Do you think your vote makes a difference?

That was the question they asked me.
And wouldn't you know it, I had a position all picked out for me to defend. I had to go on air and tell people that their vote didn't make a difference.

Now ordinarily, I would shoot myself before I did something like that.

But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea
Mathew 18:6

Yes, I've been brought up a Christian; and my mother, bless her, made sure I knew the Bible.


Now, I believe I have a gift. It is the ability to convince people, quite well, of a stance that I currently hold. I once wrote that I could come up with arguments both supporting and refuting the existence of God, and both of them would be good arguments. I could, and can: But the question is- do I want to?

Quite frankly, no. If there's one thing I despise- it is destroying someone else's faith. You see faith, and the hope that it entails, is one of the most precious gifts that a person has. And if you shake that...
then good job, my son, you've just killed a soul. See you in Hell.

And so, I thought I'd take some time out and write this note; more to ease my conscience than anything else.

So, does your vote make a difference?
In a word, no. It does not. Before you pin me down as a cynical old loon ("Armchair Critic", I believe the word was) take a minute and think about it. If you, successfully, go and cast your vote, which in itself is a big achievement, do you think you're going to bring about a difference? You, sitting there in your air-conditioned apartment, comfortable, fed and watered. You. Not the public, not the "People"; but you.

Yes? What difference, pray tell.

The common understanding of the word "difference" is a change in outcome. In this context- if a person is to win on account of your vote, he should win on account of it. Then, apparently, tomorrow will be a brighter day filled with sunshine and daisies.

Quite.

Let me tell you something, friend. for every vote that you cast from your velvet-covered hand, there are ten other louts who will vote any which way they please for a packet of Biryani. My maid tells me that she took five hundred rupees to vote for a particular person. So, quite a lot more than a packet of Biryani then.

And yet, we still vote. What is the difference?

The difference Mister Cynic, is not out there, it's in here.


The only difference worth making, is the difference to yourself. If you change the world and you have no feeling of satisfaction, then that is no difference at all. If you give a million people television kits (and Air Conditioners and Refridgerators if modern trend is anything to go by) and you do not feel a sense of having made a difference, then what is the point?

The bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain, to see what he could see.
And all that he could see, and all that he could see, and all that he could see,
Was the other side of the mountain, was the other side of the mountain,
The other side of the mountain, was all that he could see.

You know what?

In the bear's heart, he feels that he has made a difference;

and that, is the only thing that matters.


Why should I vote?

Because I can.

Because if i do not, someone else will vote for me. And no one, No one, does anything in My name without My express authorisation.

Yes, I have God-like delusions sometimes. Sue me.

Will it make a difference?

Yes, it will.

To whom?

To the only person who matters,


Me.




Addendum:
So why did I do it? The same reason I refused when my mother told me not to read Dan Brown.

If your faith is so pathetic that you let it be shaken at the first sound of contradiction, then you do not deserve to have faith at all.

A trial by fire, is the only trial worth having.

Dream on

I spoke to K first, for no other reason than he is most used to my mad schemes.

Poi saavu da.

That’s what he said, when I told him of my plan.

Here’s a translation of the rest;

I’ve my practice, I’m established; I’ve worked hard for this da and now you come in here (Just like you always do) and lay your idea on the table. No chance. Pick another guy. There are plenty of others in the city.

The rest ran on the same vein for a while.

But one thing I know about K, is that, like me, he likes a show.

Here’s my plan, I said. I want to start…..
And I want to do a series of them across the country. We will change the way this country sees entertainment. We’ll have them in every city. Every city will have one. They will be places where people can go to forget….and perhaps remember.

Money is no object. We will make a lot of money. I have a little money with which to start off with. And believe me, we will make a lot more. But I need you. You’re the only one who’s worked with me before. Heck, you’re the reason that the union ran for a year. Remember that? You know I need you.

We spoke for over three hours.

In the end, he agreed.

I knew he would in the end.

I think he knew it as well.
….
With K convinced, I knew I had done it. There was no possible way it could not work after that.

I spoke to the Snowman next. He’d had some experience of processes. I needed him to ensure that my organization ran smoother than a kid’s bottom. That’s what I told him.

Actually, it wasn’t strictly the truth. I needed the guy because he worked as hard as anyone I knew: harder, even. He was reliable, straight-forward; and he helped me see the lighter side of life.

I could also see a possible future venture for him to take up. I knew what he really wanted to do. It wasn’t that hard to figure.

I’m a genius, sometimes.

Oh alright, he told me. There, happy?


Biryani and beer, my friend. Biryani and beer.
……
What did I do after that?

