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Sometimes, we meet people who choose the peculiar path. It is a different man for each one of us. It can be a Sainath, a Kurien, a Major Unnikrishnan, or someone who lives by the corner.

First of all I would like to define what makes a nation great. A country does not become great by its GDP. Nor it becomes great by its growth rate. Good defence may make a country safe, but not great. A country bountiful in natural beauty may be a great tourist destination, but nature alone can’t make a country great. For me a country becomes great by its people. The greatness comes by the collective greatness of people.

The emotions are simmering. Facebook does not seem to be talking as much about Sachin leaving ODI as it is talking about what is happening in Delhi. Probably for the third time this year, the nation is up against the worng doings and the youth are taking the lead. Videos from India Gate and Raisina Hills show fearless young people willing to suffer the blows of lathis, water cannons and teargas shells all for one thing - to get the people on the top to do what is right.

We get to hear that our courts are overreaching; that enabling un-elected judges to thwart the wishes of the elected representatives is undemocratic. Well, aren't we too late to complain?

Hockey in India has a far richer legacy than cricket. We won the last of our eight Olympic gold medals at the Moscow in 1980. Over the years, we fell down to levels the greats wouldn't have even imagined.

Created in 1901, they once made synthetic products. Soon, they pioneered in producing toxic substances. They made Agent Orange - a defoliant used during the Vietnam war. They (along with Dow chemical - remember?

Except the occasional story of the brave girl who refused to give in, we hardly read any news on dowry violence or dowry demands these days. We would love to believe that the problem had disappeared.

Olympics is the buzz word in India for the second time this year. In summers we produced our best results ever at the Olympics. Whereas by winter, our politicians and administrators have brought us to great shame.

On a routine visit to the Thalassemia Day Care Centre at IGICH today I came across a distressing piece of news. The Doctors told me that one of the child who was coming to the day care for a few weeks now has been sent back home from the ICU. The look on the faces of the doctors told me that it was no reason to celebrate. Even as they acknowledged the little help that was offered to take care of the expenses on the medical tests that had to be outsourced, what followed was completely shocking!