Maahi Way

Amidst your mundane routine, a moment comes out of the blue; it lifts your conscious, tearing apart reality, and takes you to a different world altogether. A world, painted by your own versions of truth and through many emotional events, embossed on the canvas of life. One such moment happened when I saw the trailer of ‘M.S Dhoni-The untold story’. And all the hidden aspirations, beliefs, yearnings arose from the memory lane. Right from his thunderous knock of his long-hair days to the euphoric moment of six hit in the world cup 2011 final at Wankhede stadium; all the feelings associated with Maahi flooded out. His journey is special; not only for the world of cricket but also for the world of dreamers and believers. Every single boy who played or knew cricket must have had dreamed deep down his heart, to finish off a match with a six.  Moreover, it’s not just about the six or winning a match. There is more to it. Inside that six lies a dream, a naive innocent desire to become something; to show the world who he is; to pour out all his anguish and strike hard against all the hardships through a six hit across the boundary of impossibilities. Above all, it is about quenching a thirst of believing in something and becoming the one by finding your way and create a moment where your dreams meet the destiny. 

We are on the field, we are in the match, but still we are unable to hit “that” six which would change our lives. They say there is a way to it. We have been searching that since childhood and yet today we are unable to find that way which would enable us to kiss the sky and make a dent in the universe. I have been thinking about it since ages. All I could figure out is that it always starts with being a dreamer. As soon as a boy comes to his senses, through whatever reality he perceives; he dreams about something. And everything he does throughout his life is simply to make his small little desires, come true.

Do you remember that times when long-hair was all the rage then? As if the whole magic lies in it alone. When I observed it through a broader lens I realized that the long hair fascination was more a symbol of rebellion; having enough of school and family rules, we wanted to break the ethos and keeping long hair was our first liberal stand in life. When you become a part of something which is powerful, you tend to feel that power. And maybe that is one of the reasons to follow Maahi’s hairstyle.  When the president of Pakistan, Parvez Musharraf in one of the presentation ceremonies, suggested dhoni not to have a haircut, I thought that this trick works; “Be a Rebel!” Forget the conventions of technicality and stop following the norms; break the barriers and hit the ball the way it comes. That was one of the very first magic tricks I guess which everyone became aware of initially. Though there is no sin in being cool, confining it to the idea of long-hair and breaking norms only and nothing beyond, certainly retards your growth; and there were more magic tricks which still remained unexplored.

With the advent of teenage life came performance pressure. College, tuitions, tests, exams, and pressure to be cool. We required more magic tricks now. Then, T-20 world cup 2007 came to our rescue. It represented the same settings of our new world. Newly found team with newly discovered captain for the newly found format of T20. The eyes were on our new icon, and now the captain. Who can forget the last over of joginder sharma in Ind vs. Pak finale? We witnessed a miracle then. Indian team was treated as underdogs in the tournament and yet, they came out as champions. That day I discovered another magic trick; you got to take a leap of faith and “believe!” Miracles will follow.

Being a dreamer, a rebel, a believer; it seemed possible to lead the way now. But the newly found leader in us wanted to do the things in our own way from cricket matches, college activities to get-togethers. And the mantra of “coolness” and “strategy” borrowed from Csk captain, always helped in overcoming various obstacles within no time. Yet, as the time passed by, the roads become rougher than before to walk on.  Criticism increased and so did the noise around whatever decisions we would make. As we challenged the status quo, it unconsciously hurt the sentiments of people around it. We did have to face a hard time in managing many things like college events, ceremonies, counter strike matches, birthday celebrations, long tours, social activities, business models, alumni meets and what not.  And here when the newly born leader in us needed it the most, came one more trick of magic, “Responsibility!”

It is still afresh in my minds when Dhoni was being judged for various reasons. Right from preferring many new comers over senior players, more concentration on advertisements, dictating csk and tussle with the selectors; his every stand was questioned. Yet, he always took responsibility of his actions and never hesitated answering any question; be it a presentation ceremony or post match conferences. I have marked down one of his quotes which help in countering any question that judges your decisions.  “If it is justified that you remove me, that I am the reason behind everything going bad in Indian cricket, I would love to step aside!” I learned that if our purpose is good and the intent is right, our work itself does all the talking. Dhoni showed us that this trick if followed, one can reach a place beyond criticism and accolades; it’s just that we need to learn to accept the responsibility and not just the leadership alone. And that makes you the Captain of the ship and not simply the leader of a clan.

After exploring so many virtues, I wonder how many more magic tricks one needs to adopt so that one day we would hit ‘that’ six. After deep introspection, I realized that more than the tricks it is also about the time and circumstances where in you apply it. There is no formula for magic. There are infinite virtues to adopt. There are zillions like dhoni and may be better than him in many ways. What matters is what you want to learn in life and how many of those virtues you actually implement in your life as your magic tricks. Best example is the actor who is playing dhoni’s role in the movie, sushant singh Rajput himself. He got this role not merely out of his acting skills but for his cricketing acumen which he displayed in the movie ‘Kai po che’, which he eventually was able to grab because of his dancing skills he had portrayed in ‘Jhalak dikhla jaa’ reality show. This is a perfect case of implementing what you learned and how well you managed to put that in practice in necessary space and time. Professor Albus Dumbledore had aptly said to harry potter once, “It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, it is our choices!” If we keep our belief intact, keep making the right choices, and keep proving ourselves through all the magic tricks in hand, life will give us that opportunity to turn dreams into reality. But nothing is guaranteed. The odds would always remain damn high. Say, 2011 World Cup Final. For a minute, Imagine if you were in dhoni’s shoes, how would the whole process work?

