Ten People Who Inspired My Life-mihir

Ten People who inspired my life

Dedicated to my Mommy,

"A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depends on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the measure as I have received and am still receiving." ~ Albert Einstein

Preface Sitting at the Oslo Gardmoen Airport I scribbled down, names of ten people who inspired my life ,on a piece of spare paper . However the decision to write this article was taken much later. It was during a low phase in my professional life when I needed a lot of inspiration and wanted to acknowledge the impact that these prolific and dynamic individuals had on my life. Acknowledging all the idols in one’s life is a complex task and would require immense amount of time. Considering the limiting factors of brevity I chose to discuss only ten people. This however in no way undermines the impact of other individuals, teams and events which has shaped my vision of the world. For Eg People like Issac Newton and Mohammad Ali , filmmakers like Stanly Kubric and Steven Speilberg , authors and artists have had immense and path breaking influence on my thought process. The presence of only a single woman in the list in no way suggests any sort of sex bias. I have immense respect for ladies like Amelia Earhart and Mother Teresa. I duly acknowledge the role played by women in impacting my life. I would also like to make it clear that this is not a propaganda based text and is written purely as an encomium to the people who appear in the list. The text should be viewed as an attempt to motivate oneself or just for casual reading. No attempt has been made to debase any individual, group or ideology . I would like to thank Madhavi Sathe for editing this article and keeping me inspired .

1) Armstrong, Lance (1971-)-Cyclist Now, wise people say “Miracles do not happen everyday”. Maybe they are right. But the Lance Armstrong story is nothing short of a miracle. A miracle not by chance, but by the determination of one single man. He has shown me the meaning of the phrase “to have a big heart”. Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer in 1996. The time following the diagnosis drained Lance both physically and mentally. The rounds of Chemotherapy left him weak and fragile. Miraculously, Lance defeated cancer and started his practice to become the most successful cyclist in the history of Tour de France. Statistically, defeating cancer in itself is a miracle but to come back and win the worlds most grueling cycle race tournament not once but seven times is overwhelmingly unbelievable. According to one sports magazine , Lance Armstrong practices on his cycle for 6 hours everyday , 365 days every year. Now that’s hard work. One aspect that I have learnt from him is a mental state – a state in which I have “No Fear—No pain – No Emotions”. When I reach this stage I can do anything. Its like I become invincible. Nothing effects me and then I just do the job. Bottom-line is we don’t need cancer to do hard work. We all better start doing it right now. 2) Alexander ( 356BC-323 BC)- Military Ruler I live and work in a business of tough competitors. In this fast moving world Capitalism is the buzzword and in Capitalism, “Corporate Management “ is indispensable. In order to climb the corporate ladders leadership plays a key role. “What makes a good leader?” -this question popped in my brain 5 years ago. After a lot of soul searching the answer was still elusive. I might not be able to answer the question completely but lets give it a shot. We travel in time backwards 2300 years ago to Macedonia. Alexander was born in a royal family. He became a king at a very young age and his ambition was to conquer the whole of the known world. He started his military conquest from Persian Empire and reached the banks of river Indus within 13 years. He is probably the only military ruler in the world who was undefeated throughout his conquest. Apart from winning territories he was also a great exponent of social values . He promoted marriages between his soldiers and women of conquered territories.

The point that makes Alexander a true leader is that he never asked his army to do anything that he himself could not do. His bravery and courage and a vision to rule the world is something that has inspired me a lot. Some school of thought portrays Alexander as a megalomaniac , hell bent to rule the world . Maybe they are right, after all I am not qualified to pass a judgment on that. What I know for sure is that his bravery and ability to lead and motivate his soldiers and the thirst to conquer the known world is reason enough for me to place him at a very high level 3) Bond, Ruskin (1934-) Author “Time Stops at Shamli” was the first short story I ever read and a chill runs down my spine whenever I remember the story. Eleven years and volumes of books later I still vividly remember reading this story in my bed bunk in New Delhi and how I was actually able to feel the stimulus being felt by the protagonist. It was a surreal feeling. Ruskin Bond is an Anglo Indian author living in Dehradun , India. He has written some amazing short stories and short novels. He craftsmanship is of such high quality that he can actually transport you to the place and event that he is writing about . My ability to read a book ( apart from animated cartoons) was triggered by the works of this man. Ruskin Bond is a master story teller and was living in oblivion for the better part of his life. In the post liberalized India , when India woke from a deep socialist slumber and when different ideologies started flowing freely did the world come to know about Ruskin’s writing. Nothing much can be said about his works as it is purely on the reader to understand and appreciate the beauty of the fabric he weaves with his magic pen. 4) Cryuff, Johan (1947-)- Footballer Hollywood looks , dexterity , charisma ,wealth and panache are just a few words that pop into my head when I think of Johann Cryuff. Deciding, who is the best football player of all times , would have wasted countless man hours . I am sure it’s a hot topic of debate in many pubs across Europe and South America. Pele and Maradona are undoubtedly the finest football players of all times , but I cant take Johann Cryuff out of the equation. Just to tell you a bit more about his style of play. As we all know football is a team game with 11 players on each side. Generally we have a formation where the players spread on the field and play their respective roles. They have somewhat fixed position with slight variation from game to game or event to event. Now Johann Cryuff was the greatest exponent of total football. He took the game to another level. The strategy of “total football” is very different from normal football. The player in possession of the ball (in a normal football

