A tribute to Arun Nandi

Arun Nandi, the legendary swimmer died at 68, leaving behind the glorious saga of a man's unflinching determination to endure any ordeal to uphold the cause of his nation. We are proud of Nandi' incredible feat as a great swimmer which was but a powerful statement on patriotism made through the medium of a sport.
He endured the pangs of swimming more than 90 hours in a Calcutta lake in 1971, to draw the world's attention to the undaunted struggle for freedom we had then waged. His idea was phenomenal, and as it appealed to the leaders of the Bangladesh government in exile as well as the many eminent citizens of Calcutta, they all came to converge on the site to cheer him up during the epical swimming feat. In the process, he broke the world record in endurance swimming set by American swimmer BC Moore. As a long distance swimmer, he once covered 110 kilometers!
Nandi, and men like him, are beacons, as it were, from a bygone era when the strivings for accomplishing a noble mission were the order of the day. He never asked for anything, though recognition as a swimmer came his way in the form of the National Sports Award in 1996. It is regrettable, and rather inexplicable too, that we tend to value such men when they are no more. Is death the only occurrence that will continue to bring our unsung heroes to limelight? We as a nation have to realise what a debt we owe to Nandi and all such men and women who never hesitated to take the plunge for the sake of the nation.
The best way to pay respect to Nandi is to make sincere and concerted efforts to fulfill his dream of turning Bangladesh into a nation of ace swimmers. There are talented boys and girls who need to be imbued with devotion and commitment, for pushing the frontiers of excellence. While Nandi found himself in a situation where the thought of his compatriots was uppermost in his mind, our swimmers today can translate the same spirit into excelling over their rivals in international events.
We condole Nandi's death and extend our sympathies to the bereaved family. He will continue to inspire the swimmers and sportsmen in general in the years to come.