Debarth's Den

The disappointment and pain that accompanies the collapse of a beautiful image is more often than not, excruciating. And when the image is one that has endured longer than most, inasmuch as to be considered infallible, the fall is harder to digest. And when the image is worshipped by millions, the mere suggestion of fallibility is sacrilegious. In India, the image of Sachin Tendulkar is nothing short of Godly, and yet I am at pains to point out a few chinks in that apparently blemishless image for the sake of the great game that is cricket, and for the sake of its fervent supporters. These days, the newspapers and the electronic media are full of Sachin's achievements and his "greatness", some going even to the extent of raising him to the level of the greatest personalities that India as a country has seen through the ages. Yet, many have seen and felt, albeit without expressing their feelings for fear of blaspheming the painstakingly created, larger-than-life persona th...

It is an undeniable fact that Nobility is an exalted attribute, and that everybody would like to be classified amongst the noble. Yet, the chasm that separates the practitioners and preachers of this enviable virtue is a wide one, and very few can lay claim to have crossed it. Notwithstanding the abundance of apathy that abounds everywhere, there are still a select few that have put service above self and are rendering a Godly service to humanity. Akshaya Patra, an organization for the care of poor and underprivileged children, is indeed an instance of human selflessness and nobility. I have often felt pangs of empathy at the plight of children in dire need of nutrition, education and love, and have often had to turn my eyes, my ears and my mind away from these issues in my helplessness to fight them. So, when I see how organizations such as Akshaya Patra have volunteered to give themselves up for a cause that would help uplift the lives of thousands of impoverished and underprivileged...