A View of Indian events

This starts a new viewpoint towards the events of the day in India. Far too much coverage of events from the subcontinent are pessimistic, patronizing and sometimes even unpatriotic. A small change in our point of view can restore pride , honour and grace to a truly deserving country.
The topic for today is India's performance in the Athens Olympics.

At first glance, there is nothing to cheer about. There is no chance for India to gain more than two medals . It is probably that India's tally will remain at One. There is no guarantee of success after another four years either. Should wee be resigned to underperformance ? Should we even care ?
The star athletes shine during the olympics. But a lot of energy, time and expense goes behind every athlete. Young people dedicate their lifes for a few minutes in the spotlight. And even then people remember only the few who win spectacularly. A week and everyone is promptly forgotten.
For a whole lot of people, it is just not worthwhile. Failed sprinters and swimmers languish- unremembered after their peak. Their youth is just fodder for the shining event called the olympics.
If you do not care for every single athlete, you should not care for the medals tally either. So Indias poor performance should no bother you. Even in America, for every Carl Lewis, there are a hundred sprinters who could not make it. When the Indian is ready to support a hundred failed athletes for a single successful one, It will become a strong sporting power. Till then, its lack of performance is simply the result of its unreadiness to pay the price for performance.

Indias lack of medals is not its failure. It reflects the ability of the nation to see through the glitter and perceive that the olympics extract a very heavy price for the fleeting glory it bestows on the victor.