Words and thoughts
escape me as I start this blog. With great difficulty and heavy heart, I force
myself to concentrate.
Just like most of
us, I heard of the man only after his name came up as Presidential candidate. I
was amazed to know about his achievements and felt happy that India is also
becoming a land of opportunity where a boy from a small village can be on the
path to become the President. I started to read books written by him and about
him. His 'Wings of Fire' gave wings to my dreams. His vision for the country helped me in visualizing a better country for my children. The more I came to know about the man, the more I wanted to know.
Some say it was his
hard work, some say it was his destiny. Whatever the reasons attributed, there
is no doubt that it was he who influenced the destiny of many others.
When he came to IIM
Bangalore to give a lecture, it was an opportunity of a lifetime for many of
us. As he outlined his vision for India, his question was: “Why don’t we aspire to
make our children civil servants?” He could be the reason for some of my batch mates
going into civil services after completing MBA. We were inspired to dream after
listening to him.
His way of giving
back to the society was his interaction with children whom he considered the
torch bearers for the vision he had for our country. Everywhere he went, he met
children with warmth and that is how he passed away. I cannot imagine any other
way he could have spent his last moments in life.
I am honored to
share my birthday with him. I can never become 10% of what he is. But he has inspired
me to DREAM and I can only hope that I inspire at least one person’s life
through my deeds in my lifetime. I pray for his soul and for his vision of
India which he could not see fulfilled. Our true tribute to him would be
working towards achieving his dreams for us.
“Dreams .. is not
what you see in sleep
Dreams .. is the thing
which doesn’t let you sleep” – APJ
