What went right- tacit lessons from Chandrayaan 2

The night of 6^th September was one to remember. Millions of eyes glued to the television post midnight to witness history. All went well until a communication loss with the moon-lander Vikram doomed a deep silence of uncertainty that literally snatched the “hurray” from everyone’s mouth.

Anxieties soared as speculations started filling the minds, did ISRO miss it? Did WE miss it? Well, everything went pretty well as planned, but not everything ended as planned.

 What happened next is all that we know. But what most of us might already know and what each of us must know is how ISRO came to be what it is today.

With humble beginnings in a newly independent nation, where economic challenges were too intense even to provide for social commitments, lest funding a space agency, ISRO has come a long way achieving milestones that were never thought of. Through PSLV, GSLV and launching numerous satellites, ISRO kept scaling new heights before finally reserving its seat in the elite club of Mars explorers, hitherto claimed only by the developed nations. Being the fourth nation to reach Mars, first one in Asia and also the first to taste success in maiden attempt was a giant leap for ISRO.  What could galvanize it more than the record launch of 104 satellites in a single rocket, making it the most cost efficient exercise that the whole world witnessed and admired?

The vision of the likes of Vikram Sarabhai, and the leadership of the likes of APJ, has scaled an organization to the levels ISRO stands now, nurturing some of the finest brains on earth that work relentlessly to create wonders.

What ISRO missed this time, is minuscule to what it achieved. Their success is not limited to just successfully placing Chandrayaan 2 in the moon’s orbit, but goes beyond what they might have planned. ISRO made the entire nation stand tall and stay awake late that night, purely in solidarity to the cause that matters the most to the nation at this time. Heightened expectations can, at times become a burden, not for the weak ones to carry through. ISRO taught us the way, the calm faces and composed expressions of the mission team evidently boasted of their tenacity.

The entire episode further unveiled a series of tacit lessons in corporate management and ideal parenting. Like a catalyst, that itself doesn’t undergo a change but accelerates a chemical reaction, it was PM Modi playing the right man, at the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.

Modi’s speech personified an ideal parent who would even notice and appreciate her kids’ efforts, rather than reward the results alone. Modi went ahead in expressing his confidence in ISRO’s potential, when he mentioned having come to them to draw inspiration rather than to console them. An explicit expression of confidence is necessary to build a strong support system when your team / kid needs it the most.

Understanding and empathizing the team in a non-judgmental manner was another tenet that surfaced through his speech. Modi stood tall by his team, like an ideal leader and parent should, to motivate them for a larger leap. And finally the pat on the back and the consoling arms around ISRO chief, non-verbal expressions that spoke louder than everything else.

Even the finest brains of the world can fail, only to unlearn and relearn to emerge wiser than before, why on earth do we refrain our kids from trying and failing? This probably is the biggest take-away from the recent ISRO episode.

The multi faced Indian

He is around 30, hails from a city in western Maharashtra. He carries multiple identities, puts on a different face for different situations. His identities are vulnerable, each identity exposes a different facet that is easy to inflate, ignite and exploit.

His identities are very elastic, they can be easily broken, swollen or contracted at different times, different situations and influenced easily by different people.

The martyrdom of our brave soldiers had recently made him an ‘’Indian’’. He joined the march with a candle in a hand, and tricolour in another, his “Indian” identity was stronger than others at that moment.

Rewind few months, and he was seen on roads with a flag and light. It wasn’t a tricolor, but a saffron flag in one hand; and, not a candle, but a flambeau in another. His “Hindu” identity had eclipsed all others and called for his divine duty of protecting his religion.

Step back few more months, he joined his fellow identities in thrashing non-Maharashtrians out of the state. Left hand held a party flag, while right hand swung a stick (lathi). He was all but following his duty towards defending his third identity- that of being a “Marathi” this time.

A day further back in time, he was seen arguing on a public forum, openly voicing the injustice on his side of Maharashtra. His identity of belonging to the relatively upscale “Western Maharashtra” demanded a voracious outcry.  

Today he has joined another rally, he again holds a saffron flag in a hand, but this time he is not just a Hindu, but is wearing a more galvanized identity of a “Maratha”, and demanding justice from the present government led by a non-Maratha.

It was just yesterday that members of his family rejected a marriage proposal from a girl belonging to Maratha community. His identity of belonging the elite “96 Kuli” Maratha didn’t allow a relation with a lower rank “Kunbi” Maratha.

Well, his time to become an “Indian” is not far, its 15^th August next week.

So, who is he? A person with fragile identities? A confused mortal blindly responding to every spark on main stream and social media? A capricious soul instigated by every social outcry? A permanent victim of social oppressions? A rebel by character and vigilante by action? A savior of every cause that upholds the doctrine he subscribes to? Or a prisoner of self-induced indecisiveness?

Well, very succinctly (and sadly), he is just an average Indian of today.

Disclaimer: Context is made generic to include traits observed from real incidents recorded from main stream and print media. Exceptions are present in varying forms and magnitudes; Objective here is not to demean the identity of “average” Indians, nor is it to demean any community in particular. This is just an attempt to surface our frailty in protecting our rationales against the clearly divisive political sabotage.