Dil Mange More

 

Many of us liked the movie Shershah: a Biopic on Late Capt. Vikram Batra.  It was good storytelling overall. Thanks to the valor and sacrifice by men like Capt. Batra, we could recover lost ground in Kargil and very recently at Galvan.  Nation has been always proud of and thankful to its armed forces since Independence. It was an Independence Day weekend followed by victory at Lords over our past Lords that made the mood more patriotic. ‘Yuddhasya Vartaha Ramya” as they say in Sanskrit meaning the war stories are always engaging, but at the same time, they can be tragic as well to those who lose their lives or are injured and more those around the martyrs and injured. But maybe crying over their losses is a bit disrespectful to their valor and sacrifice.

Right during the Kargil conflict and many years following the war, I had a chance to interact with those who fought on the front. I also experienced the first-hand feedback of personal losses to our armed forces due to my involvement with the activities of defense family support/ defense entrance causes for the Trust in the memory of my closest friend: Late Flt Cdt Parag Chandrakant Limaye. Parag laid down his life for the country during his instructor-led flight training mishap of MIG plane in 1995. Some Kargil Stories are simply unbelievable highlighting the difficulty levels for our forces. Hats off to their indomitable spirit!

While listening to these stories, I was intrigued by how people are capable sometimes of the strangest of transactions: they pay with their own lives for the sake of the country.  Normally we can imagine people ready to give their lives for their families. For these martyrs, I think they have a broader vision. They feel nation as their extended family and feel any harm to their nation as harm to their own family. That can be one of the ways to rationalize this strange transaction to the mind of civilian life. But do these army men confront death for any ideological or for that matter even for popularly attributed patriotic reasons?

I had read a statement from a soldier returning to the US from Iraq. He said, “While civilians can postpone their intellectual confrontation with death, a soldier doesn’t have this luxury. On the battlefield, you better sort out your relationship with “Joe Black” quickly, before it’s too late. Thoughts of death will occupy your mind. However, every soldier has another way to deal with it and none of them like to talk about it. Therefore, I can only speak about my own thoughts: The first thing that I had to do when I entered a war zone was to make peace with myself. This means nothing else than to reconcile your ego with the fact that your life is probably over. You always wanted to see the beaches of Thailand? Only one more time see a loved one, a person that is special to you? Forget it, you are going nowhere! The prospect of death has ruined all your life plans and you better deal with it. Of course, when I realized this truth, I became very sad. Many people say that they are not afraid of death itself, but they fear the process of dying, but I wholeheartedly disagree. We fear the great unknown. To get rid of this fear, we have to explore this unknown. We have to take a deep look into the black hole and explore death’s true nature. The moment you have found satisfying answers, something wonderful will happen: Death has become familiar to you, almost like a person. You think more about death than about your family than about anything else. It’s not the great unknown anymore and some soldiers even start to embrace it. Death is an unavoidable certitude you can’t run away from, so why not make it your friend?”

A general gave a firsthand account: “There is no one single emotion that motivates all soldiers to risk death. What are these death-defying emotions?  

Kill the enemy, destroy him at any cost, and if we don’t kill them they will kill us. In the heat of battle saving your own/ life of your buddies by killing the enemy first is a strong emotion and sometimes this results in your death/ injury.

The job we are tasked with is very important for our Unit /Army/country; we have to do it at any cost even at the risk of death or injury.

A strong bond with the team:  I must follow my team and do what they are doing including risking their own life.

A strong attachment and devotion to and along with a conviction of the martial achievements / traditions of their Regiment/unit/nation which compels the soldier to do the job even facing almost sure death to keep the honor of his Regiment/unit/nation.

 A deeply rooted self-image of a brave warrior and to maintain this image in the eyes of all around him, he is ready to risk his own life.

Lastly but most importantly, the excitement of battle prevents his mind to think of death or injury or their consequences at that moment. The task in hand suppresses all other emotions including fear”.

This thought process is something which can explain such heroic feats well symbolized by this famous reply on the television history in India: “Dil Mange More”. As the jingoism set in as an aftereffect of this movie, worldwide Independence Day’s celebrations, and Lord's victory mellowed down there were few questions that started troubling me. Do we as a society deserve the sacrifices made by these real heroes? Do we ourselves think our nation to be our own extended family? Do we follow rules and regulations of the land during our daily lives, occupation, and as a part of civic society?  I know this might sound cliché and cynical but it’s a real honest feeling especially in context of the sacrifices made by someone whose heart wanted more.

