master’s demand. He willfully cut his right thumb and sacrificed his entire talent in that one moment. Why did he train so hard? Was he not confident about his art? Was he scared? Arjun would have still won the war even if he was the second best to Eklavya and if Eklavya would not have sided Arjun’s enemies. The Master could have easily guided Eklavya to remain neutral in case his services were sought during “Mahabharata”. Many such questions can now be posed to gauge the gravity of situation on Eklavya’s mind. The outcome of the entire episode was that Eklavya had taken a call which a student should take and provide a gift to his Master. The questions would continue to arise still!!

Buzz Aldrin could have staked his claim to step on the Lunar Surface when the craft touched down. The biggest stumbling block was the design of the craft wherein the door opened towards Neil Armstrong’s side. It was a design issue. Did the designers factor that Commander of the mission would be compromised in case of any emergency at the Lunar Surface? Who took that call to design such a door from where the Commander of the Mission only could come out easily and without damaging any equipment of the Lunar Module? Did Buzz think that there would be next missions wherein he would have been the natural choice to be the Mission Commander and would re-touch on the Lunar Surface? Or did he think that in case something went wrong, he would have the opportunity to retract safely to the mother ship?

The questions that history poses are difficult to answer many times and the mind can be sent into the tail spin. Debates and arguments rule the roost as humans sit down to dissect the decisions of the past. Do those decisions affect the present day humans? Aren’t many of the humans still doing a great injustice to their very own existence by not taking the right calls and not performing their assigned duties? What do they wait for as they let the issues struggle under them? The entire humanity suffers as many of us keep waiting for someone else to complete the task. Humans have a wonderful ability to let the chaos prevail and grow in each situation. Basically, this reflects the inability to take the initiative and seize the moment as it emerges. There are ample proofs in each situation analysis that the correct agents were available to diffuse the situation, but they did not react. The loss is of the entire humanity which faces the brunt of that particular situation.

This goes without saying that each human has the ability to take a positive call. The spheres are well defined wherein someone has to get up and face the wall. Scare should be met with dare and if the intention is positive then the public opinion should not matter. Stand up once and take the positive call- it would set the record straight for the entire life as human courage builds up with practice. So, go on and accept the life’s challenges with all the guts and achieve glory. Take that call as it matters only at that moment when the situation raises its head, a late response does not yield the best result.

Do not sacrifice your challenge if you can do better for this World. Future demands that humans take positive calls on the arenas of their lives and create better influences for whatever is left of this World.

Do you have it in you, eh??  

TRAVELOGUE CORBETT- PART II (20 & 21 MAR 2016

The day in the wilderness began with invigorating sounds of chirping birds. If you read Jim Corbett's book "Jungle Lore", you would be fascinated with the sounds of birds and insects. Each sound has a meaning and indicates happiness, fear or anxiety as the animals too live their lives. These sounds can propel humans to understand nature's sensitivity and their role in conservation along with the morality as a seminal trait.

Jim lived in these parts of India till 1950s before he migrated to Kenya for his business and remains buried there. He remained such a strong personality that in the spring of 1985, a film crew came to his hometown Kaladhoongi to shoot a film on his life. Suddenly, an old Kumaoni man of about 80 Years arrived to meet "Carpet Sahib" as he was fondly called by locals. The man had heard that Carpet Sahib had arrived at his home and he traveled 100 Kilometers in 2 days flat to meet his icon!! This generation has long gone. If you ask an average Kumaoni today, you may be surprised with their answers about Corbett. Corbett name today is about business and the writ of business runs larger than the Corbett persona.

As ,I powered the 4×4 Duster through the winding roads in and around Kaladhoongi and criss-crossed the jungles,I could vividly imagine Corbett walking through many of these areas along with the majestic animals and flora. The tell tale signs of the animals are written large over the signboards which guide humans to be careful with nature and not to walk alone into the woods. Humans never walk alone in any case. We come in droves with all sorts of fancy gadgets and each one of us does our bit of damage to the ecological system. Some of us steal the woods,many of us dump the litter and in the end it is the quintessential selfie which remains our only possession till another one replaces it!!

The Sivalik hills have eroded- the greens are a pale shadow of their rich past. Maybe, if Carpet Sahib comes back,he will not even recognize these zones. I drove slow and steady keeping my headlights on to forewarn the speedsters who kept zipping on the curvy roads. Dried up Kosi River,threw up many questions as its white boulders devoured each drop of the little rain that came by as a welcome note. 

 I did not see any animal other than some small birds and the jungle was silent. I did get a resolute salute from Pankajkali,a tame elephant as she dropped the Safari tourists.

Somewhere,deep inside these woods, a Tiger would be looking up as its home is getting shrunk each day. Would the gracious animal survive to stitch another Jungle Lore? The naked hills,the dried up river and the pale yellow woods all silently weep as the Big Cat puts its head on its paws and its intestines churn. The Tiger is no match to the technology of today. Maybe the game would have been perfect if human would have fought it one on one with the Tiger. Alas, humans are not known for fair deals and sound decisions.

I am powering back to New Delhi now and leaving yet another beat in Corbett's Zone. Looking forward to yet another trip down here and a prayer that we must do a little for the Jungles.

TRVELOGUE CORBETT- PART I (18 & 19 MAR 2016)

The heat of the moments and constant throbbing of the brain was becoming a constant feature at New Delhi. I had hung my Military Uniform on 31 Dec 2014 and was fortunate to get some money as my retirement benefits. I parked almost 1/3rd of the bounty into a 4×4 Renault Duster to keep following my passions. The Duster joined my Vehicle Collection, but, the trips out of New Delhi just dried up. Last year,in 2015, I could squeeze a week out only to get holed in Chennai,raise a beard and just pray to get our son into an Engg College. Phew! I look back and firmly realize- it was not my Class XIIth,right?

The hanging of Uniform and move to the Corporate World can really blow the steam out of a human. The grind began and the Duster kept aching in Delhi. Finally, after 13 months of plying 4×4 on Delhi roads,my passion to know more about Jim (Corbett) propelled me and family out of Delhi and we finally began the drive.

We got out of New Delhi after a 2.5 hours of struggle through Delhi,Indirapuram and Ghaziabad. The traffic just seems to be ballooning up in NCR. Whatever infrastructure gets created seems to get gobbled up in no time. Ah,my beloved Delhi!!.

A pit stop at Hapur on Highway Haldiram charged my energies and the sweet Lassi put sucrose into the brain. The drive till Ramnagar was good and here we met the Harley boys from Chandigarh led by a tall Sikh. The Harleys drove along with us and it was fun as the Green Duster and Orange,Silver and Black Harleys Fat Bob,883,1200 etc captured imagination of onlookers. Whoa,this is life!!

Now,we are breaking out at Samsara Wildlife Resort and having a break with nature. Tigers and Leopards have gone into hiding and oblivion along with Old Jim. We went to Kaladhoongi yesterday and paid respect to Jim. He must have been a great man and lived a great life. I have read his autobiography a couple of times and it is intriguing. Maybe,we have never seen those beautiful animals who walked in line with Jim!

It will take at least 20 more trips to Corbett to finally proclaim that I have been to all those places which Jim walked and left his footprint on. Keep alive Jim,we need many more of your ilk to keep nature alive. 

A day more here today before we set off back to work and take charge of lives. Lots of new ideas have come in and work would become much easier with better analytics and graphs speaking volumes towards corrective courses. Chirping birds are adding on to the thinning down of Adrenalin. After all, humans cannot keep Adrenalin pumping always and pit stops are required to charge up the brain ,heart and other vital organs.

Looking forward to the day in wilderness.