Not Happy with "Paternal Acres"

(Published in Banking Services Chronicle July 2006)

Alexander Pope wrote: “Happy the man whose wish and care a few paternal acres bound.” Take the adivasis for example. They are a happy lot—working in the daytime at a leisurely pace and making merry in the evening, drowning all their worries, if any, in country-made liquor. They remain untouched by development and happy.

Somewhat less happier but yet quite happy are the IT people. The programmers and the call centre workers toil in the office and make merry after work. However, their life differs from that of the adivasi. The time of work is not fixed but depends on the shift allotted. The pace of work is quite hectic. And they make merry in discos and dance-bars.

The problem with both these kinds starts when they meet development. For the adivasis it is often a chance encounter. While for the IT workers it happens the day they are ready to look beyond the present. In both the cases life after this day becomes one of discomfort. Much like it happened for Adam and Eve when they tasted the forbidden fruit.

Being uncomfortable leads to its own perils. Most of us lose our equilibrium and the rest of our life often becomes a wild goose chase. Like a mirage, life becomes a source of recurring discomfort. And most of us fall victim to a life of chaos.

But there are a few among us who have mastered the art of moving beyond complacency. And they are the ones whom we call leaders. Says Renetta McCann, CEO of Starcom Mediavest: “Leaders are people who have grown comfortable with being uncomfortable.” They know that life stagnates in still waters. But they also know how life is topsy-turvy in a river that runs its course through rocky terrain. While the ordinary toiler perceives the course to be dangerous, the leaders take it as being adventurous.

And the discomfort is felt not only by ordinary people. Even the well-established meet a similar fate when they wish to tread a different path. Aamir Khan has faced the flak of many for voicing his opinion in the Narmada controversy. Some feel he should be more worried about his stature of acting than the height of the dam. Others think social issues should be best left to the government and the social workers.

Not that people are comfortable with the chalta hai approach. Any number of people will be willing to pounce at Delhi for the Delhiite’s callous approach. Visitors find it odd when a passenger in a bus is in trouble and the rest of the passengers sit as if in a meditative silence. But the same people want Aamir Khan to be a mute passenger in the bus. They would relish DJ’s “terrorism” in Rang De Basanti but not his real-life activism.

Some probably think this is an attempt to gain mileage by Aamir. But note that activism is different from tactics like not accepting an award. There one may agree with Peter Ustinov, British actor and writer: “To refuse awards is another way of accepting them with more noise than is normal.” Here, however, not airing one’s views would be tantamount to closing one’s eyes.

It is interesting to note that Pope wrote the line mentioned at the beginning when he was only 12. In the eighteenth century, it was too tender an age to be aware of the vagaries of the world. When a man grows up, he ceases to be happy with his “paternal acres”. When an artiste grows up, he cannot confine himself only to the realm of art.

So get ready to shake off your complacency. And also get ready to brave the odds you will come across in this course. Remember it is this capacity that distinguishes the leader from those he leads.