The Greatest he shall always be!

Anyone who brings a tinge of romance to a rugged and overbearing masculine sport like boxing ought to be gifted with extraordinary powers because that is something out of the ordinary.

The sole claimant to this genius has to be, Cassius Marcellus Clay, who as Mohammad Ali, did not just dazzle with his superlative showings in the ring that fetched him three world titles, but demonstrated a rare humanness the likes of which are rarity in the ruthless world of professional sport.

Today, as the world mourns the demise of one of mankind’s most controversial but charismatic sons, it is time to reflect on the contributions of the man contribution whose legend goes beyond his prowess as a boxer.

Garrulous he perhaps was but there is no denying that stood steadfast in listening to his inner soul, which gets evidenced by what he wished to remember him as-As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him...

And who stood up for his beliefs... who tried to unite all humankind through faith and love. Indeed, that is what he has always been. His refusal to join the Vietnam War was a decision taken on these every moral grounds.

“If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d jointomorrow,” indicates the seriousness with which he craved to speak for the voiceless people, who were victims of oppression.

The US Administration, that was at the receiving end at Vietnam stripped of hi world titles, impounded his passport and did everything to ‘torture’ the man. He has been Destiny’s Child.

He respected and fought for the neglected populace irrespective of religion and race because his beliefs and understanding of the world order was one of universal peace and brotherhood.

If anything it was the establishment that was compelled to embrace him and described him as a national treasure. A committed social activist, he worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr in the civil rights movements and traveled the world on humanitarian missions, including India and Bangladesh.

His contention was, ‘life is short, we get old so fast; It does not make sense to waste time on hating.’ Conferring the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest US civilian honor - in 2005 was the icing on the cake and befitting salutation to Mohd Ali.

That he survived Parkinson's for over three decades (he was diagnosed in 1984) is an example of the man’s steely character that never indulged in self-pity. A poignant moment was whenMohammad Ali painstakingly lit the first Olympic torch for the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta in 2001.

The Human Mountain is right-Live every day like it's your last because someday you're going to be right.

He was ‘The Greatest’ that ever.