जो होता है, अच्छे के लिये होता है! - Everything Happens for the Best!

#बंड्याउवाच #शब्दचित्रं 

जो होता है, अच्छे के लिये होता है!

पूर्वी एक कथा वाचली होती... जे काही होतं ते चांगल्यासाठीच अशा आशयाची. अर्थात जेव्हा एखादी घटना घडते तेव्हां याचा परिणाम पुढे चांगलाच होणार आहे हे आपाल्याला माहित नसतं. कधीकधी चांगल्यासाठी होणारी एखादी घटना एखाद्या अप्रिय घटनेचं सोंग घेऊन येते.

कधीकधी ही अप्रिय वाटणारी घटना आपला आणि आपल्या कुटुंबाचा जीव वाचवण्यासाठी कारणीभूत ठरते!

मागच्या एक-दोन आठवड्यांत या प्रकारची चांगलीच प्रचिती आली.

घटना #१:

आमच्या ऑफिसतर्फे मला दोन महिन्यांसाठी लंडनला पाठवण्याची तयारी चालली होती. पुण्यातल्या कडक उन्हाळ्यातून लंडनच्या आल्हाददायक उन्हाळ्यात जाण्याची संधी फारच छान वाटली. लंडनमध्ये कुठंकुठं जाऊन पेंटिंग्स करायची, कोणत्या जागांना भेट द्यायची, इत्यादी बरेच मनसुबे चालू झाले होते.

ऑफिसमध्ये प्रवासासाठी लागणारी कागदपत्रं, अँप्रूव्हल्स यांची गडबड ऐन भरात होती. व्हिसासाठी २-३ दिवसात अपॉइंटमेंट घ्यायची आणि ११ मे पर्यंत 'उडायचं' इतका प्रवास नजीक आला होता...

आणि अचानक कस्टमरकडून सगळ्या प्रवासांवर टाच आली. पुढची नोटीस येईपर्यंत कुणालाही लंडनला पाठवू नका असा फतवा निघाला. हातातोंडाशी आलेला प्रवास रद्द झाला!

आता मी काही प्रथमच भारताबाहेरच्या प्रवासाला निघालो नव्हतो, आणि लंडनलाही मी अनेकदा गेलो आहे. त्यामुळे माझ्यासाठी हा प्रवास रद्द होणं म्हणजे फार निराशेची गोष्ट नव्हती, पण नाही म्हणालं तरी मन जरा खट्टू झालंच. लंडनच्या सगळ्या बेतांवर पाणी पडलं होतं.

घटना #२:

आमच्या घरी सध्या नवीन फर्निचर आणि घराच्या नूतनीकरणाचं काम चालू असल्यामुळे बऱ्याच नवीन-जुन्या वस्तूंचे शोध लागू लागले. ज्या वस्तू आम्ही कधीकाळी खरेदी केल्या होत्या, आणि कपाटात इतकी वर्षं गुडूप झालेल्या होत्या, त्या अचानक अवतीर्ण होऊ लागल्या. कित्येक वस्तू तर कशा आणि का आपल्याकडे आल्या याचंही कोडं उलगडलेलं नाहीये.

असंच एकदा एक कपाट उपसताना आम्हाला एक emergency light सापडला. बऱ्याच वर्षांपूर्वी घरी आलेला हा लाईट फारसा कधी वापरला गेला नव्हता. लावून पाहिला तर हा लाईट चालू स्थितीत होता. फक्त त्याची रिचार्जेबल बॅटरी चार्ज करण्याची गरज होती.

१३ तारखेला रात्री झोपताना आम्ही या emergency light च्या बॅटरीचा प्लग स्वयंपाकघरातल्या एका पॉइंटला चार्ज करायला लावला. सकाळपर्यंत बॅटरी चार्ज झाली की हा लाईट परत आत ठेवून देऊ असा आमचा विचार होता.

त्या रात्री का कोण जाणे, पण काही केल्या मला झोपच येत नव्हती. थोड्या वेळानं अक्षरशः चिडचिड होऊ लागली माझी. सकाळी लवकर उठायचं म्हणून गजर लावला होता, पण झोप हुलकावण्या देत होती.

रात्री पाऊणच्या सुमाराला स्वयंपाकघरातून खट्ट असा आवाज आला. आधी मला वाटलं की पोरांपैकी कुणीतरी स्वयंपाकघरात येऊन धडपडलं, त्यामुळे मी कान टवकारले. पण त्यानंतर कोणताच आवाज आला नाही. मी परत डोळे मिटले.

