The Challenge within

                   Time: Fag end of December 2004, in the aftermath of the Tsunami.

Place: Visakhapatnam.

                   Padma flipped through the newspaper, her first activity of the day; it was full of reports and photographs detailing the death and devastation caused by the recent Tsunami. Sensitive as she was, tears filled her eyes but she did not give up reading. One of the pictures showed the devastation caused by the disaster in Kanya Kumari. She did not go further than that. She took a closer look at the photographs- the broken country boats on the sea shore rang a bell in her heart.

                   Time:    February 2002,

                   Place : Kanya Kumari.

                   Padma, Lakshmi, Jyotsna, Ashish, Binod, Swadesh and many others had gone there on a visit. The visit to the Vivekananda Rock involved taking a ride by country boat from the shore to the Rock. All the friends were first-time visitors to Kanyakumari. In fact, on their alighting the train, Padma, a Telugu, made the others sing “ Kanya Kumari”. With this enthusiasm the friends reached the shore and got into the country boat. That was when the real challenge started. Whenever the boat pitched against the incoming waves, it was very scary. The youngest amongst them, Lakshmi, began to scream with her eyes closed. Padma, being almost a decade older than Lakshmi, called her over, and told her, ‘You were born to be a leader. You should not feel scared like a normal person. Always remember, thousands of tourists/pilgrims visited the Vivekananda Rock before and shall visit henceforth. When all of them have returned safe, how you expect that one individual- you- will drown?’ Lakshmi felt a little reassured and stopped her scream. She still closed here eyes and uttered a prayer. Within a short time, the boat reached its destination where all got off.

                   At the Vivekanda Rock, one could catch lovely views of the hyperactive Bay of Bengal, the sedate Arabain Sea the composed Indian Ocean. Strong breeze rejuvenated the souls of the tourists and also enabled them to play the ‘Catch- the flying- hat’ game. The tourists meditated in the Meditation Hall for 20 minutes- it seemed that the Hall was created from silence, as the hustle and bustle was conspicuously unheard of in it.

                   After some more time, it was time to return. By then, it was almost evening, and the sea became very rough. Lakshmi was into her prayer. This time Padma heard one more prayer,  ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ from Mani. The return was more adventurous because of the pitching, so Lakshmi let her head lie in the lap of Padma till they reached the shore.

                   Padma was glad that her counseling was of some help to the timid girl.

                   “Have Coffee”, Padma’s dad called out. His arrival brought her back to the present. She used to feel elated at her leadership skills which gave some solace to others who were worried. But, by chance, if Padma had any inkling of the forthcoming Tsunami, would she have been able to boost Lakshmi’s confidence like she did? She was worried for a while; it struck her later that there is purpose in not knowing the future. Leaders have to overcome challenges; they need not be doomsday predictors or those having premonitions. She was at peace with herself after that.