'Bhag Milkha Bhag’ (Run Milkha Run) is
an inspiring movie from Bollywood, besides entertaining. The story of Milkha,
who broke world record in 400m race more than five decades ago and was
conferred the title of ‘Flying Sikh’ by the then President of Pakistan, has
remained largely unknown to Indian youth till now. Milkha achieved great
success in life – not despite the challenges, but because of the challenges. He
emerged stronger after each challenge. He bounced back higher after each fall.
We have a lot to learn from his life story.
Firstly, great people are as vulnerable
as we are. They too fail and fail worse than we can imagine. But, the big
difference is that they don’t give-up. Indeed, they come-up with a stronger
resolve. Then, they invest heavily in their mind-training. Milkha used to
visualize winning the race just before starting. The reason he lost in the 1960
Olymics in Rome by a photo-finish only because he allowed his mind to interrupt
this vision by looking backward just before hitting the rope. ‘Forgiving and
forgetting the past is the best way forward’ is another lesson beautifully
depicted in his story. He learnt that people actually are not bad, they are
simply victims of circumstances. Success often gets to heads. Not in case of
Milkha, who returned to show his sincere regards and appreciation to the first
coach who had kicked his butts to push him beyond his limits. Success couldn’t
even dilute his feelings towards a childhood buddy in humble state, whom he met
in Pakistan after attaining world-wide recognition. He didn’t forget the pain
endured by his big sis who sacrificed much for his success and rushed back to
adorn her with his prized possession – ‘Indian Blazer’ and a pair of earrings
that she had sold to get him out of jail in his struggling days. Milkha truly
showed us how to become synonymous with our country’s name.