What is Success?

Just the other day I came across a dictum stating that people only tend to be interested in someone’s allegory once he/she has attained a certain level of success in life, which immediately begged me to ask the question none other than this anecdote’s heading. So what really is success and how do we gauge it?

Some would define it as how eminent one can be, which is surely a good kickoff for this deliberation. Well, let me catechize this… Other than professions which directly or indirectly deal with public relations like politics or acting, how popular can an otherwise successful individual be? There are legions of engineers who are helping build the very world around you, doctors who help improve and save lives daily and other such whizzes… Let us take any one of them and consider a mere 3-5 km. radius around their residence or workplace. Who do you think would be a household name in that area? I’d bet you it would rather be the local grocers and peddlers, whose name would be familiar to hundreds if not thousands!

And if that doesn’t convince you, let me ask you to name all the Nobel laureates of the past year, the handful of prodigies who have been at the helm of their respective pursuits in recent times. Would you be able to name even a single one without googling it? The point is most people suffer from a God complex where they are the center of the universe, but it is important to modestly realize that we are only one in approximately seven billion humans and an even more insignificant percentage of all living beings, that too not encompassing those that have already been and gone. So, when I sometimes hear in our organization that someone wants to get to such and such rank not to extend their usefulness, but simply to avoid social stigmata, it just makes me snicker… In a big old public sector like ours, I wonder how many employees could even name all the Chairpersons who lead the firm before they joined, let alone the entire Board or any Management down below, and let alone that of any other Corporation.

So, if not fame, then how else could you define success? What about capital? Well, that’s about as rickety as it gets, a notion which I can already hear polarized entities like the Tate brothers screaming against! Hahaha... To put it simply, the richest business mogul of our nation has a net worth more than a hundred times that of the richest actor in our country and more than nine hundred times that of the richest sportsperson here. But does that make the latter two a dud? It is all a matter of perspective. For a street side cobbler many of our lives may be more than they could ever dream of, while on the other hand our financial assets may be a topic of humor for a bigwig who owns a yacht. 

What about spirituality? Does the cross-legged image of a monk in search of ‘Nirvana’ strike you as the definition of success? It might be for some… But others would not be wrong to contemplate the sacrifice of responsibilities in the tangible world that most likely had to be made to get there. And one could conversely argue that having a big loving family is an ideal measure of success. But even so, what about those who were frivolously deserted by their family on a whim, despite living up to all rational expectations and more? Is it their failure or their family’s failure for mistaking their kindness and maturity for weakness?

So, to conclude, I guess at the end of the day, success is really whatever we define for ourselves. Nothing less, nothing more…

Small elements in success... #Philanthropy #CollaborationOfIdeas

Little Feet, Lots of Fun, Celebrating the Big ‘ONE’!

 

Starting off with a huge shout-out to one and all who helped make our little Aadi’s first birthday an unforgettable one, including kith and compadres who went to great lengths to fire up the event and the J.W.Mariott group for leaving no stone unturned to make it as grandiose as possible. And who needs trained anchors when the guest list includes professional singers and gleeful youngsters, pouncing at the slightest opportunity to put their craft on display! The event managers, decorators, music jockeys and videographers too did a phenomenal job to bring out the exuberance pervading the atmosphere.

Dear son, it has been no less than wizardry over this past year to be an integral part and bear witness as you took your first steps, as you spoke your first words, as your palms became large enough to lift your first toy and all the little milestones along the way. Having to leave you on weekday mornings to attend office is undoubtedly the most difficile part of the day, while returning home to your vibrant laughter, which has evolved from a confused toothless smile to a recognizing chuckle with four rabbit-like milk-teeth, is the sweetest. Watching you sit up like the Undertaker barely two minutes after a two hour long effort putting you to sleep, is nothing short of rib-tickling. These jiffs may vex us now, but before long they will become enamored remembrances to be enshrined.

Now, although your mum and I have had to make do with only a couple of hours of light slumber for day after week after month, every second with you has been more than invaluable. And we know that at times it has not been easy for you either, with our consulting pediatric hospital often becoming a pied-à-terre of sorts, but alas you were born into a family as nutty as a fruitcake and against all odds, have been on no less than eleven separate flights in the very first year of your life itself, when most wouldn’t even dare to undertake air travel at all! Haha… This is probably too early for you to understand, but if your mum and I can be such parents who could even remotely be looked up to not now, but even when you are in your thirties or forties, then and only then would we even start considering ourselves somewhat successful in this herculean task of parenting.

And this is not about passing on my family torch, whose flame to be frank has been flickering ever since I can recall. Honestly, I always thought that my parents would be the ones to form a bridge between any past Cimmerian shade and normalcy, but as it turns out just making a decent livelihood and moving to a relatively developed city doesn’t help, if one’s mind is unwilling to overcome and thrives in the dark void it was born into, turning a potential first success to just another failed attempt. While they always bragged about not having any substantial inheritance, I too am where I am today without so much as a glance at my family’s trinkets, and I am gratified to say that there is already an astronomical accrual from my own childhood to my son’s. 

Somewhere along the journey to adulthood, I think a switch gets flipped in most of us as we realize that not everyone deserves our warmest and kindest version, but it is indeed a shame if members of one's own family willingly walk into that list. As my wife and I bear the mantle of both a shield for our child and a sword for our own penchants, the past half-year having made the boundaries of our congenial sphere abundantly clear, it is time to end this wasteful cycle of every generation starting from the ground up, having to reinvent the wheel thanks to senile geezers, instead of pooling in knowledge and resources for greater accomplishments. I have always braved an uphill climb, be it in my personal or professional life, but now it seems to be at its steepest.

Raising a toast to inseparability and many more of our darling’s birthdays to follow…

HAPPY 1^ST BIRTHDAY AADI…!!!

5-star galas are rad but creating weekend memories together is simply irreplaceable...