No Medals for Trying

 

Gold is the color of this season. Nation of 130 crores is celebrating the success of an Individual athlete apart from a couple of silvers and 4 bronze medals across various sports. This is the highest achievement for India at the Olympics. Apart from Hockey medals and the sole individual wrestling medal by Khashaba Jadhav, we had to wait for the whole 20^th century till the Leander bronze in 96. In this millennium there have been medals but nothing like 2021. This Olympics was also was the most controversial after the early 80s boycotts during the cold war, thanks to the pandemic. Kudos to all the organizers and participants for organizing this successful event.  And special thanks to all Indian athletes to make the nation proud especially after all the negative reporting of our country during the Pandemic. Finally seems like we have moved on from the bureaucratic stronghold over sports. We have realized that there are no medals for trying. It’s all about winning

But then there is one school of thought which cynically discounts all the hype around these medals. These medals don’t count till we remove poverty and hunger out. The taxpayer's money spent on the gold quest can feed many people. The Olympics are for developed countries that have social security for people. Look at the medal tally, discount Russia (OC) and China for their autocratic ways; all other top 10 nations are first world countries. But then for a country like India Olympics are the affirmations to be part of world hegemony and part of our quest to be counted in the mainstream of world politics and economics.  Though there is no tangible correlation between medals won and clout in hegemony, the very fact that you compete against the best and win has the indirect impact that rubs of in other fields as well. Again this is a highly contentious issue. But then as a Nation, we have no choice but to try and create systems to create winners and fight poverty as well. And there are no medals for trying.  

But we have a long way to go to achieve levels for excellence in sport. We lack the system and attitude needed. Our kids are more focused on academics. The main reason is the lack of fall back system for people who focus their golden years on sports. This binary nature of success has its own pitfall. There are no medals for trying. Unless you succeed you have no guarantee of a better life. With the advent of leagues and money pouring in in certain sports we are seeing tangible results as we saw in Hockey.  Gold was a result of Army support. Can we provide such support in civilian lives example can universities provide such world-class facilities as they do in the top 10 medal-winning countries? We need answers and solutions with a note that there are no medals for trying.

Also, we need to democratize Olympics as such. Sports like Athletics, Swimming, and Gymnastics have proportionally higher count than other sports and team events.  There is no representation of sports like Cricket which is the first choice for one-fourth of the world population.  The rules within a sport are also manipulated to suit western countries as seen in sports like Hockey, Wrestling, and so on. We have some of the best business, tech, and political brains in the world. We should definitely have more say in the organizational decisions through lobbying. We need to win battles beyond the arena and again there are no medals for trying.

Buzz Aldrin the second man to reach the moon had interestingly quoted that nobody cares about bronze or silver medals summarizing his own story. Maybe both Ravi Dahiya and Chanu will disagree. So will the Hockey team, Punia, Lovelina, and Sindhu. But this quote merely highlights the binary nature of winning. The winner takes it all.

Traditionally we have had misunderstood the teachings of Bhagwad Gita. Bhagwad Gita doesn’t advise people to keep on doing their job without worrying about results. It asks us to be proficient in our work, focus and persevere like Neeraj Chopra. Medals will follow. They are the outcome. Dan Gable has said Gold Medals aren’t really made of Gold, they are made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called Guts. Those who lost by a whisker or missed the medallist should improve on things that went wrong and do the ‘karm’ ie strive till you get a medal.  This is a road that doesn’t end till you win the medal. There are no medals for Trying.  After you discount the romanticism in her books, even Ayn Rand’s Objectivism confirms that what matters is your uncompromised dedication towards excellence.

But the downside to the binary nature of life is the big black hole of unsung and uncelebrated heroics of many who failed to win. Be it sports or in profession or life in general. Many promised to deliver and failed. They went into oblivion. Some didn’t even try. But the most common thread of such stories is that their journey ended mid-way before they won. Some may attribute it to destiny thanks to external factors or due to internal weaknesses. And life never offers equal footing to everyone to start the race. Life offers different challenges for different competitors.  But the only choice for us is to fight. As Gold winner like Jesse Owens had said, “the battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself: the invisible battles within all of us”.  And we have to win these battles. Only those who win are remembered and there are no medals for trying.

But despite this, all of us who don’t have Gold medals have a small consolatory thought that is invaluable as we grow older in our lives:  Our wrinkles are our medals of the passage of life. They are what we have been through and who we want to be. You have won them.

