Milkha Singh, popularly known the Flying Sikh, is an
inspirational story of India’s most iconic male athlete. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a biographical film that depicted his early
life and career. The book ‘The Race of My Life’ is an autobiography of the
Flying Sikh. I feel that the book is more inspirational than the movie. This
write-up / blog is a review of the book ‘The Race of My Life’. It captures the
real life of Milkha Singh, his challenging experiences and inspiring moments.
Wherever necessary I have given the excerpts of his life-time experience, which
no one can explain better than him. It is a 150 page book divided into 20 Chapters.
He has explained the pre-independence era, partition time which had a very
significant impact in his life, his life before and his life after army, his
experiences as an athlete and most importantly his PASSION for running! The
book is beyond a ‘self-help book’. It is a must read for any person who wants
to achieve any goal in life. The book will definitely establish self-belief in
a person.
The Foreword for the book is written by Shri Rakeysh
Omprakash Mehra (Director, Bhaag Milkha
Bhaag) and Introduction to the book is written by Milkha Singh’s son –
Jeev.
In the half-page Prologue, Milkha Singh stated that “When I reflect upon my life I clear see how
my passion for running has dominated my life. The images that flash through my
mind are those of me running … running …. Running…
·
Sprinting
from one shady patch to another to escape the blistering heat of the sun on my
journey to school,
·
Feeling the
massacre on that fearsome night when most of my family was slaughtered
·
Racing
trains for fun,
·
Outrunning
the police when I was caught stealing in Shahdara,
·
Leaving
everyone behind in my first race as an army jawan so that I could get an extra
glass ofmilk,
·
Surging
past my competitors in Tokyo when I was declared Asia’s Best Athlete,
·
Running in
Pakistan and being held as ‘The Flying Sikh’,
Each of
these moments brings back bittersweet memories as they represent the different
stages of my life, a life that has been kept afloat by my intense determination
to triumph in my chosen vocation.”
The Prologue really moved me and made me more serious
about reading the book at one go. J
Faith on his
Coach
(Morale
boosting attitude and clever strategies that Dr. Howard gave me, equipped me
with the confidence that I badly needed)
In almost all chapters on his running, Milkha Singh
has touched upon the contribution of his coaches in his career. He has
explained the way his coaches mentally prepared him for every match. The American
Coach, Dr Howard had accompanied the Indian Team. About
Dr. Howard, Milkha Singh has stated that “He
was an outstanding trainer, who was very well acquainted with international
training patterns and techniques. He was also very astute and could easily
judge the strengths and weaknesses of the other athletes. For an entire day he
mentored me, giving me pointers on what to expect. More than anything he was
trying rid me of my inferiority complex and instill self belief. I had
convinced myself that there was no way that I could be among the six finalists,
let alone win a gold medal. What chance did I have against superbly fit
professionals Malcolm Spence from South Africa, George Kerr from Jamaica, Keven
Gosper from Australia, Terry Tobacco from Canada and John Salisbury from
England.
However,
because of Dr. Howard’s motivation and advice, I won heat after heat and
effortlessly reached the finals. The night before the race, Dr. Howard
reiterated the tips he had drilled into me. He revealed that Spence had more
stamina than speed, and that I should stick to me own style of running the 400 mts.
race, i.e. to start in top gear. He emphasized that I must not start slowly,
that I must maintain my speed for first 300 meters, and then give it my all in
the last 100 mts. He said that if I ran first 300 mts. at full speed, Spence
would do the same, although that was not his running strategy.
The morale
boosting attitude and clever strategies Howard gave me, equipped me with the
confidence that I badly needed. I started believing that I could be the best.
Another constant motivation was a burning desire to do well for the country – I
was well aware that my good performance would lead to the glory of India.”
Life-time
title ‘The Flying Sikh’
(Athlete
running before you is Milkha Singh. He does not run, he flies! His victory will
be recorded in Pakistan’s history)
Soon after the National Games at New Delhi, India
received an invitation from Pakistan Government for the Indo-Pak Sports Meet.
About this visit, Milkha Singh stated that “What
an ironic twist of fate. I was returning to the land where I was born, where I
had lost my home and most of my family in the inhuman savagery that followed
Partition”. Milkha Singh didn’t want to go, but Pandit Nehru intervened,
saying that this visit was for the honour of country and that Milkha Singh was
going there as an ambassador of India.
