Inspiration is a chain reaction

It is a universally known fact that money is always tight for a college student. (Well, at least for the majority of us). During my college days, things were no different. For the purposes of full disclosure, I have to add that my mom did send me money, but when you add the Total Cost of Living (including costs of booze, other guilty pleasures etc.), the liabilities easily outweigh assets.

It was at one of those dinners with a shoe string budget that I bore witness to a random act which would have a profound impact later in my life (though I did not realize it at the time).  It was a warm night in Chennai (Madras at the time) and I was heading for dinner towards a street stand close to where we lived. During the short walk, I was carefully calculating the amount of food I could have for the meager amount of money I was carrying with me (And all of you wonder how Asians end up better at Math!). By the time I reached there, I had a pretty good idea of what and how much I will be ordering. While I was munching down my share of street delicacies, I saw a man (who had more than his share of alcohol) walking up to the person next to me. The person next to me definitely looked like he had a job (since he had a motorcycle and was dressed decently) and was sitting on his motorcycle and slowly chowing down his dinner. The drunk then asked him  - "Can I have some money so I can eat something? I am starved!". The other man seemed to be repulsed by the smell and demeanor and quickly moved backwards, then shook his head, gesturing a firm 'No'. The street vendor shouted - "Get the hell out; don't disturb my customers!". The drunk clearly knew a "No" when he saw it as he walked away slowly and sat down on the pavement a couple of meters away from me.His head hung low, either from shame or more likely, from the effects the alcohol had on his brain.

Like a wave washing away scriptures on sand, I could see that the man on the motorcycle being overpowered by a wave of sympathy and regret washing away his earlier feelings of repulsion. He turned to the drunk and said - "Ok, come and get whatever you want to eat; I will take care of the bill!". He must have known that I was watching all of this, so he quickly turned to me and said, "I know if I give him money he will spend it on booze, this way he will at least eat to ward off his hangover."

The gesture had an impact on me enough that I stopped eating and nodded my head in agreement. I also managed a smile in between all the other thoughts that were in my head. But later on in life, this inspired me to make giving a part of my life and whenever I did that I also made sure that it went to the source rather than an agency or upfront admin - of course, it means more work, but also much more rewarding.

So the next time you get a chance, indulge in a random act of kindness. You never know who you might inspire and how much of a chain reaction that triggers.

Image courtesy : www.clamlynch.com/blog/2005/06/

Who appointed you the leader...

of this moral outfit?

Yes, I am talking to you - the CEO of big corp who was once an entrepreneur, took advantage of all the facilities a middle class society provided and now wants the middle class eliminated.

Yes, I am talking to you - the priest who talks about what the lord commanded us to do, works towards elimination of women's choice, vehemently supports the preservation of  'the sanctity of marriage' and then molests boys behind the walls of a closed confession box.

Yes, I am talking to you - the married couple who say they are too busy to have kids, claim that they are not mature enough to raise kids and then lecture others on how to properly raise their kids.

Yes, I am talking to you - the mullah who swears by the Koran, preach brotherly love and then brainwash kids to strap explosives around them and fight infidels so you can have your moral orgasm.

Yes - I am talking to you - the elected representative who puts on a 'friendly face' mask while you plead for votes, promise the people their unfettered dedication and love, and then go to bed with special interests and their lobbying prostitutes.

Yes, I am talking to you - the Hindu pujari who supposedly embodies negation of worldly pleasures, is a servant of the gods, but refuses to touch a devotee because he/she is from a lower caste.

Yes, I am talking to you - the political and financial pundit who is a know it all and is an 'enabler' of the common man, but try to push your own agenda through scare tactics and other worldly intimidation.

And finally, I am talking to you - the person in the mirror, who set out to lead a good life, provide for you and your family and do some good deeds along the way, but ended up selling up a piece of your soul to be a "team player" for humanity so that you can be a "normal" and "successful" specimen of the homosapien species.

You may be a leader of hypocrisy, but a leader of me - you are not. I know that there is next to no chance of this happening, but I am going to keep hoping that our paths do not cross.

End Rant.

What will you do with your platform?

A couple of weekends ago, I was in a cabin at south lake tahoe with my friends. On one of those colorful evenings, we all sat down around the snooker table, and started our usual "song fest" - everyone pitching in with their vocal chords and one of our friends on the Tabla. We were having loads of fun for a long time, but unfortunately, the gathering had to end on a sour note (literally!)

Why, you ask? No, it was neither public drunkenness nor egoistic conflicts that caused it, but the mere wish of the tabla player to hear one of his favorite songs. The rest of the crowd had heard enough of that song, and they did not want a piece of it anymore. No, it never got to a point where an argument broke out or shouting was heard, but the session quickly ended and the tabla went under wraps. Now, I always tilt in the favor of a talented artist, so I am going to side with the tabla player. I know it is hard to please an audience, but once a person has established talent, isn't it fair game for that person to expect some respect from his/her audience?

*********************

Arundhati Roy, after winning a booker prize in 1997 and numerous praises, revealed what she truly liked and thought about the world and was labelled an "Activist Writer" and pushed out from mainstream audiences. Oprah Winfrey, a television powerhouse, lost some of her audience after she came out with her support for Barack Obama, the current US president. Meg Ryan, after becoming America's sweetheart, tried to break free from the romantic lead stereotype and lost most of her audience and ultimately the "sweetheart" title. My friend playing the tabla, tried to express his opinions and quickly went out of favor for some of his listeners.

Without beating around the bush, let me ask the question that I am driving at- If you are given a platform where the masses lend you a piece of their five senses, would you use it to leverage more of it or would you use it to speak your mind? Of course, I would rather be given a platform than be a commoner lending an eye/ear to someone, but would I be able to fight the dilemma that comes with it?

What are you doing with the platform that you have been handed in life? Be it the platform of a parent, a boss, a friend or a soulmate. Obviously, I am not talking about the case where everyone agrees with you and all your audience is on the same aisle as you in the great ideology divide. I am talking about less than best case scenarios. Do you strive to be true to yourself or do you strive to make the platform bigger by pleasing the audience and thereby attracting more of them?

One of the readers of my blog told me - "If you write more about India and topics related to Indians, I am sure there will be more subscribers and readers to your post." Of course, you are intelligent enough to guess my reply - I write about stuff that I care about and what I feel is right. (Let us put aside for a moment, the fact that my audience is nowhere near a critical mass to shake things up.) Since advise is among one of the few things that are still free, let me dole out some.

Impart "values" and "morals" from the platform of a parent instead of the usual "Great Job" rhetoric. From the platform of a boss, look up, not down to people who report to you (Remember, some of them did have a choice but still stuck with you). Accept your loved one as a whole (the good with the bad) when you are handed the platform of a soul mate. Most importantly, be true to yourself and use the leverage to promote goodness in this truly amazing world of ours.

With that, I mark the end of my short and sweet Avatar as a preacher. Hopefully, I made you think. As for the Tabla player, we are all jamming this weekend at his place - I am looking forward to his reaction when the spotlight beam shines on his face.