आणि एकदम माझ्या नाकाला रॉकेल जळाल्यासारखा एक सूक्ष्म वास आला. मला आता बेडमधून उठून परत झोप उडवण्याची अजिबात इच्छा नव्हती. पण मला आतून काहीतरी जाणवलं आणि नक्की काय झालंय हे पाहण्याची प्रबळ इच्छा झाली.

काही सेकंदातच मी बेडरूमचा दरवाजा उघडून स्वयंपाकघरात धावलो, आणि समोरचं दृष्य बघून अक्षरशः हादरलो!

ज्या ठिकाणी तो रिचार्जेबल लाईट ठेवला होता त्या ठिकाणी धडधडून आग पेटली होती. त्याच्या शेजारच्या फूड प्रोसेसरनेही पेट घेतला होता. आसपासच्या पाण्याच्या प्लॅस्टिकच्या बाटल्या उष्णतेनं वेड्यावाकड्या झाल्या होत्या. आधीच्या ज्वाळा २-२.५ फूट वरच्या लाकडी कपाटाला खालून भिडल्या होत्या आणि ते कपाट कधीही पेटण्याच्या बेतात होतं!

तोपर्यंत अपर्णाही माझ्या मागोमाग स्वयंपाकघरात पोचली होती. दोघांनीही पटापट त्या आगीतून वाचलेल्या पाण्याच्या बाटल्या उचलल्या आणि त्या आगीवर रिकाम्या केल्या. सुदैवानं आग लगेच शांत झाली. पण प्लास्टिक आणि बॅटरीच्या जळण्यामुळे भयंकर घाणेरड्या वासाचा धूर घरभर पसरला होता. आम्ही घराच्या सगळ्या खिडक्या उघडल्या. हळूहळू सगळं वातावरण निवळलं, पण त्या धक्क्यानं झोप मात्र उडाली!

या प्रसंगातून आम्ही चांगलाच धडा शिकलो. जुन्या वस्तूंमध्ये फार मन गुंतवायचं नाही. जर वेळच्या वेळी तो लाईट फेकून दिला असता तर हि वेळ आली नसती.

आणि मग मनात विचार आला... जर का ऑफिसतर्फे ठरल्याप्रमाणे मी लंडनला गेलो असतो तर त्या रात्री मी घरी नसतो! आणि त्या रात्री माझ्याशिवाय कुणालाच आगीचा पत्ता लागला नव्हता. मग मी नसतो तर काय अनर्थ होऊ शकला असता! विचार करूनच थरकाप उडतो.

आणि मग परत एकदा पटलं... जो होता है, अच्छे के लिये होता है!

Everything Happens for the Best!

A few years ago, I had read a story. The moral of the story was the principle that whatever happens, happens for the better, even though we may sometimes dislike it when it’s happening.

Naïve as it may seem, I keep getting the experience of the truth of this principle again and again. The latest incident proving this principle once again happened this week, and it saved mine and my family’s lives!

Incident #1:

I was all set to travel to London for a couple of months due to my office work. Summer is the worst season in Pune and the best season in London. So I was looking forward to spending my summer there. I had also planned on sketching various London landmarks and visiting many museums. The plan for spending two months in London was all set.

In the office, I was busy filling out documentation, submitting various forms, and preparing for the logistics. I was supposed to complete the visa formalities and reach London on 11^th of May.

And then the client applied a freeze over all onsite travel and told me to hold my travel indefinitely!

I was not exactly devastated after this news. I have travelled to London numerous times, so it was not exactly a novelty or a chance of a lifetime for me. But still, I was a little disappointed. But I decided to take it in my stride (as if I had a choice in the matter!).

Incident #2:

A great deal of renovation is currently going on in our house. When such things happen, we are forced to look through the stuff we have accumulated over the years and take a stock. In the process, we start discovering so many articles that we had somehow acquired. Most of the times, we find it hard to recall how these articles landed in our homes at the first place.

We came across one such device while emptying a cupboard marked for demolition. This was an emergency LED light with a built-in rechargeable battery. We had hardly used it during its multi-year presence in our household. But when we tested it, it worked. So, we decided to keep it.

We thought that we would fully charge the battery overnight and then keep the device shelved properly. So, we connected the device to the electrical socket on the kitchen top before retiring for the day. This was the night of the 13^th May.

That night, I was somehow finding it very hard to sleep. The mind was flooded with useless and irrelevant thoughts and sleep was constantly eluding me. This was getting very irritating for me. I wanted to wake up early the next day and had even set up an alarm. But how was I supposed to wake up refreshed if I could not sleep on time?

Around 12:45am,I heard a small popping sound from the kitchen. It sounded like the closing of door of a microwave oven. My first thought was that one of my kids must have walked inside the kitchen and stumbled in the dark. However, I did not hear any sound following the initial pop, and I started relaxing.

