Mahendra Singh Dhoni: The Legend

    As Dhoni has retired from International cricket today my mind is compelling me to write a few lines for him. As an ardent follower of Cricket I love watching him playing. Here I will only write my views and thoughts on him as we all know all the data and statistics about him.

    As I remember I first heard about Mahi (as he is fondly called) in 2003 itself. At that time he was making news for his performance in Ranji Trophy (the highest domestic cricket tournament in India) for his performances for his home state Jharkhand. He was then the only shining thing in the weak Jharkhand Ranji team. I really felt attracted for this guy with long golden hairs when I first saw his photo in the newspaper. At that time India was looking for a wicket-keeper who can bat. So then in December, 2004, the Indian team selectors gave him chance and the rest is history. He changed the definition of wicket-keeper batsman forever. 

    I remember I watched the whole match when he scored his first International century (148) vs Pakistan in May, 2005 and his second century (183*) against Sri Lanka in October, 2005 (it was a Diwali day) from the first ball to the last ball. It was really great watching him playing as he played with attacking style at that time. He loved finishing the match with a big six. But later he changed his style of batting and focuses on taking 1s and 2s rather than 4s and 6s and played according to the situation. He played with more responsively after becoming the captain of Indian team in 2007 and played the role of finisher in the team since then. But he kept his big hitting capabilities intact and used it when needed. We all remember his famous six which gave us our second World Cup in 2011. 

    The first and the only time I got the opportunity to watch this legend playing physically was on 10^th October, 2010 in Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. It was the 5^th day of the second and the last test match between India and Australia. I went with my friend Ravi Keshari. Mahi was quite and calm in the field. There was no sign tension or stress in his body language.

    I remember his says regarding how to control examination stress. He said that if you had studied for the entire year then you don’t need to be panic, initially it might give you tension but you will go through finally. He also said that if you hadn’t studies for the entire year then there no use of being panic. This signifies his simple technique to distress himself.

    I would like tell you that I have his poster pasted in my wall. I always see him as an inspirational leader and a calm person. I will miss him in Indian jersey but hope to see him as thalaiva in IPL 2020 to be held in UAE from September, 2020.              

Mental Health and us

I have been thinking to write about mental health issues for many days. But I hesitated to write about it as I am not a professional in it. But today I have decided to express my views on it. I hope you can relate to my words with you.

The issue of mental health is currently in news because of the suicide of emerging actor Sushant Singh Rajput at the young age of 34. He committed suicide on 14th June 2020 due to depression. It is quite unbelievable for us. He was very much successful in his film and television career. So his death has forced us to take the issue of mental health very seriously.

I think there used to be many reasons for depression. The main reasons are financial problems, failure in examination, unemployment, the problem in love life, family problems, etc. A large no. of farmers of our country commits suicide every year as they are unable to repay their loans due to crop failure and other reasons. The cases of suicide are also increasing among youths due to failure in examination, unemployment, and love related reasons.

I first encountered about suicide in the very first month of my hostel life in college. One of our seniors succumbed to death due to suicide as he had many back papers at that time. Again one of our juniors died because she was cheated by her boyfriend. After that, I come to know about many such cases of known people later. All these incidents always made me very sad.

I also went through mental health problems when I was not getting the desired marks and results in my college. But I was fortunate that I was able to beat it due to the constant support of my family and friends without going to the professionals. In this case, my very good friends Swapnil, Ashu, Lokesh, Karunesh, and others had helped me a lot in my hostel life in fighting with anxiety.

As the issue of mental health is rising so I along with a few of my friends have started its awareness program through digital platform. We invite professionals and consultants to take live sessions for needy people. In this case, we are well supported by Kautilya Foundation and Careu365. I will share the link of the live sessions (now recorded) in the comment section.

At last, I request everyone to take care of the mental health of yours and your loved ones seriously. One should always stay in the company of one’s family and friends. You should share your problems and thoughts with them. Even sharing things with someone can help you to reduce anxiety. Yoga and physical exercises are very much useful in keeping our mind mentally healthy. And if it’s needed, never hesitate to take help from the professionals.