First International Recognition...

"Crossing Borders"

A larva out of its cocoon is scared at first, and when it emerges into a colorful beautiful butterfly, it is out there – spreading joy and cheer as it flutters by flowers, savoring on the sweet nectar. Michael Jackson, in one of his popular song sings; “Heal the World, Make it a better place – for you and for me and the entire Human Race…” The question is how can we make this World a better place? That should not be very difficult, given that we possess the qualities of love, trust, faith and hope embodied within us. The need of the day is to break the chains that are so heavily bound around us. We need to break those chains and begin to consider that after all, this World is one single huge place, and borders are mere lines that distinguish areas on a map! What is more important is that there can be no such border that separates the hearts of people.

Hailing from a land of rich culture and growing up to immense value to goodness, taking off from that soil sure rendered a tear in my eye, forlorn in my mind, and apprehension in my heart. A long and tired journey ensued, following which there was a craving for some sign of comfort. With a preconceived wrong notion that anything beyond home is just not the same; a hard exterior was the immediate reconciliation, blame it on weariness from the journey or any other reason. However, a warm smile from a janitor at the airport melted that hard exterior and filled my heart with warm embrace. Lo and behold! There lay shattered all those wrong notions; and realization dawned bright - the World is our home, the World is one; and ready as I was, to take the right step ahead, to extend a friendly handshake and begin everything afresh with a smile.

It follows from knowing that every individual has something that he wants to keep for himself. When it comes to individuals, openness up to a certain extent is acceptable; until we begin to fight for our individuality - and under such circumstances, to draw a boundary around him may be the basic instinct which prevails in almost all living beings. In the name of preserving heritage and so many other things we may be forcing our uninhibited thoughts to draw up these and many more boundaries down in the future also. This can be considered to be today’s unquestioned 'truth', and such truths are in fact the pillars upon which this vast, ever-changing World stands.

So, how has this experience of crossing borders affected my perception of things? Crossing borders has taught me valuable lessons, lessons that will last; like the importance of sharing, the importance of interacting with people and the very fact that despite such physical distances, we as human beings have a lot of things in common, which no border can extinguish. To be humane is what the World is. Humans are all the same across the globe. More often we differ because of the “wealth” in all senses that is attached to the land of ours, be it in culture, language, daily practices, prayer, scriptures, education, simplicity and so on and so forth. Among these what strikes us most is the environment and the surroundings we are in, beyond which everything else can safely be ruled away as imagination, thinking, desire, possession, etc.

Goodness is goodness everywhere. It never changes; it is always as sweet as nectar is to a butterfly; it is always welcome with open arms by every living being on this planet. Human kind has stood and survived the test of time, and goodness has stayed and prevailed all through the tests. But why is it that beyond times of distress, we choose to ignore the feeling of oneness? Why is it that we give in so easily to external pressures and grow hostilities? Many occasions in the past - be it something as progressive as launching satellites to understand what lies beyond; or something beneficial to humankind such as medical discoveries and innovations; or something as forced upon as calamities - have seen humans break all sorts of barriers and extend an unmitigated hand. With times flying beyond such needs, however, come certain elements of non cooperation, which are completely uncalled for. To imbibe this truth in everyone is the challenge that man has been facing since time immemorial. A cheerful and smiley good morning wish from one of our campus rush drivers was successful in adding that bounce in my step, and the thought of the how it erased my boredom is deeply etched in my memory.

In many areas of science and technological development, including in the present World economy, we have seen no barriers. The World is indeed one. Humans as individuals should see and be inspired by such aspects and care enough to expand the same in new spheres, therefore make this World more hospitable than it is at the present juncture. The first step is always the hardest, and being in the position that I am in, I am glad I have taken the step and erased the wrong notions I had built around myself. I am glad I have been, through this experience, able to contribute, even if by a small bit, to make this World a better and unified place. It is about time we flew past those borders and embraced the World the way it is, one single entity!

P.S. "Honorably mentioned" in the International Education Awards 2009 at UNC Charlotte (15th April, 2009)