I believe in fate. I seriously do. I believe, in the end, that I cannot lose. I Believe that God, or whatever it is you’d like to call him, brings people into our lives for a reason. And that everything, everything, fits together.

We started off on 2nd April 2016. There wasn’t any looking back after that.

I pulled in the Walrus for PR.

Go jump, son; he said. You are not doing this to me again. I did it in college, but I was younger then. I will not be a victim of your megalomaniacal tendencies, again, You can go rule the world, I’m happy designing good, clean ad material.
Remember Vox Populi, I said.

Typical.

See that’s precisely what I’m talking about. If I work for you, it will be the same thing all over again. You wanted a lion then, and you’ll want your face now.
Fine, Alright then.
Fine? You’re letting it go? Just like that. You’re losing your touch, son.

Look, I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.
Sigh, take back what I just said.

I’ll invest in your company. I’ll put in this much of money, you run your company, no problem- just do my designing free.
The raised, skeptical eyebrows;
Exactly how much are we talking about here?
I told him.

I think Ben phrased it best, when he said later- Macha, Pradeep just wants to stand in front of a burning hoop and make lions jump at him, while he effortlessly swats them aside with his huge arms.

Right.

….

It was inevitable that I’d have MJ somewhere in there. One of the most promising kids I’ve seen. Smart and beautiful- What’s even worse, was that she knew it. And she knew how to use it too. Bugger her.

She’d just started off her company by then. Of course, she didn’t have the advantage of being born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Or maybe she did-xept that mine was bigger. I’m talking ‘bout the spoon of course.

She was however, making good progress. Fine, I’ll admit I was following.

I offered her the same thing I’d offered the Walrus. She, of course, refused. But she did design the line I’d asked for at a fair rate. Let’s be honest, for her work, I’d pay that much.

Eventually, when I came back to her a second time with my offer that she couldn’t refuse, she didn’t. But then, that was a lot later.

MJ will make you work for things, remember that.

….
I told Dharma, when I was in college, that I wanted to start a school for the blind. Naïve me, then had this idea that I’d start a school, that I’d spend a good portion of my earnings on it. I wanted to even the scales, you see.
And when I met Numa,again- after a pretty long time, that’s what I proposed to her. How did I meet her again?
I have this vision of you, and it’s always in rags, surrounded by little kids…and you’re helping them, and you’re happy….and they’re happy. You can try corporate for a while, but I bet that that’s where you’ll end up.
I know that child; it’s just that I feel that I’d like to see this world first. But don’t you worry, when I finally turn social, I’ll come to you, and you better help me.
You know I will, Numa. I always will.
And like she said, she came. And like I said, I helped.
Much later when I put the idea to her, she accepted. And she got a group of brilliant people together to do it as well. She didn’t actively head the school, mind. I didn’t expect her to. Eventually, she did though.
That is something I am incredibly proud of.
…….
And the rest is history really.
Oh wait, there was the kid. The kid was special. The thing that I’ll say about her, was that she was incredibly talented at seeing things in me, that I could not; in all honesty, I think those qualities don’t even exist in me. But still, she saw them.
And, whatever quality I may lack, the one quality I cherish, is that I don’t let down the people who have faith in me.
She was a business partner, and what she made possible was one of the biggest and earliest collaborations I had. It was incredible, what that little thing could achieve. As always I am grateful.
I am grateful to each one of them, actually; Individually and in infinite measure.
…..
Addendum 1:
Naturally, the guard saluted when the car passed. It was an impressive church, always had been; always will be. I was made more impressive by the hill that it rested on; perhaps God’s own way of raising His own.
He’d restored the church; and he’d done a lot more. The parish priest had received a proposal for renovation of the site. He’d refused at first. The church rejected the proposal as crass commercialism. A few years later, the arch-bishop changed; and the place had fallen to ruin by then….
The entire area stood transformed now. Music floated in the air. Families flocked there every Sunday; and while the elderly spent the day in prayer; the children played on the beautifully landscaped gardens. As I said, music floated in the air.
When I looked down on his family spread out on the lawn below, I couldn’t help but remember the words he’d said to me when we first met;
And departing leave behind us, Father,
Footprints in the sands of time. …..

Addendum 2:

You wouldn’t have liked it cos you’re so uptight.
Why are you always so…..reserved?
A self-imposed prison of control, eh ?
I had a closed fist in front of me, and suddenly, one day, I felt a small hand upon mine. Slowly, and to my surprise for I was quite strong, I felt little fingers work at my own, trying to open them.
It took a while; but, in the end, there were two hands- palms facing each other-
One large, and one….

Really tiny.

This last part was for you, you know that.