strategy) is not supposed to cross the grid which is assigned to him. As the name suggest, a player playing “ total football” will keep changing his grid as there is no fixed position .This new format needed speed , stamina ,skill and innovation and who else could have done it better then the Great Cryuff himself. His ability to innovate and redefine age old football strategy makes me idolize him. 5) Dylan, Bob (1941-)-American Songwriter, Singer,Author Now I will confess here. I don’t know anything about music. I am oblivious of terms like octaves and notes or even pitch . I don’t understand the difference between folk music or pop. Everything is same to me. I first heard Bob Dylan in January of 2006.I was captivated by his music. It suddenly took me in its grips. It seemed as if his music touched some sort of inner harmony in me. It was a metaphysical experience. Robert Allen Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan is a songwriter and singer . Most of his songs are about the way he sees the world. Starting out as a folk singer he broadened his music style. He was accepted by the rock fraternity because of his fiery lyrics. His music was termed as revolutionary . Much to his chagrin he was termed as a Messiah of the unrest America. An America that was fighting evils like Apartheid ,Vietnam, Unemployment and Inflation. He never saw himself a voice of America but his songs were so popular that he was seen as one. At the end of the day he just wanted to play good music. I will take a moment here and try to appreciate one song in particular – Hurricane. It is a 6 min long song telling the true story about how an African American pugilist Rupen Hurricane Carter was unjustly framed for a double murder that he did not commit. After listening to this song I was able to understand how music can transcend boundaries and give such simple and powerful messages across . Technically he was an ordinary singer but his lyrics are anything but ordinary. His ability to tell love stories and social messages with the same dexterity makes me idolize him even more. After reading his memoirs “Chronicles” , I was able to appreciate his rise from a bar room singer to an iconic individual. On a lighter note , he also talks about a barbecue which took place in Johnny Cash’s house where apart from Bob Dylan , Joni Mitchell ( popularly known as the female version of Bob Dylan) was also present . Now all three of them are my favorite singers . Wish I could have been there.

6) Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand ( 1869-1948)-Statesmen, Leader Growing up in India means that the greatness of Gandhi is thrust on your psyche and the perpetual Congress government didn’t help either. It took me more then 23 years to understand and appreciate the legend of Gandhi on my own. It was during my years in University when I first came across Gandhi not as a leader of a country but as an idea –a concept of economic theory. As we all know Gandhi had a successful career as a lawyer in South Africa and one night he was thrown of a train at Saint Petermaritzberg for traveling in the First Class Coach. This event had a profound effect on Gandhi. Now we just take a pause here and analyses the implications of this event. Can you imagine what went through Gandhi’s mind when he was sitting on that Railway Platform ? This is what I call the moment of truth. A slice of time when you realize the goal of your life-when everything becomes crystal clear. After launching a successful campaign against the South African government he came to India. Now saying that Gandhi started the Indian Independence Movement would be an overstatement . After all Post 1857 a bunch of Nationalistic ideas took shape in the form of leaders like Aurobondo Ghosh, Swami Vivekanad, RamKrishna Pramhans etc. Their contributions towards the Indian nationalistic movement can’t be underrated at all. But I truly believe that Gandhi catalyzed the Indian Independence Movement. What happened after 1885 ( the formation of Indian National Congress) to 1947 ( Independence of India and Pakistan ) can be read in any history book . The concept of Non Violence and Ahimsa were unprecedented. It was the progenitor of other Nationalistic Movements and leaders like Martin Luther, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Su Kyi. I will also confess that these ideologies are not waterproof. They might not hold good in every situation but then it did give us our freedom or better put the idea did work well alongside aggressive revolutionary concept of an eye for an eye. Gandhi’s economic theory of self reliance was also a very important concept. The symbol of Swasdesi Movement the Charkha and Khadi is probably the purest form on Indianess. The Dandi march and small scale cottage industry empowered the Indian people to cultivate the self confidence to launch an overall economic assault to the British Empire. If we snip out the frills the Swadesi movement (the name is different in different societies) is the common denominator in the growth of societies like USSR, Nazi Germany, France, China and USA( ya you heard it right United States of America.). We all want to play by our strengths . Right??. And that is what Swadesi Movement was all about. It is widely believed that Imperialism died after the Second World War and most countries got their independence within a decade. I also feel that the fact is true but it doesn’t take away anything that Gandhi did for our country. I want to end this profile by saying that the concept of Non Violence and truth are still very popular and I try to abide by these concepts .

7) Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)-Leader , Orator Well I have surely hit the ice berg now . You would be thinking that how can I compare Adolf Hitler , the most hated individual of the last century with other greats in this list. Well much to my surprise he did achieve something that has rarely been done in the past. Starting from a very modest family this fiery orator became of the most significant person in recent times. He was at the center of the world for 13 years. He single handedly started a war so profound that within a flash the whole world was fighting each other. If mankind is ever able to find a hole in the fabric of time and time travel would be possible I would love to go back and see him speak . I have seen some grainy videos of his speeches ( obviously in German …I cant make out a single word) and it is full of enthusiasm . Its like, I am hypnotized by his aura 60 years after his death. Spare a moment and imagine how vibrant his speech rallies would have been. How deeply people were motivated to move towards nationalism . Now I am not supporting his “final solution” neither do I second his ideology of race supremacy. I do agree that his name will live in infamy but what I cant avoid to notice is his ability to produce hypnotic speeches and to motivate a nation to feel strong and confident. His rise from a failed artist in Vienna to the top of the world is just a fairy tale. He did escape from getting imprisoned on many occasions and he was lucky to survive many coup d'etat. But haven’t you heard “ Luck favors the brave” ? 8) Jansen, Dan (1965-)- Ice Speed Skater “Most speed-skating victories come down to 1/100th of a second. This one took over a decade.

Of all the Olympic stories that teach us about perseverance, very few are as memorable as that of Dan Jansen. The world first met Jansen at the '84 Games in Sarajevo, when the relatively unknown American placed an impressive 4th in the 500-metre race. By Calgary in '88, he was favored to win the 500- and 1,000-metre races. But fate had other plans. Jansen's sister had been suffering from leukemia and died just minutes before race time. In his final conversation with her, he promised to win in her honor. But instead Jansen fell. Not just once, but in both races. He left Calgary empty-handed. Four years later Jansen was again favored to win, this time in Albertville. But after a disappointing performance, he again left without a medal. In 1994, Jansen prepared for his fourth Olympic Games, in Lillehammer. He knew it would be his last chance and hoped he could put his past behind him once and for all. But on his first race, to the horror of everyone watching, Jansen slipped yet again during the 500 and finished 8th. Only one race remained. The last of his career. Four days after that unfortunate fall, the starting gun sounded for the start of the 1,000. And everything magically fell into place. A decade of disappointment suddenly was erased as Jansen took first place and set a new world record. During the victory lap, he picked up his daughter and carried her around the ice. They

had named her Jane, in honour of his late sister. The perfect ending to a story that has become an inspiration to athletes around the world.”

