The Ugly Duckling

The auditorium was packed. Eager family members sat on one side,while the students sat on the other. Maroon and gold colours shared centrestage with the shining trophies on display. As the lights dimmed, all eyes were on the stage. It was the annual convocation day of the Indian Institute of Management. She sat in the audience glued to her seat in the section marked for the family members. As the convocation began, she clapped for student after student, and yet her eyes waited for someone else.

“And now, the Gold medal for outstanding contribution by a faculty member goes to Mr. Prakash Doshi.”

She sprang to her feet, and clapped with all her might. To her surprise, she found she wasn’t the only one standing. Every person in the auditorium was sharing her sentiment.

Through her moist eyes, she saw him accept the award and make his way to the lectern.

“I feel humbled by your support and love. Thank You. And yet standing here today, I want to tell you a story. It’s about the ugly duckling.”

She felt her tears fall like they had a mind of their own. And as she thought about the Ugly duckling, she found herself remembering those defining days in her life.

Her family was a family of University Toppers. And yet she was the black sheep. She excelled at studies, but wasn’t too interested in them. She was an all rounder, and was good at extra-curriculars. Toeing the family line, she took science after her tenth. And soon after, she found herself less interested in Science, and more interested in pursuing Hotel Management after 12^th. That had a separate exam, and she was determined to make it.

She still remembered the day she received her HSC result. 62.5%; the lowest in the Doshi family history. She was shocked to see her low marks, and knew she had let her father down. How could she look him in the eye? What would he say? Days passed by, and she knew she had to study for the Hotel Management exam, and yet she couldn’t get over her failure. She avoided her father studiously.

And then, he had called her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she waited in anticipation of the dressing down she would get.

“Have you heard about the story of the ugly duckling? You, my darling daughter are that ugly duckling who will transform soon into a beautiful swan. Have faith in yourself, and give your best in whatever you want to do!!”

The fairy tale heard as a child seemed more relevant to her than ever, and she studied for the Hotel Management entrance with a vengeance to prove herself to the world. She had achieved her goal of studying at IHM, Mumbai, and graduated with honors.

Many years later, her father as VP in a large MNC was going through a rough patch. He refused to compromise on his principles, and chose to quit with dignity.

He did so, without a job in hand. She would see him often quietly sitting at home, trying to search for a job. He also did a few consultancy assignments, but nothing permanent was coming his way. She was at a loss for words. What could she say to her father; a man who is so brilliant, and was going through this for no fault of his? What would make him regain his faith in himself?

The Ugly duckling story! Of course! She reminded him; that he too was like that ugly duckling. It was just a matter of time before he blossomed into a lovely swan.

His face had lit up, and for the first time she had seen tears in his eyes. Not of sadness, not of joy, but of pride.

And today, as she stood there watching him receive the award; she felt the same tears of pride. His deep voice, choked with emotion filled the auditorium.

“Just like the ugly duckling, we all go through times in our lives, when we lose faith in our identity, and ourselves. Its then that we need someone to remind us, that the ugly duckling always transforms into a beautiful swan. I am lucky I had my daughter to remind me.”

And as she saw him walk off the stage to thundering applause yet again, she knew which fairy tale she would be telling her children some day.

Seabiscuit: 3 men, a broken-down horse, and hell, everything’s possible!

Hope and triumph the face of adversity. One of the most common themes in life and the movies. Be it a movie like “In the pursuit of happyness” or “Life is beautiful”, or “SeaBiscuit”.

I watched the movie quite by accident one night, when my morale was particularly low. I found it as I rummaged through my DVD drawer hoping to see a mindless flick to numb my senses.

The backdrop of the movie is the Great Depression. It is a true story set in a time when the great American dream had gone bust.

It’s a story of friendship and of a journey through despair, faith and finally the thrill of winning it all. The story intertwines three characters all impacted by the depression.

Red Pollard; the jockey. His love for horses proves to be the factor that separates him from his parents. His once wealthy father leaves him with a horse groomer. He eventually becomes a jockey who never wins, survives by getting bashed up in illegal boxing matches.

Charles Howard; the horse owner is the largest car dealer in California and one of the Bay Area's richest men. He is battling depression over losing his only son in an accident followed by a divorce. He meets young Marcella who introduces him to horses, and marries her.

Tom Smith; as the horse trainer. He is rendered homeless by the depression, and lives like a nomad. He is wonderful with horses, and Charles sees him tame a wild horse with ease.
The movie unfolds seamlessly from their individual stories to the way they meet, and finally find a common goal to work towards.

The scene where Tom Smith sees Seabiscuit for the first time is beautiful. Or the scene where he selects Red as the jockey, seeing the similarities between them, and knows that he has found his jockey.

The film takes you from thereon to a roller coaster ride, through the early wins, and the losses, the challenge to beat another champion horse, the fall just before the victory and the ecstasy of the final battle won.

What makes the film special and heart rending are the dialogues, the subtle bonding between the three characters, and of course the horse, who rescues them all. You don’t see a horse owner, a jockey and a horse trainer. You see three people put behind their troublesome past. You see three people fight back and find new dreams.

It’s a glowing example of how one can defy myths, and still do the impossible. Like Charles Howard says, “The jockey’s too big, the horse too small, the trainer too old, and I’m too dumb to know the difference.

Its best summed up by Red Pollard in the end when he says, “You know, everybody thinks we found this broken-down horse and fixed him, but we didn't. He fixed us. Every one of us. And I guess in a way we kinda fixed each other too.”

I’m glad Seabiscuit stumbled onto my hand on that dreary night. I was wrong when I thought that this movie would give me the hope to move through my troubles. Instead, it gave me the will to fight.

Seabiscuit, you fixed me up good.