The Beautiful Enchantress Called Success

Which is that delicious fruit that we all want to taste badly but which doesn’t really grow on trees?

Which is that one thing that adds meaning to all our endeavors and outlines it with a smile?

Yes, well, the title of this post clearly told you all what I am talking about. Yes! Success! Say the word out loud. Don’t you feel better already?

From the little kid who holds the first medal in his school sports day, stands on the dais and hears the crowd clapping, to the professional cricket players  holding the cricket world cup (#WC2015, the cricket fever is back!) – success probably tastes the same to all. And no matter how old it is, no matter how many times it has been repeated, one never grows tired of it (or does he?). Coming to think of it, would it be a bad idea to compare success to a bottle of vintage wine? Probably, not much.

Success comes to us in many forms – winning the first tournament for your college, or the first crush who finally becomes the boyfriend or girlfriend, or getting the first book published, or, like in my case, getting a new job you had no hope of getting.

I knew this little kid who used to underestimate herself, who always thought others were better than her. She always stood first in her class in academics, but nonetheless, she never stopped under-estimating herself.

That girl is writing this article today, fresh from her successful attempt at getting placed at a leading analytics firm. Success for her isn’t about bagging the high-paid job which is probably the aim of every fresher out of an engineering college. It’s more about a self-exploration for her. She did not believe that she would get past even the first round. But luck had other things in store.

Paulo Coelho wrote correctly, when you really want something, the whole universe conspires to help you get that thing. He was even more correct when he placed more importance on beginner’s luck.

Success isn’t probably about proving to the world what you are capable of (though, I don’t deny it changes people’s ideas about you by leaps and bounds. Suddenly you are not that mediocre creature anymore at whom no one stared back). It is more about realizing the strength that already was within you, waiting to be exposed. For those who are under-confident, it is more like starting to believe in themselves, to finally take the toddler steps to self-confidence. They don’t need others to pat their back. They are happy to have proved themselves wrong.

The beauty of success isn’t in the outcome of the event alone. It is in the fact that it acts as an inspiration to many more endeavors to be taken in future.

Dear Success, please visit us often, and let us have a taste of your divine texture! Amen!

Money-centric

I love photographs! I love having them framed and presented to my loves ones even more.

I spend hours editing the photos, applying appropriate effects and adding frames to them before I go to the studio to have it printed.

Hence began my encounter with a local photo studio. It’s near my present paying guest accommodation.

I generally get the photos printed, laminated and framed. I had earlier done the same previously from a different studio and it cost me Rs. 180.

So, when this local shopkeeper charged me Rs. 180 for the first photo that I got done from there, I thought everything was fine.

By the second photo, he had somewhat recognized me. The charge was still the same. But he did not offer me a receipt like the first time. I thought it was fine for it was a local shop. After all, I had received no complaints with the first photo, and I bothered more about the product itself than the receipt.

The third photo that I got done from that studio was for a friend. She was supposed to gift it to someone, so I asked for a receipt from the shopkeeper. He said there was no need for it. I mentioned I was getting it done for a friend, but he maintained his position. My friend had to take my word of mouth on the making charge of the photo.

A few days ago I needed to get another photo done from the studio. It was a gift for my parents on their anniversary, and it was special to me.

It was roughly six months since I had visited the studio last. The shopkeeper didn’t seem to recognize me anymore.

This time he said it would charge me two hundred bucks to get the photo done, in the very same manner I had got the previous three photos done.

Naturally, I bargained. He said Rs. 180 was too low. Fine, he would do it at Rs. 190.

I mentally blamed the inflation, and agreed.

As usual, he did not offer me a receipt. He wrote the advance amount I paid in a copy he maintained (hundred rupees) and wrote down the balance left to be paid as another hundred rupees. “But it should be ninety, isn’t it?”

“It’s okay. I’d return you ten rupees when you come to take the photo.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t forget?”

He said, “Of course, I wouldn’t.”

I left, having great faith in the word of mouth.

Five days later I went to collect the photo. He said it wasn’t done yet, as the photo he had initially printed had somehow got folded in the middle, and created a crease. He showed me the defective picture. Indeed, it was creased. He couldn’t use the same for framing, as it wouldn’t look nice. He asked for two more days.

Today I went to receive the photo again. When I arrived he was lecturing a person about politics and money. He was saying, “You see, people have lost their conscience. A person who has passed just class eight and has become a millionaire is respected in this country. And a man who has done his Ph.D. and is jobless has no value. People only see and care about the money.”

I smiled, agreeing internally.

