TIME CHANGES....

I had become a part of Walchandnagar in 1982 and my passion with Table Tennis had followed me here too. Fortunately, when I joined the company, Table Tennis was a very active game. Not only a number of tournaments were organised but players were sent to other cities too for the matches. I remember one tournament distinctly that might have actually sown the seeds and made me turn a bit philosophical. It was Pandharpur and we were about six in the team participating in singles and doubles events. I was expected to win the title if we were to go by my form and my record at that time.

My quarter final match against a Pune player was in progress. It was a best of five games match. I had won first two games comfortably and leading in the third by about seven to eight points for a sure victory. And then it happened! Suddenly the electricity went off. Quite sure of the victory, I waited for the restoration of power with an air of confidence. It took about an hour when the match restarted. Amazing it would sound but the fact remains that from that point onwards nothing that I did, went right and I not only lost the third game but went on to lose the match. Absolutely unbelievable for one and all present there ! And for me, perhaps, it was something mysterious which would have remained unsolved had I not now availed the opportunity to rewind the cassette in my mind and replayed it in slow motion to really look through this sensational event. Yes, I had won two games. I was leading comfortably in the third and even then I had lost the match. While looking back I realised that everything was the same before and after the power failure – the crowd, the players, the table, the racquets, the ball, the umpire, the stadium, the talents – yes, every thing! But then, a deeper analysis gave the answer. It was as if someone had whispered in my ears, “The time had changed”. How true, this! I had, as they say, snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory just because the time had decided to go against me. The destiny had prevailed.

The lesson was indeed inherent in this event . Yes, there will be moments in life when nothing would click. One will try doing every thing right and every right thing but without positive results. One will struggle, but in vain. So, what can be done under such situations when time decides to go against? And I found an answer. Wait and just flow with the tide. Don’t struggle. Surrender to the natural forces is the best option under such circumstances. Time has this tendency to change sides. It will again become favourable. I have started believing that if one flows with the tide, one is likely to find God waiting to offer help. He will show the way. And life will smile yet again.