India 114/3 21.4 overs, target 275. Sehwag, sachin already out and kohli has just dropped his wicket. What would you do? Would you send your best man ahead who has been in full form throughout the series or CHOOSE to face the heat yourself. Would you prefer belief over experience? Yet, you follow your belief and take the call to go. You play it cool, though hitting hard is your strength. You keep playing, believing, fighting ball by ball throughout to win. Yes, because you want to win. Though you have a dream of your own that one day you would hit a six to win the world cup for your country it doesn’t come before the responsibility of a captain to win. Yet, keeping victory as a core thought, you guide your game and see if you are close enough of winning as well as your dreams; your own ‘that’ moment.

 Odds: 17 balls 15 runs to win. Lasith malinga takes a fast run up but balls a slower one. You swipe it hard in the deep; it goes for four. 16^th ball: Malinga tries to ball a yorker yet dhoni flicks it hard in deep again and racing away the outfield it goes for the boundary, 4 runs! Malinga makes a hand gesture of beautiful shot with a smile on his face. What do you see? Here you win accolades of your opponents too and that is the feeling when you realize you have risen above the challenges. Odds: 7 runs to win from 15 balls. Malinga again bowls a Yorker and this time he wins by making dot. 14^th ball: Malinga bowls a full length delivery outside the off stump and you just play it in the point and manage a single. Why a single when you could easily have hit that ball hard and make it for a boundary or a six?  No, you choose to give that moment to your companion, who is the man of the tournament and you think he deserves ‘that’ moment. Yes, Yuvi too deserves that opportunity. We sometimes feel that only our dreams are unique; No they are not. Everyone wants to be there but only few, very few; 1 in zillion reaches there. And he deserves to reach there. He too has equal right to have his ‘that’ moment which he as well has been dreaming throughout his life as you have. Now, the Odds remain: 6 to win from 13 balls. Yuvi on strike. 13^th ball: Malinga again bowls a full length, it comes on his bat but yuvi keeps it safe and manages single. He grabs one more opportunity as he would be on strike now. Odds: 12 balls 5 runs. Yuvi is on strike again. At this instant, chances are high that he might hit a six and finish the game. Kulasakera bowls a yorker and yuvi swifts it in the point to manage a single. To your surprise he didn't hit a six. May be he had dreamed of being the man of tournament in the world instead of hitting a six in the world cup finale. Everyone defines his own ‘that’ moment. No one can figure it out ! Whatever the probabilities may be, now you are on the strike!

 Odds: 11 Balls 4 Runs to win. What do you want? Win, World cup, or “THAT” six about which you have been dreaming every day, every night, every single match throughout your life. What would you choose now? With the opportunity the stakes are high too. You can compromise a little and manage for a boundary. You can compromise more by soothing your false ego that you were on the crease till the last ball; what more one could ask in life? But is it really what you want? The mind analyzes : Belief vs. Security. What if you hit hard but you get catch out. Belief vs. Criticism, Belief vs. log kya kahenge? Choices are never easy to make. 

You remove your helmet; take all the sweat out and with it all the thoughts which are holding you back from achieving your dreams. Now you wear your helmet afresh, fix the gloves, stand on the crease; and choose BELIEF over DOUBT and DREAMS over REALITY. Within no time your moment arrives. Kulasakera bowls full length with maximum power trying to throw a Yorker, yet you want to make your dreams come true and so you smash it hard with the stroke of belief. The knock of your dream takes the ball high in the sky. Breaking down the reality against all hardships of your life, the ball flies across the boundary, the boundaries of conventions and status quos. Like a rebel, the ball crosses reality; it goes into the crowd, the people, from where it all has come; the criticism which helped you improve, the humiliations that built your self-esteem, virtues, the accolades, the praises, the love; everything. You keep your eyes on the trajectory of the ball, you know you have won the match, but you keep your gaze intact. Time freezes at this moment. Everything ceases to exist except you. It gives a quick flashback of what you were and what you have become; from a dreamer, rebel, leader and a captain to this “YOU”. You recollect that moment when you first in your wildest of thoughts had dreamt as a kid to become something one day. And that day has come, just because you chose dreams over reality; and today, you have made it to “THAT” six. 

The ball vanishes in the crowd. With the blink of your eyes, the micro-second of dream for which you have been working all through your life, ends! “Dhoni finishes off in style! A magnificent strike into the crowd! India lifts the world-cup after 28 years. The Party starts in the dressing room and it’s an Indian captain, who has been absolutely magnificent in the night of the final!” shouts the whole world through the voice of Ravi shastri; and a dream meets its destiny through a way, Maahi Way!