SUCCESS = TOUCHING LIVES!

This afternoon, I was watching the CNN IBN Indian of the Year 2007 award ceremony on CNN IBN. There were several celebrity winners in several categories. However, the one category that struck my attention the most, "Indian of the year for public service". No doubt that the winner of this category for 2007 Shri. E. Shreedharan truly deserve the award. However, my heart, mind and eyes were full with emotions with determinations, dedications and pledges of the some of the nominees in this category. Ms. Koushalya, who is HIV +ve and fighting for dignity to +ve womens and their families; Dr. Sharan Patil who performed most complicated surgery on baby Lakshmi whose parent would have never offered such an complex and costly operation; Abhayanand and Anand Kumar, who have been ensuring that every poor boy and girl is capable of getting admission into IITs are truly Indians the Year!

It takes courage to fight and work hard for dignity of +ve womens when society treated her with insult and dumped her because she is +ve. She is no ordinary woman, but the lady with great will and passion to touch others lives. My salute to Koushalya!

Abhayanand and Anand Sharma has a dream to ensure that every Indian kid who comes from poor strata of our society is intellectually empowered enough to be selected in IITs. What a committment! How many of us could touch the lives of people like this!

I liked what Dr. Sharan Patil said responding to his nomination, "There are government hospitals for poor children requiring simple operations, and private, costly hospitals requiring complex hospitals, but there are no affordable hospitals for poor children in need of complex surgeries!". He not only aptly summarized the science but put his agenda of serving and curing poor kid requiring complex medical treatments. No doubt why wouldn't he be Godly figure for several of those whose lives and heart he touched with care!.

Through the work, deed, dedication, passion and determination of these individuals I learn one more mantra of success "Touch the lives". Your success is directly proportional to numbers of lives you have touched for better. These are real successful individuals in my mind. If you apply this analogy to analyze live and work of any successful individual you would realize that each one of them is successful because they are touching lives of others without asking for returns. Thus,

SUCCESS = TOUCHING LIVES!