If there is one individual who is a role model for almost every individual, it has to be Viral Kohli. Virat has today captured the imagination of the entire country. He has already achieved a lot but still has many more years left. This month's issue, we look at what makes Virat truly “Vira” (huge) in the game that entire nation follows.

The Rise:

Virat today has the entire nation's following, is warmly adored by his fans while oppositions truly fear him. His rise from a humble background to a cricketing superstar has not been less than an inspiration. From the struggling days in junior cricket to making a mark in the national cricket team and later becoming the captain, is no easy task and his entire journey has been before us.

Kohli's love for cricket was visible from very early age when, as a three-year old kid, he would pick up a cricket bat, start swinging it and ask his father to bowl at him. Kohli's father took Kohli to a professional cricket academy after neighbours suggested that “Virat shouldn't waste his time in gully cricket and instead join a professional club". Kohli trained at the academy under Rajkumar Sharma, whom he still holds in very high regards. The coach found Kohli oozing with talent from very early age but very difficult to be kept quiet. He was a natural in whatever he did but what was most impressed was his attitude. He was ready to bat at any spot, and had to literally push home after the training sessions. He just wouldn’t leave the grounds. Regarding his early life, Kohli has said in an interview, "I've seen a lot in life. Losing my father at a young age, the family business not doing too well, staying in a rented place. There were tough times for the family... It's all embedded in my memory."

Kohli represented the city's cricket team at various age-group levels before making his first-class debut in 2006. He captained India Under-19s to victory at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, and a few months later, made his ODI debut for India against Sri Lanka at the age of 19. Initially having played as a reserve batsman in the Indian team, he soon established himself as a regular in the ODI middle-order and was part of the squad that won the 2011 World Cup. Kohli was appointed the vice-captain of the ODI team in 2012 and handed over the Test captaincy following Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Test retirement in 2014. In early 2017, he became the limited-overs captain as well after Dhoni stepped down from the position. Today, he captain's Indian cricket team across all formats of the game.

There is one incident to recall which shows Virat's mental fortitude and commitment to the game. During Virat's debut Ranji season with Delhi in December 2006, Virat got a call at 3 am informing him of his father's death. There was a match in progress against Karnataka. After initial double mindedness to play or not, Virat went on to play a match saving knock for his team, only after which he went to his father's funeral. Virat was only 18 at that time and everyone, including Karnataka's players applauding him for his commitment and mental strength. On this incident, his mom’s says “Virat changed a bit after that day. Overnight he became a much more matured person. He took every match seriously. He hated being on the bench. It’s as if his life hinged totally on cricket after that day. Now, he looked like he was chasing his father’s dream which was his own too.” In words of Kohli, "my father was my biggest support. He was the one who drove me to practice every day. I miss his presence sometimes.”

The Records:

The initial years of international cricket was not as impressive for Kohli. However, he has evolved greatly, having learnt from his mistakes and today has many records to his name. In ODIs, Kohli holds the world record for the fastest batsman to 10,000 runs in 205 innings. Kohli has the second highest number of centuries and the highest number of centuries in run-chases. He holds numerous Indian batting records including the fastest ODI century, the fastest batsman to 5,000 ODI runs and the fastest to 10 ODI centuries. Among the T20I world records, he is the fastest batsman to 1,000 and 2,000 runs, has most runs in a calendar year and most fifties in the format. He also holds the records of most runs in a single tournament of both the World Twenty20 and the IPL. He is the only batsman in history to average over 50 in Tests, ODIs and T20Is simultaneously. On 27 October 2018, he became the first batsman for India, and tenth overall, to score three successive centuries in ODIs.

Kohli has been the recipient of many awards in the cricketing world, which do not require mention here. Apart from that, was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2013, the Padma Shri under the sports category in 2017 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sporting honour in India, in 2018.

Alongside his cricket career, Kohli co-owns franchises in sports like tennis & football, has other business ventures and over 20 brand endorsements. Kohli is ranked as one of the world's most famous athletes by ESPN. and one of the most valuable athlete brands by Forbes. In 2018, Time magazine named Kohli one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Kohli also runs a charity foundation called Virat Kohli Foundation (VKF) aimed at helping underprivileged kids and conducts events to raise funds for the charity.

Kohli today stands tall in terms of the commitment to the game, the attitude to never say no and the confidence in his own abilities. His intensity in every moment of the game and the hunger to get involved and be in control of the situation is truly infectious. He truly represents a new India and is a true role model for every Indian.

It is only when faced with challenges, that true grit, determination, passion and talent stands out. The recently concluded Asian Games threw many sportspersons from all walks of life to the limelight. Had it not been for the podium finishes, we would have never known what our sportspersons have endured to bring laurels to our nation. While there have been many heroes worth remembering, we dedicated this month's inspiration to someone who faced not just financial but also physical challenges to success. This is the gold crested story of Swapna Burman.

The Achievement:

Swapna Burman is today a known name for winning a gold in the heptathlon event at Asian Games. She scored a total of 6026 points, her personal best, from the seven events in the sport. She was brilliant as she stood first in the events of high jump and javelin throw and finished second in the shot put and long jump event. What makes it special is that it is India's first gold medal ever in the event which many hadn't even heard off earlier.

What makes it even more special is the odds faced by Swapna to win it. The 21-year-old Swapna was brilliant in her event inspite of a severe toothache and a running fever. The has injured after she landed her chin on her knee in one of the events. She competed in the events with a bandage across her face on her right cheek. Add to that the personal challenges she faced in her life to reach here.

About Heptathlon: A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven different events. The women's heptathlon covers four events on day one and three events on day two. The events covered are 100 metres hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 metres, long jump, javelin throw and 800 metres run. As can be seen, its' a very tough event and the heptathlete has to be strong in all events, a mixture of speed, strength and skills, to be able to compete. There are points calculated in each of the events and winners are decided on the total points earned.

The Challenges:

Swapna was born in Jalpaiguri in West Bengal in June 1996. Belonging to a very humber background, her father was a rickshaw puller and mother worked hard as a labour in tea garden and as a maid to help ends meet. Lately, her father too had stopped working due and was bedridden after suffering two strokes. Even though faced with hardships, her parents supported her in her pursuit for sports. As a youngster, her father Panchanan Barman had for the first time bought her sports shoes after she was selected for her school team. After the Asian Games win, the reaction of Swapna's mother was seen where she was praying with folded hands, breaking down in happiness and then prostrating before the goddess. The was widely circulated on social media and news channels and had brought tears to many eyes.

To say that Swapna faced financial challenges in her journey would be an understatement. Her situation was more aggravated by the fact that she had six toes in each of her feet. That made it extremely difficult for her to position herself accurately in the sport, especially while running or landing in events like long jump and high jump. The big challenge for her was to get proper shoes due to the much broader size she needed. In absence of proper financial support, she had to manage with bigger sized shoes as the next best option. Competing and practicing even without proper shoes, the most basic requirement for any sport, was something she did not enjoy.

For Swapna, injury had remained a part and parcel of her career. It also be mentioned that this was the same event after which she had collapsed during the Asian Athletics Championship held last year in Bhubaneswar. At one time she even contemplated leaving the sport after being down with severe back pain. A renowned sports physiotherapist had suggested her a surgery but Swapna instead decided to delay it and continue with her pains in order to compete in Asian Games. During the Asian Games, Swapna had to endure with chronic back pain, physiotherapy sessions, aching jaw and fewer. She faced many odds against her but managed to create history for herself and win a gold for India. She is truly a great champion and a daughter of India of whom everyone of us is very proud.

Swapna's story is of determination, grit, passion and love for sports which belittled every challenge that life threw at her. Today's Swapna is well recognised but a thought must also go out the many unsung heroes in India who compete against greatest odds to bring glory to our nation. We salute such spirited souls and thank them for keeping our flags flying high.

