When I was younger, around my mid-teens, the time when all the reality shows slowly started capturing people’s imagination( and consequently spoiling it), I once chanced across a contestant on one such shows answering the host’s question “How would you define success?”. The catchy reply promptly came – “When my signature will become an autograph”. At that naïve age, when the seeds of maturity had hardly started germinating in my mind,the answer seemed very appealing to me. I was fascinated by the simplicity and brevity of the statement. At an age when understating the finer nuances of language and having interest in philosophy would have made me an extremely precocious child, I, being the stereotypical recognition-among-peers seeking kid made this the mantra for measuring my success to. Not that I started dreaming of anything like that in the immediate future but I slowly nurtured ambitions, although not fanatically by any means, of growing up to becoming someone whose autograph would be desired.
There comes a certain time in life, unfortunately often in the face of failure, when we start rediscovering ourselves. When we suddenly start having epiphanies and start revisiting and tinkering with our long – standing ideals, dogmas and faiths about life et al. These rendezvous with ourselves strangely rejuvenate our souls and give us newfound direction in life. In those carefree days I spoke of earlier ,the statement regarding success made by the contestant desperate(or should I be less harsh and say ‘eager’)for his ten minutes of fame, was a sentence which carried no further connotations than the glee of giving out autographs to imaginary fans eager[or should I be more liberal and say ‘desperate’ ;) ] for a piece of me(as the phrase goes!).Not that I ever aspired to be a filmstar with whom a youngster would generally associate such imagery (besides sport stars of course!), but I pictured myself doing something or the other which would invite such plaudits. But that ‘certain time’ has seemingly come.
Here I am,21 years old, having entered the man-made age-group of what one calls ‘adult’ ,with those seeds of maturity apparently(or rather 'allegedly') having considerably shot upwards towards the firmament of wisdom, I have come to the conclusion that the conclusion which I’d made in that bygone era(the mind in times of introspection somehow looks upon relatively younger days as those of another era, as if a person had disappeared like a generation to pave the way for a new person from a new generation; hence the use of such a time-exaggerating noun) were naturally amateurish and lacking some worldly insight.
The layers of wisdom, however much so unflatteringly little in number, which I had gathered over the span of some 4-5 years,(and crucial years too) has led me to concur with the ‘truth’ that when one measures his success by his signature, he actually measures it by his fame. Thus the boy, who yearns to come of age is faced with question “Is the success we all want in our own way only measurable by fame? Does the intention, dedication & sincerity of a person’s work have no value if it doesn’t fetch him autograph-requests?”. It is the answer to this question which he gradually deciphered as he read and learned more about the world.
I tried to seek inspiration and enlightenment from various sources and it gradually dawned upon me that there is something deeply satisfying in being able to measure success by the magnitude by which you make the world a better place to live in for everybody. To keep things short and not too unduly bore my reader by delving into depths of my philosophies et al, let me cite a small extract from an article by historian Ramachandra Guha in a reputed newspaper titled ‘The Service of Society’—
More than a hundred years ago, while speaking to college students in Madras, Gopal Krishna Gokhale urged them to put their education to the service of the nation. As India came to terms with the modern world, he said, “there is work to be done for the mass of your countrymen who are plunged in ignorance and superstition.… Then there is work to be done for the elevation of the status of the womankind of the land. A whole sex shut out from the intellectual life of a people — this is not good for any country. In religion many of the old institutions are existing only in form and the spirit seems to have fled from them.... Further, the whole country is on a low level in regard to political existence and that means arduous work for those who interest themselves in that question. Lastly, the industrial development of the country needs to be urgently attended to. In all these directions there is work to be done.… This is the call of the duty which you will have to recognize when you leave College and take your place in life.”
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In that speech in Madras a hundred and more years ago, Gopal Krishna Gokhale remarked that “many of us are apt to imagine that those who loom largely in the eyes of the public are the only ones that lead really useful lives. We sometimes talk and write as though only one or two individuals were really doing useful work and the rest only vegetating. It is, however, a mistake to think so. A nation’s true greatness depends upon its average man and woman.” (read ‘upon those willing to measure their success by the social implications of their work even if that implies no popular recognition’)
Timeless words indeed. Perhaps they answer my queries.
I am no longer disillusioned when I recall “…when my signature will become an autograph”
A man of wise nature…..should be happy with his ‘signature’