Just before the race at Pakistan, Milkha Singh has
described the entire event, as “There was
pin drop silence as we stood at the starting line waiting for the race to
begin. The silence was oppressive. The starter, dressed in white shirt and
trousers, a red overall, white peaked cap and black shoes, stood on a table
behind us. He shouted, ‘On you marks’, fired the gun and the race begun. The
audience suddenly awoke and began to chant: ‘Pakistan Zindabad: Abdul Khaliq
Zindabad.’ Khaliq was ahead of me but I caught up before we had completed the
first 100 mts. We were shoulder to shoulder then surprisingly, Khaliq seems to
slacken and I surged ahead as if on wings. I finished the 200 mts. about 10
yards ahead of Khaliq, clocking 20.7 seconds that equaled the world record. My
coach, Ranbir Singh, the manager and all my team members leapt to their feet in
jubilation. I was embraced, thumped on the back and then lifted on to their
shoulder as they expressed their happiness both vocally and physically …. After
the race, I ran a victory lap of the stadium, while loud speakers announced:
‘The athlete running before you is Milkha Singh. He does not run, he flies! His
victory will be recorded in Pakistan’s history and we confer the title of
‘Flying Sikh’ on him’. It was General Ayub Khan who coined the titled ‘Flying
Sikh’, when he had congratulated me, saying ‘Tum daude nahi, Udhey ho’ – You do
not run, but fly! As I passed in front of the woman section the ladies lifted
their burqas from their faces so that they could have a closer look at me – an
incident that was widely reported in the Pakistani press. And so, with this
victory I became the Flying Sikh. A title that soon became synonymous with my
name all over the word.”
Once an Athlete,
Always an Athlete:
(Coach has
the power and influence to build a sportsperson’s stamina, prowess and
self-confidence)
In this Chapter, Milkha Singh has touched upon the
sports industry and selection criteria at a national and international level.
He has raised and addressed few critical issues in the selection process. He
has mentioned about the international level of coaching, sports infrastructure
and scientific training methods. He has given a reference of the productivity
of National Institute of Sports. Importantly, he has discussed about the
accountability in sports industry. This Chapter will be very relevant and
interesting for the coaches, sports management students and sportsman.
Milkha Singh has stated that “How very different this systematic approach is from the lackadaisical
manner in which we try to develop our sports people. Selection in India are
adhoc, often dictated by political diktats, or through personal contacts and
connections. What India needs today is a firm goal to aspire towards, and what
could be more prestigious than aiming for an Olympic gold? Success in the
Olympic should be our ambition but to achieve that end, we international level
coaching, and for that, I would strongly recommend emulating the Chinese, right
from creating a world class sports
infrastructure to spotting and grooming kids with talent. We need to
overhaul our selection process and training methodology and chose on the most
talented young boys and girls who show promise and have the potential to produce
results. Give them professional guidance, give scientific training methods,
discipline them if their standards fall, and above all, inspire and motivate
them. What needs to be instill in them right from beginning is: toil hard to
increase efficiency, stamina and strength, be resolute in thought, word and
deed, and most important of all take pride in your performance.
But no
sportsman can achieve results without an equally dedicated and committed coach.
Thousands of coaches graduate from the National Institute of Sports (NIS) every
year, but what has been their contribution to the development of our sports
people? Unlike China, they are not held accountable if their trainees do not
produce the expected results. The sad truth is that no can question them, neither
the government who employs them nor the association who sponsor them, not even
their students whose careers depends upon them. As a result, they have grown
complacent in their jobs.”
He has compared the present sports industry scenario
and coaches with his own time. He has once again appreciated the contribution
of his coaches from his journey from Milkha
Singh to Flying Sikh. In the
book, he has stated that “The lethargy or
apathetic coach can only impede the growth and progress of an athlete. If there
were no Gurudev Singh, Ranbir Singh or Doctor Howart when I first started
running, would I have ever achieved the success I did? No. And I will reiterate
what I have always said that it is only the coach who has the power and
influence to build a sportsperson’s stamina, prowess and self-confidence.”
The
politics of sports
(No other
sport gets the kind of exaggerated coverage that the cricket does)
In this Chapter, Milkha Singh has candidly discussed
about the reasons why sports standards are declining in last few decades. He has
very rightly criticized cricket. In this Chapter, he has mentioned that in
India, if a sportsperson (other than cricketer) wins or breaks a record then
the attention will focus on them only for a short while. He has stated that
Media can change this scenario and encourage other sports in every possible
way.
Milkha Singh stated that “Another reason why sports standards are declining is that over the last
few decades, cricket has over shadowed every other sport in India. Open any
newspaper, put on the television, and what first grabs the persons attention
are the screaming headlines and images of star cricketers in action. No other
sport gets the kind of exaggerated coverage that the cricket does. Besides,
there is a constant cycle of cricket – test matches, one dayers, IPL and what
not – taking place throughout the year, so many events that there seems to be
very little respite between one match and the next. Compelling images,
swashbuckling exploits, glamorous lifestyles, and most important, the money are
the lures that attract young children towards the game.
Just a
handful youngsters are interested in any other sports. Even if a sportsperson
wins or breaks a record in any other game, be it athletics¸ hockey, boxing,
wrestling, shooting, tennis or badminton, attention will focus on them only for
a short while. For example, our medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, including
Saina Nehwal, Sushil Kumar, M.C. Mary Kom, were greatly feted for their success
when they returned. But then the attention was back to cricket once again. I
think the media should help encourage other sports in every possible way.”
As mentioned earlier, this book is a must read. The
book will surely instill self belief. J
