One rarely comes across a book that not only warms the cockles of your heart and provides more than adequate fodder for your hyper active mind, Sanjay and Medini Sharma's "Courage Beyond Compare" is one such rare gem that not only sets you thinking but also pondering over why and how.......
One ,may show an inclination to dismiss "Courage Beyond Compare" as just/yet another sports chronicle that traces or profiles the life and times of ten athletes, their trials and tribulations and their noteworthy achievements; but dismissing the book as one such would not only be doing the book but yourself a great disservice as one comes across one such in decades if not an entire lifetime.......
Powerful, inspiring, mind boggling and immensely heartening; these ten stories of athletes ranging from the deaf and mute magician on the Badminton court Rajeev Bagga who enjoys the rare distinction of having beaten badminton legend Prakash Padukone in the third round of the Nationals to the former soldier and athlete extraordinaire Nir Bahadur Gurung who annexed three silvers and did our motherland proud in the Asian Games.........
The book's biggest triumph lies in the fact that it makes one wonder how people for whom everyday tasks like boarding a train bus, or then a casual walk down the street are akin to climbing Mount Everest went on to achieve glory, excellence and heady triumphs in their chosen sphere of excellence in the face of open ridicule from their peers and so called well wishers and galling indifference from the nation's sporting authorities who did not even display the humility to honour these sporting icons despite all their triumphs.........
This incredible book not only narrates the tales of valour and will to surmount seemingly insurmountable odds but provides us with a manifestation of the inherent ability of the human mind to cock a snook at naysayers and achieve every near miracle that it sets out to achieve.......
Take for example one Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi or then Tiger Pataudi who irrevocably lost the usage of one eye after a tragic accident; Tiger to his credit never ever begrudged himself the fact that he had lost out on one eye but went on to carve out an unique niche for himself in the nation's cricketing echelons.........
As he candidly remarks in his own words"having one eye meant that I saw three cricket balls coming at me with a resounding speed rather than one and my triumph lay in the fact that I was not only able to identify the right one nine times out of ten, but send it in the direction I wanted to".......
Or then take the case/example of Farman Basha who went on to humble so called able bodied power lifters with such stunning and consummate ease that the concerned federation had to overhaul it's rules in order to stop Basha from making a mockery of so called power lifters who should have put an "apahij" like him in the shade without batting an eyelid.......
In fact so good at his art and craft is this pocket sized Hercules that he has never humbled by any comer in the National Power lifting Championship for the last two decades and more; not only that he also went on to annex the fourth and fifth spot at the last two paralympics besides being the Asian champion for scores of years..........
And pray what did we give this noble son of the soil or then motherland in return, yes we certainly condescended to bestow him with the much coveted Arjuna Award but failed to provide him with a job that would have sustained him for the rest of his natural life and also provided him with a modicum of financial security...........
Devendra Jhajharia is the only Indian alive to have the national flag unfurled in his honour and glory at the main Olympic Stadium when he went on to annex the gold medal at the one armed javelin throw event at the 2004 Athens Paralympics and creditably repeat this noteworthy feat at the 2013 World Para Athletic Championships in France and all this without any form of official or corporate patronage or a "sugar daddy" who would willingly buy his passage........
"Courage Beyond Compare" brings into sobering focus how far our motherland still has to go in order to ensure a level playing field and equitable society for the differently abled and how it cares a pittance for it's sports persons who move heaven and earth in their quest for sporting glory and in order to bring encomiums to the nation of their origin......
Priced at a surprisingly modest Rs.295/- this veritable treasure or then rare gem is available at a whopping 30% discount off it's cover price through online shopping platforms like Flipkart and such notable others and published by one of the nation's leading publication houses: Rupa......
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Sanjay Sharma creditably represented the nation in the largely unheralded sport of Badminton and also served as the coach of the National Badminton team or squad for a decade and more before adopting full time writing as his chosen vocation..........
