What is Achievement?

         

          How do you signify or define achievement? By the amount of money you have? Or how famous you are? Or how much marks you have scored in your college or school life? We have always been made to believe that you can objectify achievement. What if the story you are about to read breaks every one of these believes. Meet Raphael Romil Samuel. He isn’t the guy who topped his college, He isn’t the richest guy in NalaSopara, and people are pretty much oblivious of the fact that he even exists. Then, what’s so special about him?

             Raphael Romil Samuel (22) grew up in simple 1BHK flat at Nalasopara. His parents always focussed on the fact that their son will lead a normal 9-5 job life. His father is a Jew and his mother is a Maharashtrian. “I was a fat, awkward kid and was always made fun upon. They used to say a very funny line which went by this- Bonga Bonga tera baaap, Shendi wala baap (because my father wore a pony tail). I hated it. But my perspective in life changed after my third year of college. I had decent enough grades but I didn’t want to go the conventional way of getting a job or doing an internship. I had also started working out and developed a good physique by practising Krav Maga. I have a couple of distant relatives in Israel. One day suddenly, I thought why not go to Israel and join the Israeli army. I love fighting and I see myself as someone who would do something for the society by beating up goons. At first, my parents thought it was joke, but then they were supportive enough to understand it’s my life. So I enrolled myself in the Israeli army and was there for a year from May 2013- June 2014. They paid me quite a sum as my monthly salary, I learnt Hebrew, Used guns I had never seen, learnt the art of warfare and had the experience of a lifetime.”

        Weird right? But this is not the only weird thing Samuel has done. Last month, Raphael went to Uttar Pradesh to meet the Gulabi Gang head Sampat Pal. Why? “To help her beat up goons in UP”, he says with a sly smile. “I contacted Social Solutions India (which is dedicated to make every NGO sustainable and self reliant) and they gave me the direct contact of Sampat Pal. When I spoke to her, she was more than welcoming and even invited me to stay at her place. I went to UP for 10 days and my perspective on women changed. The females in UP are slowly coming out of their shells and fighting it all out against the injustice meted out to them.” I noticed he had a deep cut just above his forearms. “I was punching a local sex trafficker, his friend approached with a knife from behind. I quickly moved to the side and he pressed the knife into my muscle area, I caught them into a submission and dragged them both to the police station”, Samuel says with a hint of pride.

     “Achievement for me is to do things what makes me happy, irrespective of what others think. I don’t really care what the society thinks of the things I do. I know, half of them don’t even have the guts to do what I have done and that’s an achievement in itself.”

We all love to stand up for what is right and fight for what is right. Give it a thought just once as to what your achievement in life is. There’s one thing you can be guaranteed, it won’t include money or fame, but the things you have really done for yourself without listening to what others have to say. That requires guts and that’s the real achievement in life. 

                                                    

                                                          Soldier geared up for a fight!

                                               Raphael with the Gulabi Gang women!

                                          A selfie with Gulabi Gang leader Sampat Pal!