|| SHRI ||
Welcome once again to a new letter. Thank you to everyone who took time to reply to the previous letter. Today’s letter is the second part of the previous letter about leadership lessons from the movie Lagaan. If you haven’t read the last letter, please read that first and then come to this one — it will make more sense.
In the previous letter, we saw how Bhuvan found an opportunity inside a big problem. Everyone else only saw the problem, but he was the only one who saw an opportunity because he was a leader. But now the real problem begins. Is it enough that one person sees the opportunity? You need many people who agree with that idea, right? Bhuvan gathers one by one those who agree with him — let’s understand how.
Say a heartfelt thank you to negative talkers!
Bhuvan sincerely explains to everyone what a special opportunity this is. He says, “Let’s work hard for three months, learn cricket, defeat them, and we won’t have to pay any tax for three years.” Hearing this, one man from the village tells him, “छोटी छोटी आँखे और बड़े बड़े सपने” meaning don’t fly too high, stay grounded. And once he says this, others start saying the same thing. Not just three months, even if we practice for a year, we still can’t win. One by one, everyone starts thinking it’s not possible and that we shouldn’t even play the match.
Haven’t you faced such situations? You start doing something. You feel your idea is completely right. But by the time you share it with three or four people, you get replies like — don’t do it, it’s not possible, don’t waste time. What happens then? Whether you are a leader or a common person, your mind gets disturbed. You start thinking of quitting. But what does Bhuvan do?
Learn to open up!
That night, Bhuvan sits with his mother and cries while explaining everything again. He says, “How will we pay double tax, mother? But if we try, if we practice, if we win, then we won’t have to pay any tax for three years. Where am I wrong, mother? This can really happen. But no one is understanding me.” He shares everything with his mother.
His mother doesn’t say much. Just tells him, “Don’t overthink. Everything will be fine.” But what next? Then Bhuvan meets his childhood friend Gauri. She tells him one simple thing: “Let the rest of the village say whatever they want, Bhuvan. But I am with you. I agree with you. I believe in you. I will help in any way I can.”
This gives Bhuvan some confidence. He feels happy knowing someone believes in him. He now knows he is not alone, and that someone is standing by his side. This makes him start his work again.
Isn’t this such a simple thing? But it creates such a big impact. Just opening your heart to someone, and having even one person who believes in you — that’s enough for your next steps to start automatically. From this I learned something — whenever I meet someone who is sincerely working hard, I make sure to give them real appreciation.
There are so many services we use every day and we pay for them, but the service we get is not that great. Often we feel these people are not right, they are cheating us, but we accept it and move on. While doing this unknowingly, if you find someone who’s doing their work sincerely — it’s important to meet them and say, “You’re doing great work. Keep it up.” We are quick to criticize bad service but think ten times before appreciating good work. That logic is wrong. So from today, let’s decide to be one of those who give Bhuvan confidence.
But how to bring everyone together now?
This is where Bhuvan uses his brain. One day, in the afternoon during lunch time, he picks up a bat and ball and starts playing cricket with a small boy in the village. He loudly explains, “These British people call this game cricket, but it’s just like our game *Vitthi Dandu*. We can easily play and win it. The bat is like the stick, the ball is round — that’s it. Everything else is the same. Catching the ball, hitting hard, aiming well — all of it is just the same.”
Then, one by one, people in the village start agreeing to play. He explains the game in their language. He observes everyone’s strengths and weaknesses and gathers them one by one. Then a team forms, they work hard, they play the match, and they win. There are many more challenges ahead, but in one of the movie’s songs, there’s a line that says, "सच और साहस हे जिस के मन में, अंत में जीत उसी की रहे." meaning “The one who has truth and courage in their heart, wins in the end.” That’s what happens. Problems start disappearing one by one, and the whole village wins.
Bringing people together is a very difficult task. In today’s world where everyone is busy on social media, it feels almost impossible. But still, some people succeed in doing it. I observed some of their qualities and studied them. I realised that there are a few common rules.
The first rule — **Keep a smile on your face.** You can’t bring people together with a sad face. Let there be problems, let there be struggle — work with full dedication to overcome it — but none of it should show on your face.
Second rule — **Explain in the simplest way possible.** It’s great to bring in a top trainer from America to teach the team, but you also need someone who can speak in the team’s own language so they understand. That way, the process runs smoothly.
Third and most important rule — **Keep trying, whether you have 1 person or 1000 with you.** Don’t let the number of people decide how much effort you put in. Keep giving your best.
There are many more such rules, but you can see all these three clearly in Bhuvan’s character. You and I will always find them useful. This film teaches us leadership, team building, goal setting, never giving up, and how to accept someone back even after they make a mistake.
If you are a fan of *Lagaan* like me, then do tell me what you learned from it in the comments. I’ll meet you in the next letter with a brand new topic.
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