That’s when the smell hit me.

I could smell something burning.

Within a few seconds, I had burst out of the bedroom into the kitchen. The sight in the kitchen had me absolutely stunned.

The place where the LED light had been kept was up in flames. The flames had already risen more than two feet and had engulfed the adjoining food processor. The flames were licking the bottom of the wooden cupboard holding the glass crockery. Anytime, the fire would spread to the wooden cupboard, and then it would be unstoppable.

Hearing me burst out of the bedroom, my wife had followed me into the kitchen. We both quickly came to our senses and started emptying the drinking water bottles over the blaze. Fortunately, the blaze quickly subsided. But the house was filled with the toxic smoke from the burning battery and plastic parts. We opened all windows to let the fresh air come in. After a few minutes, the acrid smoke was gone.

We went back to the bed, but the sleep has left us, replaced by utter shock.

This was a hard lesson for us… never hesitate in getting rid of the old stuff in your house, particularly such items with old batteries.

But the real moment of revelation came when I thought…

What if my travel plan had gone through? On the night of the 13^th May, I would be in London, and no one would detect the fire until it was too late! This thought alone is a stuff of the nightmares.

So even if the cancellation of the travel was unpleasant, it turned out to be the best thing that happened to me.

Everything happens for the best!

Avengers: Endgame – How The Avengers destroyed the world!

 

Warning: spoilers ahead. If you haven’t watched the Endgame till now, read at your own risk.

After the collective shockwave that spanned the globe following Thanos’ finger snapping at the end of “Avengers-Infinity War”, we have the second biggest spectacle of 2019 (The first one is of course the elections!).

The return of our beloved superheroes was inevitable, as was the tried and tested time-travel formula.

The joy and excitement in the movie hall when our lost superheroes made a grand entrance on the battlefield to fight the Mother of all Battles against Thanos’s army was both overwhelming and infectious.

But in our collective herogasm of the moment, we did overlook a few facts, which if we understand correctly, would take us to a singular conclusion: 

By restoring the universe to the pre-Thanos-finger-snapping moment, the Avengers destroyed the world.

Curious to know how? Well, keep reading at your own risk.

When Thanos snapped his fingers in Infinity War, half the population of the universe disappeared.

When Hulk snapped his fingers in Endgame, that same population reappeared after a gap of five years, just to make sure the timeline is not (overtly) altered.

Now think of the implications. 

This is where the fun starts 😊

Remember that last scene from Infinity War, just before Nick Fury disappeared? A helicopter crashed into a building, most probably because its pilot disappeared.

After five years, imagine where that pilot reappeared? Exactly at the same spot where he had disappeared.

Two hundred feet above the ground.

Without a helicopter to hold him in the air!

I think he was better off five years ago!

What about the passengers who disappeared in the middle of their plane journeys? They would reappear thirty thousand feet into the sky! What a spectacular way to make a comeback, or should I say, a splatback!

Think of a fellow who disappeared from an open space. If that open space is now occupied by any kind of solid structure, the person may have reappeared partly embedded within the structure, killing him/her instantly.

Then what about the people who disappeared while driving? They would reappear in the middle of busy roads full of fast-moving traffic, sans their vehicles.

And these are just the physical issues of people reappearing.

What about the social issues?

Imagine this.

Five years ago, you had a loving spouse, and a couple of very sweet kids.

After Thanos snapped his fingers, all of them were gone.

You were devastated. You mourned their loss for a full year.

Then you realized that half the world probably shared your grief. So, you decided to move on.

You married again. Had a couple of kids during the next four years.

Then Hulk snapped his fingers, and boom!

Now you have two families, and probably your new spouse too!

Now imagine this:

You were a very wealthy, successful entrepreneur till the Thanos finger-snap. You had your own condo with a view, a luxury beach house, and a porche to show off your wealth.

Post the Thanos-fingersnap, you were gone.

Now, you are suddenly back after five years only to find out that your fancy condo with a view, beach house, assorted cars and your business is completely taken over by survivors of the Thanos finger-snap. All of your life savings are gone. You are nothing but a homeless bum now.

Five years is enough time for anyone to get used to anything.

Since the last Thanos finger-snap, people must have got used to less traffic snarls, smaller queues, and an abundance of resources. The production of food and every commodity must have adjusted to cater for the smaller population. This is the simple law of demand and supply.

Now suddenly, post the Hulk finger-snap, the world population doubled in a single moment! What do you think would happen to the world if the population doubles overnight?

It’s a recipe for a Civil War!

Can the world survive such sudden strain on its resources?

