I am a big fan of golgappas (pani puris). I go to my favorite chaatwala... Well I am too loyal to this particular fellow. I saw people coming in big swanky cars and actually queuing up! There are many reasons for this like popularity like good PR (he never gets irritated), quality and service as well as a unique taste. So I can easily conclude that this particular chaatwala is famous in his catchment area and a little beyond too. He is excellent at making golgappas and that’s also his profession; he is doing his work diligently and sincerely. So, is he successful?? I asked one of my friends. Pat came the reply: a big NO, because he is a poor chaatwala, uneducated and ‘dehati’. But I disagree.
Mr Shiv Khera says he who does his work sincerely and with honesty is successful... That is why the chaatwala is no less then a mini celebrity in our colony. And yes, the most important- I feel he is free, running his own venture, not subservient to anyone, not doing anyone’s job. His hard work is going to pay ‘him’ and his negligence is also going to cost ‘him’, no one else. He can hold his head high, decide on his own when to open shop, whom to or not to serve, etc… now how many of us in jobs can enjoy this type of freedom??
One of my teachers (a sweet Anglo-Indian lady from Mussouri with an amazing smile and overall personality..:) one day shared with us the story of her senior school friend who failed thrice and yet joined her first job at the same level as hers. My teacher feels that the girl is successful because of her amazing self confidence, and I agree. How many of us will not get depressed or can gather guts to apply for a good job after failing thrice?? Now that girl is doing very well and is in UK currently.
So finally what is the definition or measure of success? Is it a journey or a destination? I feel its means different things to different people but we widely tend to measure it by the preset and outdated academic benchmarks which themselves are yearning for improvement. Kids inclined towards thinking, arts, literature etc are labeled as duffers and failures in schools. I feel a semiliterate housewife efficiently managing a big family in a modest budget, or a student (like u, my dear Bindu..:) topping his/her exams on a tight budget is successful. Women who have sacrificed their personal lives to bring up young siblings are successful because they have perfectly played their roles as sisters, mothers, wives, daughters, etc, all at the same time.
Having a job in a Fortune 500 company but with tearful eyes and pocket full of money, to me, is no success at all. Certainly not better than my favorite golgappa man! What say ???
