India, April 5 -- The old joke about a student being outstanding because he's been asked to stand outside the classroom, might actually not be a joke. Someone who is engulfed in a regimen, so to say, might not have the mindspace to think up original creative ideas that are earth-shakingly innovative. (I am not a fan of the ultra-modern context in which the word disruptive is used, but you get the idea!) The backbencher, therefore, with all the naughtiness at his command, has the opportunity to outshine the front end of the class, in terms of attempting to break the proverbial mould. This is not to say that the "padhaku" types cannot be outstanding, but there's something compelling about the rebel, the one who disobeys the norm, which potentially makes him differently successful. Yet, and herein lies the thrust, a path-breaking individual must continue to possess and even display an enormous amount of enthusiasm and energy to keep on outshining the crowd. Clearly, resting on one's laurels is never an option for the life-long champion of life itself.Those who are deviant from society's norms and compliances to an exaggerated extent, do not qualify either. Being a thinker outside the norm is distinctly distinguishable from tending to break all forms of law. The intent and also the extent of righteousness that an individual innately possesses is also a significant differentiator. To work tirelessly, or at least somewhat, for the rest of humanity is, or should be, considered to be a quality that matters in order to determine one's outstandingness. The Nobel Prize (no jibe intended), the Booker, the Pulitzer or any such lofty laurel may represent the established pedestals upon which, once ensconced, the worthy lady or gentleman in question would be deemed to be outstanding. Yet, there are hundreds of outstanding humans across the world for whom no prize of any formal sort is forthcoming. The only reward that they receive is the smile of a common man whose lot has been uplifted by them or the jubilant tears of a youngster mentored by them towards success. The missing link, so to say, between the richest, the most powerful and the most lauded, on the one hand, and the unheralded do-gooder, on the other, is the empathy factor. Those who strive endlessly to help those upon whom life has dealt debilitating blows, are the ones worthy of honouring and celebrating. Yet, they seek no appreciation, no plaudits. They are already on to their next campaign, hardly ever political, but always impactful in nature. India has enveloped, in its fold, over the centuries, thousands of such persons of outstanding mettle, who've made life more bearable and livable for those zillions whom ill luck seems to have adopted. The poorest of the poor, the weakest of the weak, the sickest of the sick and the most wounded of them all, have been the segment of society that the true lighthouses of humanity have adopted as their own. Not for nothing was Mother Teresa known as the 'Angel of Mercy'. And no one more outstanding than her walked the surface of this Earth. Mahatma Gandhi was amongst the masses when independence was finally attained, bloody and long-awaited as it was. Nelson Mandela was another whose love, compassion, resilience and mercy knew no bounds. India has recognised, through the Padma awards, some present-day heroes of real life in the form of Vinayak Lohani, Mohammed Sharif, Jitender Singh Shunty, KV Rabiya, Dr Ravi Kannan and Dr Prema Dhanraj, in recent years. They continue to inspire the young and young at heart to do more and better for society and the less fortunate ones around them. All in all, it is a short trek, this uphill climb that life's journey entails. To swim against the tide, to tread on the path less taken, to do good for the sake of doing it, and not for applause, is not everybody's cup of coffee. But then there are some shining examples around us who are like shimmering lamp posts in the murkiness of present-day goings-on. Those who stand out from the class, not because they've been shunted out by the teacher, but because they out-class everybody else....