Hold On
One fine morning in the year 2012, a
teenage girl takes a bus to school.
There was HOPE in her mind, MUSIC
in her stride, and HAPPINESS in her heart.
A young man, enters the bus, calls
out to her, pulls out a gun and shoots her
BANG BANG BANG
One of the bullets enters her
forehead and exits through her shoulder – shattering the HOPE, stopping the
MUSIC and halting the HAPPINESS.
Contest Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen
This teenage girl was Malala.
Malala raised her voice for the education of girls in a traditional society in Pakistan.
A society which believed that women were made for bearing children, for cooking
in the kitchen and worshipping God.
What
would you do if somebody shot you?
Would you crumble and let go of the
belief dear to your heart or would you enlist help to shoot down your enemy?
This teenage girl said “I am
Malala” and I am not afraid to hold on to my belief. In her 15 years of mature wisdom
Malala said “I do not want revenge against the person who shot me, I just want
education for his daughter and all the children in our society”.
One fine morning in the year 2002, a
young man walked to work.
There was HOPE in his mind, MUSIC
in his stride, and HAPPINESS in his heart.
While at work, a woman walked into the room, called
out to him and said
YOU ARE FIRED
Those three words hit his head and
travelled all the way to his heart – shattering the HOPE, stopping the MUSIC
and halting the HAPPINESS.
This young man was ME.
I had had the naive courage to travel from native India
and take a new job as a software engineer in Germany.
Here I was – FIRED!
If somebody fired you, would you
either want to get a new job or go back home?
In my 22 years of immature wisdom, I decided to land
another job in the tough terrain of Continental Europe!
The first month passed
My
confidence was waning
The second month passed
My strength
was fading
The third month passed
My belief
that I could succeed in Europe was disappearing
And then I did what real men do
when they are in trouble.
I called my DAD.
My dad listened to me. And he told
me
“Son, Hold on to your belief. Come
back when you are winning”.
HOLD ON.
In life, when I doubt my beliefs, I
always remind myself of the words HOLD ON. Those two words helped me stay on my
job search and I did find a job.
Malala now goes to school in
Birmingham in the UK and dreams of becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan, bringing
education to all the children in her country.
I have climbed many a job ladder
and dream of starting my company with branches in India and Germany.
I am happily settled in Munich with
my wife and my daughter.
My two year old daughter holds on
to my little finger when we go for a walk.
She holds on to every word when I
read a book to her.
She calls me even when she is not
in trouble and holds on to every solution I give her.
She will grow up and become one of
you.
You have faced the trials and
tribulations that life has thrown at you.
Your past troubles were overcome by
holding on to your beliefs.
Your present achievements are a
result of passionately holding on to your beliefs.
And for the future I want to give
my daughter and you the inspirational words of Rudyard Kipling:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”