Amazing feats of hope

Hope does not just float; it swims, sails, cruises and even flies — all at once. I recently read a story of a country pedagogue from Kerala, Abdul Malik, making his daily round trip to school adrift an inflated tube to save time. It was motivating, to put it simply.

Hope does not just float; it swims, sails, cruises and even flies — all at once. I recently read a story of a country pedagogue from Kerala, Abdul Malik, making his daily round trip to school adrift an inflated tube to save time. It was motivating, to put it simply.

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The man belongs to a genre other than ordinary, who are mere passengers with little to show on life’s display board. I have a long list of people who have made it their business to rise above nature, challenge tradition and turn the tide. First there are those big names:We all know them be it Gandhi, Nehru, Subhash, Churchil, Lincoln, Mao et al. Our current heroes can be Stephen Hawking, PT Usha, Fauja and Milkha among others. They are a cut above the rest, an epitome of faith and belief that led them to cross the Rubicon.

And now, American superwoman Diana Nyad, who at the ripe age of 64, has swum from Havana to Key West, Florida in US, sans the usual protection of a shark cage. Her message on arrival to the record keepers and an enthusiastically waiting crowd was a three point sermon, aimed at future aspirants that reads: One, never, ever give up. Two, age is no bar, you are never too old to try the impossible. And three, she was not alone, it was an effort of a whole team which brought her along.

Nothing is impossible if one has the will to do whatever one wants to do. Obstacles disappear like bubbles.