We are not even going into the subject of all the criminals, terrorists and politicians, who has disappeared previously, and would make a comeback to the present day!

Are you pissed off with the Avengers yet?

Now imagine such a catastrophe happening on every habitable planet across the universe, thanks to the short sightedness of our beloved Avengers!

No points for guessing whom I will root for in the battle between Avengers and Thanos!!

Follow Your Passion is the Biggest Bull***t You Ever Heard!

“Follow your passion” is the new-age mantra we hear all around us. “Don’t chase after money”, “Don’t waste your life in a nine-to-five”. “Live life on your own terms”. We keep coming across these sentences so frequently, that we actually start believing them!

Recently, I watched a couple of Hindi movies which advocated the following:

1. Money is not important in life, only happiness is.
2. You have only one life to live, so live like there’s no tomorrow. What are your money/possessions worth if you die tomorrow? So enjoy them today.
3. Take whatever risks you want to take, be even reckless because if you die doing the reckless stuff, you will still have lived fully!
4. Follow your passion. Do what you love and money will follow.

Considering the facts that the entire Hindi film industry survives on unrealistic and not-to-be-taken-seriously themes, some might ask… “Why so serious?”!

However, considering how much I get to hear this so-called philosophy from numerous people around me, I seriously doubt that these people look at such movies as mere entertainment.

If you want to keep believing this stuff, don’t read ahead.

Still here? All right, let’s dissect these statements one-by-one (and also look at why this article’s title is wrong!).

Money is not important in life, only happiness is.

Mind you, the protagonists preach all of this while spending thousands of dollars on renting palatial homes, hopping across continents on first-class flights, and branded clothes and purses!

In the pursuit of that elusive stuff called “happiness”, most of us lose focus on the most important quality in our life … balance!

You see, if you get to party 365 days a year, eventually you will lose all happiness out of partying!

Although money should not be the sole aim of everything we do, it’s still important. Money is inherently not evil like many people (and even our parents) made us believe.

Money is a tool, just like a kitchen knife. A kitchen knife can be used for assisting cooking, and the same knife can be used to slit a person’s throat! And money can bring in a lot of happiness, ask any shopper :-).

You have only one life to live, so live like there’s no tomorrow. What are your money/possessions worth if you die tomorrow? So enjoy them today.

Riiiiight!

And what happens if you don’t die tomorrow? Or for the next ten years? Or for the next fifty years?

If you spend everything today, will you be in a position to feed yourself and your lifestyle then?

Doesn’t mean you hoard all the money and do not enjoy anything.

But just like anything in life, a balance is necessary here.

Take whatever risks you want to take, be even reckless because if you die doing the reckless stuff, you will still have lived fully!

Right. If you die doing the reckless stuff today, you will have still lived… assuming there are only two outcomes of doing the reckless stuff… dying, or coming through unscathed.

But what if you break your neck, or spine, and become wheelchair bound for the life?

Or have a serious accident and spend the next six months in a hospital?

Taking calculated risks to indulge in new, unique experiences is absolutely fine. But taking reckless risks is something only the fools can afford to do!

Follow your passion! Do what you love and money will follow.

This is the big one.

Do you like singing, dancing, painting, or knitting? Do you have a hobby which keeps you engrossed for hours? Do you feel alive doing something which you absolutely love?

Do you think you are at such a level that people will pay you for your hobby? I mean, in terms of actual, real money, which can buy things? Not just the so-called ‘exposure’ or ‘recommendations’?

Very few people realize that there’s a world of difference between “having a passion” and “having a marketable passion”.

Here’s a newsflash… having a hobby which you enjoy does not mean people will pay you for it!

Getting paid for what we love is a different ball game than simply loving to do something.

There are multiple factors which dictate whether you will be paid for your hobby:

1. Being absolutely brilliant, or at least moderately good is only the first step. Thousands of people like to sing, but how many can sing even moderately well?

Just watch the trials of the so-called singing reality shows to see what I mean.

2. The skill that you have must have a market. If you are really good at knitting tiny socks for dogs, the only people who may buy from you will the dog owners who want tiny socks for their dogs. Needless to say, this market segment will be minuscule compared to people who want to learn drawing or computer programming.

           

But at the same time, because the market to teach computer programming is so big, It’s highly competitive. If you want to make serious money in this market, you need to really stand out.

3. The dreaded M word! - Whether you like it or not (And most probably, you won’t), you must market your wares.

I know, it would be delightful to create an artwork/song/book and immediately receive a paycheck of a million dollars for it!

Unfortunately, such cases are as rare as one in a million, too.

