As an ordinary mortal, I, too, recall Ratan Tata’s life-trajectory — his grace, his success stories, says Avijit. (Image: Instagram/@ratantata)
Who does not want to be lured by heroic tales of “success”? We love to know about celebrities, and about all sorts of “stars” — from cricketers to film actors, from billionaires to spiritual gurus. In fact, we mythologise them. And if your “success” is also accompanied by your “humility” and “kindness”, or, for that matter, if a billionaire/industrial capitalist loves dogs and animals, cares for “philanthropy” and the “environment”, and ceaselessly works for the “progress” of the nation, it is impossible not to transform him into a godlike figure. And so, after Ratan Tata’s demise, the way newspapers, television channels, social media and political leaders begun glorifying him need not surprise us. The smiling face of a capitalist icon, his cordial relationships with politicians across parties, and, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reminded us, the “patriotism” he demonstrated in “ his swift reopening of the iconic Taj Hotel in Mumbai after the 26/11 terror attacks”, and his melancholic “affairs” — all these personality traits will give enough material to those who write bestseller “self- help” books, and motivate youngsters to become “billionaire(s) with compassion”!
As an ordinary mortal, I, too, recall Ratan Tata’s life-trajectory — his grace, his success stories. I pay homage to him. But I do not feel comfortable with the way our cultural/intellectual elite and mainstream politicians forget the dialectic of “success”. Well, Tata was great. Or, for that matter, there is nothing wrong if you love to hear tales of success, hard work and humility from the likes of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murthy. But can you forget that your hard work does not necessarily make you a billionaire? Can you deny that your simplicity, humility and kindness would never urge the Prime minister to write a newspaper column to popularise your story or your contribution to the country? In this context, I recall a gardener in our university. He is a great fan of our Prime Minister because he is convinced, Modi works 18 hours daily, and he hardly sleeps. I once asked him about his working hours. He smiled. His work hours were from 6 am to 10 pm. Yet, he lives in a slum and struggles to send money to his family in a remote village in Uttar Pradesh. Is it that the billionaire’s success is related to the “failure” of the gardener, the cobbler, the landless farmer, or the entire working class? But then, amid the glitz of “success”, who bothers to speak of “failure”, or the tales of the “wretched of the earth”?
As I contemplate the huge coverage or the kind of attention Tata’s death got from media houses and the political class, a disturbing question begins to haunt me. Why is it that many of us remain reluctant to talk about yet another kind of story of love, courage and compassion — say, of the likes of Stan Swamy and professor G N Saibaba? Even when the ruling establishment kept stigmatising them as “conspirators”, “Maoists” or “anti-national”, not many mediapersons were eager to tell their stories of courage, determination, struggle and commitment to the causes of the poor and the marginalised — Dalits, Adivasis and the exploited.
I am not sure whether the likes of the late Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and Narayana Murthy ever bothered to raise their voice, and stand in solidarity with them. With their “love”, “compassion” and “humility”, did they ever ask why a person like Stan Swamy — a patient of Parkinson’s — was not allowed even a straw and sipper to drink water in the dark cell of the Indian prison. Or, will the likes of Sudha Murthy ever write a book on Professor Saibaba — a man born in a Dalit family who contracted polio as a child and had permanent paralysis? His ability to get himself educated, and above all, his refusal to give up his commitment to the cause of the poor and the marginalised?
Stories of pain and struggle do not sell. Possibly, even we, ordinary mortals, are not interested in them. Instead, we love to believe that our salvation lies in Mukesh Ambani’s special Jio offer or in a showroom of the jewellery brand Tanishq! And possibly, we love to tell our children: “Never follow the likes of Stan Swamy and Professor Saibaba. Instead, try to be yet another Ratan Tata — a successful entrepreneur, a humble billionaire who loved street dogs.”
Pathak writes on politics, culture and education
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First uploaded on: 11-11-2024 at 15:20 IST
