There was a time when games like fencing and boxing were considered a male preserve. There was a strong belief that women’s bodies were too frail for boxing. The decision to grant recognition to boxing at Olympic events inspired many enthusiastic girls to make a foray into a sport that previously discouraged combat sports as a career. A major credit for promoting modern sports is the initiative of internationally-modelled schools, which have transformed the sports landscape.

Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. The three disciplines of modern fencing are the foil, the épée and the sabre; each discipline uses a different blade, which shares the same name and employs its own rules. Most competitive fencers specialize in one discipline.

A frail-looking girl from Nagpur who has defied the age-old myth that girls can’t be successful sportspersons is Juveria Ali. It is a rare coincidence that a girl from a conservative community has overcome compelling odds to emerge on the combative landscape as a bright comet. In February 2023, the youngster bagged a silver medal at the Maharashtra State Level Fencing Competition in Bhandara.

In the nascent arena of women’s combat sports, fencing will always remain Juveria’s first love. She has been training since she was 13 years old.

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Millions of extraordinary people are doing amazing things, quietly putting in hard work to improve lives and make a real difference in our world. And still more impressive is that these heroes are anonymous and humble grassroots warriors. They are driven solely by passion, not by hope or promises of fame or recognition. Their courage and optimism are an inspiration for their generation.

These are the people making progress possible. Their selfless spirit of social service imparts purity to the mission and helps translate development policies into real ground action. They are using their talents to fight poverty, hunger and disease and create opportunities for future generations. The world is a better place because of what they do. What shines through is their resilience, integrity, and depths of their empathy. These tiny revolutions may not command great attention, but in merit, they may equal or exceed the more significant and conspicuous actions of those with more freedom and power. The test is what people do.

Social change flows from individual efforts. Many revolutionary movements have sprung from smaller beginnings. A lot of progress can come from more minor advances. Thousands of lesser improvements that build upon one another can represent an enormous advance for society.

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“The soul which has no fixed purpose in life is lost; to be everywhere, is to be nowhere.”
— Michel de Montaigne

Just as we cannot survive without food and water, we humans cannot survive without a sense of the ultimate purpose or meaning of life — of life in general, and of our own life in particular. We want to transcend death by attaching ourselves to something permanent that will outlast us: art, science, our families and so forth. We all know, and as Vladimir Nabokov believed, “our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness”.

What is essential is an engagement with something that gives meaning and purpose to one’s life. Having a clear sense of purpose can help you navigate moments of certainty when you feel unsure of your next steps. The work of defining purpose is the work of becoming fully conscious of what you love and what is most alive within you and then acting accordingly. You should align your life’s goal with your mind, heart and body, your purpose connecting with the sources of meaning, joy and inspiration that reside deep within you. Life develops meaning because someone identifies with God’s purpose.

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“Because Angels could not propagate, nor make more Angels, God enlarges his love in making man, that so he might enjoy all natures at once, and have the nature of Angels, and the nature of earthly creatures in one person.”
~ John Donne

Compassion is the key to healing our tinctured planet. When we mindfully attend to a person we’re with, the living energy becomes an intimate part of who we are. Compassion is often seen as a distant, altruistic ideal cultivated by saints or as an unrealistic response of the naively kind-hearted. But when we view compassion this way, we lose out on experiencing the transformative potential of one of our most precious but neglected inner resources.

We must make it our task to perform one act of kindness every day, no matter how small it may be. It can be as simple as picking up a scrap of paper in your neighbour’s yard or yielding to a car in traffic, or as complex as making a lonely person feel loved.

By making kindness a part of your daily life, it becomes such a normal response that you don’t have to strain to summon it forth from the dregs of your soul anymore.

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“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” — Rumi

We are awash in change — it is everywhere we look. And it is the only constant.

The rate of change we have experienced over the last hundred years is unprecedented. For thousands and thousands of years, humans have moved no faster than a man could walk. Then for thousands more, it was no faster than a horse. Then in a few short decades, we developed trains, cars, planes, and rocket ships. Now, communication occurs at the speed of light.

What is important for us is how fast we adapt to changes. Instead of dreading change, we must try to find comfort in it. This mindset can assuage anguish and help us move forward.

Those who are deeply rooted in traditions are quite likely to be resistant to change. The traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past. The temptation to use tradition as a cover for prejudice and conformity, accompanied by a refusal to change or stretch, manifests itself quite stubbornly because it has become our nature.

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Historians tell us that an explosion of creativity occurs the moment the world starts complaining that there is nothing left to invent, or that all questions have long since been answered and that the search for solutions to complex problems has come to an end. This explosion is fate’s way of reminding us that there is always something just over the knowledge curve.

One of the most challenging fields that needs the brightest minds to collaborate on today is that of environmental sciences. The Earth is at a tipping point and we face a stark choice: either we continue as we are or we harness our unique power to lead and innovate ways to clean the air. The modern world we have built is at odds with the planet we live on. Forests and natural land are vital to human health and happiness, helping to prevent global warming and producing oxygen that we breathe.

The earth is warming faster than expected and the planet’s energy imbalance — the difference between how much of the sun’s energy the planet absorbs and how much radiates back out to space — has doubled since 2005, an increase equivalent to every person on Earth using 20 electric tea kettles at once!