Every once in a while, all of us feel let down or demotivated in work. At such times, we look for inspiration or some valuable lessons from those around us and some even actively search for same over the internet. Having a constant source of inspiration and constantly learning and growing personally is what drives us to achieve more in life.

However, life's valuable lessons can be found everywhere, even in some acts of people and in small things happening around us all the time. Thus, this month, we thought of taking a break from inspiring biographies and take look at small stories that are sure to touch our hearts and leave us with some valuable lessons to learn. Read on the stories and find your own life's lessons in each of them.

1. A dish of ice-cream.

Once a shabbily clothed 12 year boy went to a small hotel and sat at the table. The waiter put a glass of water in front of him and asked for his order.

“How much is the ice-cream with fruits?”

“Rs.50” said the waiter.

The little boy pulled out coins from his pocket and counted the money he had.

“How much is the plain ice-cream?” he again inquired. The waiter was a bit impatient by this time and answered “Rs.40” with a straight face.

The boy counted the money again and said “I will have the plain ice-cream”.

The waiter bought the ice-cream, put it on the table along with a bill and quickly left. The boy finished the ice-cream, paid the cashier at the counter and left.

As the waiter went back to the table, he was deeply humbled. Neatly placed besides the empty dish was Rs.10 in coins. That was his tip from the little boy.

2. The blind girl

Once there was a blind girl who hated herself for being blind. The only one she loved was her loving boy-friend. She said that if she could see the world again, we would marry him.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. Now she could see everyone, including her boy-friend. However, after seeing her boy-friend, she was shocked. Her boy-friend too turned out to be blind. At the proposal of marriage, she thought a while and rejected the marriage proposal from her boy-friend.

 That was heart-breaking for the man who loved her. He cried a lot and left with a parting note “at least please take care of my eyes”.

3. Building your home

 Once a carpenter decided to retire from his work after many years of service. His boss, did not wish that his best carpenter retire. The boss thus requested his man to build a last house before he left the job.

The carpenter agreed to build this last house on request. However, slowly as he progressed with his work, he was not really as interested as he should have been. He was more interested in getting free from work soonest. He thus started to skip corners, use low quality materials and basically did an average work to finish his final task early.

 Finally, after the work was complete, his boss handed over the keys to the newly completed house to him and said “this is my gift to you”. The carpenter wasn't really as happy as he should have been.

4. The Camel at Zoo

Once a little girl and her mother were visiting a zoo. The little girl was pretty intrigued by a tall looking camel in front of her.

“What are those large humps for?” The little girl asked her mother.

“They are for storing water in desert” said the mother.

“What are the big eye lashes for?”, asked the little girl again.

“They are for protecting the eyes in the desert during strong winds” the mother replied.

 “What the are big hoofs for”, the little girl asked.

“They are for walking easily on desert sands”, the mother calmly replied.

“If the camel belongs to a desert, what is it doing at the zoo?” was the little girl's last question.

5. The star-fish story

Once an old man was walking by the sea side in the morning. The sea was scattered with countless star-fishes on the shore for as far as he could see. Soon he spotted a little boy picking up the star-fishes and throwing them in the sea water.

“What are you doing with the star-fishes?” asked the old man.

“I am trying to get these star-fishes to the sea. They will all die when the sun comes out strongly” replied the boy who was still busy throwing star-fishes into the sea.

“There are so many star-fishes over the entire beach. You will not be able to make any difference.” said the old man.

“Yes, it does” said the boy and then threw the star-fish into the sea saying “to this one”. He picked up another star-fish and said “and to this one too” while throwing it into the sea.

Living a healthy life is a dream for each one of us. But with the advent of old age, we are often gripped into diseases and old age medical problems. But there is an exception – a personality that defies age. Out inspiration this month is the 98 year old yoga instructor – V Nanammal.

