Add one more chapter

From Stephen R Coveys to Shiv Kheras, the gurus who make millions by selling success mantras speak only the half truth. They hide the other, the inevitable side of the coin. Failure.
While all energies are focused on sharpening attributes leading to success, no one talks about skills that would help coping with failure. In their scheme of things, failure does not exist. They are marketing success.
The uncomfortable truth is, without the punctuation of failure, there is no success. Like day and night, durations vary with changing seasons, but, success and failure remain integrally entwined.
The deceit comes from the fact that success is measured by strides taken outwardly, in the world. In terms of power, position, money. The moment this strides slows down, or, comes to a halt, everything else stops. Including emotional richness of life. All that has come by way of success, slips away. Friends, relations, recognition, appreciation, confidence, at times, even family.
All that gyan honed for success leaves a large gaping hole. Grown larger when left unattended with growing success, on, how to manage failure? The hollowness, the worthlessness, the breaking up of relationships, the pain of not receiving respect and recognition and loss of self esteem! No gyan comes from success gurus to rescue!
Material success is over glamourised like sex. We were told lies about its encompassing reach, we hand over the same to our children. All of us have experienced the low that comes after the high of getting a new raise, new car, anew gadget or a new house. The hollowness of ‘what next’? Neither the success gurus nor pushy, over driven parents ever share this side of the success story with children. Nor do they prepare for failure. All efforts are centered at postponing it.
Each one gropes in the dark to manage failure and loss, in ones own way. No mantra is available on the shelf to deal with the painful, unavoidable truth of life.
Reign Over Me, a Hollywood flick deals with unspeakable pain of its protagonist who finds all trappings of life taken away by one blow of destiny. The once successful doctor tries every thing under the sun, from escapism, turning to be an alcoholic to attempting suicide and attempt to homicide. His pain may look poetic on screen, it swings between desolation to desperation. Looking for the last metaphoric straw of hope in the winds of change.
The other side of coin too gains prominence with fixation for success.

Skeptic zones

Skeptic zones

Two things happened last week in the second highest per capita income state of Haryana. Also, the state of fast growing SEZs. Where, only 86.7 girls survive, expected to attain womanhood for a hundred men.
Sarita, an ordinary woman from Rohtak, raped by two police constables, died in the office of DGP at Panchkula. She had consumed poison before meeting the DGP. She told the DGP what she had done, as, she had no hope of receiving justice from the system. Five hours were spent before her death and interview with the DGP. Nothing was done. Perhaps, her word was not important enough for attention.
Her mother too was raped and murdered, twenty years back. This forced her father to leave his ancestral village.
The Chief Minister released the logo and motto of the first women’s university in the state, BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya at Khanpur Kalan. ‘Empowering women with Education’, the motto was prominently displayed on the logo.
Sarita tried all that an educated, so called empowered woman could have done to get heard, despite her modest educational background.
The same day chief secretary, Dharam Veer, addressing a press conference asked the scribes to change the topic when they pestered him with queries on Sarita’s suicide. He wanted to talk about success story of SEZ.

google.com and http error

Google .com and HTTP Error

Our deep Hindu philosophy has taught us that everything has two sides. The two sides of the same coin types. So, if there is google .com that pops up with all sorts of information, there is HTTP error to balance it out.
So is with the newspapers. With their share of google .coms and HTTP errors. Well, the errors outnumber the googles. Not, that it matters. After all, google is only information, available at the click of a mouse that remains there only till the next click clicks the first one out. This does not signify wisdom. After all, in the business of the news paper, that is used for wrapping up samosas and cleaning baby shit the next day, who requires the wise? They could only be a burden. What if they refuse to disappear with the click of the mouse, the system would fall into deep trouble.
In the world of googles and https, every one paves way for every one else, it’s a different matter that the hidden bugs, at times, eat up the entire work. Like termites, without even making a click sound.

Like the http error landscape of the computer, the people with this character look like an empty screen, with a mind that resounds with hollowness. Since there is a strong echo in the sounds produced by hollowness, all the http errors walk with a swagger that reflects the bloated contours of their hollowness. With the hair of a porcupine, the http error completes the picture of ignorance personified, glorified and deified.
and, we get to see them everyday, spoiling mornings, in print.