We admire celebrities in every moment of our life. A crystal disperses millions of colours, when a light touches it. Likewise, television is also packed with tons of crystals to disperse enormous celebrities with different tints of personalities and lifestyles. They are most influential in shaping our life. But only very few – rarest of the rare – mould our life by piercing deep into our consciousness, becoming our Invisible Mentor. Though they are invisible, they appear in all our odds and turns, guiding us in surmounting every hurdle, we are charged with, in life.
Every one of us had dreamt of being a famous or successful celebrity, at some point of time in our life, by impersonating our Invisible Mentor’s characteristic traits. Standing amidst a huge crowd, with the flashes of cameras hitting our face, as we sign the notes of unknown faces in the dark. But, I’m pretty sure that we won’t be able to compose ourselves as organic as them. For our shoulder expands breathing the air of haughtiness, widening the path to ego, filling us with a sense of superiority.
Imagine ourselves in a scenario, where the entire nation watches our every action; framing every nodes of our gesture, streaming it live on television. Here, we will surpass the peak of Everest, either in pre-eminence or in nervousness. I call this the “Dark Magic of Fame”. But, this Invisible Mentor of mine has added a different dimension to facing this overpowering fame and nervousness by mastering – the Art of Composure.
In the midst of the storm, with the crowd chanting his name; or even in the moment where millions of mortals are deciding his own retirement plan, he exhibits his art of balance with a gentle smile on his face, for he knows the law of impermanence. Irrespective of the ambient weather – hot or cold, he stays in the hearts of hundreds of thousands as ‘Captain Cool’.
He appears to be this cool and mysterious guy in Blue, batting in the middle-order. His fans know that he will always lead his team to a winning note. He juices the energy of every bowler, leaving them with nothing, but the anticipation of his wicket. Also, with his warm ferocious strike-rate, he bleeds the hopes of millions with Yellow. Taking his team soaring high on the points table to reach the final, while adorning themselves with the most number of fair-play awards for their gentleness in the gentleman’s game. He never ceases to amaze me with effortless display of - the art of harmonizing the Warm and Cool shades of his personality.
He taught me the true skill of managing a team lies in, how we treat them. A team can absorb and thrive under high and intense pressure, only when they know the reassured of their ability. He immensely believes in his team; and credits them for every victory in the presentation ceremony keeping them secure. Sometimes to the point where, he fades out in the background during the winning ceremony. It takes us time to find the gentleman with a little smile in every winning snapshots standing in some corner of the frame. Here, he leads me towards another chapter of living – the Art of Selflessness.
I found another admirable quality of his, when I watched his biopic. After performing well in a domestic test match, he gets rejected for the Under-19 team. His friend becomes furious after hearing the news. But, we see him smiling without a pinch of grief, celebrating with his friends; telling them that he wants to bookmark this failure in his life. And, he truly believes that the doorstep to success lies in – the Art of Embracing Defeat.
I probe my mind to think of circumstances since my school days, if anyone ever taught me or others to celebrate our failures? The answer is No! We have been taught hundreds of different ways to celebrate success, but never to celebrate a defeat. Thank you, mentor! For teaching us the most important and rarest of lessons that is not available even in books of philosophy.
Finally, when he reaches success, he gets into another powerful zone of energy which is – the Silence. That exquisite element is evident in the last shot of the winning moment in World Cup, 2011. He just holds his focus on the ball with utmost silence, when the masses around are thundering with their ecstasy of celebration.
In the history of cricketing world, only the player retires, not the Mentor. And, your retirement moment will just be another new chapter of your teachings. For you will forever stay in the young bloods whispering all your unspoken words of wisdom in every aspect of our life – as our Invisible Mentor.
Credits: Vignesh T
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