running race.

This weekend your post should begin with, ’5..4..3..2..1..’

'5..4..3..2..1..'    go and the sound of the clap-board fell on my ears and my feet sprung into action.

My gaze was alternating between  the two white parallel lines that I was sandwiched in , lest I waver and enter into another's territory , to get disqualified and the girl who was  a few paces ahead of me.

The spectators were cheering , 'faster ...faster.....  but I failed to realize for whom they were rooting. 

I made it to the finish line in the second place. I saw the teachers and spectators, alike , applauding the winner while I got a lukewarm response. Their partial indifference had a stinging effect on my pride and ego and this incident was boldly etched in my tender mind.I decided never to participate in a race.


But time is a great healer. I did not forget the incident but it certainly paled in comparison with time. I did participate in sports events but never could experience the thrill of the the thunderous roar of applause reserved for a winner.

A decade later ............

With increasing age and the experiences that came along as added baggage with it , life became a never-ending rat-race. Race was not just run on the school grounds but the long tracks of life. I was sucked into the vicious circle , unknowingly and unwillingly. But a subtle difference noticed was that the winner did not have the luxury of enjoying and basking in its halo as the thorns of competition and the insecurity of being replaced from the numero uno position always weighed down on the shoulders.  The lesser lucky mortals who missed the crown by a whisker were not lionhearted to join in the celebrations of applause wholeheartedly but donned a mask of fake smiles, and just waited for a slip to show-up to pull the carpet under the feet of the winner. The whole scenario was not encouraging.

Half-a decade later............

I decided wisely and at an appropriate time to hang up my boots. Nay, not conceded defeat but graciously , knowingly and willingly opted out of the life's rate-race to continue albeit eliminating competition and its associated ills. Now I am at peace with myself , no longer have to prove to the world and have shed the garb of expectation of a certificate or a medal.

I no longer have to run in the confined parameters of the designed tracks , adhering to the rules of the games or cast anxious glances at the person ahead of me or take pride, in the number of people who are trailing behind me. But this transformation was not overnight but was a continuous and gradual process , where I burnt the midnight  lamp to think and re-think of my step , a step that would take me up the ladder or push me down into the abyss of darkness when I read the wise words of J.Krishnamurti , ' Real learning comes about when the competitive spirit has ceased.'  

Being older and wiser I agree to Franklin D.Roosevelt - 'Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further , but cooperation , which is the thing we must strive for today , begins where competition leaves off'.

Dear readers , what are your views? Do you agree with me?

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda