And Chanda maama was 2.1 km away from us…….just 2.1 km away from creating history. There are many lessons to be learnt from the mission of Chandrayaan 2…..many lessons to be taught to our children. Our children who get most of the comforts very easily. Who don’t take no for an answer, who are scared to lose.
Chandrayaan-2’s mission to soft-land on the moon suffered a setback as the nation watched. India’s first moon lander, Vikram went silent just 2.1 kilometre above the lunar surface. Millions of Indians, children and people all across the world watched with bated breath for a glimpse of success. We were just about to touch the moon, we were just a few seconds or minutes away from victory and yet….. How many such incidents like these happen in our life? There are many such times when we know that we are almost there, and then we are faced with a setback. It’s like we climb all the way up the mountain but we are not able to reach the peak.
This is how life is and will always be. It is very important that we as teachers and parents teach our children that we are bound to face success and failures in life. And as we celebrate our success we need to celebrate our failures too. Teach them that failure doesn’t mean we quit, that we are losers; it means we just need to try harder. Tell them that failure in life is not only inevitable but also necessary.
“Failure is a bend in the road, not the end of the road. Learn from failure and keep moving forward” a beautiful quote by Roy T Benet gives us a clear message. Many people put an end to their life because they are not able to face failures. The seeds of persistence, of fearlessness and of courage need to be sowed in childhood for stronger roots. Teach children to be proud of their efforts not results. Teach them to keep trying and success is sure to follow. Tell them that nothing is impossible to achieve it is just persistence to achieve which matters.
The best example of success in the Chandrayaan-2 mission is that not only the people of India but the entire world are encouraging and praising the efforts of the entire team of scientists, technicians, engineers of ISRO. This shows that their relentless contribution and hard work has not gone in vain.
So next time you show the moon to your children tell them that it might be difficult to reach out there but it is not impossible.
Yasmeen Ovias