Last Tuesday, I was sitting among handful viewers at a movie theater eager to watch Poorna. This movie wasn’t featuring the Bollywood heartthrob SRK (Shahrukh Khan), or the most famous bhai (Salman Khan) or any other big name that could be a reason for Chocó-block theaters. But one thing was for sure, Poorna surely filled viewers’ hearts with dreams and minds with possibilities. It is a saga of an underprivileged tribal girl aged 13 years 10 months, who became the youngest in the world to climb Mt. Everest.
“Main toh itni poor hoon ke mere toh naam mein hi poor hai” (We are so poor that even my name says ‘Poor’) jokingly the actress playing the role of Poorna says. In reality, how can a teenage girl from a poor family and a society where dalits (Scheduled Caste) still face discrimination and where teen is a perfect age for marriage, even think about climbing Everest? Coming with this background, she surely would have needed a strong leader who can inspire her and change not her, but her entire family’s mindset. In real life, an IPS Dr. R. S. Praveen Kumar was the guiding light for Poorna and thousands of other youngsters who dare to challenge anything that belittles them.
Continue reading “Movie Learning : 3 Leadership Lessons From Poorna”
In a landmark judgment, the Honorable Supreme Court asked Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu. This water-sharing row has led to massive protests and bandhs called by pro-Kannada leaders. Major highways in Karnataka were blocked, leading to incendiary acts by protesters. I was watching the news and heard people’s views on the Cauvery River water sharing conflict; the people in Tamil Nadu need water for their farming, while people in Karnataka want the same water for their own consumption. Both of them feel they are right in the positions that they have taken – and both of them feel wronged.