Batches of Destiny

 

There is a placement ad circulating on social media that says 2021 Graduates are not eligible for a particular Job. I am not sure about the authenticity if it’s happening actually. There was an overall doubt on the quality of online education especially in STEM which needs access to equipment and labs. Some sectors will be more affected than others. But these graduates have their task cut out to minimize disruption caused by the pandemic on their career due to the socio-economic impact apart from online learning challenges.

Destiny plays important role in our lives but it is interesting to note how historic and economic events define the collective destiny of a group of people born in a certain decade (generation) or a certain year (batch). It is observed that people graduating during economic depression have a large economic impact on their lives as compared to others. During the coronavirus pandemic, students were sent home to do remote schooling, internships were canceled and for those graduating into the pandemic, getting a job felt impossible.  Your first job isn’t usually your best job, but it’s the way you make connections and learn what it means to be in the labor force. It’s the thing that provides the springboard to your future success. The class of 2020 entered one of the most hostile labor markets in recent history. Now as the class of 2021 graduates, conditions are difficult for young workers.  According to a study, 2020 graduates saw a bigger decrease in labor force participation than those who graduated during the Great Recession in 2008-10 and added debts.

The study states:  Graduating in a recession leads to large initial earnings losses. These losses, which amount to about 9 percent of annual earnings in the initial stage, eventually, recede, but slowly -- halving within five years but not disappearing until about ten years after graduation. Graduating in a recession leads workers to start at smaller and lower-paying firms, and they catch up by switching jobs more frequently than those who graduate in better times. Some workers are more affected by luck than others. For example, those with few years of experience suffer less than those entering labor markets, bottom people in class suffer more than toppers.

Another research shows impacts on outcomes and mortality when recession graduates reach midlife. Their first finding is that high school graduates and dropouts suffered even stronger income losses than college graduates when entering the labor market during a recession. Second, they found that negative impacts on socioeconomic outcomes persist in the long run. In midlife, recession graduates earned less, while working more. And they were less likely to be married and more likely to be childless. The third finding is that recession graduates had higher death rates when they reached middle age. These mortality increases stemmed mainly from diseases linked to unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and eating poorly.  

Thus it is advised to the batches to accept this as a part of human history and don’t take hard on yourself helping you stay away from mental depression, and work on three aspects to increase employability: acquiring advanced and rare skills, improve soft skills and network extensively to help bridge the gap. Finally, be proud of yourself for facing challenges that many people will never experience.  

Looking from a decade perspective each generation has a certain destiny.  Here I will stick to the global terminology of generations. The generation born from 1900 to the great depression is called Greatest Generation. This generation survived pandemic, wars, and depression.   The generation born during 30 till the end of the war is called Silent Generation as this set of people were few in numbers and felt unwise to speak out to legendary fathers and boomers to follow. Baby boomer refers to a member of the demographically large generation born between the end of WWII and the mid-1960s.  In the Indian context, this generation was the first batch born in Independent India. They saw visions of modern India but were deterred by economic deprivation. Jobs were hard to come by and entrepreneurs were not trusted by society.

GenX followed Boomers. The generation was born between the mid-60s and mid-80s. This is the batch that saw the transformation of India from depravity to the consumer market thanks to liberalization. They rode on IT wave and moved toward higher economic strata and enjoyed the benefits of Globalization. Gen Xers are self-sufficient, resourceful, and individualistic since they have been accustomed to caring for themselves at young age.   Because they lived through difficult economic times in the 1980s, they are less committed to employers than their baby boomer parents. They tend to have a strong entrepreneurial spirit. This generation also saw new world order.

Millennials — those born from the mid-1980s to early 2000s — were more flexible and want control of their lives. They also seek work-life balance. This generation is generally marked by elevated usage of and familiarity with the Internet, mobile devices, and social media. And thus are called digital natives. They are highly educated, a factor that boosted economic growth for them. Millennials across the world have suffered significant economic disruption since starting their working lives in the wake of the Great Recession and COVID-19.

Gen Z is the generation born in the new millennium till 2010. They are the first social generation to have grown up with access to the Internet and portable digital technology from a young age. This access has impacted their attention span, their vocabulary, and thus their school grades, as well as their future in the modern economy.  The generation born after 2010 is called Generation alpha. In between these generations there lies something dreaded as the Generation Gap.

We are a part of human history. Each one of us represents a Generation or a batch and has to suffer or benefit from being a part of that time continuum.  If we accept this, it is easier to accept and contextualize the situation we are in now.

 

 

Final Frontier?