I read the above text about four years ago. And I still remember it verbatim. The story of Dan Jansen had a profound impact on my life. “Never Give Up “was a phrase I was conversant with . Initially for me the phrase meant not to give up but now the onus is on the word “Never”. Sometimes when I am broken and feel de-motivated , I just remind myself about Dan Jansen and without loosing a moment I am back on my feet fighting the obstacle. Of all the people in the list , I think the story of Dan jansen inspires me the most. He was not competing with another athlete, he was fighting with himself. And we all know that we ourselves are our most formidable foe. Food for thought. Mark Spitz, hero of the 1974 Munich Olympics, won seven gold medals in a single Olympics . He was an ace swimmer. Now I think to myself , who would value his Olympic gold more- Spitz or Jansen?? Maybe we leave this question to our good senses. 9) Shapiro, Justine /Wright, Ian (Exact Dates not known-Alive)-Travellers These two individuals are normal TV presenters. They haven’t done anything prolific to have impacted humankind significantly, but they do appear in my list because they have a wonderful job. A job that I would die to take. A job I would give anything to have. They are TV personalities and by virtue of being hosts of travel shows they have impacted my life in more ways then they could have imagined. I came from a small town in the eastern part of India. I have watched the world from their eyes and always wanted to do the same. By some twist of fate I got an opportunity to travel western Europe and I made full use of it. Now I can safely say that I am an avid traveler and backpacker. There is nothing much to say about them as I don’t know any significant details about their lives . Its just that they have made me interested in viewing the world with a backpack and this is one activity I will never give up till the end of my life.

10) Wells, Spencer (1969-)-Genetic Anthropologist It all started one summer Sunday afternoon while watching a serial “ The Journey of Man” on National Geographic Channel some four years ago .I was lazing on my bed and within ten minutes I was sitting upright and taking notes. I had just found out the quest of my life. I was determined to know more about it and to tell the world the story of our origin. What started as a hobby became

a passion. I have read countless books and articles , watched many tv series and brainstormed unlimited number of hours over this subject and at the end of the day I have more questions then answers since I started out-perhaps this is called as a learning curve . No other event in my life has had such a deep impact on me. Just to simplify things here , I have read only two literary works after this event . I spend all my free time trying to make sense of this story ( when I am not chasing girls).The thirst to understand our origins is of prime importance to me and I thank Spencer Wells and National Geographic to give a concrete direction to my otherwise unstable and wavering thought process. Spencer Wells is the Explorer-in-Residence of National Geographic Society. He also leads the Genographic Project. The Genographic Project is the first systematic approach to attempt to understand the origins of homo sapiens and trace their migratory patterns using cutting edge technology to analyze DNA samples from across the planet. Now no one can question the immense scientific potential of this mammoth experiment , but it also gives me a very humanistic angle to view the world. The results suggests that everyone alive today on this planet is an offspring of one single human being the real Adam and Eve . It unambiguously suggests that we are all brothers and sisters of one great family tree. Now armed with this information look around do you still see a Muslim , a Palestine or a Korean ? Do you see African American or a Hindu?. Do you think that boundaries of religion and race can ever separate brothers.? I never knew that the outer realms of science juxtaposed with boundaries of philosophy.

11) Singh,Shree Prakash (1953-) Orthopedic Surgeon ,Father The man about whom I talk now is not an author nor a singer nor an Olympic gold medalist. He is not a statesman nor a filmmaker , but he has had the most significant influence on what ever positives I carry in my today. So here meet my father. My icon . My idol. Now I know I promised at the beginning that I will introduce you to ten people who have inspired me . But being the author of this text I take the liberty to pay my respects to a man whose effect was so profound that it changed the course of my life. Apart from sharing his Y Chromosome he has given me immense support and insights about the game of life. He has bestowed on me almost every virtue I possess.

While growing up we all look up to our fathers as superheros. He still is my superhero.The grit and determination and ability to view things with a perspective has all been imparted to me by my father. One thing that I want to tell you is that it seems he knows about everything under the sun. Now this is not some sort of filial superlative definition , it is a true fact. He simply knows about everything there is to know. And that’s something I just cant stop marveling, I will end his profile by borrowing a jingle from a famous Indian Commercial . “ My daddy strongest !” I love you papa.

Epilogue It took me an exceptionally long time to finish this work. It was partially because of a paucity of time caused by changes happening in my personal and professional life and also because of my attitude to procrastinate things. I vow to improve my limitations and make a commitment to myself that I will start churning more articles and viewpoints. I have tried to give a brief overview about the individuals and at least one good thing that I have learnt from them or that I want to in corporate in my life. I am releasing this article in a hurry as I am bound to start some new projects from tomorrow. Due to this hurry , the article might contain grammatical errors but I will leave it there so it pinches me in the future to be more prompt and efficient in my writings. I hope everyone who reads this work will enjoy it .If this article helps even one single individual to motivate himself/herself , I would consider writing this worthwhile .

~ Mihir Prakash 30th April 2008 1:02 AM 37 Gladstone Road Ipswich IP3 8AT United Kingdom.