The Short Essay..

Alas, I am back with another post, stupidity to be portrayed as ever in this one too..
Well, I had a GD session at IMS today, and hilarious it was. We were asked to write a short essay within the span of five minutes. The topic was given and the ink started to flow. Insanity was embossed on the white papyrus of my classmate notebook. The funny thing; I read out the essay aloud when I was asked to, and in the end I earned a 'well written' compliment from the eminent(?) faculty from British Council. I simply marvel at the praise which was very much unprecedented considering the fact that I always write horrendous stuff, and also the time available here was very less. Probably, my rubbish looked better to them when compared to the work of others.

I've posted the essay below for enlightened souls to read and ponder upon how the faculty from the British Council erred in their judgment.

The Topic : In the past, success was certain if you were wealthy but its not true anymore.

The Essay :
'Throw in your cash, life becomes a bash' was the common notion in the earlier days. The rich continued to thrive in the society where their wealth was the focal point.

In our country though, stepped in the government with rules, that did its best to reverse this trend. The first stop was education. Reservations became the order of the day much to the delight of the less privileged who for generations had been struggling to break the shackles to reap the benefits of quality education from the elite institutions.

The Universities which once upon a time accepted cash to educate the undeserving could do it no more. The same was the case when one had to hunt for a job. Recommendations were not much of a lifeline anymore. The resume had to speak for the candidate and this depended upon the qualification which had to be obtained purely by merit, and not by splashing wealth.

But at times, personal wealth has shown its ability too. Take the case of Abhinav Bindra, who is now considered a legend in our country. He used to travel to his range for training in a Mercedes accompanied by his driver and his servant. He was one who had never experienced the strenuous life which was endured by several other aspirants. The truth is, his wealth, apart from his talent enabled him to grab the Olympic Gold. An exceptional case.

The times have changed though. The equation for the majority is pretty simple: 'You don't get success from wealth anymore, but You do get wealth from success.'(punch dialogue)

The Destiny..

It was one weird incident that evolved, that day.. He, was on his way to the theater, to witness the screening of a movie scheduled to start thirty minutes from then; two hours from noon..

It was a pleasant day, reason one, being the weather; reason two, being the day, on which sixty one years ago, the nation was rid of the British rule for the supposed good.. The roads were void, with plenty of room to gallop; the sun was up there taking shelter behind the puff of clouds.. Three special colors had taken shape everywhere, forming their outline on vehicles, on attire, and in the hearts of millions..

He though, was trying to decipher the solution to an enigma which he had foreseen en route. And then suddenly, though not unexpectedly, he was stopped on his way by one grotesque figure, clad in strange attire with a mysterious look upon the face.. He knew that he was staring at those eyes, which belonged, to the 'God of Death'..

"The time.. is now.. The life of thy, has an end.. And the end is here.." said the God with a cunning smile upon his face..

"No, it ain't possible.. Housed in my heart, is an ambition, and I believe it is my destiny to fulfill my goal, and achieve my ambition.."

"Son, the world has got ambitions.. The young and the old.. Dog or Man, an ambition exists.. An ambition is like a phoenix.. One ambition is done; the next is reborn.. Its a chain.. If I were to let people to get to their ambitions, none will ever leave this domain, the cosmos will have to suffocate.."

"My destiny is mine to create, and so is my ambition. Nothing can stop me, not even you.." said the lad..

"what is that ambition of yours..?"

"It is 'to live on'.."

Escaped, those words from the heart of the young lad, words fueled by undying desire causing the grotesque God of Death to think.. 'This encounter was quite unprecedented', thought he..

The God of Death too had a destiny, that of to meet the one who would repel the almighty himself away.. making him realize, that he was not the one to decide the destiny of his people.. One had the power to control their own destiny. That which was needed to achieve it was only the 'belief', which was the actual God..

Retreated the God of Death, from the scene.. It was decided. He would never meet this lad again.. The lad, continued his journey.. knowing that nothing could stop him from reaching his destination.. If there was something that could stop him, it was he himself..

The Act of Stealing..

Well, this might end up being like the confession of a crime topper, but yeah, I don't mind being called one such person though I guess I no longer am the same..

I remember, once upon a time, after I got back home from college one day, I was talking to this friend of mine with whom I used to talk quite regularly.. She asked me

"how was your day..?" to which I answered

"One awesome day, and you know what.. I helped the college incur a loss of Rs.50.." and she asked me

"how..??".. to which I shamelessly replied..

"I just took out stuff from the canteen when they weren't noticing, some talent to do that..!"..

And I really got slaughtered by her that day..

"You stole huh..?.. Thats not a great thing..! Its probably the worst thing ever.."

..and I tried justifying my act of insanity, projecting this villain as the Robin Hood who was performing the act of 'stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor'.. (I considered myself poor in this very case).. But she persisted.. saying..

"I dunno, but its not right.. I don't feel good when you do all this..".. and this dragged on to set shape to an argument which lead to a fight..

Days went by, and so did the months.. And now, I realize that she was indeed very correct in what she said.. 'Stealing was and is an act of immorality..'.. Its probably the worst sin ever in this world..

I just finished the book 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini, and at a particular instant in the book, the story brushes upon the definition of sins and stealing.. 'Amir' asks his father about sins to which his father replies..

"When you kill a man, you steal a life.. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father.. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.. There is no act more wretched than stealing.. A man who takes what is not his to take has supposedly committed a sin, one which can never be forgiven.."

I am not trying to preach values over here, I merely am talking about something which I very recently realized.. And I am sure I will never commit the same mistake again.. Even an attractive Parker pen which lies unclaimed on my desk will not attract my attention, owing to the fact that it rightfully does not belong to me..

I had been thinking about this all day long, which is the reason for this post.. I have now understood the mistake that my friend was trying to point out to me long ago..

To my friend who bestowed upon me this bit of sense..

"Thanks..! I owe it all to you.."

whats the time..?

During those golden olden days, when the time, was needed to be known, one would look up at the skies searching for the position of the sun, its relative position with the horizon.. and bang.. there was your time..

As time went by, inferring it became a lot more easier. Up went that hand, one little turn and your watch told you what you had been looking for. But then, as more days went by.. the time lost its importance in the world of watches. The watches started dominating the time; they started becoming the more eminent species of the duo.

Once Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, the Swiss giant in watch manufacturing, while travelling on a Boeing met up with his old friend who immediately recognized him, and asked him..

'Hello there my dear Hans.. Hows the watch business going..?'.. to which Mr.Wilsdorf coolly replied..

'Watch business? What watch business? I don't do any watch business.'

The friend was quite baffled by this unforeseen reply.. Mr.Wilsdorf, who sensed that his friend had missed the cliche then explained..

'My dear friend, we at Rolex do jewelery business, not mere watch business.'

True, realized his friend. If one's aim was to identify merely the time, a Rolex would not be necessary in anyway. Any ordinary piece of dial with two hands, showing the time would have sufficed. Ultimately, the aim, was not the time.. It was the watch, that piece of 'jewelery' rather.