 

Bezos and Branson both went to Space this summer on Vacation.  Space is the flavor of the season. So yours truly packed his bags to Kennedy Space Center, Florida and did the next best thing: simulation of going into Space. Apart from that we saw the history and all actual artifacts of Moon Apollo Missions, Space Shuttle Atlantis, Mars missions and were drenched with a day full of infotainment. Maybe I had a better deal than both. I could spend a day and had a variety of training/simulations/5d Movies.  Bezos spent 11 minutes while Branson logged 1.5 hours. At the end of it both Bezos and Branson were stripped of their medals as Astronauts by FAA while I still have souvenirs bought at the NASA Store.

Jokes apart, during one of the presentations there was a quote by Neil Armstrong: It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.   Eugene Carman said: “ We are a part of massive exploration that humanity has been doing since its inception. And space is the final frontier for man to understand. I was totally overwhelmed by this. Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't know. I don't have any answers to those questions. I don't know what's over there around the corner. But I want to find out”. These space explorers and scientists are the ones who pioneer beyond this final frontier. Human beings have lighted darkness of the unknown through their quest to throw light upon the workings of the universe. All scientists including those who work inside a DNA who have fought against virus, those who have tried to find a cure for cancer, those working to find sustainable clean and green energy helping us fight climate change are the soldiers on the final frontiers as well

Upon return, I had a conversation with my Physiotherapist and his team members. They were wondering what Bezos achieved by spending so many dollars to satisfy his ego.  They also were furious about the damage each of their flight caused to the environment. Instead, he should have paid taxes.  The same was said about Branson. I just tried to put space travel business and space exploration as larger objectives. I quoted efforts of NASA and other Government-backed bodies like our own ISRO to conquer the final frontier.  But is this current space travel hype or are they a part of larger research objectives.

While we salute the pioneers of NASA who were then in the rat race of space in the last centuries it's now private businesses and entrepreneurs like Musk, Bezos, and Branson who are in the race. This race is not for original research it’s a race to mint more money creating self-proclaimed ‘astronauts’ out of moneyed people.  

Bezos owned Blue Origin's space flight flew to the edge of space, about 100 km above the Earth’s mean sea level—the Karman line, also called the ‘edge of space’. This boundary, named after Hungarian physicist Theodore von Kármán was established in the 1960s by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, for providing a definition to space and separating ‘air-space and ‘outer-space.’ SpaceX flights (backed by Elon Musk) have gone way beyond this boundary and have even carried astronauts to the International Space Station. Both Virgin Galactic (owned by Branson) and Blue Origin space flights are designed for suborbital flights, meaning space trips within the Earth’s orbit and within Earth's atmosphere. The vestibules and their trajectory are designed not to allow the vehicle to acquire the required escape velocity to reach the Earth’s orbit and complete a revolution around it. Virgin Galactic spacecraft has a jet-powered aircraft docked underneath. The carrier aircraft takes off from a runway and climbs to an altitude of more than 40,000 feet. Then the spacecraft is dropped, free-falling briefly before firing its rocket motor and ascending to roughly 90 kilometers, which is 10 kilometers short of the Karman line.

Blue Origin's rocket-and-capsule combo, called the New Shepard, shoots into suborbital space and then separates its components. The pressurized capsule floats in microgravity for a while before falling back to Earth assisted by a parachute system. This domed capsule boasts six observation windows. The 60-foot tall rocket section returns to the Launchpad for reuse.

SpaceX has already entered the orbital tourism arena: a feat restricted to government-funded agencies for more than half a century taking crew and passengers up to 400 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. The SpaceX launch system uses a larger capsule and more powerful rocket compared to the Blue Origin combo. Its ‘Dragon’ capsule can carry more passengers than the other-7 at the moment and a 230-foot tall rocket booster called Falcon rocket, which it uses to reach the Earth’s orbit and make trips around the Earth. The SpaceX trips also last longer than the other private space travel options, with trips lasting about 3-4 days from launch to splashdown. SpaceX is currently working on building a starship capable of carrying cargo with up to 100 passengers at a time to outer space. SpaceX's charter flights will soon begin missions to the Moon, and eventually to Mars. SpaceX now outshines Blue Origin and other rocket builders, emphasizing how it has become the highest-profile partner of NASA in its human spaceflight program.  NASA last year awarded contracts to three companies for initial design work on landers that could carry humans to the lunar surface. Also, its promoted Elon Musk has not catered to his ego yet to travel to space.

It’s just about who makes more money by taking more people sorry “Social-Media Celebrities: Astronauts’ into space. Is this right or wrong? Only time will have answers.  But I am sure space won’t be a final frontier for the next generations.