First ever Gold at Rio Paralympics 2016 !!!!!

 -Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Bhati win Gold and Bronze respectively (Men's High Jump T42)

              What a wonderful start to my weekend it has been ! Visited the Lord at Lal Baugh followed by a scrumptious breakfast at Gurukripa (Sion)  and in came the news, of India winning the first ever Gold and the Bronze  at the Paralympics in Rio . I eagerly searched for that winning jump in Hotstar . Unfortunately Hotstar conveniently chose not to showcase the Paralympics currently underway at Rio , in the way it did for Rio 2016 Olympics. It made my blood boil that hardly anyone is ecstatic of the fact that Mariyappan created history today by clearing a height of 1.89m in the Paralympics High jump and that Varun Bhati clinched the Bronze !   

        Mariyappan qualified for the Rio Paralympics by clearing 1.78m at the IPL Grand Prix in Tunisia in March this year . Hailing from a small village called Periavadagampatti in Tamil Nadu ,he is being coached in Begaluru by Satyanarayana. As I repeatedly scanned the net for videos capturing those historic final moments I was extremely disappointed and livid of the fact that hardly anybody cared about this achievement ! I mean common folks! All of us watched that Epic finale of Sindhu (ok ... Most of us did) , that vault of Dipa or that bout of Sakshi ,post which the internet was flooded with Memes and congratulatory messages for them ..... So why isn't the same being done for our Paralympic athletes for whom it is twice as hard considering the fact that there are hardly any amenities made available suiting their requirements! Kaafi logon ne mujhse kahan ki ,
 thodi naa itne bade level pe hota hain yeh ,regular walla Olympics jaisa !

          So let me enlighten you. Just like the Olympics , the Paralympics games are a major international multi sport event for athletes who are DIFFERENTLY ABLED ,which are governed by the International Paralympic committee. Athletes from 159 countries compete for the coveted Gold in various sporting events . This year they ran into trouble owing to a lot of budgetary constraints,which even lead to the shifting of venue for certain events due to lack of sponsorship .These are the people who actually need all the encouragement they can get,but ironically it is the other way around!

Farman Basha 

          Friends , just because it ain't the regular Olympics doesn't make it any less amazing. In fact I am of the perception that the Paralympics is way better than Olympics when it comes to leaving an impact in the minds of people. The manner in which these athletes conduct themselves. Such poise , such gracefulness ,defying all odds,that determination to excel despite their disabilities or the lack of resources for their training and yet the love and compassion they emanate .Their smiles - It just fills me with happiness and sadness at the same time! That amazing feeling of seeing our National Flag being unfurled and our National Anthem being played at the event today .... All thanks to the sheer grit and perseverance of our athletes ,whom we so grossly under support be it financially or emotionally , as a nation.

         When  our National champion Farman Basha came Fourth in Rio in Powerlifting . it went totally unnoticed ! Today I honestly was expecting this achievement to be trending on Twitter, that glorious video of our National anthem being played at Rio! Instead I was ENRICHED  by how much KAPIL SHARMA earns(money earned by his super pathetic sexist jokes) and HOW ONE CAN GET A FREE PASS FOR THE COLD PLAY CONCERT ( It ain't happening.! Fukat milna sab afwaa hain).
 I sometimes feel appalled by the state of affairs and our thought process and the precedents we are setting for the future generations to come!

             Under the Sports Ministry's Cash Award Scheme, Mariyappan shall receive 75 lakh  while Bhati shall receive 30 lakh .Tamil Nadu C.M Jayalalitha has announced a 2 crore award for Mariyappan for creating history. Now I cannot help but compare the prize money offered to Sindhu collectively by 3 State govt which is in excess of 10crore !!! My question is "Why such a disparity ? Aren't we belittling the efforts of our challenged athletes for whom living a normal life itself is a daunting task ? Isn't winning a coveted Gold and making history a reason big enough for us to open the strings of our purses ? What is holding us back then ? Though the athletes are elated at the prize money and are grateful for whatever is being bestowed upon them , must we not strike a balance ? " Such endless questions continue to haunt me.

       But for now , I salute the entire Indian Paralympic contingent and wish them the very best ! May we shine more in the days to come . A big THANK YOU for reminding me that one can triumph against all odds if one decides to, for the biggest hurdle we encounter is tuning OUR MINDSET to the right approach  . So I choose to look up to you all , in the same way I did for our regular athletes and I am equally proud of your accomplishments ,( published or not ) for you have helped me in understanding that "THE BIGGEST DISABILITY IN LIFE IS THE INABILITY TO SEE ABILITY " .