By Onkar Nath:
I would like to thank Felix Baumgartner for making us believe that human beings are capable of achieving anything at all. He broke the speed of sound after jumping from an altitude of 128,100 feet and became the highest and fastest sky-driver in the history of mankind. It has been a very long time since we have seen something which pushes mankind forward. This act was not his first daredevil act. He has performed similar acts in the past in Malaysia and Brazil. I can only imagine how he would have felt when at a height of 1, 28,100 feet. When we are inside an airplane, the height at which the airplane normally travels is 39,000 feet and it gives a lot of excitement to us when we look down and see the things around us. I am also sure that the NASA and the space departments of other countries will research on Felix’s act and will come up with solutions for the survival of human beings in space.
Within two days of his daredevil stunt, his act went viral on the internet. Internet memes show Felix being joined by various fictional characters, movie stars, sportsmen, international leaders and animals. I personally really liked the picture of a giraffe sticking his neck out and looking at Felix. Another example was that of the Russian President riding in space on an eagle and congratulating Felix. I am pretty sure that one day he will make an attempt to do this act too, considering the fact that he is also a man of action. Hollywood actor Tom Cruise may now think of performing stunts at a height of 1, 28,000 feet in his next Mission Impossible movie. The famous romantic scene from Titanic where the hero and the heroine are standing at the tip of the ship was also replaced with a romantic setting in space where the hero was standing with the heroine at the tip of a capsule, ready to jump and then asking her out. I am sure a lot of teens will dream of romance in space as it is quite exciting to think about all of this.
All the aforementioned memes might be the miracles of Photoshop, but one thing becomes clear in this case, that nothing is impossible. In a world brimming with hate, crime, war and terrorism, this performance acts as a tonic for peace. Felix is now an international hero and his heroic act was celebrated by all of us. He might be an Austrian but his act was viewed by almost 400 million people and those 400 million people were from all parts of the world and not just Austria. People like Felix, Neil Armstrong, our very own Bachendri Pal and Rakesh Sharma are not just citizens of one country, they truly are global citizens.