Medini Sharma is Sanjay Sharma's proud daughter besides being a former tennis international and sports producer of repute who is currently associated with STAR sports in a senior capacity........
One ,may show an inclination to dismiss "Courage Beyond Compare" as just/yet another sports chronicle that traces or profiles the life and times of ten athletes, their trials and tribulations and their noteworthy achievements; but dismissing the book as one such would not only be doing the book but yourself a great disservice as one comes across one such in decades if not an entire lifetime.......
Powerful, inspiring, mind boggling and immensely heartening; these ten stories of athletes ranging from the deaf and mute magician on the Badminton court Rajeev Bagga who enjoys the rare distinction of having beaten badminton legend Prakash Padukone in the third round of the Nationals to the former soldier and athlete extraordinaire Nir Bahadur Gurung who annexed three silvers and did our motherland proud in the Asian Games.........
The book's biggest triumph lies in the fact that it makes one wonder how people for whom everyday tasks like boarding a train bus, or then a casual walk down the street are akin to climbing Mount Everest went on to achieve glory, excellence and heady triumphs in their chosen sphere of excellence in the face of open ridicule from their peers and so called well wishers and galling indifference from the nation's sporting authorities who did not even display the humility to honour these sporting icons despite all their triumphs.........
This incredible book not only narrates the tales of valour and will to surmount seemingly insurmountable odds but provides us with a manifestation of the inherent ability of the human mind to cock a snook at naysayers and achieve every near miracle that it sets out to achieve.......
Take for example one Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi or then Tiger Pataudi who irrevocably lost the usage of one eye after a tragic accident; Tiger to his credit never ever begrudged himself the fact that he had lost out on one eye but went on to carve out an unique niche for himself in the nation's cricketing echelons.........
As he candidly remarks in his own words"having one eye meant that I saw three cricket balls coming at me with a resounding speed rather than one and my triumph lay in the fact that I was not only able to identify the right one nine times out of ten, but send it in the direction I wanted to".......
Or then take the case/example of Farman Basha who went on to humble so called able bodied power lifters with such stunning and consummate ease that the concerned federation had to overhaul it's rules in order to stop Basha from making a mockery of so called power lifters who should have put an "apahij" like him in the shade without batting an eyelid.......
In fact so good at his art and craft is this pocket sized Hercules that he has never humbled by any comer in the National Power lifting Championship for the last two decades and more; not only that he also went on to annex the fourth and fifth spot at the last two paralympics besides being the Asian champion for scores of years..........
And pray what did we give this noble son of the soil or then motherland in return, yes we certainly condescended to bestow him with the much coveted Arjuna Award but failed to provide him with a job that would have sustained him for the rest of his natural life and also provided him with a modicum of financial security...........
Devendra Jhajharia is the only Indian alive to have the national flag unfurled in his honour and glory at the main Olympic Stadium when he went on to annex the gold medal at the one armed javelin throw event at the 2004 Athens Paralympics and creditably repeat this noteworthy feat at the 2013 World Para Athletic Championships in France and all this without any form of official or corporate patronage or a "sugar daddy" who would willingly buy his passage........
"Courage Beyond Compare" brings into sobering focus how far our motherland still has to go in order to ensure a level playing field and equitable society for the differently abled and how it cares a pittance for it's sports persons who move heaven and earth in their quest for sporting glory and in order to bring encomiums to the nation of their origin......
Priced at a surprisingly modest Rs.295/- this veritable treasure or then rare gem is available at a whopping 30% discount off it's cover price through online shopping platforms like Flipkart and such notable others and published by one of the nation's leading publication houses: Rupa......
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Sanjay Sharma creditably represented the nation in the largely unheralded sport of Badminton and also served as the coach of the National Badminton team or squad for a decade and more before adopting full time writing as his chosen vocation..........
Medini Sharma is Sanjay Sharma's proud daughter besides being a former tennis international and sports producer of repute who is currently associated with STAR sports in a senior capacity........
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