So here’s a newsflash: unless you make a conscious effort to reach your audience/customers, no one cares what your skill is. And even when you do reach them, they will be interested in your skill only if they feel that it’s beneficial to them.

Why it’s still possible to Follow Your Passion AND make a living

Does it mean I must keep ignoring my passion and hobbies, and I would never have the chance to live my life as I want?

Certainly not!

You will see hundreds of examples worldwide where people have made a living out of their passions/hobbies.

What you may not see is the cost they have paid for reaching there.

It took years of practice, sacrifices, discomfort, constant improvements, and multiple failures before these people could reach a level where their skills became saleable.

And then it took efforts and trials finding the right market to sell their skills.

And then came the innumerable emotional and monetary ups & downs through which they managed to survive, even thrive.

After reading this, I think I should just give up because I know that my skills and hobbies are definitely not saleable!

Not necessarily.

First of all, even though your hobbies may not be saleable immediately, they still give you immense pleasure and the will to live. So continue following them.

At the same time, start finding various avenues where you can sell these skills.

The skill you have may not be saleable in the form you know of. But due to the level playing field called the internet, many different forms of selling are available.

For example, let’s say your expertise is in making cakes.

What avenue comes to your mind immediately when selling this expertise?

Selling the cakes?

Yes, it’s definitely something you can try. But think about the competition. How many cake shops are around you? How many sellers are already involved in selling cakes? Can you compete with them in terms of efficiency? Home delivery? Variety of designs?

How many people do you think you can reach? Can you cover a vast area in the city, or will you be confined to a few blocks?

Does it already feel overwhelming?

It will if you think selling cakes as the only avenue for selling.

Instead, you can make a YouTube video of your recipe and publish it. That way, you can reach thousands and possibly even millions of viewers.

Or you can write a recipe book for making cakes.

Or you can conduct live classes for making cakes.

Or you can use your book to sell your online classes/live classes for making cakes.

Or you can do affiliate marketing for equipment manufacturers/cakemakers.

The possibilities are endless.  You just need to keep your eyes, ears and mind open.

And yes, the last best time to focus on enhancing your skills was ten or twenty years ago.

The next best time is now! Make the most of it NOW.

The Enemy Within!

The attack on the CRPF jawans in Kashmir yesterday came as a very rude shock to all Indians, and I was no exception. More than forty precious lives lost to a bunch of jihadi fanatics. It’s no secret where these terrorists come from. Yet, they could not have orchestrated such an attack without support from within the country.

Investigations will go on. The machinations to avenge the attack may have already begun. There have been emotional calls from another surgical strike to outright war to nuking Pakistan. None of these are feasible at the moment if anyone is sensible to think.

Pakistan has played a very problematic game for the Modi government. The government will no doubt get pressurized to act and avenge the attack. If they go ahead with strikes within Pak occupied territory, Pak forces will be fully prepared to engage our troops, resulting in further (possibly heavy) casualties for our soldiers. If they don’t act now, it will create a serious image problem for the government.

And they have only a few months to act before the elections.

But that is another debate.

However, more than the attack itself, a much ruder shock came to me when I opened today’s TOI. I was expecting a headline on something in the tune of “Forty soldiers martyred in a terrorist attack”, but the headline said, “India blames Pak after local youth rams CRPF convoy with IED-packed SUV….”.

So losing 40+ precious lives, who were possibly the only breadwinners for their families, was not important. The fact that most of these bodies were beyond recognition and their families could not even have a last look at their loved ones was not important.

Highlighting that the Indian government blamed Pak (as if the Indian government was shedding their responsibility and passing it to Pak) was more important.

Calling a guy, who was clearly a religious fanatic, a Pak sympathizer, and a terrorist, a “local youth” from J&K was more important.

That time I realized how deep the system is rotten.

Let’s look at some facts:

1.       The responsibility of the attack is claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad, which is led by Azar Masood.

2.       Masood has been openly living in Pakistan since he was released in exchange for the lives of the passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane a few years ago.

So it does not take rocket science to understand that this attack originated from Pak.

But ignoring the obvious and pushing the leftist agenda is the politically correct thing to do.

As soon as the attack happened, many so-called intellectuals came out of their holes to give a clean chit to Pak, asking for restraint and dialogue. Some of the politicians were even quick to make statements to get political mileage out of the situation.

I doubt what their reaction would be if one of their family members arrives home in a coffin in multiple pieces!

With people like these in our midst, who needs enemies?

Before parting, just one thought.

In Mahabharata, Kauravas and Pandavas were always ready to rip each other’s throats. However, when an external kingdom dared to invade their kingdom, they always fought together.

Those who forget their history are condemned to live it again! Let’s hope that’s not us!