Bhubaneswar, Oct. 24 -- It's a story of all about a light purse is a heavy curse. One has the 'golden muscle' to raise a toast for the State; the other has the soft skill that can work wonder for the mass. But the wall of poverty has brought the curtains down on the gifted talents they have.

Bhaktaram Desti, the 'golden' weightlifter from Malkangiri and Chandan Dutta, lad from Cuttack with a brain, are separated by a yawning distance. Both have a different passion. But the commonality has been, alas, their poor destiny. Rich in talent, zeal to touch the sky, but it is the grinding poverty that pulls them down to the hard ground.

What seems dismaying for the social watchers is, in the times of 'Khelo India' and plethora of incentives for...