I enquired if my photo was done. He was so busy in his musings that he took a while to reply. Yes, it was done.

He handed me the photo. I took out a hundred-rupee note and gave it to him. “You had promised to charge one hundred ninety rupees,” I said.

“Ah! I am not going to give you back the ten rupees. Instead, I am giving you the other photo, and you give me twenty rupees more. Here, see the photo,” he said, handing me the creased photo.

“But I don’t need the other photo. You can keep it.”

“What would I do with it?”

“But I didn’t ask you to crease it!” I retorted, angry now.

He merely said it took him thirty rupees to get the photo printed, and went back to his computer and the other person (who was the listener to his ramblings about people being money-centered these days).

I was rattled. But being a polite representative of the middle-class, for whom prestige is a big issue I refrained myself from arguing further. I didn’t have such an upbringing whereby I would make someone else pay for my expenses. After all, the photo was mine. My parents were in it. (I didn’t feel like saying that if the seller manhandles a product during its design, for whichever be the reason, the customer is not entitled to pay for it)

I asked the friend who had accompanied me to the studio to pay the twenty bucks, as I did not have the cash on me right at that instant.

We took the photo and left.

On the way back, we debated whether what happened was ethical or not. I was disgusted. So was my friend.

Then I made up my mind, promising myself never to return to the studio again.

“He didn’t gain twenty rupees, he lost a customer,” I told myself, though it's a sad attempt to soothe my bruised ego.

The Red Wrapper

Planning a gift for someone is a divine feeling when you put your heart and soul into it. First off, you delve into the memories stored in your mind, trying to find that one special thing that the person you wish to gift desires. You wonder if you can link their desires (often not tangible, expensive products) to the product you have in mind

.

Once you have decided what to buy/make and gift, you find out how much the gift might cost you. If you do not have the luxury of an unlimited budget, you try and twist your ways into finding the perfect gift underlying the concept that might appeal to the one who is being gifted. That probably rubs off the romance of presenting a gift, but don’t stop now, go ahead and plan something else that fits your budget (I really do hate money being a constraint to happiness).

Then, when that mind-boggling argument with yourself and your budget is over, you go buy that perfect piece. Or for the more creative ones among us, maybe they create something (I adore handicrafts!).

Then comes the packaging, the shiny red wrapper that you cover your gift with: the shiner this one, the better.  Then you finish it off with a little personalized touch, maybe a sweet message written on a card which you paste on the cover. Voila! You have the perfect gift.

But you are not done yet. The way you present it matters. You’d want to make it a surprise! You come feigning you don’t even remember the special occasion. You begin a conversation, and secretly enjoy the thrill of the other person guessing whether or not you have brought something special. And then, maybe when everything’s done and you are about to leave, you take out the magic wand from your satchel, and place the gift into the person’s hand. And there! Capture the wonder in that person’s eyes in your mind’s eye. For this is the moment you have been waiting for. Savor each moment till the person finally unwraps the gift, removing the last remnant of the cello-tape you had so carefully pasted, watch minutely how the expressions in the face of the person opposite to you changes with each passing second. Observe him/her carefully till a smile lights up his/her eyes, and his/her arms reach out to give you a big hug (I really hope the person being gifted has a generous heart to accept the gift happily, even if it’s inexpensive). And then you can go on telling stories about how you came to thinking about this particular gift, and what memory makes it special. Trust me, this after-talk often goes a long way in making the whole idea of gifting something beautiful.

From the experience of planning and presenting gift so far, I really enjoy the planning phase of the gift. Earlier, I used to shrink within at the idea of gifting, being always insecure that what I was about to gift might not be up to the desires to the person I am presenting it to (As you can imagine, my budget was always a constraint. It still is!). But then after giving out a few things in gifts, and being received very well by the people I gifted these things to, I really enjoy the concept of gifting people now. And since I can’t play around with the budget much, I make sure I record a particular moment/memory through the gift (like say a friend pointed something at me and said how beautiful it was maybe eight months back, and I decide to buy that thing for him/her). And I always remember to explain why I chose that gift. It makes my story complete. It gives me a sense of fulfillment.  Being able to give is a pleasure only those who have given know.

Lastly, a word to those lucky ones who are being gifted: Please appreciate whatever little gift you receive with a smile. Maybe it’s not as expensive or as big as you might have liked it to, but for once, please put on your best acting masks and give out the best smile and hug that you can. It will quench a thirsty soul, and make someone’s day nice and God will bless you with a better life. Sometimes, a little acting isn’t that bad. What do you think?