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The truth about setbacks

So you had a setback? Congratulations. I am not crazy, I really mean it. Though they tend to have depressing effects, setbacks are a necess...

Friday 18 September 2020

It's not about the message

Four boys read the following message:

"Be yourself, don't let the world decide how you behave. Remain true to yourself.”

They decided to make it their mantra.

The first boy painted his nails.

The second boy stole a pen.

Third danced in the pouring rain.

Fourth gave away his jacket to a homeless man.

The message was same, the interpretation changed with every boy. Just as every boy was different, their perceptions were unique too.

It doesn't matter if everyone is taught the same thing or the same book, what each learns will depend upon their perception.

© K.A. Acharya 2020


Thursday 17 September 2020

How does it feel not to support any political party?

The Good

You can criticize any policies of any party without feeling apologetic 😁 You can also support any policy you love without feeling guilty.


The Bad

The people who liked you yesterday might no longer like you today. But if you're lucky, they might like you again, the next week 😉


The Ugly

You learn that bigotry runs in every party. And you get to know the bigots supporting different parties 😪


The Best 

Just like the bigots, you also get to meet the good people supporting different parties.  They make you realise that, however extreme their ideas might be, the good people never turn bad😁😊


And that is the secret of my optimism. I know that regardless what social media keeps telling you, good people exist, and they outnumber the other types of people. 

© K.A. Acharya

Wednesday 16 September 2020

The price of reputation

 Once upon a time, there lived a very reputed family. It was a big family full of cousins, and uncles, and aunts. Belonging to that family got you respect from the rest of the society. Everyone wanted to connect with that family.

Then, came a catastrophe. One woman from the family created a sensation. She claimed that a little girl from the family was abused by her own uncle. Now, everyone started gossiping about the family. They started to lose respect. Soon, many other illegal activities of the family started coming to light. One or two family members started speaking about it. 

The family matriarch was furious. She was angry that her own family members talked ill of the family. After all, most of them had gained respect using the family name. They had no right to malign the family, they owed it to the family.

Rightly, she said, not everyone in the family is bad. But, she forgot to support the woman, the little girl, and many others who suffered in her own family. After all, family is more important than individuals in the family.

What do you think? Do you think, that reputation of your field is more important than bringing injustice to light? Do you think it's ok to keep quiet about crime so as not to malign the people, whom you owe everything?

Who is right? The family matriarch, who stood high to protect her family, or the ungrateful whistleblower, who spoiled the reputation of the family by giving voice to an injustice.

I'm not going to judge you for your answers. Nor do I want you to answer in the comments. I want you to remember your answer. Every time, an injustice occurs anywhere, I want you to remember your answer, and hope you make the right call.

©K.A. Acharya 2020

Monday 14 September 2020

Allegations and Agenda

There was a small organisation, and soon there was to be an election for the post of the treasurer. Both Rakesh, and Suresh were interested in that post. So, they began an aggressive campaign. 

Suresh was clearly in the lead, so Rakesh needed something concrete to gain favour with his voters. His friend, Nitin started digging into Suresh's life to find some unsavoury habit which would tilt the balance in Rakesh's favour. As luck could have it, Nitin found that Suresh had a history of fraud in other organisations.

He created a big sensation about it. A fraud could not be trusted to handle their money. Suresh was flabbergasted. He couldn't believe someone had found his secretly guarded past. But he wasn't ready to give up that easily. He persuaded everyone that, since Nitin was Rakesh's best friend, his allegations shouldn't be taken seriously. Nitin obviously had an agenda. People were furious that Nitin could use them to further his agenda.

P.S. Most often, we too get carried away in denouncing the agenda of people instead of verifying their allegations. Foiling an agenda can be a good thing, but not at the cost of protecting a crime. Just because, a person has an agenda doesn't make the allegations false.

© K.A. Acharya, 2020

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