One of the biggest things that I feel I lack is the ability to adapt to surroundings or situations quickly. This to me is a key factor for one’s ability to achieve tangible success or atleast the things that we generally consider as success.
I remember, when I came from Kolkata to Thane for badminton training, that was the time I actually realised what one calls a cultural difference. You could call it a cultural difference but for me as a boy, it was a shock. I’d like to give a few small examples here, before I came to Thane or Mumbai, I had never heard of friends calling each other by their surnames or the idea of what an “outsider” is. Many kids calling people way senior to them in age by their names(non-Indians reading this, we generally refer to seniors with their titles such as bhaiya, didi, uncle, aunt etc.). Muslims, Christians, Jains etc. saying they’re not Maharashtrians. Before I had left Kolkata, I remember that we(well, atleast in my house) used to address people as Bengalis like Bengali-Muslim or a Bengali-Christian. And of course the food habit was also quite different. Being a bengali you’d generally have to struggle to realise what vegetarian food is. My father still asks me sometimes if I had an egg atleast even though I tell him that I had veg food. On the other side, I realised that kids in Mumbai have a lot more ‘bindaas’ attitude than other places. The culture is more open in the sense it is quite common for a father and a son to bond together over a few drinks.
The next major shock I experienced was when I joined up the national centre in Hyderabad. You could call this one more of a work cultural shock than anything else. The training regime, the mindset of the coaches and players were completely different than what I had experienced before. I wouldn’t want to call it wrong as it was definitely not wrong but it was a place where I couldn’t fit in. I was used to being in a more individualistic training regime. But there it was a bit of a generalised program. I always felt like I’m not being able to express myself the way I’d like to. To give you an example, you wouldn’t like to imagine a spy to be a part of an open war where soldiers are involved. Even though both are experts at battles, duels, wars, fights etc. they have their own way of handling things. That is how it was for me to be part of that system most of the time. Sqaure peg in a round hole types.
So, I guess if we really need to get what we want in life in terms of macro success then adaptability is key. But mind you, getting what you want in life cannot only be considered success. Understanding the finer things and accepting it as it is can also be termed as success. And I believe that noticing the finer things is what comes naturally to me. This may make me or somebody like me a little different or whatever word you can use to term from others. You might or might not be considered successful in this way. But I feel being your natural self is way better than trying to fit in. And the word success definitely varies on individual perception.
Oh, and before I finish, last year when my father was in Mumbai(he usually stays in kolkata but comes and stays with me for a couple of months in a year) he went to my son’s school once and interacted with his teacher there. She told him she’s a Christian when he aksed her whether she’s a Maharashtrian or not. He came back home baffled, I had to then explain for an hour to him as to how the culture here is different from Kolkata. Imagine, explaining it to a seventy year old who experienced that shock probably for the first time or after a very long time in life!
Who’s to define what’s right or wrong?
Whether you are a Delhiite, a Tamil, a Marathi or a Bong,
Who’s to say what’s true, what’s false?
Some have Tridev, some Allah, some have the Cross,
The truth is that the Origin is same,
The difference is only in shape, form and name.
Om Shanti….?
Vaishnavi
Nice one ?
jishnusanyal
Thanks