GOLD! 🥇

 A Golden Day with the Golden Boy - Neeraj Chopra! I couldn't believe my ears when my mom told me that we are invited to meet the Olympian. He has done initial training in Army Sports Institute (ASI), Pune & therefore he was here to be felicitated by the entire ASI team. The current Commandant of ASI who has been acquainted with Neeraj for quite some time now happens to be my paapa's coursemate.

I am immensely grateful to my papa for this golden moment. Though he himself isn't posted here currently but made sure that his family gets the toast of their lifetime! Thank you paapa. I am profusely grateful to the Indian Army whose continued support for nurturing talent in Sports has brought laurels to our nation & made billions of people have goosebumps. I am acutely grateful to Commandant ASI - Col. Rakesh Yadav uncle - a very down to earth person - who made sure that not just his family but all his coursemates & subordinates - from Jawaan (soldiers) to Subedar, who could make it to the event do not miss the chance to attend this mesmerizing evening. 

Pinnacle of Patience & Humbleness 

Neeraj spent close to one and a half hour with us. I was observing him keenly to see his response to multiple requests of people coming & taking pictures with him. Some people seized this opportunity very well as they made a video call to almost all the relatives who could come on a call at that moment & made them have a small conversation with Neeraj. He was so patient with all the requests. He clicked every single picture with a happy face. He didn't let us feel for even a single instance that he must be tired as he had directly come to meet us after he landed from Delhi. He gave us such a homely feeling as if he was our brother or friend. People couldn't get enough of him & came to take selfies with him even while he was having food - he accepted all requests humbly. This man, who today is a "Hero" for more than a billion people in his 20s (an age when people often tend to be arrogant after accomplishments), is so patient despite all the stardom. If he as an Olympian Gold Medallist can treat us like his family then why do we choose to be arrogant after achieving something?

Interest & Hard-work is what matters 

In all this while, I made some interactions with Neeraj. I asked him how was he able to overcome the challenges of being a Javelin thrower from a state (Haryana) which has much enthusiasm for wrestling. In our country, Sports isn't treated as a "nice" profession to take up forward. We all like to cheer for our Olympians but hesitate to say YES to our child's dreams. Taking up a career in Sports & that too in an unconventional one - he must have had to face a lot of discouragement from society initially. He answered that by saying he never thought of making it this BIG! He just followed what he liked & was content with the fact that he followed his passion. He told that even if he wouldn't have made this big then also he would have cherished his journey. By his words, one can make out that he is a follower of Nishkama Karma philosophy of Bhagavad Geeta, in which Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to not worry about things out of his control i.e. results but just focus on what you can control i.e. hard work you put in. & when you honestly put in hard work, you don't wait for results to make you happy as you know in your head that you gave your best shot & that feeling in itself is incredible. The outcome matters, but it's your effort & your honesty with that effort that truly takes you distances. 

I am the kind of guy who usually forgets to click pictures & take autographs when I happen to meet a celebrity as I am so engrossed in observing their attitude & curious to know their journey till now. This also happens when I meet friends or family after a long period. One can say that I am still living in "Purana Zamaana".  Luckily, there were many millennials around me, grappling on Neeraj. Seeing their struggle to take pictures with the Golden Boy, I too got reminded of me being a millennial and made an attempt. I was fortunate enough to have some good clicks with the Champion.