My this post is dedicated to these two individuals
1. Satyendra Dubey
2. Manjunathan Shanmugam
Among them I will focus on the later, not because the former's contribution was meager or lesser by any means but only because the later is chronologically neare to date, and as is said in Julius Caesar, "The Public have a very short memory".
Finally one mainstay newspaper did carry a report on Manju. Always believed that ET was the better of the two sibblings for Benett&Colman, TOI being the more popular one. My belief got another feather on its cap with this article.
May his soul rest in peace and may his efforts not go in vain. Makes me believe that there is, what can be called a relapse Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's children"; children who were shaped on that fateful midnight, sandwiched between 14th and 15th August of 1947; 'as the stroke of Midnight hour, when the world sleeps India will awaken to life'.
Truly! How Prophetic! India is truly awakening to life, reminds me of Prince 'Kumbhakarna' form the Indian mythology. Waking up from his numerous years of prolonged sleep due tu the hustling-jostling of all the perturbed sepoys.
Its not that hydra headed demons of red-tapism, adultery, bribery and so on and so forth which plague our day to day lives have just popped up from nowhere. They were there and thriving peacefully and amicably. Its now that we have taken notice and the current effects are but manifstations of the expected Withdrawl Symptoms due to counter-meaures taken. Its indeed good ews. The fact that a boy, a mere boy had the strength in his upbringing in small town of Kolar to stand up against much more than a bribe of 1 crore, to face the bullets and perish with his values shrouding him in honour in his final abode. Indeed good news. Imagine the INERTNESS of his value-system that even walking in to an elite B-School did not stop him from walking out of this unscrupulous deal.
His teacher at IIM-L Prof. Chatterjee remebers discussing this question in one of his classes 'If Lifelihood is for life, what is life for?'. As expected from most such politically correct discussions involving future managers; this remained INCONCLUSIVE.
Prof. Chatterjee goes on to say, with Manju saqcrificing his life in the altar of truth he has been able to answer this critical question effectively, LIFE if for the COUNTRY. Indeed so!
Remain grateful to both these two ordinary folks who rose above ordinary circumstances, with ordinary handicaps (ones that we all come across day-to-day) to set an example with their extra-ordinary belief in themselves and their extra-ordinary conviction to do what it takes to pursue what they thought was righteous.
In a line, they bring back reminisences of this famous line,
"As dark is the night, as colorful will be the dawn ~ Rabindranath Tagore'
Adieu my fried, Adieu. May you rest in peace.
~Chirantan