Bharatha Bhagya Vidhatha

As one more independence day passes over, we rejoice and look back at the past 61 years with pride and a modicum of disappointment. Proud for all the achievements made and disappointment at the thought that much more could have been achieved. This independence day was made even more special by the Indian performance at the Olympics. After 28 years the world got to hear the Indian national anthem thanks to Abhinav Bindra. As I cherished the moment and went through the anthem in my mind a thought struck me.

We have recited the anthem since we were kids and do so even now, but how many of us really know the meaning of the anthem or at least want to know its meaning? I was particularly struck by the line "Bharatha Bhagya Vidhaatha" in the anthem and a question rose in my mind. Who is this "Bharatha Bhagya Vidhatha" - "the dispenser of destiny" referred to by the poet. In fact he appears twice in the anthem and is said by the poet to be praised all around the country.Is he God as Tagore himself said. Is it George V - the king of England at that time - as argued by some of Tagore's critics.

I guess that's the beauty of poetry, each one can interpret it to his liking and each one may be different and correct at the same time.As I went through the anthem again with the quest of finding this 'Vidhata' I could not imagine anyone as the 'Vidhata' other than - the common man.Yes, the common man. Doesn't he guide India's destiny? Hasn't he been witness to the joys and travails of India?. Yes the most uncommon of those beings, the common man.

He does not have a face but we all see him.He doesn't have a voice but still we hear him. He does not have a presence but still we feel him. No matter what the challenge thrown at him by destiny he has carried on bravely, facing all obstacles with courage.He was present when India was enslaved, he fought for her freedom and rejoiced when she achieved it. He laid the foundations of democracy and enabled India to become the largest democracy in the world. He has endured famines and natural calamities, but still he has marched on.He was present when bombs exploded, he was victimized in the riots.He endured it all silently. He liberated the economy and carried it to new frontiers. He started the IT/Telecom revolutions which gave jobs and aspirations to millions like him. India celebrated when he won the world cup. India was made proud when he won a Gold at the Olympics.Indians were elated when he bought prestigious MNCs abroad. He has achieved success in which ever part of the world he has gone and resided in, not forgetting the homeland.As the future beckons, he is once again at the fore front to guide India's destiny. He wants to regain India her lost prestige and glory. There might be hurdles but he shall overcome them as he has done in the past.

Through thick and thin, good fortune and calamity, he has marched on guiding the destiny of India and will continue to march on in the future too. Yes, its him, he is the one who can be called the 'Bharatha Bhagya Vidhatha'- 'the dispenser of destiny'.

The Jamican Juggernaut

There is a famous legend often referred in the Caribbean. The legend goes that when the Englishman came to colonise the Caribbean islands he brought with him thousands of West African slaves and the most fiery and rebellious of the slaves were sent to inhabit what is now modern Jamaica. And this the legend says explains the propensity of the island to produce aggressive cricketers and track scorching sprinters. Starting from aggressive batsmen like George Headley ( who was called the black bradman, but Jamaicans used to refer bradman as the 'white headley'!) to fiery fast bowlers like Michael Holding to ace sprinters like Usain Bolt.

The above legend can be passed off as myth but after seeing the eye-popping performance of the Jamaican sprinters in the just concluded Beijing Olympics - where lead by the mercurial Bolt they have swept almost all sprinting medals thereby upstaging the US - its hard not to believe in the legend. Along with Michael Phelps' 8 gold medal haul and China's stupendous medal winning spree to the top the performance of the Jamaican sprinting team will be part of Olympic folklore. For someone who has been fascinated by the pure romance associated with the sporting culture of the Caribbean islands this was undoubtedly one of my high points of the Olympics.

Even though Beijing 2008 saw Jamaica win sprinting gold medals for the first time, its not like Jamaica had not produced quality sprinters before. It did produce sprinters but due to the socio-economic condition of the country most of them went to more affluent countries in search of greener pasteurs and a better life. Sample this. The brilliant but disgraced sprinter Ben Johnson hailed from Jamaica but represented Canada, Linford Christie won the 1992 100m gold for Britain even though he was born in Jamaica, Donovon Bailey won the 1996 100m gold for Canada in spite of his Jamaican upbringing. So what has changed in the last decade? I would say the attitude of the Jamaican government which has taken it upon itself by promoting athletics in the country in a big way by providing sports infrastructure and scholarships which were the two main reasons for budding athletes to immigrate to countries like the US. This is the reason why the Jamaica is able to retain promising athletes who have reaped a rich harvest of medals in the Olympics.

The 'Jamaican experiment' also has some serious lessons for India. Two in fact. One, there is no better way to produce medal winning sportsmen than providing them with good world class infrastructure. Infrastructure does not mean stadiums and facilities alone, but also 'soft infrastructure' like scholarship, monetary help etc. Two, India should concentrate on select events. Events which are more natural to Indians like those involving hand-eye coordination viz. shooting, archery,boxing etc. Once we have started excelling in these events consistently then we can concentrate on diversifying into other events. Apart from Jamaica, this approach has been followed by no less a country than China and India will do well to emulate it.

As for now, its time to sit back, enjoy and applaud the performance of Jamaica and hope we do something similar in the future.