a sportive life

I am here in Hamburg, Germany since mid of Jan and one thing that always strikes me is that I see quite a no. of people jogging on the pathways anytime of the day. Frankly, for a typical South Indian like me, it was quite cold. And well it’s winter time, though a tapered down version for typical Germans and others born and brought up here with temperatures ranging from 1 to 5 degrees at best. Sometimes, it rains, though not a heavy downpour, it’s misty and at times very windy. Typical of what you expect from a busy harbor town. It’s like a miracle to see the Sun shining through the clouds during these months. But life has changed for the better since end of Feb.

However, as I had mentioned above, what impressed me was the fitness quotient that was quite prevalent amidst most of the Germans. And they would be jogging, cycling, walking, rowing, skiing and whatever it takes to keep themselves fit. Well, at least for me, it was a revelation as I am absolutely not a health freak. I don’t even know, whether I work out even in my dreams. One also has to note that the government has done enough in terms of creating the necessary infrastructure for the people to utilize it and has maintained it in absolutely fabulous condition.

This is something very hard to find in India. I am not denigrating my own country, but given the enormous population, it is really a challenge to develop infrastructure to the standards of the developed world. And the next biggest challenge would be to maintain it, given the unruly, uncouth populace that India produces every second. Erudition is the only way and we are trapped in a vicious circle of life called poverty. Alleviation is a long path, as long as reaching one’s eternity. I am neither jingoistic but rather more agnostic of the future state of India, my country.

Why did I digress or did I? Perhaps, the answer lies in the fact that for anything and everything to succeed, you have to nurture it from the beginning. And that takes painstaking efforts. It should start at home. A clean, healthy, prosperous environment for the Child to grow, develop and succeed in life. I am not going to define what is success here, rather simply state that, when a child reaches the desired goal of its own, aided by the atmosphere at home, outside, be it school, college or any other institution, it’s what I would call a fertile milieu for people to prosper.

Perhaps, that is available for a certain section of the society, aided fully by the Child’s parents. But for many, a majority, basic living itself is a far cry. In such poor state of affairs, what do you expect. It’s the individual effort that has to shine through various obstacles and come upfront to succeed in life, whereas, in developed world, the government also lends a hand to support various causes and issues, for the child to be fostered in a protected ambience.

I would here only refer to one area, where India is a blip in the radar. That of sports. We struggle even in our National Sport, Hockey, where we have to bring in International coaches to train our people and eventually due to politics and bureaucracy, even that does not materialize. I hope, I have now circled back to where I had started.

This is all about it. Just create the ideal setting for the people to develop in the right direction. And you will see a country that’s richer in all dimensions. It’s the people that make up the house, the nation. But it all stems back to the basics. Does everyone has the basics needed to lead a normal life. When can that happen. Is that for real or a perpetuity.

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