So how lucky are you?

A few days back I came across an article that talked about the results of a research about if there is really something like ‘lucky’ and ‘unlucky’ people. They wanted to find out if this is really a matter of chance or ‘kismat’ that some people are lucky and some are not. Or is it that there are some ‘ingredients’ that make a lucky person and are hard-to-find in a so called unlucky person…Well, interestingly, the research concluded…to the dismay of people who like to call themselves unlucky and to the joy of the lucky ones, that, there are some traits (nice ones ofcourse) that make a person lucky. There are reasons why they lucky people have more opportunities and succeed more often. It said that the ‘lucky’ people are better at identifying opportunities, they have better instincts and are quicker decision makers so as to seize the opportunities and act upon it, while the hapless ones are still thinking about what to do…Well, as easy as it seems to be possible to conclude, surveying say a few hundred people, maximum a thousand, can we really conclude the how the dynamics of the world comprised of over 6 billion people and many times animals and thousands of other natural forces works. I understand the purpose of the research was probably just to take a peek into the matter and to try to rationalize it as has been the attempt of us humans about most of the things around us; nature, space, animals, plants, trees, hills, oceans, and course about ourselves-humans. In the end of all of this is however, one realization that, some things are beyond us, and be better left like that. Luck in terms of a person missing an interview for a job because of getting late for it, or not going for it altogether because of realizing late that this is a great opportunity, is explainable. But what in the case of say an earthquake or a tsunami or a bomb blast(more relevant in our times now)? How is it that the earthquake decides where to wreak havoc? How do the waves decide where to wreck their fury? What can our luck as a human do in those cases? Well I know like me you are also recalled of a few friends who have told you, “You know, I was planning a vacation to Thailand but then somehow I could not make it” or “but then something inside told me to not go”..: )..Thank god for these ‘something insides”…but what about the rest of those who did go down with it?Even for the case of missing an interview, there are always, I believe, a Thousand forces at play around us..making us do some things, stopping/ hindering us from doing some things. I like to accept that they are beyond us. I like to accept the largeness of the life. I like to accept the strange, intricate dependencies between the lives of people who don’t know each other. What if my husband had met someone who was exactly like me, but less of a ‘nag’ than me ( :) ), and more lucky than me (course to have found him before me :) )…I could not have helped it, as much as I would have hated it….I don’t want to conclude anything, its belief. And this is one belief we ought to take up as it suits us…If you feel better thinking ‘your destiny is in your hands’ (n blah), I think that’s the ways. But if you believe, you play your part and be done, and feel complacent about your tiny place in this vibrant system beyond everyone, so be it for you…What do you say?

Just a little more thought

The divide between the haves and have-nots becomes more and more stark as each day goes by. If I bother to look around and give a thought to the people I see on my way to office, if I see the people serving me food in a restaurant or in office, a chain of thought sometimes follows. This realization is started of course with age and with books like White tiger and movies like Slumdog millionaire. As lame as it may sound, that it takes a movie or a book to open our mind to a thinking like this, while what we have been seeing all our lives around us goes neglected, it goes to emphasize the importance of movies and books in widening the sensitivities of an individual. But that is not my point here. When I returned from my short trip abroad, the difference was too hard to ignore. That country had nothing like have-nots. Only lesser-haves. While here, so many people struggle for their everyday meals. They live in conditions unimaginable to people who hunt for apartments fanatically looking for ones designed according to ‘Vastu’. I cringe when I think of what kind of house would this waiter serving me food would be living in. How many people would be sharing that one doleful, not even minimal accommodation(if we can call it that).I don’t know. I am sure I am not getting into a near-saintly or philanthropic state of mind. I think, these realizations are only becoming too hard to ignore in times like ours. I think one would be a fool to ignore the uncertainity, the fear present all around us. How life is becoming more and more complex and less and less livable for us (this is so much different from how it used to be in a classic novel of the 18th century where the heroine's only worry in life would be to find the perfect man and the man would worry to death about how to marry the woman he has taken fancy to on a mere whim). Perhaps, our this helplessness in the face of ever prevalent bomb blasts, communal uprisings, global warming, depleting resources, erratic economy, job insecurity is making us aware that there is some danger looming large, something not so good breathing down our neck all the time. And so it is simpler to understand and see how this is a way of life for so many of the people we see and ignore every day. It’s easier for me to accept it’s not their fault that they are leading these pathetic lives. Most of the reasons were not in their hands when they were growing up. And most of it is still not in their hands. When I saw uncertainty and insecurity hovering over my own job, I realized, how I have to just accept it. How I can’t blame me or anyone else for it. How it is to have fear at the back of your mind 24 hours a day. It is easy to get disgusted at someone and tell them to bug-off when you see a beggar at a red-light. But Just one more thought, and you realize he is leading this life, not because of his fault. He could not have helped being born into a beggar family. He could not have chosen to be born into a privileged family. And that is when you suddenly stop being proud of what you have made of yourself.So why is it that autowallas are amongst the most disliked communities? Why is it that the default impression about any of them is that of a non-genuine, lousy cheat? We are always on the defensive when dealing with them? Well, that is because they are the only people from that strata of society who we have to speak to, and negotiate with. The rest of them (waiters/ small-time shopkeepers/ bus conductors) have some protocols to follow. You just buy a ticket from the bus conductor of a particular value. That’s it. We don’t have to talk to them. When you are haggling with an autowalla you come to know how they think about us, all of them. They look at your clothes and decide how much to ask you for. They somehow believe, a few rupees here and there should not matter to this person. They somehow want you to make up for the disparity that exists between you and him. Fair or not, I don’t know.Call it crazy, but sometimes I feel annoyed and also sad and guilty at the same time when some “ignorant” autowallas or some sabziwalla give me a fair deal.