What powered Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra’s spectacular javelin throws on the track in the Paris Olympics was the physics of thermodynamics and projectile trajectory. What also powered the two worldclass athletes, the former from Pakistan and the latter from India, was their mothers’ remarkably noble human values.

The art of javelin throw is all physics. Right from the time the thrower starts running, using kinetic energy until they approach the line before launching by braking their momentum to a dead halt even while turning sideways and acquiring an angle as close to 45 degrees as possible, everything is governed by laws of physics and aerodynamics. Once the javelin is airborne what distance it would cover depends on the amount energy that got transferred from the athlete’s shoulders to the javelin and aerodynamics.

Nadeem’s mother Razia Parveen and Chopra’s mother Saroj Devi may or may not understand those complex factors, but they are both naturally ennobled in their worldviews. That prompted them to express themselves in a way which is being widely celebrated in both countries.

For Nadeem and Chopra what mattered at that moment was how far their javelins traveled. In Nadeem’s case it was an astonishing 92.97 meters, which is more than 305 feet, while Chopra managed 89.45 meters or a little over 293 feet. Nadeem, of course, broke the Olympic record giving his homeland much to cheer. He flew past the record of 90.57, held by ­Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen since Beijing 2008. Not too far behind was Chopra who too was widely celebrated in his homeland.

Cross-border sociocultural bonds 

Chopra had thrown his spear 87.58 meters, a little over 287 feet, at the Tokyo Olympics to win the gold. In contrast, Nadeem had managed 84.62 meters or about 277 feet there finishing in the fifth position.

Quite likely, both had the 90-meter mark in their minds as they ran up even though only Nadeem breached that twice.

Chopra and Nadeem were born the same year, 1997, in the two countries irretrievably antagonistic for over seven decades now. However, as it often happens among the peoples of India and Pakistan, institutional antagonisms do not always permeate sociocultural  cross-border bonds which were gloriously emblematized by Razia Parveen and Saroj Devi.

It is quite extraordinary that they both expressed sentiments after their respective sons’ victories which were so similar. Parveen was quoted as having said “He (Neeraj) is like my son. He is also a friend and brother of Nadeem’s. Losing and winning is a matter of luck. May Allah also give him success and ability to win a medal.”

Echoing her sentiments was Devi who said, “We are very happy. For us the silver (medal) is like gold and the one who won the gold (Nadeem) is also like my son. He works hard.”

Balm on inflamed emotions 

Those words of two mothers unadorned by sophisticated phraseology but articulated with deep humanity reverberated across the India-Pakistan border. Even when Chopra had won the gold medal at Tokyo, his mother had said something similar about Nadeem.

At a time when unvarnished animus for one another is often the norm in India and Pakistan, not to mention Bangladesh now, the two simple women have offered a lesson in decency, dignity and civility. Of course, given the social media vulgarization of public discourse, it is conceivable that some people in both the countries would dismiss the two mothers’ sentiment as naïve. However, it has the potential to act as a balm over the permanently inflamed emotions.

One should not have any illusions in thinking that the leadership of the two countries would feel inspired by the sporty bonhomie and friendship between the two athletes. Or that the sheer humanity of their mothers will cause a change of heart that could lead to better relations between the perennially warring neighbours marred by years of political hostility

If the establishments of the two countries had the heart of the two mothers, the lot of the 1.6 billion Indians and Pakistanis would be so much better.

(The writer is a Chicago-based Indian journalist, author, filmmaker and lyricist. Views are personal. He can be reached at mcsix@outlook.com)