INSPIRING PEOPLE THAT BECOME IMPORTANT CHAPTERS OF OUR LIFE!

People we meet in our journey of life don many a role...while some go on to become our acquaintances,others become friends, few others are those whom we come across by chance, who make an impression and possibly never even meet again,then there are those from whom we draw our inspiration, one or two go on to become our role models and finally it boils down to one or at maximum two people in our lifetime who leave an indelible impression in our lives.This is how at best we remember people from our journal entry of experiences and rendezvous called life!

Invariably, our role models or our source of inspiration are those whom we reserve for our parents, elders in the family or even a world leader,social reformer/worker, etc. The ones in whose company we progressively grow with over the years are those whom we confer the title of 'friends' else it is at best left as a chance acquaintance with someone we met once and just left it there without taking it any further.For instance,while traveling in a long distance train particularly,during the course of the journey if you happen to have a conversation with the person seated in your next berth and you end up striking a good rapport with the person,at best you end up exchanging numbers or you just say your one last goodbye knowing that this meeting was meant to last as an acquaintance. 

Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Baba Amte etc. are those whom I have always admired and had a secret desire to meet for a simple reason that their works have inspired generations and the legacy they have left behind is 'forever'.  Be it the fight for an ideal called 'freedom' whether it is for India's independence,racial apartheid or for that matter embracing the quality of 'compassion' be it to the destitute, orphans, lepers etc. - Since we enjoy the fruits of their labor each day of our lives, thus in a way I believe that I meet them all the time. Each time I revisit the concept of freedom and see it through the eyes of secularism in our diverse country as we harmoniously live together and celebrate each other's festivals, I am reminded of Mahatma Gandhi. When I see a Barack Obama elected twice as a President of America, I see the prophecy of Martin Luther King Jr. coming true. And when I somewhere around me see even one instance of compassion and love shown towards the underprivileged, in them I see Mother Teresa and Baba Amte where the torch of humanity burns firm like a flame in the wind. Thus in each of these instances,I find myself coming face-to-face with some of these much revered icons of our times.

In my regular life,my sphere of influence has been a small one indeed. Thus it may sound as a cliche when I say that the people who have made an impression in my life are namely my grandparents and parents respectively. 

I am particularly quite inspired by my grandmother who was a strong,courageous and self made woman. Widowed at a young age,she had to bring up three children as a single mother without any support system from relatives or friends alike. In a time, when women hardly stepped out of their homes or even took a walk to the local markets without being accompanied by a man at their side, my grandmother held her head high when she had a regular job back then! And she held onto her job until her retirement while providing the best for her children. At the end of it,she even bought a home, built another in her hometown and invested wisely towards the safety and financial security of her children.I was quite young when I visited her on vacations and oft interacted with her. I fondly remember the friendly banters we exchanged, the food she especially made for me when I came on visits and more so the orderly manner in which she managed her home and expenses without asking a dime from others. 

It gives me great pride to say that I didn't have to go far to search for an empowered and independent woman...Voila, I found her in my family! She was indeed a woman of steel on whom many calamities of life had befallen, but she leaned on to spirituality and the courage she drew from the Almighty which gave her the strength to conquer every obstacle that came her way.  At the end of it, a calm, serene, God fearing and a down-to-earth image is what I till date recall of my grandmother whom I admire and miss even to this day. 

My grandmother is undeniably a lady who is #madeofgreat just as Tata Motor that strives for the ideals of integrity, excellence and leadership in their own respective domains as it keeps marching onward towards conquering all odds and obstacles come what may. And I am very proud to be known as my grand mother's grand daughter in my village each time I visit my ancestral home.

Each time,when I am at the crossroads of life and am faced with dilemmas, problems or challenges - I remember my grandmother. I even remember the great icons mentioned in the aforementioned paragraphs and then it begins to dawn upon me that my problem is just a drop in the ocean...I guess it is from there that I derive the courage, strength and hope to rise up to the occasion and meet the challenges head on!  

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Now, before I conclude this post...here's a contest for you where one person will be rewarded for giving me the best answer to the question - 

What do you think of Tata Motors' association with Lionel Messi?

Send in your answers before the 23rd November in the comments section of this post and one of you might walk home with an amazing Amazon voucher! 

So get answering...

Regards,

Sonaal

This post was written for the #madeofgreat campaign at Indiblogger in association with Tata Motors. For more details visit: http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

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