Keep the spark - speech by Chetan Bhagat.

This is a very nice speech by Chetan Bhagat , the author of 5-pt someone & 1 night @callcenter!

Couldn't help but paste it here ( well that's what a programmer does anyways - prgming hai waste, trust only cut-copy-paste! :P he he ).

Anyways, here's the speech:

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp’s flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn’t any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement.

But it isn’t the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won’t be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday?

They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.



I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school. Where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

I’ve told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you.

But it’s life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that’s where you want to be.

Disappointment’s cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release.

Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts , having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.

Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you.

In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty darn lucky by Indian standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get literary praise. It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I’ve told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, you eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.

Thank You.

Atishay sundar vichar...

Aajchya esakal madhe ha ek apratim lekh vachla. toch ithe lekhikechya naavasakat post karte ahe.

आभाळमाया - हे जीवना
नलिनी वाळिंबे यांचा लेख वाचला आणि मी माझ्या साताऱ्याच्या आयुष्यात परत गेले. मी, आई, बाबा, भाऊ असं आमचं कुटुंब त्यांच्या घरात राहायला गेलो. शेजारी आजी, आजोबा आणि त्यांची मुलगी सुलूमावशी राहायचे. लहानपणी पोलिओ झाल्याने मावशीचा एक पाय अधू होता. काही कारणाने त्यांची उंचीही खूपच लहान होती. त्यामुळे येणारा जाणारा तिऱ्हाईक त्यांच्याकडे केविलवाणे नजरेने बघायचा. परंतु अशी ही मावशी स्वतःच्या व्यंगाकडे दुर्लक्ष करून उच्च शिक्षण घेऊन स्वतः एका इन्स्टिट्यूटची प्रमुख होती. वाचन आणि कला हे त्यांच्या रक्तात भिनलं होतं. सुंदर पेंटिंग त्या करायच्या. त्यांच्या गच्चीवर त्यांनी छोटी बाग सजवली होती. नवीन नवीन छंद जोपासणे, निरनिराळी माहिती गोळा करणे, गाण्याच्या मैफिलीला जाणे, साहित्य संमेलनास जाणे हा त्यांचा आवडीचा विषय असायचा. पण असून नसलेल्या उणिवांची त्यांनी कधीही तक्रार केली नाही. प्रत्येक दिवसाला अभिवादन करून त्याचा स्वीकार त्यांनी केला.

""आजकाल तुझी काहीतरी सतत तक्रार चालू असते- हे दुखतंय... ते दुखतंय.. मग इथे जायलो नको, तिथे जायला नको,'' असं म्हणून रविवारी पतिराजांनी जरा लवकरच जागं केलं. आम्ही रांजणगावला जाण्याचं ठरवलं. जाता जाता शिक्रापूर या गावातून गेलो. हे नाव कानी पडताच पुन्हा एकदा मी साताऱ्याच्या आयुष्यात गेले. विचारांचा तळ ढवळला होता. एकदम माझ्यासमोर माझी शाळा, कॉलेज विश्‍व, माझ्या मैत्रिणी आल्या. आणि माझी जिवलग मैत्रीण नंदिनी. आम्ही एफ.वाय.मध्ये असतानाच तिचं लग्न झालं आणि लग्न करून ती या गावात आली होती. त्यांच्या घरात मुलीचं शिक्षण याला फारसं महत्त्व दिलं जात नव्हतं आणि तेव्हाच तिच्या आईवडिलांनी तिचं लग्न लावून दिलं. पुढे २/३ वर्षे आमचा पत्रव्यवहार व्हायचा. ती सर्व खुशाली सांगायची. एकंदरीत सासरी सर्व चांगलं आहे, हे ऐकून खूप आनंद झाला होता. आता पुन्हा "शिक्रापूर' गावातून जाताना आठवणी गोळा झाल्या. आणि ठरवलं की परतताना आपण तिची गाठ घेऊनच पुढं जायचं. कोणीतरी म्हणालं की त्यांच्या यजमानांचं नुकतंच निधन झालं आहे. विचारत विचारत तिच्या घरापाशी पोचलो तेवढ्यात ती अचानक बाहेर आली. तिच्या गळ्यात मंगळसूत्र पाहून मी सुटकेचा श्‍वास सोडला आणि आम्ही एकमेकींना आलिंगन दिलं. मला पाहून तिलाही आश्‍चर्याचा धक्का बसला. शब्दांची जागा अश्रूंनी घेतली होती. आत गेलो आणि कळलं, की तिच्या पतीचं निधन झालंय. पण एका खेडेगावात बाई असुरक्षित असते म्हणून तिनं मंगळसूत्र घातलं होतं. आजारपणात पाण्यासारखा पैसा गेला आणि आता जमीन, घर यासोबत ती सासू, मुलांसहित राहत होती. दिवस पालटले होते. आलेल्या परिस्थितीला धीरानं सामोरं जाऊन ती पुन्हा उभी होती. मी मात्र कोलमडून पडले होते. आयुष्यात एवढं मोठं दुःख पचवून ती पुढच्या जीवनप्रवासासाठी न खचता तयार होती. आणि "मी' छोट्या छोट्या कारणानं दुसऱ्यावर चिडत असे. वाटलं, एवढ्या ल
हानपणी नंदिनीला तिच्या आयुष्यानं काय काय दाखवलं, तरी ती पुन्हा उभी आहे. दुसरीकडे शरीरानं अधू असणारी सुलूमावशी सर्वत्वावर मात करून आयुष्य एका सेनापतीसारखं लढली आणि आयुष्याच्या संध्याकाळी तेवढीच उत्साही आहे. असं म्हणतात, की नेहमी आपल्यापेक्षा गरीब माणसाकडे बघावं म्हणजे आपल्याकडं असलेल्या गोष्टीची किंमत कळते. जीवन जगण्याची ताकद बघायची असेल तर नंदिनी व सुलूमावशीकडे मी बघते. कारण आपण जीवनात कुठे आहोत याची जाणीव होते.

- सौ. समृद्धी जोशी

Mazi aai mala nehmi hech sangaychi/ ajunhi sangte, ani te aatmasaat karaycha me prayatna hi kela. Pan tari ajunahi pushkalda chotya chotya goshtinvarun kach khanyachi manaachi tayaari hote. Tevha ase lekh vaachun maanasik ubhaari yete. Tymule navin varshachi mazya blogchi suruvat mee hya lekhadware karte ahe.