It is told that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964 ), the first prime minister of India once on a family outing to Kashmir gave telling evidence of endurance. When they were getting out of the car, the door suddenly banged on his fingers, which started bleeding. Seeing him in such an unpleasant condition, the family members decided that the picnic be cancelled and that Nehru be rushed to the nearest health centre for immediate care. But he turned down their proposal, even stressing that they should all enjoy themselves, as if nothing had happened. To stop the flow of blood from the injury, some sort of a bandage was used and the outing went on as planned. Nehru also shared his pleasure with the children who had been looking forward to that day for a long time.

The test of endurance is increasingly becoming a part of training in child raising.The other day at Belle Mare Public Beach, a tourist’s baby son of about three years old playing in shallow water was being tossed by the waves. Although the father was constantly watching over his son, it seemed to be a grim spectacle for some bystanders. They feared there could be risk of drowning for such a little boy; they even dismissed the idea of putting their own child of that age to such a test. Yet , the little tourist was enjoying it.

During her holidays with her son’s and daughter-in-law in the United States, Soomitra was one evening shocked at hearing her one-year old grandson Arjun crying non-stop for around half an hour in his cot. Unable to bear the painful sobs of the baby, she went upstairs to ask what the matter was. To her amazement, both her son and her daughter-in-law, a professor cum researcher in medicine and a scientist respectively, explained that there was nothing damaging; that it was simply part of the child’s training - to learn to face the stern realities of life. They went on to say that the growing child would learn the hard way that he was without support and would have to adjust to the conditions, often harsh, of day-to-day life. Hard and painful as it was for them as parents, it was essential training. And hardly some minutes after, Arjun had fallen asleep.

It is on the school curriculum to get children engaged in activities that can provide them with the test of endurance. Besides rigorous exercises in their Physical Education (PE) classes, students are given the opportunity of taking part in expeditions - trekking, mountain climbing, among others. The Duke of Edinburg Award also gives young people adequate chance to learn much about the merit of endurance. These adventurous sporting activities in health-giving sun and air bring out such noble qualities as determination, leadership, skill, vitality and, above all, the power of endurance. They thus gradually become acquainted with different aspects of life in all its intricacies; they stop complaining about things from the general run of life – heat, cold, rain, mosquitoes, to mention just a few. These youngsters unconsciously learn to take measures towards arriving at solutions to problems instead of helplessly complaining.

When training recruits in the police force, fire services, aviation, army or navy in particular, there is need for tests of endurance. Very often, their training includes bone-breaking exercises, physical prowess calling for an infinite capacity to bear the toughest conditions imposed on them so as to become models of excellence in their jobs.

In fact, the test of endurance is required everywhere. Babies, small children, school-going children and trainees in jobs have to learn to endure conditions, which help prepare them to do well in life. In old age, which is like an illness, perhaps there is even more need for endurance to go through all the changes of fortune, pangs of separation, solitude and all. Endurance has then to be present at all times no matter what one’s station in life is: it supplies the vital energy thought of as working for the survival of the human race and the individual.

<B>Kaviraj SOHUR</B>