An example of a simple life:

At an age much past what most are expected to live, the 98 year old guru shows no sign of fatigue as she teaches yoga to her students on the terrace of her home in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. V. Nanammal is arguably India's oldest Yoga teacher. Each morning, she teaches students how to bend, stretch and master some of the most difficult yoga poses. Nanammal is fit enough and even today performs over 50 asanas, including some of the difficult ones. She has good eyesight, hearing, and memory because of her regular practice of Sirshasana. Even at this age, she is thin and walks straight, can bend and twist, but what is most striking about her is the shine in her eyes and the grace to her smile.

It would be interesting to know Nanammal's daily routine. She wakes up at 05.00 am daily, something she has been doing since she was 10 years old. She brushes her teeth with neem stick, teaches students and practices yoga. Then it si time for breakfast which usually is kanji (malt made with multiple millets) with green vegetables, lunch is seasonal vegetables and greens with rice or chapati. At tea time, it is either sugarcane or carrot juice. Dinner is before sunset and is mostly a glass of milk with turmeric or honey and some fruit. In the evening, she takes a yoga class, and goes to bed by 7.30 pm.

Nanammal says she has never suffered any serious health issues, and credits it to her daily yoga ritual and healthy eating. “I have never visited a hospital in my lifetime. I don’t know how coffee or tea tastes. The only hot beverage that Nanammal drinks is made with a mix of powdered dry roasted coriander seeds, jeera, dry ginger and jaggery.

The Beginning:

Nanammal was born in an agricultural family in Coimbatore. Nanammal's father and grandfather were both 'Registered Indian Medicine Practitioners (RIMP)', Yoga was their family tradition and they were not teaching yoga to anyone outside the family and it stayed within the group. Nanammal's grandparents introduced her to yoga. They would work all day at the farm and when they returned in the evening, they would bathe, and start doing the asanas on a mat. As a kid, Nanammal would join them. Nanammal's husband was a Siddha practitioner in the village and was also into agriculture and that is how she cultivated a liking towards naturopathy after her marriage. She never stopped practicing yoga at any point in her life.

Teaching yoga was not something which was planned even though Nanammal kept practicing same. There was an incident involving her mother-in-law that made Nanammal to realize that yoga could potentially help other people as well. Her mother-in-law was out in the farm and had wrenched her leg, Instead of getting treatment from a doctor, She offered to teach her some yoga poses and she got better wit this technique. After that incident, her mother-in-law became her very first student. Inspired by this event, Nanammal began teaching her neighbours and other children, and by the time 1970s, she had decided to teach yoga to even more people.

Spreading message of Yoga:

The 'Ozone Yoga school' was established in 1972 by Nanammal and her family in Coimbatore where they teach their traditional style of yoga, which focuses more on Pranayama (Breath control). Nanammal and her family, including her children, grandchildren and even great-grand children, follow the traditions passed on from generation to generation. Nanammal takes pride that in her family alone, a total of 36 members, teach yoga.

Nanammal and her family has trained over a 10 lakh students over the past 45 years and still teaches 100 students on daily basis. An estimated over 10,000 of her students are teaching yoga across the world and many students have gone on to win international yoga competitions across many countries.

For her achievements, Nanammal has been conferred with numerous awards and citations, including the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 2018, National Nari Shakti Puraskar award in 2016 from then President of India Pranab Mukherjee, the 2017- Government of Karnataka's Yoga Ratna award and the Rotary club's Lifetime achievement award in 2018.

Such is her passion even today that Nanammal attempted to get on to the Guinness Book of World Records by teaching yoga to over 20,000 students and enthusiasts in Coimbatore in 2018. Currently, her objective is to create awareness among women, mainly girl students, about yoga techniques by going to various educational institutions to solve several health-related problems, especially after marriage.

In today's fast paced lives, leading a simple, healthy, happy, peaceful and fulfilling life is a dream for most of us. Nanammal shows us that how a simple and healthy lifestyle can do wonders in our own lives.