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The story of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, is the story of early modern India. There is scarcely any public institution or aspect of the republic that Nehru did not shape or influence. He was an accomplished politician, writer and orator whose contemplative and scholarly books on a variety of subjects are widely read. He wrote and spoke in impeccable English, a language that came naturally to him, on account of his education at Harrow, Cambridge and the Inner Temple. His sentences were finely-made and always memorable.

Nehru was perceived as a complex person, embodying the clash of Eastern and Western cultures which, many felt, impeded India’s attempts to leap ahead and catch up with more advanced nations. However, several supporters believe that this approach helped promote indigenous talent and helped India in the long term in becoming self-reliant.

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There was a time when boxing was always considered a male preserve. It was a strong belief that women’s bodies were too frail to box. The decision to grant it recognition for the Olympics inspired many enthusiastic women who were previously discouraged from considering combat sports as a career. Earlier, girls thought that women could not box, but now there are role models for them. Some of boxing’s biggest female stars have stepped into the ring and answered the bell even during pandemic times.

One of those who have defied the age-old myths and dispelled the belief that women can’t be boxers is Nagpur’s dream girl, Alfiya Pathan. It is a rare coincidence that a girl from a conservative community overcomes all compelling odds to emerge on the boxing landscape as a shining comet.

Alfiya recently won gold at the World Youth Boxing Championship organized by the International Boxing Association (known as AIBA, after its French acronym). She clinched gold as she stunned a strong contender and European Youth Champion Moldova’s Daria Kozorez 5-0 in the final. For those glued to the screens during the match, Alifya looked in complete control throughout and made the opponent work hard with her swift movement and precise punches.

Shimmering in a gladiator-style maroon boxing outfit, Alfiya paused for dramatic effect. Then she strode towards the ring as horns blared. After the bell, Alfiya ploughed through her opponent who bounced and scrambled as Alfiya stalked her round the perimeter with heavy, ominous solidity. She hammered her with long, straight blows that came in combinations, hard rights, double jabs hooks, uppercuts. Alfiya stayed close, trapping her opponent against the ropes to smother her punches. “I put on a good show. I used some good techniques. I showed my skill, and my power,” recalls Alfiya as she got back and re-united with her family in Nagpur after almost six months on the circuit.

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“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” ~ John Bunyan

Aristotle, one of the greatest ancient Philosophers, wrote that finding happiness and fulfillment is achieved “by loving rather than in being loved”. Having pots of money doesn’t necessarily make you happy. But giving away money — even if you’re not rich — is likely to make you feel wealthier and happier, as well.

It is interesting to note that more and more people are developing this vision of voluntarism, a powerful trait that generates the most powerful benevolent human impulses. They realize that their life belongs to the whole community, and as long as they live they should do whatever they can for others. They believe that giving takes them out of themselves and allows them to expand beyond earthly bounds. They think that making others feel more valued makes them feel more valuable. Winston Churchill emphasized, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”

The magic of giving lies in the way you give. It must not be with an eye on the returns, but because you want to give. Giving with motives attached not only nullifies one’s own happiness but also burdens the receiver. It makes the other person come under the pressure of an obligation. Anonymous benevolence directed to causes that can give nothing in return, is the highest form of altruism. It is seen as the most noble of human impulses. No wonder most religions promote it. Charity, selflessness, sacrifice, and mercy.

Making others feel more valued elevates both the giver and the receiver. True giving goes deeper than the momentary sublimation. Simone de Beauvoir emphasizes: “That’s what I consider true generosity: You give your all and yet you feel as if it costs you nothing.”

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Education is one of the modern world’s most important priorities because it has the power to liberate the intellect, unlock the imagination and is fundamental for self-respect. Human capital is a key driver of sustainable and inclusive economic growth and is often the only capital the poor have. By tapping it, society can improve productivity, and usher in prosperity and end poverty.

While government schools are the mainstay of school education for the poor, some exceptional private schools run by noble-minded champions are making it possible for the poor to on-board the new age educational revolution in which modern techniques and stimulating ambience are enhancing the learning experience. We do have a huge network of public schools, but government aid is badly administered making these schools shadows of their private counterparts. Fortunately, several passionate and visionary educationists are nurturing a network of private schools that are promoting inclusive and equitable quality education.

Tikiapara, a sprawling slum in Howrah, is a keen participant in a quiet revolution led by Mamoon Akhtar, now 49, that is transforming the lives of its residents, especially children. Mamoon was forced to drop out of middle school because his school in the slum had a roll of 3,000 students, most of them children of poor and unlettered parents.

Mamoon’s father was keen that his son got a good education. He put him in one of the area’s leading schools. After his father’s death, Mamoon was forced to drop out and take up a librarian’s job in a private school. Life would have gone on as usual but for his constant unease at being forced out of education.

Two incidents shaped Mamoon’s vision. One day, he found a man beating a woman because she refused to be a drug pusher. Mamoon intervened and got beaten up himself. The little boy, whose mother Mamoon wanted to save, later beseeched him, “Sir, I want to study.” He called the child to his home, and soon he was running evening classes for 20 children. Mamoon went around the community seeking help and enlisted the services of some girls as teachers at Rs 100 per month. Thus began Mamoon’s lifetime romance with education.

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